Bringing a new kitten into your home is an exciting time, providing proper care and training when they’re young means they will grow up to be healthy, well-adjusted adult cats. When it comes to raising kittens, providing proper care and training when they’re young means they will grow up to be healthy, well-adjusted adults. If you have recently adopted a kitten into your family, this advice will be helpful for you.  

How do I feed a kitten? 

It’s important to make sure your baby kittens are getting the right nutrition to support their growth and development. Choosing the right food is crucial because kittens have different nutritional needs than adult cats, look for high-quality kitten food that’s specially formulated for their needs. Wet or dry food both work but wet food may be more beneficial for teething and higher moisture content for your kitten. Our vets recommended  Royal Canin Kitten Wet Food Jelly a high-quality wet food packed with vitamins and nutrients essential for kittens growth.

Young kittens need to eat frequently, around three to four times a day. Make sure to measure the correct amount of food according to the guidelines and adjust as needed based on your kitten’s growth and appetite. It’s important to establish a feeding routine and stick to it as often as possible as this will help your kitten develop healthy eating habits and ensure they’re getting all the nutrients they need to thrive. Always provide plenty of fresh, clean water for your kitten to drink to make sure they stay hydrated.  

How to care for an 8–10-week-old kitten? 

Kittens are usually ready for adoption at 8-10 weeks old when they start to wean off their mother and become more independent. Kittens are learning and growing a lot in their first initial weeks of life. This is why kittens will sleep a lot, around 20 hours a day with the other four hours being filled with interaction, exploration and play. Remember that your new kitten is forming their first impressions about people, their environment and other animals.  

How to care for a two- to four-month-old kitten  

This phase of kittenhood is full of rapid growth and lots of playful energy. They’ll need three to four meals a day during this time of high growth and 30percent of that food should be high-quality protein. Your kitten will still be teething and learning about the world at this stage too, so lots of patience and training is needed. 

Four to six months of age: 

Kittens in this age group are reaching their teenage years which means sexual maturity. You may want to consider speaking to your veterinarian about having your kitten spayed or neutered before they reach the stage of habits such as territorial spraying and calling out for a mate. It’s important to note that desexing your kitten can stop the urge to find a mate, but it won’t stop them exploring at night or their hunting instincts. Predatory behaviour is normal and natural in cats and can be redirected to indoor play and climbing. 

How to play with my kitten?  

Kitten play looks like jumping and pouncing, stalking and running. There are a number of kitten toys you can purchase to play with your kitten to help build confidence and encourage appropriate play.  You may notice your kitten starting to pounce on anything that moves, his tail twitching and eyes going wide. You can purchase a few kitten toys to stimulate their playfulness and watch their motor skills improve as they leap and are bound to ‘hunt’ their prey. 

Reward Good Behaviour and Socialise  

Socialising and training your kitten will affect how they will interact with people and other animals as they get older. Exposing them to the world will build confidence and have them perform good behaviour as healthy and happy adult cats. Just make sure your kitten has a positive experience out of any socialisation you provide them. 

It’s up to you to guide your kitten and show them the world. You might want to consider trying some of these training and socialisation methods: 

• Kittens will typically have an instinct to use litter boxes, but you can assist in their learning by placing them in the box after meals and playtime. It’s important to have the litter box always accessible to your kitten and kept clean on a regular basis. 
• If you have a kitten breed that requires grooming, you should start regularly petting them to get them comfortable with weekly combing and grooming. And if you need help grooming your pet at home, this guide about easy pet grooming at home may be helpful for you. 
• Introduce new toys and let them explore different surfaces and climb safely on a cat climbing tower 
• If you plan on having your cat outdoors sometimes make sure they are vaccinated against disease and desexed to avoid accidental breeding 

Getting your kitten microchipped  

Ensuring your cat can be easily identified if they become lost or injured while away from home is crucial. The most effective form of identification is microchipping, but some pet owners prefer their cat to also wear a collar. Once your kitten reaches over 6 months old, you might consider putting a collar on them to provide identification or attaching a magnet or "key" to an electronic cat flap. If you do decide to put a collar on your young and rapidly growing cat, remember to regularly check the fit and adjust it accordingly to ensure it's not too tight and adjust if needed (you should be able to fit one or two fingers under the collar). 

Make Preventive Care a Priority 

Starting your kitten on the path to a lifetime of great health and wellbeing starts with early preventive care. 

It's important to schedule your kitten's first veterinary appointment within a week of bringing them home. Frequent vet visits during their early years can help socialise them with the vet and establish a good baseline for her health. 

Intestinal parasites, fleas, and heartworms are common concerns for kittens. Your veterinarian should check your kitten for worms and intestinal parasites and treat her as necessary. While heartworms are not as prevalent in cats as in dogs, some kittens may be susceptible, so ask your vet about preventative measures if you have heartworms in your area. 

Fleas are a major parasitic threat to your kitten. Topical flea preventatives can be administered when your kitten is around 8 to 12 weeks old, and some brands are safe for kittens as young as 4 weeks old. 

Preventive care for kittens may also include vaccinations for diseases such as feline calicivirus, Feline leukemia and distemper depending on the area you live. Typically, these shots are first given when a kitten is around 8 weeks old, with booster shots administered every few weeks until they reach 16 weeks old. After that, your veterinarian can create an adult vaccination schedule and may recommend additional vaccinations if necessary. 

Final Tip

This kitten guide is intended to support fur parents in pet care and raising baby kittens. In the end, pets of all ages need unconditional love and complete dedication. Your kitten's growth into a cat is determined by how you raise and care for them. If you require assistance or in-depth pet care, you can ask our experts now and speak with one of our certified Your Pet PA Vets who are available to assist you via video call or chat at a time that works best for you. 

If you are unsure what to feed your new kitten, we offer a wide range of vet-recommended pet food and products for your kittens and cats for all ages at Your PetPA online store  and don’t miss the opportunity of 10% discount on all purchases with Thriving Pets+  members. 

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