BRINGING A KITTEN HOME

You have just adopted a kitten, or you are about to adopt a kitten. Congratulations! It is wonderful to have a fuzzy, little friend in your home. However, this kitten period can be challenging as well. How to prepare before bringing your kitten home? How to train your kitten? What can you do to help your kitten to become a healthy and happy cat?

Kitten-proofing your house

First of all, it is important to kitten-proof your house. Inspect your house from all angles. Do you have any plants that are toxic for cats? Try to hide and cover all electrical cables. Block potentially dangerous spots, like the stovetop or laundry dryer.

The basic necessities

Make sure you buy the basic necessities before arrival of your kitten, like food and drink bowls, a place to sleep, the right kitten food, treats, toys. Of course, a scratching post and a litter box are very important. Scratching can be seen as natural cat behavior and it has many benefits. Scratching could help to reduce stress and it allows cats to mark their territory for example.

Socialization & rewarding

Introduce your kitten to your family, visitors, other pets, different sounds, smells, objects which he will encounter in his everyday life. Moreover, focus on rewarding desirable behavior instead of punishing undesirable behavior.

First vet visit

Plan your kitten’s first vet visit for an overall health check, vaccines and preventive measures. Try to make this first experience at the vet as positive as possible.

Neutering

Most kittens get neutered at the age of 4 – 6 months. There can be several reasons to get your cat neutered. It can prevent unwanted litters, it could reduce the urge to fight other cats over territory or to spray urine and it could reduce the risk of other health conditions.

It is very important to protect the surgical area for a fast and good recovery, but the traditional Elizabethan collar often causes stress for pets. That is why we have developed an animal-friendly alternative: the MPS-Medical Pet Shirt®. The versatile Medical Pet Shirt® protects the surgical area after neutering and prevents your cat from licking, scratching or biting the wound or sutures. Additional advantage: Because of the specially tailored opening at the back, the majority of cats can leave the Medical Pet Shirt® fully closed while using the litter box. How easy is that!

Less stress for a faster recovery!