6 Week old kitten - Shots & Deworming questions - allowed to adventure?

Glad I found this forum, sorry for posting so many questions lol.

For some reason we assumed our cats were already de-wormed. They are 6 weeks old. The shelter we got them from said they will get them dewormed and their first shots at 8 weeks. Is this okay?

Since our kittens dont have shots should we pretty much just keep them at home, not bring them to new homes or our cabin? Not let many people handle them? Not let other cats visit them?

One of them has the sneezes and I am keeping a close eye on her.

Originally Posted by matt94gt

Glad I found this forum, sorry for posting so many questions lol.

For some reason we assumed our cats were already de-wormed. They are 6 weeks old. The shelter we got them from said they will get them dewormed and their first shots at 8 weeks. Is this okay?

Since our kittens dont have shots should we pretty much just keep them at home, not bring them to new homes or our cabin? Not let many people handle them? Not let other cats visit them?

One of them has the sneezes and I am keeping a close eye on her.

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Firstly these kittens should have been kept with their mothers until they were 12 weeks old (unless of course the mom has been killed). Yes, the kittens can get their first shots at 8 weeks and it is unlikely they would have been dewormed that young so yes that's OK.

With kittens so young I personally would keep them at home until they've had their vaccinations. As far as people handling them I don't see that as a problem as I personally think it's better for their socialization to have lots of interaction. I wouldn't let other cats visit with them right now because they would be vulnerable to anything the other animals might have.

As for the sneezes it's possible (probably likely) that the little one has an upper respiratory infection which is quite common in kittens from a shelter. Again, I personally would take them to my own vet and have them checked out. If it is a URI, the baby will need antibiotics.

I still question why a shelter would give you 6 week old kittens.

Some people will take unwanted kittens to a shelter really young at like 5 or 6 weeks. That's what Jake's mommy's owners did....
Just give them lots of extra care and watch them very closely because they are really vulnerable at that age!

Well the reason why is there was not enough room in the store for more cats, they were in a small cage, the mother and 6 kittens. Either way they came to a good home, Im off work so Im always with them or my girlfriend is. They are very friendly and even loved the vet!

We took them to the vet the other day, our little baby sneezed for her and sprayed out some clear discharge, they said just to keep an eye on them and not to worry, the one kitty that first had it seems to be doing good now and the other kitty now has the sneezing, so Im hoping her's will go away soon as well.

We also got their first deworming done while we were there, and we have an appointment for their shots at 8 weeks.

Aww i'm so glad the kitties found you, and now have a good home!

Originally Posted by matt94gt

Well the reason why is there was not enough room in the store for more cats, they were in a small cage, the mother and 6 kittens. Either way they came to a good home, Im off work so Im always with them or my girlfriend is. They are very friendly and even loved the vet!

We took them to the vet the other day, our little baby sneezed for her and sprayed out some clear discharge, they said just to keep an eye on them and not to worry, the one kitty that first had it seems to be doing good now and the other kitty now has the sneezing, so Im hoping her's will go away soon as well.

We also got their first deworming done while we were there, and we have an appointment for their shots at 8 weeks.

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The reason for keeping the kittens with their mother for 12 weeks doesn't have anything to do with you being good owners or them going to a good home. The reason is that the mother cat teaches the kittens good manners, i.e., not biting/scratching, playing too rough, etc. Because they are so young, you will now need to teach them those things.

Having said that, I'm glad these babies have a good home with you. I hate pet stores - they often use kitten and puppy mills. I had one ignorant person at a pet store tell me that Siamese kittens were different and could be separated from their mothers at 6 weeks. My daughter had to hold me back from smacking her upside the head.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

The reason for keeping the kittens with their mother for 12 weeks doesn't have anything to do with you being good owners or them going to a good home. The reason is that the mother cat teaches the kittens good manners, i.e., not biting/scratching, playing too rough, etc. Because they are so young, you will now need to teach them those things.

Having said that, I'm glad these babies have a good home with you. I hate pet stores - they often use kitten and puppy mills. I had one ignorant person at a pet store tell me that Siamese kittens were different and could be separated from their mothers at 6 weeks. My daughter had to hold me back from smacking her upside the head.

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Well they dont bite or scratch us, and when they are playing sometimes (duffy, the male) pins down oakley and we hear a 'yelp' we try to seperate them when that happens and put one across the room from the other, then they are usually okay.

Any more tips on what I should train/teach them to do since they are not with their mother? They use the litter box great, only 1 mistake!