A guide to caring for a new kitten, covering where to put the litter box, quarantine, vet checkups, socialization, and diet. Learn how to set up a safe space and introduce your kitten to its new home.
Hello and welcome to the Happy Pets and Families Channel. In today's video, we're going to talk about the first steps you need to take to care for your cat. When a new kitten joins your home, it's always a unique experience. Felines curiosity is something that magnetically attracts us, and we're always willing to stand in front of a cat and watch how it reacts to its new surroundings. Creating a space that's pleasant for your cat isn't always easy. I'm going to give you some tips so that you always know how to help make your cat's environment as friendly as possible. Whether it's your first time adopting a cat, or if you already live with a cat and decide to adopt another one, you should always follow a guideline to try to make your cat perceive your home as a safe environment. The most common thing to do is to introduce the new kitten into a room where it has everything it needs to develop its life. This introduction to a new environment aims to help your cat deal with the stress and anxiety that a new home causes them. An open environment where they don't know their hiding places and how the mechanics of that new home work. After the first week of adaptation, you should know how to distribute their belongings within your home. Cats don't like their environments to mix. For example, they don't like eating and having to go to the litter box nearby. Therefore, you should observe your cat to find out which areas they like best to use the bathroom and which areas they like best to eat. The distribution of environments within the home is one of the main areas where owners fail. This distribution should be in accordance with what your cat needs and wants, because you have to keep in mind that even though they have come to live with you, from this moment on the house is completely theirs. So be observant of the small signs that your cat will tell you. For example, you can see if they like where their litter box is located based on whether they use it more or less. You may think that your cat doesn't know how to use the litter box, when in reality what it does is relieve itself in places that it considers more appropriate. Try moving its litter box there and you'll see how it uses it regularly. Socialize it the false myth that cats are not social animals and that they refuse to have contact with other animals, such as other cats or even people, has long since been dispelled. You have to try to play a lot with your cat. In addition to creating a very special bond with it, you will help it to also have physical activity and also be happy and have extra motivation to see you, especially at the beginning. If you play a lot with your cat, you will also teach it how to behave with you and also the mechanics of, for example, stalking and hunting, which are very important for your cat's complete development. When you start playing with your cat, you will notice the different tactics it will have to play with you. You may be passing by a place where it has hidden and it tries to catch your feet or hands. That's the stalking moment. Normally, the stalking moment comes after the hunting and prey acquisition moment. We will have to help the cat not get frustrated. That is, if you let the cat stalk a toy, bite it and then can't swallow it, as is normal, the cat will not get the reward of the hunt. Therefore, you can try to help your cat's playtime be much more complete, giving it from time to time. Although do not do this all the time. A small reward in the form of a cookie or wet food that can satisfy its need to obtain prey. Always keep quarantine in mind. If you already live with a cat and have decided to adopt another little one and bring it to live in your home, you have to consider that this kitten can introduce diseases into your home. For this reason, it is very important that the new cat undergoes a quarantine period inside a room. This quarantine period will allow you to observe the new kitten and make sure that it is completely healthy. It will also help your old cat get used to the pheromones and smells of the new cat through the door so that it will not seem like such a strange object when it finally meets you. Not only will it help the cat adapt to the new home and not suffer so much stress when it goes out and finds all this great environment for itself, it will also help it adapt to the moment when it meets your other cats in its new home. This will make everything easier for it. Have a medical check up after adopting your cat, one of the first steps you have to take is to have a proper medical check up. If you take it to the vet, they will examine it thoroughly and will also advise you when and how you should start deworming it and giving it its vaccinations. Normally, cats are usually tested for feline leukemia and immunodeficiency diseases at around three months of age. These types of diseases, along with those caused by Calyce iris or feline presynaptic virus, are the most common in cats. If you follow an adequate deworming and vaccination schedule, even if your Cat is not going to leave your home. Your little one will always be protected from possible accidents that may occur. We have already talked about the diseases that external parasites can transmit in other videos. I will leave the link in the description box. Choose a good litter box. Nobody likes to relieve themselves anywhere. Imagine that you sometimes go to a public bathroom that is very dirty and you do not like to use it and you hold back the urge to avoid going in. The same thing happens to your cat. Cats are very jealous about the litter box they are going to use and have preferences about how and where they should be. Normally, you can have more litter boxes available than you have cats in your home. In other words, each of your cats can choose when and where they can use their litter box. If you have more than two, one of them should always be covered so that if your cat likes to use the covered litter box, it can choose it freely. Avoid using scented litter that your cat may dislike. There are some families who choose to buy scented litter because the smell is more pleasant for them, but they have not considered what their cat thinks about that aroma. Cats do not usually dislike unscented litter. Therefore, try to avoid scented litter because it will also prevent your cat from coming into contact with the chemicals that are causing the litter to smell. Clean the litter box frequently. If you remove the surface layer of litter, which is usually dirty every day, the litter box will always be kept clean. Clean the litter box thoroughly, I.e. remove all the litter at least once a week. Sometimes a cat doesn't want to use the litter box and and it's not because it has any kind of illness, but because the litter isn't what it expects and therefore relieves itself outside the box. Of course, if you only have one cat or these cats form a very close social group, they may want to use the same litter box. What I recommend is that you give cats the freedom to choose. Use a quality diet. As with all pets, cats need a quality and nutritious diet that helps them develop optimally. Remember that some cats have special needs, such as neutered animals or animals that suffer from urinary problems. In that case, I recommend that you always adapt to what your veterinarian recommends. You should change your cat's feeding guidelines depending on the age stage it is in. There are foods specifically formulated for each of these stages. If you also give your cat one of its daily meals in the form of wet food, that is the kind that comes prepared in cans or sachets, you will be providing your cat with an extra amount of water which is very important for its kidneys to function properly. I hope that this adventure that you are going to experience with your new cat is exciting and enriching for both of you. If you want to know the seven things you need to look for to know if your cat is healthy, we have already talked about this on the channel and I will leave the link in the description box. I'm sure you will find it very useful. That's it for today's video. If you liked it, give it a like subscribe to the channel and share it with your friends and family so that it can help them too with their new cat. Thank you very much for following happy pets and families and I will see you in the next video.
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