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Small Animal articles
Care of your New Kitten!
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE ARRIVAL OF YOUR NEW
KITTEN!
It is our aim to help you keep your kitten
happy, fit and healthy from day one. We therefore recommend
the following procedures so you can relax in the knowledge
that your kitten is receiving all it needs at this important
stage of his life.
Vaccinations
The ideal time for your kitten to have its first part of a
two course vaccination is at the age of 9 weeks. This injection
will protect your kitten from:
- Feline Enteritis or Panleukopenia, a virus
that causes severe and often
fatal gastroenteritis. It is most common in kittens and
young cats – the
mortality rate is very high.
- Feline Respiratory Disease or Cat Flu affects
cats of any age and
although it is not as life threatening as other diseases
it causes suffering often for many weeks. Flu and enteritis
vaccines are necessary
requirements for catteries.
- Feline Leukaemia Virus – a disease
resulting from this is invariably fatal, it affects the
immune and blood systems and can cause tumours. Fighting
among cats spreads the virus, along with grooming and bowl
sharing.
At this appointment you will be given a vaccination
card which the vet will record your pet’s vaccination
details. This card will be unique to your pet – please
remember to bring it along every time your kitten visits us
for any
vaccination. Your kitten will also be given a full health
check by the vet, with
advice on worming, dietary needs and preventative flea treatment.
The 2nd vaccination should be given 15 –
21 days after the 1st. After these initial vaccinations, keep
kitten indoors for a further 7 – 10 days, allowing the
immune system to respond. Your pet’s next vaccination
(booster) will be an annual injection from the date of the
2nd, and we will of course send you a reminder.
Worming
should be carried out from the age of 2 weeks and then every
2 weeks until 12
weeks old, and then monthly until the age of 6 months using
either Granofen
granules sprinkled over food, or Panacur paste given directly
into the mouth, or
Milbemax kitten tablet. At the age of 6 months an adult wormer
tablet can be
given, which should be administered every 3 months.
Preventative Flea Treatment
Frontline spray can be used from 2 days old and Frontline
Spot On from 10
weeks. Cats should be re-treated every 6 weeks with Spot On,
or every 2
months with the spray.
Dietary Needs
A ‘complete’ kitten food is recommended, but it
is important that if a change of
diet has to be made it is a gradual one. Many health problems
can result from
feeding a unsuitable diet, therefore please feel free to discuss
you kitten’s dietary needs with the vet at your appointment,
or our nurses who will be more than happy to help you at which
no appointment is necessary.
Microchip
So that your pet will be able to be identified should he ever
become lost or
injured, we can insert a tiny microchip under the skin on
the neck. This is
encoded with a number unique to your pet. This number can
be read at many
establishments e.g., veterinary surgeries, police stations,
dog warden and
RSPCA. We highly recommend this procedure, as we have reunited
many pets
and owners using this system, all at a cost of £15.
Neutering
Castration for males and spaying for females is recommend
at the age of 6
months. For either operation your cat can be “dropped
off” with us in the
morning, and can be collected in the evening. For spays a
follow up consultation
will be required 10 days after the operation for the vet to
remove the stitches. |
