Eight weeks of age is the earliest you should adopt a kitten, and some breeders may keep them with their mother and littermates until they are 12 weeks old. By that stage they will be weaned and are learning the basic social skills they need to interact with humans and other cats. It’s important to be fully prepared before collecting your kitten. Make sure you have kitten-proofed your home and set up a quiet corner with everything they’ll need, including a bed, food and water bowls, a litter tray and toys. It’s a good idea to be able to keep the kitten confined in this area when required for the first few weeks so a crate or large cage is useful.

They need to learn that this is a safe place for them to retreat to when they are tired or overwhelmed. It also means you know they are safe if you have to leave them for a short period of time. Young kittens will sleep a lot for the first few months as they are growing so quickly. But they should be lively and playful when they are awake. Turning out the light at night will help to establish your kitten’s sleep patterns, but on the first night you might want to leave a night light on while they adjust to their surroundings. It is normal to expect some crying over the first few nights as the kitten gets used to the transition.

Ask the previous owner for some of the food they have been feeding so that you can make the transition in diet as easy as possible. Gradually introduce the new diet over 5- 7 days by mixing an increasing volume of the new food with the previous diet. This will help prevent any stomach upsets. Ask the owner to write down any the details of any treatments the kitten may have already received such as vaccinations & worming. You’ll need a cat box to carry your kitten in. It’s a good idea to get your kitten used to entering the cat box by including it in playtime and enticing it to enter the box with some of its favorite food , toys & blankets.

Kittens can go outside with your supervision when they’ve had their booster vaccinations at around four months old. But they’re not ready to go outside unsupervised until they’re around six months old. Make sure your garden is kitten-proofed, by removing any dangerous items and poisonous substances.

Before being allowing outdoors your kitten should be fully vaccinated, & you should also make sure it has a microchip and / or a well-fitting collar and ID tag.

After your kitten has had a few days to settle in make an appointment with us for a check-up. We can carry out a general health check and discuss it’s various needs eg worming, vaccinations, microchipping, diet etc. to ensure that it remains a happy healthy fur baby ! Contact us on 074 9374127