Preparing for a New Pet Kitten/cat

So you want to buy a kitten, but you don’t know what to expect? You don’t know how to care for it, or give it what it needs. I’ll tell you what to expect, how to prepare for a new kitten, and what you’ll need.

What to expect:
1. Most kittens are really shy when you first buy them, and they may run away from you.
2. Your kitten should be placed in its litter box when you get home. Make sure it goes the bathroom; if he/she doesn’t use the litter box then you’ll need to keep a close on it.
3. Kittens are very playful and will run all around your house. Kittens will also scratch at your furniture, and some even climb curtains.
4. Kittens are not like puppies. If a kitten/cat has an accident in the house somewhere other then its litter box, then it will continue to go anywhere but it’s litter box. This could cause a lot of problems.
5. All kittens teeth. While your kitten is teething, it may bite you; this should be a playful bite or just chewing on your hand, but if it bites you aggressively then it’s probably going to be a mean cat. You can attempt to fix the biting habit by tapping the kitten on the nose and telling it no, but most cats retaliate and don’t listen to you.

What to buy before buying your kitten:
1. A water dish
2. A food dish
3. Kitten food. Don’t buy cat food yet because it’s too big for a kitten to chew.
4. Cat toys
5. Cat brush
6. A little box
7. Cat litter
8. A pooper-scooper
9. A kitten collar
10. And tags for the collar with your name and phone number on it.

Why do the tags need my name and phone number on them? Because, if your kitten/cat got lost then people could return it to you using your information provided on the tags. It is very important to get tags for you kitten’s collar.

What to do before bringing your new kitten home:
1. You should have everything set up such as: Litter box with the litter in it, food dish with food, and the water dish with water in it.
2. Make sure there are no electrical devices down where you kitten can chew on them.
3. Make sure there are no pieces of plastic, foil, paper, or anything else that could be a choking hazard, down where you kitten can eat them.
4. There should be no other pets down where your kitten can get them: hamsters, mice, rats, fish, gerbils, rabbits, snakes, frogs, lizards, ect� Your kitten will think these are toys, and could end up getting bit or killing your other pets.

I think we’ve covered all the basics. Now it’s up to you whether or not you still want a kitten. A kitten/cat can live up to 20 years of age, so make sure you can support or want a cat for that long. Another thing to think about right now, do you want more then one cat? Cats tend to fight with new cats that have been brought into the house. It’s best to get how every many kittens/cats from the same liter and about the same age.

Good luck with you new kitten/cat!