Bringing your new kitty home

Handy Cat Care Reminders

Advice for bringing your new kitten/cat home

Vaccinations

Recommended Kitty Products

Advice for bringing your new kitten or cat home
First, prepare a sleeping area for it prior to bringing your new pet home. It will need a warm, secure place to sleep. You can buy cat beds and baskets in pet stores, or you can make one by simply taking a cardboard box and cutting out a cat-size entrance hole in it, and placing a clean, comfy blanket inside.

Make sure the house is quiet when you bring your cat or kitten home. Don’t be surprised if it seems a bit timid at first. Soon enough, it’ll be overcome by curiosity. Let it settle in and explore on its own without too much interference.

If you have a garden, it’s a good idea to keep your new cat or kitten confined to the house for the first few weeks.

During this time, you can familiarize it with all the normal household noises and activities. Introduce the new member of your family to visitors so it becomes confident and well socialized. As for other pets, they should be introduced to the new arrival slowly and under close supervision.
You can also have a few simple toys waiting for your new feline pet when you bring it home. Cats are naturally playful and will appreciate these plus they’ll also help it feel relaxed and at ease in new surroundings.

If you live in a high rise apartment, which is often the case in Hong Kong, you must ensure that windows are closed at all times. Kittens especially are prone to climb on to surfaces and an open window could prove lethal.

Vaccinations
Before you take your kitten home we will try to make sure he/she has been vaccinated once, you will then have to follow up its series of three booster shots. If we've not had time, we recommend that you take your cat straight to the vet to receive it's first set of vaccinations. Kittens should receive their first set of vaccinations between six and nine weeks of age. Kittens will require booster vaccinations to insure proper resistance to disease. Annual boosters are also recommended for all cats. The following is a list of vaccinations your cat should receive.

Panleukopenia (Feline Distemper) is extremely harmful to cats of all ages, but it is especially dangerous in young kittens. Symptoms may include listlessness, lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, and blood in the stool.

The kittens' vaccination programme should start from approximately 8 weeks of age. The exact timing and type of vaccinations should be tailored to the kittens' or shelter's needs e.g. if there is a known problem with Cat Flu in the general area or a cat in care turned out to be harbouring a transmissible disease, you may want to vaccinate all vulnerable kittens in addition to your usual precautions. Your vet will be able to advise.

If the kittens were orphaned, and hence never received colostrum, they will have gained no protective immunity from their mother, and so may need to be vaccinated early, perhaps from 2-3 weeks of age. Most cats are vaccinated against Feline Infections Enteritis and the viruses that cause Cat Flu. Others are also vaccinated against Feline Leukaemia Virus infection and/or Chlamydia.

Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis is a highly contagious respiratory disease. Symptoms include sneezing, loss of appetite, eye discharge, nasal discharge, and fever.

Feline Calicivirus is also a highly contagious respiratory disease. Symptoms may include sneezing, loss of appetite, eye discharge, nasal discharge, fever, and ulcers on the tongue.

Feline Pneumonitis exhibits symptoms such as sneezing, loss of appetite, nasal discharge, eye discharge, eye inflamation, and fever.

Feline Leukemia is caused by a virus that inhibits the immune system of its victims. It is transmitted in the saliva of an infected cat. Feline Leukemia is a fatal disease in cats. There are not many cases of this in Hong Kong and therefore most HK Cats are not required to be vaccinated against this, however ask your local vet for advice or concerns you may have.

Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) usually affects cats between the ages of six months and five years of age. FIP may not develop in a cat for months or years after infection. Symptoms may include fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, or depression. Like Feline Leukemia, FIP is a fatal disease in cats.

Rabies is a virus that is transmitted in the saliva of an infected animal. The rabies virus attacks the brain and nervous system, which eventually leads to paralysis and death. In the United States, skunks, bats, foxes, raccoons, weasels, dogs, and cats are the most common carriers of the virus. Rabies is always fatal, and may be in humans if not treated immediately. Again, there has not been much concern for this in HK amongst cats, however you can discuss with your local vet about vaccinating against this if you feel necessary.

Besides vaccinations, cats should be tested regularly for intestinal parasites. These parasites include coccidiosis, girardia, roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. Symptoms of an intestinal parasite infestation may include diarrhea, vomiting, blood in stool, lethargy, lack of appetite, weight loss, anemia, or intestinal obstruction. Appropriate deworming or medication can rid your pet of an intestinal parasite infestation.

Worming
Intestinal parasites (roundworms, tapeworms) are common in kittens unless the mother was wormed before pregnancy began. With abandoned kittens it is impossible to know whether the mother was wormed or not. Feral kittens almost always harbour worms.

Healthy kittens should be wormed with a preparation recommended by your vet when they reach 5 weeks old. Thereafter they should be wormed as advised by your vet until they reach 6 months old and are wormed routinely as adults. Sick kittens or kittens under 3 weeks old should only be wormed under veterinary supervision e.g. if they have a severe worm burden which is compromising their health and growth.

Before each dosing the kittens should be accurately weighed, since too little wormer will be ineffective and too much may cause illness. In many kittens the worms cause no clinical signs. In others they can result in poor body condition, soft or bloody stools, loss of appetite, pot-belly and weight loss. Some worms can be transmitted through the stools of infected cats, while others are carried by fleas. As well as worming, good hygiene and flea control are essential.