Need General Kitten Care Info Please!

[sivyaleah]

My husband and I will be welcoming a 16 week old kitten to our home the end of August/beginning of September. We're extremely excited! We lost our old boy in February, and our girl, while doing well now, is missing feline company and we finally are at a place where we are ready to add another cat to our home again. We decided a kitten was the best choice because Cocoa likes other cats, is very gentle and shows great interest and concern to kitten sounds when she hears them on the TV.

So, while we're both quite expert in introducing an adult cat to another adult cat and, the care of adult cats; kittens not so much. My husband has had kittens but it's been many years since he's had one and it was so long ago and feline care has changed dramatically since those days. I have never had a kitten so this will be all new for me.

I know the usual stuff, like "baby" proofing the house and of course, how to do introductions but could use some tips and tricks for other things. I imagine the breeder will clue me in on much of it (she's a purebred Maine Coon) but I'd love to also hear what has worked from the community here, what to watch out for and things like what toys are particularly appealing to a 4 month old cat.

Can a young cat even climb stairs? See how little I know LOL!

I intend to take that first week off from work to be with her so we can bond and keep an eye on her and make sure Cocoa also gets plenty of attention too. My husband is retired, so he'll be there also.

Many thanks in advance. We can't wait to spoil her rotten (within reason, of course).

 

[EmersonandEvie]

At four months old, that kitten will be WIDE OPEN! Very adventurous and playful. Be sure that you introduce Cocoa and the new one appropriately, and you should have no issues there.

The kitten should be eating either kitten food or food that is "all life stages." It will say so on the can. I have fed my own kitten Fancy Feast kitten pate in the past and they flourished on it. You should have hard food available to her at all times as well. Kittens eat a lot! And, as a large breed, she will take longer to reach full grown size. The breeder can fill you in on all of that information.

She should be ok with stairs by 4 months, but I would definitely watch her the first few times to make sure she has the hang of things.

 

[sivyaleah]

At four months old, that kitten will be WIDE OPEN! Very adventurous and playful. Be sure that you introduce Cocoa and the new one appropriately, and you should have no issues there.

The kitten should be eating either kitten food or food that is "all life stages." It will say so on the can. I have fed my own kitten Fancy Feast kitten pate in the past and they flourished on it. You should have hard food available to her at all times as well. Kittens eat a lot! And, as a large breed, she will take longer to reach full grown size. The breeder can fill you in on all of that information.

She should be ok with stairs by 4 months, but I would definitely watch her the first few times to make sure she has the hang of things.

Thanks!

I know she isn't weaned yet - spoke to the breeder the other day and she said both litters she has now are slow to weaning. I also know the brand of food she feeds her cats so I'll probably get some of it so I can transition slowly to what I will want to feed her for the long haul. Cocoa eats Fancy Feast Classics primarily only because it's her preference. When Casper was around, we had a wide variety of premier foods because of his health issues (kidney disease primarily and at one point diabetes too). Cocoa for the most part, still would choose the Fancy Feast over all of the higher quality so, once he was gone we just said, ok, FF it is. Sure saves us a lot of money.

So, getting FF kitten cans will be a-ok by us. We're also used to feeding several times a day - Cocoa gets breakfast when I get up at 5:30 am but she never finishes it so by noon she's ready for a snack. Dinner is around 4 and she always like a little something before we all head to bed. Sounds like a good schedule for a kitten too as long as there's kibble out for her to nibble on. We've been using Orijens since it's high protein, and grain free. Cocoa eats it sometimes, but she prefers canned so hopefully having it out all day won't get her too tempted to chunk out LOL (actually she's good about self-monitoring her intake).

 

[EmersonandEvie]

Nothing wrong with the FF classic pates! I too feed those in my rotation.

I don't feed dry as a meal (just as a snack), but I use Dr. Elsey's CleanProtein kibble. You can buy it on Chewy. It is pricey, but is probably the best dry on the market, and the highest in calories (600 cal/cup).

That doesn't surprise me that they aren't weaned yet. You still have a month and a half to go, she will be eating solids by the time she gets to you.

When we first got Dexter (around 4 to 5 months), we had to make a place where only he could access his hard food (Evie has food insecurity, so she gorges herself if they have dry available). We wound up taking a large dog kennel and fitting an old plastic tote lid over the door, then cut a hole in the lid just big enough for Dex to squeeze through. Ziptied the lid to the cage and boom, a kitten-only accessible food source!

 

[sivyaleah]

Nothing wrong with the FF classic pates! I too feed those in my rotation.

I don't feed dry as a meal (just as a snack), but I use Dr. Elsey's CleanProtein kibble. You can buy it on Chewy. It is pricey, but is probably the best dry on the market, and the highest in calories (600 cal/cup).

That doesn't surprise me that they aren't weaned yet. You still have a month and a half to go, she will be eating solids by the time she gets to you.

When we first got Dexter (around 4 to 5 months), we had to make a place where only he could access his hard food (Evie has food insecurity, so she gorges herself if they have dry available). We wound up taking a large dog kennel and fitting an old plastic tote lid over the door, then cut a hole in the lid just big enough for Dex to squeeze through. Ziptied the lid to the cage and boom, a kitten-only accessible food source!

I use Chewy, I'll look into Dr. Elsey's.
I really don't think Cocoa will chow down on the kibble. If I give her a tablespoon or in a bowl (that is about what she gets as a snack - I always have to caution our pet sitter what an appropriate amount is) she rarely finishes it. She really isn't into it much plus, she's missing a lot of teeth so it's difficult for her to really go at it with gusto.