CARE OF YOUR NEW
KITTEN
The breeder from whom you purchased your kitten should be asked for a diet sheet or for a list of foods to which the kitten has become accustomed. Ignore the breeder at your peril, as he/she will know the likes and dislikes of your particular kitten and which foods have upset it.
Kittens may enjoy a varied diet but you must make sure that this is also a completely balanced diet. The special kitten diets which are sold are designed to have all the dietary requirements for a kitten and do not need supplements. Too high a level of vitamins and minerals can cause as many problems as too low a level. If you are feeding your kitten on fresh food you will need to supplement it, but you will need to know what is lacking in the diet; if in doubt ask your veterinary surgeon about this. Do not feed your kitten too much of any fresh meat or offal. Changes in diet should be made gradually.
Four meals a day should be given at three months, reducing to three meals at about 6-7 months. During this period the size of the meal will increase from about a tablespoon to about two thirds of a cup, but this is only an approximate guideline; kittens will vary and should be fed according to appetite. When growth slows at about a year, two meals are usually sufficient. Your pet will often decide which meals are no longer required by leaving one of them, or showing little interest in it.
Recommendation - The GCCF strongly recommends that no kitten should be permitted to go to a new home before 13 weeks of age. At least seven days prior to this the kitten should have completed a full course of vaccinations, including a health check, given by a Veterinary Surgeon or by a listed Veterinary Nurse under the direction of a Veterinary Surgeon. The breeder should ensure that kittens are house-trained, inoculated and in good general health.
Take a carrying box with you. No matter how quiet the kitten may seem in its home surroundings the sound of a car and unfamiliar people may frighten it. It is against the law to carry an unrestrained animal when travelling and a kitten loose in a car is a hazard to itself, the car driver, and other traffic on the road. What would you do if the car broke down or if you were involved in an accident and the kitten escaped?
Ask the breeder for detailed instructions on the kitten's daily routine - its feeding, grooming, toileting and playing habits. Many breeders supply a diet sheet, you should ask for this. Make sure you have some of your kitten's favourite foods ready, and introduce any dietary changes gradually.
CARE OF YOUR NEW KITTEN
When you get home let the kitten find its own way out of the basket/box and allow it to explore one room at a time. Make sure it knows where its litter tray and water bowl are. (The toilet and feeding areas should not be too close together).
Make sure the room is escape proof - chimneys blocked, doors and windows shut. Kittens can get through surprisingly small places.
Kittens are very often frightened by children and other pets if they are not used to them. Children should understand that they must keep very still and quiet (very small children should not be introduced until the kitten has had a chance to settle). Other animals should be introduced later - gradually and one at a time.
Do not overwhelm your kitten with too much attention, let it come to you naturally, remember you are a stranger to it. Talk to it and encourage it to play with a toy (cotton reels and ping pong balls are favourites). Do not restrain your kitten and force it to sit on your knee. Your lap should be a haven to it, not a prison. Patience with your kitten in the first few hours will be well rewarded.
If you have a scratching post (which is recommended unless you prefer shredded furniture) show your kitten how to use this.
Your kitten needs warmth at first - it will miss its mother and litter mates. If there is not some form of heating in the room at all times it should be provided with a heated bed or metal pad (especially manufactured for the purpose and obtainable from pet shops). Even when adult, a short haired cat should never be left alone in an unheated room at night or in cold weather without some basket or bed with warm bedding in it.
No cat should ever be put out at night to fend for itself
A sanitary tray - litter tray or washing up bowl - must be available at all times and kept in the same place. Solid matter and wet lumps should be removed from the tray frequently and the litter renewed when necessary. The tray should be washed and disinfected frequently. Rinse thoroughly after disinfecting and allow to dry before use. Cats are very fussy and will not use a dirty tray (neither will your visitors appreciate it!). You can buy covered litter trays which provide privacy for your cat and hide the litter from your visitors.
All of the following have been the cause of death and serious injury to kittens and young cats: front and top loading washing machines, tumble driers, electric flexes that can be chewed, hot stoves, water tanks, garden pools, toilets with open lids (you don't want to fish your kitten out from the U-bend), hot baths, irons and the tops of storage heaters.
