Tips on How to Pick Out a New Kitten and Deal With Your New Kitten at Home

© Roxana Gonzalez. Image from AbsolutVision

Since having a kitten is so different than having an older cat, here are a few pointers for certain things that you should look for: First of all, make sure that the kitten is healthy. Pay attention and look for the following things listed below and you could save yourself from the heartbreak of choosing a kitten that is going to get sick, or perhaps die. Here is a list of things that you need to watch for before you consider adopting a kitten:

• See if it has a thick and shiny coat
• Look at his eyes and see if they are clear and bright
• Look at his ears and nose and determine whether they are clean and without any gunk in them
• Look at his fur and skin for any fleas, scabby patches, or any types of lumps
• Open his mouth and see if he has firm, pink gums
• Spend some time observing him to see if he is attentive, alert and playful

Next, ask the breeder, pet shop, or owner targeted questions. They should have no problems answering them. If they avoid your questions or put you off it might be a sign that you need to go look elsewhere. Here is a list of different questions that you can ask before purchase:

• Ask the age, gender, and breed of the kitten
• Has he had any vaccinations? If so, which ones and are there records that can be provided?
• Has he been checked for parasites?
• How old is he? Don't buy a kitten that is under 6 to 8 weeks old
• Ask about his diet and nutrition
• Ask them for the kitten's veterinarian name, number, and address
• If you are interested in a purebred, be sure and ask for registration papers.
• Before the sale is final, ask if it would be okay to have your own veterinarian check the kitten out.

If the pet shop or breeder is reputable they should have no problem answering any of these questions or letting you take the kitten to your own veterinarian for a checkup. Just remember that you can always find another pet shop or breeder that has the kitten you are looking for if something doesn't seem quite right.

Just like with a baby, your new kitten has to learn, and there will be quite a bit of training to do.The first lesson is litter box training. This will make living with your new kitten a lot easier for you and your kitten. Most kittens accept the litter box quite readily, so it shouldn't be difficult to train them to use it.

It is important not to hover over him and create a big thing about him using the cat box. Cats like their privacy and you do not want their cat box experience to be a negative one. Patience is the key to training a kitten or any animal. There are a few things that you can do in order to help this be an easier experience for your kitten.

• Make sure your new kitten can climb in and out of the litter box with ease; sometimes they have trouble getting in and out of a litter box that is too big.
• Put the litter box in an easily accessible, quiet area.
• Clean the litter box daily, and change the litter regularly.
• Establish a pattern with your kitten for using the litter box. Set him in the litter box when he wakes up and after he eats.
• Let him know when they have done a good job. Everyone benefits from being told they did a good job, and kittens are no different,
• Keep the kitten's litter box in the same area, don't move it around
• If you have more than one cat, make sure they all have their own litter box.

You might have heard your friends or family talk about baby proofing their home when their child began to be mobile, if you plan on getting a kitten you will find yourself doing the same thing. A kitten is in essence a baby, but of the feline persuasion---they are just as curious as any other type of baby. You need to take the time and look at your home from a kitten's perspective, find possible hazardous items, and remove them accordingly.

You can't anticipate everything your kitten might do, but it would be advantageous to you and to the health and well being of your kitten to take a few precautions.

• Kittens are quite clumsy, so make sure that all of your windows are secured and keep your kitten off of anything high such as a second story house walk out.
• Move all cleaners and anything else harmful in an area that your kitten can not access. This goes for any harmful plants as well, just as with a baby, kittens will chew on whatever is handy such as a plant.
• After you use the restroom, close the toilet lid. This is a handy piece of advice if you have kittens or small children in the home.
• Avoid leaving plastic materials around, such as trash bags or plastic storage bags. They are dangerous to a kitten---they can become entangled in them and suffocate.
• After you have finished your six pack of beer or soda, cut up the plastic ring containers so that your cat doesn't get caught up in them. This is also an environmentally kind thing to do so other animals don't share a bad fate.
• Anything electric, sharp, or pointy needs to be responsibly stores so your kitten doesn't decide to make a dangerous object its next chew toy.

Introduce your new kitten slowly to children or other animals, if you have any in the house. Older children are not as much of a concern as small children are. You need to make sure that they understand the proper way to treat their new kitten. You need to teach them how to hold it properly and not to pull on its legs, face, tail, or ears. Young children must learn that the kitten is a living thing that they need to treat with love, care, and respect. You can help you kitten feel a little safer by getting down to his or her level when it comes to play time. This will make you not seem quite so huge and scary to the kitten.

Pay close attention how other pets in the house treat the new kitten. It is not a good idea to simply leave a new kitten with an older cat or dog. Take the time to introduce them to one another while being attentive to their reactions to each other. Older cats normally tolerate new kittens and once they are comfortable with it, they may even tend to it.

Dogs may take a little longer to get used to the situation of a new kitten in the house. Just remember to be patient and to make sure your other animals in the house gets the love and attention that they need, make them feel just as special as the new kitten. Below are a few tips that might help you with this process.

• Take everything slow and easy. Don't rush your animals to get along,
• At first, you may want to keep the kitten in its carrier for awhile so other pets can sniff around it without any direct contact.
• Purchase a new toy and put your new kitten's scent on it, and do the same with your other pets, then give it to each one separately so they can become acquainted with each other's new scent.

After doing some of these steps for a while, everyone should begin to get along with little disturbance in the house. Congratulations and good luck with your new kitten!