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SAHJA KITTEN CARE INFORMATION
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You have now accepted the responsibility to care for this bundle of energy and love. The kitten will need a small quiet place for a few days so it can adjust to your home. A bathroom would be ideal if there is enough room for the carrier, litter box and food dishes as well as space for you to sit on the floor to comfort and play with the kitten. This is a very important step in getting the kitten to bond and trust you. They will reward you with long conversations and hours of purrs.
You need to child proof your home. Kittens will chew electrical cords and investigate burning candles. Be sure to remove all hazards and valuables. Check your house plants to be sure they are not poisonous in case your kitten decides to nibble. Here is an extensive list of hazards to cats and a list of harmless houseplants for you to enjoy. This site has an extensive list of bad plants . My cats will find any African Violet I bring into the house and I know they are safe!
You will notice that the kitten feels very warm when it snuggles in bed. Their temperature ranges from 100-103 degrees with the average about 101.5 degrees. You will no longer need a heating pad but the kitten will certainly love to have one. They seek a warm place and will miss the comfort of mother and litter mates.
If you leave the kitten alone during the day, you may want to leave the TV or radio turn on.
HEALTH RECORD: The kitten born on _________________ has received the following vaccine: Heska Ultranasal (MLV) Calici, Rhinotracheitis on __________________________________. Felocell P (MLV) Panleukopenia on __________________________________.
The kitten can have Felocell P vaccine between 6 months old and year after last vaccination. THEN NO MORE VACCINE. The duration of protection for MLV pan vaccine is 7 years. If the kitten needs additional Calici or Herpes immune stimulation, use Heska Ultranasal. If the kitten must receive a rabies shot, use Merial Purevac rabies vaccine, a non-adjuvant vaccine. The Cat and Kitten Contract will be voided if another rabies vaccine is given.
FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS: Read: HOW TO FEED YOUR CAT and www.catinfo.org/index.htm about feeding your cat and cat nutrition. I also recommend getting the book by Elizabeth M. Hodgkins, DVM., Esq YOUR CAT.
It is important to keep your new kitten on a meat diet. The kitten has been fed: Raw Meat Diet – moist – The kittens are weaned directly to raw meat. Some kittens even like to chew chunks of raw chicken. I feed them as much raw meat as they will eat twice a day. They can be introduced to Nature’s Variety Raw Instinct, EVO, Core, Taste of the Wild, Solid Gold Indigo Moon dry cat foods when they are older and eating lots of raw meat. The older kittens eat about 1/4 cup of raw meat twice a day. Some cats never eat any dry having their nutritional needs met with the raw meat. (equivalent to eating about 2 mice a day)
You can purchase Nature’s Variety Raw Frozen instead of making their food. But if you are unable to conveniently locate Nature’s Variety Raw frozen meat, a good canned food like Innova EVO Cat and Kitten or Wellness which will provide a high protein, low carb and no grain diet. Look for canned food with LOW carbs.
FIND a SOURCE for cat food Nature’s Variety Raw frozen put in your zip code to get stores in your area Source for GRAIN FREE dry food: put in your zip code to get a list of stores in your area.
You want a food with high meat based protein and fat. ELIMINATE foods with grains: ground corn, corn gluten, wheat, rice, soy because they are poorly digested plant protein. They also increase the carbohydrate percentage in the food. Cats are carnivores and need meat and not more than 4-9 percent carbohydrates. LEARN to read the labels. The pet food companies may divide the grains so they appear to be different: brown rice, brewer rice, rice flour, rice, corn gluten meal, corn grits, ground corn, corn meal, etc. Read my cat food comparison chart showing the first 6 ingredients. Companies may change ingredients, check the label.
LITTER BOX I use wood pellets for wood stove or the pellet bedding for horses for litter. Spread a very thin layer in the box because as it gets moist it breaks down into inches of sawdust. Pellets are a seasonal item in many stores. |