Be aware that your kitten will investigate open chimneys, open doors and windows. It can escape and disappear through the smallest crack and may get shut in a drawer or cupboard. The airing cupboard is a favorite hiding place and the results can be disastrous after a few hours with no litter tray.
Kittens often creep away under low furniture, kitchen units or electrical appliances.
Use disinfectants which do not contain Phenol or Cresol. These are poisonous to cats. Most brands of household disinfectants contain them. (A quick test is to see if it goes white when added to water). Parvocide, GPC-8, Virkon, Peratol and Trigene are safe in correct dilution. Always dilute a cleansing agent according to the instructions and make sure disinfected items are rinsed and aired afterwards. To cleanse a soiled area use a biological washing powder and then rub with surgical spirit as this prevents the cat being attracted back to the same spot.
Cats and kittens can poison themselves by washing their feet or coats after walking through a poisonous substance. Insecticides, weed killers, slug pellets, timber preservatives, woodworm treatments, petrol and anti-freeze are all harmful to cats - often with fatal consequences. Never give a cat any drugs that have not been prescribed for it; many human drugs are poisonous to cats. Seek veterinary advice immediately if you suspect any form of poisoning.
Take care that toys, or parts of them, cannot be swallowed. Plastic bags and rubber bands such as the elastic that goes around joints of meat are a hazard. Plastic does not show up on an X-ray and can be very dangerous if swallowed. Do not allow a kitten to play unsupervised with wool, string or thread, and beware of sewing needles and pins - kittens have been known to swallow thread with these still attached Many house plants are poisonous. Do not leave them where they can be chewed - just in case.
KITTENS SOLD AS PETS
Concerned breeders do their best to ensure that only the kittens they consider suitable for breeding are bred from. Kittens which are not sold specifically for breeding are usually registered on the Non-Active Register; this means that if, against the breeder's wishes, they are bred from, their kittens cannot be registered.
Kittens may be registered on the Non-Active Register for various reasons:
 |
they may not, in the opinion of their breeder, be good examples of their breed
| there may be a risk of hereditary disease
| the mother may have had breeding problems which could be hereditary
| or the breeder may simply wish to be sure that the new owner is a suitable person, with help and advice, to breed from the kitten - and has the time and facilities to do so. |
When a kitten which is registered on the Non-Active Register is sold, it should be pointed out, in writing, to the new owner that the cat has been sold as a pet or a show neuter and not for breeding. If such a cat is registered with another organisation, the Non-Active registration should be respected and the papers endorsed "not for breeding". Similarly, if a cat whose papers are endorsed "not for breeding" is imported onto the GCCF Register it is registered on the Non-Active Register.
Only the breeder, or the person who originally registered the cat, may change a registration from the Non-Active Register to the Active Register. A change from Active to Non-Active Register requires a request from the current registered owner of the cat plus, if the cat is going to be transferred, the signature of the intended new owner.
However, despite all such precautions, many breeders have become aware that kittens they have sold as pets have, despite their wishes, been bred from. The resulting kittens are sold unregistered, often to unsuspecting new owners who only discover later that their kitten cannot be registered or shown.
The only way breeders can be certain that the kittens they sell cannot be bred from is to neuter them before they are sold.
Although the paper makes the assumption that most pedigree kittens will be sold un-neutered, many breeders have found that the optimum time for neutering is a week or two after the second vaccination, to allow the kittens to develop good immunity and recover from any stress caused by the vaccination. They recover from the operation far more quickly than older kittens and are generally ready to go to their new homes a week or so later.
Although this will, obviously, mean more expense to the breeder, the cost of the operation can be included in the price of the kitten. Most genuine pet kitten buyers are delighted to find that although their kitten may cost a bit more, it will not require a routine visit to the veterinary surgeon for a whole year!
Neutered kittens are at no disadvantage on the show bench, being shown in the same classes as the un-neutered kittens of their breed.
TO ensure responsible ownership of all my babies they will leave with a sales contract which will include a spaying and neutering clause. I recommend that spaying /neutering is done 6 /7 months of age once I have had written confirmation of this from the vet then i will release the GCCF registration certificate.
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