Your New Kitten
We here at Critter Creek Veterinary Hospital would like to congratulate you on the new addition to your family. We realize that both you and your new kitten will be in for lots of changes and needs in the upcoming months. This is designed as an overview of your pets needs over the first year of his/her life.
The Initial Exam
This is one of your kittens’ most important visits to the veterinary office. Not only does it give the veterinarian a complete chance to examine your pet, but it also allows our staff to answer any questions you may have about your new family member. This can include but not limited to vaccines, Felv/FIV testing, other internal parasites, feeding guidelines, spaying/neutering, and other needs of your new family member.
Vaccinations
Just like with babies, kittens also need a series of vaccines to build up immunity to certain diseases such as distemper, calicivirus, herpes virus and feline leukemia. Your kitten should get a minimum of three vaccines starting at 7 – 9 weeks of age. These should be repeated every 3 – 4 weeks until they are 16 weeks of age. The reason we booster so often and frequently is so that the vaccines will over-ride the maternal antibodies and the kitten will build up their own set of antibodies to fight off these diseases.
De-Worming
Since certain worms can live latently in the mothers’ system it is a good idea to de-worm your kitten a minimum of two times. The most common worms we see are roundworms and tapeworms. As stated earlier roundworms can be passed from mother to kitten at birth, on the other hand kittens usually get tape worms from ingesting flea bodies. It is also recommended that you bring in a fresh stool sample of your kitten so that we will be able to check for other internal parasites such as coccidia and giardia. Since these are protozoan's the de-wormer will not treat for these and another medication will be needed.
FELV/FIV Testing
It is recommend at 12 weeks of age your new kitten be checked for FELV (feline leukemia) and FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus – similar to AIDS in humans). These two diseases have no known cure, but there are vaccines available for each. With both diseases the cat can remain healthy for years, but eventually the immune system will become too weak to fight off other diseases. Transmission of these diseases is usually through exchange of saliva either through shared feeding bowls or fighting with other cats. The best prevention for these diseases is to make your kitten an indoor cat for life.
Flea Prevention
In California we have fleas all year around. Even though it is more noticeable in the hot summer months it is not uncommon to see them hopping around in the depths of winter.
You should not leave your kittens’ first visit without starting them on either frontline or advantage. These products are only sold through veterinarians, but are much safer than the over the counter spot on products as they are absorbed through the lipid (skin) layers and not through the cats blood stream.
Feeding Guidelines
It is of utmost importance that your kitten starts out his/her life on a high quality cat food. Your kitten needs more vitamins, minerals, calories and other nutrients than an adult cat. You should be feeding a high quality food recommended by your veterinarian. There are many good food makers such as Iams, Eukanuba, Pro Plan, and Hills. Any of these companies products would be good nutrition for you new kitten. We carry Science Diet by Hills and recommend a variety of their nutritional products. Please ask how you can try this kitten food for free by taking home a 5 pound bag of Science Diet Kitten food.
Spaying/Neutering
It is recommended that you spay or neuter your kitten at 5 to 6 months of age. First of all this will keep them from either going into heat or straying to find a female as your kitten has not quite reached sexual maturity. Also once a kitten goes into heat they pretty much remain that way until they get pregnant. Also with cats straying there is a higher likelihood of cat fights and transfer of communicable disease. Please feel free to discuss this procedure with your veterinarian.
