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PREPARING FOR A NEW KITTEN
You have picked your kitten, but there's still time
before pickup day. While you're waiting, here are a few things
you can do to get ready:Create A Quiet
Place
Your new kitten will need a separate quiet place to spend the first
week or so in your home. A bathroom would be fine. Your
new kitten should have it's own litter box, plus food and water bowls.
This is especially helpful when there are other pets in the home,
because animals grow accustom to each other's scent before any
face-to-face confrontations arise. It helps a new kitten feel
safe to have a private safe place, and also helps prevent disease
transmission.
After your kitten is well adjusted to the new
environment, you should introduce, and then gradually allow longer visits to
new rooms and with new friends, until you no longer need to use the kitten's
private room.
Schedule a Veterinary Exam
If you don't have a veterinarian, now is a good time to find one.
Some veterinarians have busy schedules, so make an appointment in
advance if necessary. Remember, your kitten must be examined
within 72 hours of leaving our care, or else the health guarantee is
void.
Holidays and weekends do count in your 72
hours, so make sure you have an appointment if needed. We don't
intend to inconvenience you with the time limit, but after 72 hours a
kitten can start showing symptoms of infections they've caught after
leaving our care. Bacteria and viruses don't respect holidays!
Arrange for Food and Water
You can find more information on our
diet
page. Just remember that we strongly recommend foods
that you won't find in supermarkets, so make sure you have a source
(and ideally, an alternate source) for your chosen brand. It's
not a great idea to change a kitten's food right away or all at once,
so we will be happy to provide you with a supply of the food your
kitten is eating at the time of pickup or shipping.
Our cats are accustomed to drinking from pet
fountains. Cats are naturally attracted to moving water, which
also tastes better. If you want to get a fountain, there are
many on the market and any one should be fine. Refill the
fountain daily, clean it weekly, and change the filter monthly.
We find that a plain, large head, soft bristle toothbrush is the best
thing for cleaning. Just a minute or two brushing with soapy
water, rinse, and you're good to go!
Choose Litter and a Box
We recommend using an open litter box, that's what your kitten is used
to. You can switch to a covered litter box later if you wish.
If you do use a covered litter box, don't clean it less often just
because it's out of sight. Covered litter boxes trap humidity,
and can actually smell worse than an open box- especially to the cat
inside it!
Good quality litter makes a big difference, yet it
doesn't necessarily cost more.
Everyone is familiar with clumping clay litter,
which is still a good option. Choose an unscented variety.
There are also new litter products made from wood pellets, wheat,
corn, and even recycled newspaper. Feel free to try any of them
that may appeal to you.
We are now exclusively using silica litter.
Also known as 'pearl' or 'crystal' litter, these are lightweight
granules that disperse urine and dry it out, so you only scoop the
solids. The solids dry out rapidly and odor is well controlled.
Silica litter lasts a long time, a month or more between changes.
Plus there are no heavy, muddy urine clumps! Silica litter was
expensive in the past, and it still seems expensive per pound - but 4
pounds fills a box that would require 15 pounds of clay litter.
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