Kitten & Cat Care In a Nutshell
Polly 5wks & her favourite rattle mouse toy
We promote responsible cat ownership, by encouraging indoor living and / or cat park, fenced cat proof garden or personal supervised outdoor walks to keep your cat safe, native wild life protected and neighbours happy.
Kittens need families who will protect them from outdoor dangers and not let them roam outdoors unsupervised.
Links to enclosure ideas: An enclosure does not have to be expensive
* Home made Ideas
* Cat nets
* Oscillot
To help put this concept in perspective :
Think of it this way - when compared to a child - cats are driven by instinct and learned behaviour their mental capacity really does not develop beyond the mental capacity or needs of a normal 3 yr old child.
No caring person would think of putting their child out the door on to the street.
To keep your new kitten happy and healthy we encourage and personally recommend:
*They be loved and played with, and have a cat gym or scratch pole and toys for them to put on
impromptu fun and laughter shows for your entertainment.
*A sunny window sill to sun themselves
*They be fed sufficient quantity of premium quality cat food.
*Have clean fresh water available at all times.
*Have unrestricted access to their litter box.
*Be kept safe and protected from outdoor dangers.
*Be checked and treated regularly for internal and external parasites if necessary.
*Have an annual veterinary health check - teeth check/clean
*They be loved and played with, and have a cat gym or scratch pole and toys for them to put on
impromptu fun and laughter shows for your entertainment.
*A sunny window sill to sun themselves
*They be fed sufficient quantity of premium quality cat food.
*Have clean fresh water available at all times.
*Have unrestricted access to their litter box.
*Be kept safe and protected from outdoor dangers.
*Be checked and treated regularly for internal and external parasites if necessary.
*Have an annual veterinary health check - teeth check/clean
A new kitten has come to live with you ............
Settling in: Some will walk in as if they have always lived with you - while others maybe a bit overcome for a few days.
Give them time to settle and get to know you, bond with you and build up their confidence to venture
and explore the rest of the home.
Purrsonality: Bold, inquisitive, playful and very intelligent.
Sleep: In a little bed with a polar fleece blanket, on a chair or in the sun on top of
the cat gym. It is a good idea to have a place where they can have time to themself.
Toys Love to play with – balls (favourites), rattle/squeaky toys – little toy mouse, feather
teaser, toilet rolls, socks and cardboard boxes, chocolate wrappers, and on the
scratch post - cat tower/gym, loves to play with people, - catch – fetch, tying shoe
laces, and any thing else they can turn into a game.
Dinner time: Breakfast: Dry food (the days supply 24/7) and mince
Dinner : Mince / tin meat
Amount: The premium quality brands satisfy their appetite and nutrional needs with less amounts due to less
‘empty’ filler in the mix.
Dry Food: Quality premium brands including
Iams kitten and adult
Proplan kitten & adult dry food
Royal Canin Maine Coon
Taste of the Wild Feline formula
Eagle Pack Holistic
We have used some other premium brands but have found the mixture too rich with corn for our Maine Coons
causing putrid loose smelly ‘poo’ in the litter box and vomiting for some - in the end have just gone with tried &
true brands.
Wet food: Premium roo / beef / chicken mince / raw chicken niblets - chicken wing tips - necks - drumsticks.
Tinned pet meat
Water To always be available – dry food absorbs a lot of fluid – therefore a kitten or cat will
need to drink a lot more water and in addition a Maine Coon will paddle
increasing their daily water consumption.
Change of diet: There are other good brands of premium quality food available from your vet,
pet produce barns & warehouses. If you wish to change brands – do so slowly at 10%
increase new each day so as to avoid tummy upsets.
Danger foods: cooked bones especially chicken bones – the cat cannot digest it and if they
splinter they can cause perforation of the bowel.
Do not give milk cats are lactose intolerant and it will give them diarrhoea
Litter Box: needs to always be accessible.
Kittens are Litter trained from 5 -6 wks – very clean with toiling habits.
Breeders Choice or Oz Pet Litter has been used in the litter tray.
Other alternatives: pelleted wood chips, sea sand, garden soil, but we have found
breeders choice easy to obtain, use and dispose of. Oz is very clean and convenient
and easy to use with sieve tray – especially for working parents.
We strongly recommend not using clumping brands of litter for kittens because of the
high risk of kitten eating it and it swelling up in the throat and choking it or inhaling it and causing pneumonia.
Grooming: Maine Coons are a semi longhaired cat - with a shaggy - soft - silky coat
On the scale from Sphynx to Persian their grooming needs fall somewhere in between depending on the thickness &
heaviness of the undercoat.
The Maine Coon is not a difficult breed to groom - they love to be brushed and do need some regular grooming.
What I love about my Coonie's coats is it is a quick flick over paying attention to the insular soft undercoat,
tummy, creases and any areas that may clump, and then keep an eye on those areas, and if they do clump they will
tease out easily if caught early and not let go - if not then it can develop further into a matt and you will
potentially have a grooming problem on your hands.
It is important you comb/ brush your kitten regularly so they continue to be in the habit of being groomed.
So when they come up to the time when they have major shed from summer to winter coat or winter to summer
coat they will be accustomed to being combed / brushed.
