| Litter box: Jean Mills, in her
book on Bengals, recommends confining a new
kitten to a small area, such as a porch or
bathroom, until it has used its litter box
unerringly and knows where it is. She says that
expecting a tiny kitten to locate a litter box
in a large home after being carried around, is
like setting a two-year-old child down in a
museum and saying, "find the bathroom." Also
remember: do not use clumping litter, young
kittens lick their paws and will get diarrhea.
Neuter/Spay:
All cats kept as pets should be neutered
while still immature. The teeth should be
cleaned and checked for unshed baby teeth.
Unaltered males become noisy, and usually begin
to mark their territory with a pungent,
foul-smelling urine. Most veterinarians urge the
surgery before seven months of age. An unaltered
female will make piercing cries on a three-week
cycle. If not mated she may spray the walls just
like a male does. Heat periods last about 7
days. Veterinarians have a saying, that an adult
female is either altered, in season, or
pregnant! The spaying operation is quite safe
and is cheapest if done before maturity. It is
quite expensive if done during the heat period
or pregnancy.
Keep the toilet lid down, a young kitten
can drown in a toilet.
Do not give the kitten milk unless it is
the formula for kittens, available in the pet
stores or from the Vet. It should not need
this. I recommend dry food, with an occasional
treat of canned. Raw meats can give the kittens
worms, and meats cooked with very much fat in
them give my cats diarrhea. Bonnie Hunter, a
Breeder here in Phoenix recommends using cooked
chicken breast, with out skin or fat, as a
treat. She also believes in bottled water to
prevent diarrhea. This would be especially
useful when traveling to cat shows as water in
other locations may upset their system.
It is wise to keep the tips of the claws
clipped flat with with a guillotine-type
clipper. This is easy of the kitten was taught
to permit it while still tiny. Be careful and
take only the tip. Once clipped too short,
causing pain, the cat may grow wary of having
its claws clipped.
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