Appropriate brushes & combs can be purchased Online. My favourite are Mars pin and Wide rolator tooth combs.
I wish I could show how mine line up for brushing - they are hoots.
Nail trim: Fortnightly or monthly is good
Health Care:
Vet Health Check Recommend Annual (birthday) and teeth clean if required.
Vaccinations: Kitten Vaccinations F3 given before they leave us and then booster as per vets advise.
Parasite Control: Our kittens have a recommended effective care regime appropriate to their age.
Support: We encourage our kitten buyers to continue to stay in contact with us and are available should they
have any questions or settling in problems that I do not anticipate
Feedback: We ask our kitten 'mums & dads' to keep in touch from time to time
- so we can see how our kitten continues to develop.
We love to get Emails – some photos or a phone call about our little furrpurrbabies.
* If for any reason families cannot keep our kitten - we want to be the first to know *
Settling in: Some will walk in as if they have always lived with you - while others maybe a bit overcome for a few days.
Give them time to settle and get to know you, bond with you and build up their confidence to venture
and explore the rest of the home.
Purrsonality: Bold, inquisitive, playful and very intelligent.
Sleep: In a little bed with a polar fleece blanket, on a chair or in the sun on top of
the cat gym. It is a good idea to have a place where they can have time to themself.
Toys Love to play with – balls (favourites), rattle/squeaky toys – little toy mouse, feather
teaser, toilet rolls, socks and cardboard boxes, chocolate wrappers, and on the
scratch post - cat tower/gym, loves to play with people, - catch – fetch, tying shoe
laces, and any thing else they can turn into a game.
Dinner time: Breakfast: Dry food (the days supply 24/7) and mince
Dinner : Mince / tin meat
Amount: The premium quality brands satisfy their appetite and nutrional needs with less amounts due to less
‘empty’ filler in the mix.
Dry Food: Quality premium brands including
Iams kitten and adult
Proplan kitten & adult dry food
Royal Canin Maine Coon
Taste of the Wild Feline formula
Eagle Pack Holistic
We have used some other premium brands but have found the mixture too rich with corn for our Maine Coons
causing putrid loose smelly ‘poo’ in the litter box and vomiting for some - in the end have just gone with tried &
true brands.
Wet food: Premium roo / beef / chicken mince / raw chicken niblets - chicken wing tips - necks - drumsticks.
Tinned pet meat
Water To always be available – dry food absorbs a lot of fluid – therefore a kitten or cat will
need to drink a lot more water and in addition a Maine Coon will paddle
increasing their daily water consumption.
Change of diet: There are other good brands of premium quality food available from your vet,
pet produce barns & warehouses. If you wish to change brands – do so slowly at 10%
increase new each day so as to avoid tummy upsets.
Danger foods: cooked bones especially chicken bones – the cat cannot digest it and if they
splinter they can cause perforation of the bowel.
Do not give milk cats are lactose intolerant and it will give them diarrhoea
Litter Box: needs to always be accessible.
Kittens are Litter trained from 5 -6 wks – very clean with toiling habits.
Breeders Choice or Oz Pet Litter has been used in the litter tray.
Other alternatives: pelleted wood chips, sea sand, garden soil, but we have found
breeders choice easy to obtain, use and dispose of. Oz is very clean and convenient
and easy to use with sieve tray – especially for working parents.
We strongly recommend not using clumping brands of litter for kittens because of the
high risk of kitten eating it and it swelling up in the throat and choking it or inhaling it and causing pneumonia.
Grooming: Maine Coons are a semi longhaired cat - with a shaggy - soft - silky coat
On the scale from Sphynx to Persian their grooming needs fall somewhere in between depending on the thickness &
heaviness of the undercoat.
The Maine Coon is not a difficult breed to groom - they love to be brushed and do need some regular grooming.
What I love about my Coonie's coats is it is a quick flick over paying attention to the insular soft undercoat,
tummy, creases and any areas that may clump, and then keep an eye on those areas, and if they do clump they will
tease out easily if caught early and not let go - if not then it can develop further into a matt and you will
potentially have a grooming problem on your hands.
It is important you comb/ brush your kitten regularly so they continue to be in the habit of being groomed.
So when they come up to the time when they have major shed from summer to winter coat or winter to summer
coat they will be accustomed to being combed / brushed.
Appropriate brushes & combs can be purchased Online. My favourite are Mars pin and Wide rolator tooth combs.
I wish I could show how mine line up for brushing - they are hoots.
Nail trim: Fortnightly or monthly is good
Health Care:
Vet Health Check Recommend Annual (birthday) and teeth clean if required.
Vaccinations: Kitten Vaccinations F3 given before they leave us and then booster as per vets advise.
Parasite Control: Our kittens have a recommended effective care regime appropriate to their age.
Support: We encourage our kitten buyers to continue to stay in contact with us and are available should they
have any questions or settling in problems that I do not anticipate
Feedback: We ask our kitten 'mums & dads' to keep in touch from time to time
- so we can see how our kitten continues to develop.
We love to get Emails – some photos or a phone call about our little furrpurrbabies.
* If for any reason families cannot keep our kitten - we want to be the first to know *
Kitten->
