TAKING CARE OF KITTENS

There are so many factors to raising happy, healthy kittens, we will explore the most critical aspects.
Kittens are just adorable, loving, and hilarious creatures. Who can resist a playful kitten? They are also a huge responsibility that should not be taken on lightly. Food costs, medical bills, toys, and must have items will cost a pretty penny over the life of a cat. Yes, you should consider this a "til death do us part" proposition. Taking care of kittens is a huge responsibility. Animals are dependant on we humans for their lives, be must be responsible "parents" throughout their lives. In return we will be rewarded with unconditional love, a great play buddy, and a never-ending source of laughs.
The New Litter
This section is for those proud new parents of a litter of kittens with "Mom" in the picture. If your cat has become pregnant you will have very little responsibilities for the first couple of weeks, Momma Cat will take care of most everything. Your job is to make sure Momma is in a safe place out of foot traffic and in a properly temperature controlled room. If your cat has never had a litter before, she might need a little assistance with the birth, click here for more information on cat pregnancy and the birthing process. Don't forget to keep your kitty first aid kit handy just in case mom needs some help.
If you have rescued or adopted kittens that are not weaned you will have to have plenty of help and lots of time. Just like newborn humans, taking care of newborn kittens is a big job, they will need almost constant care. Click here for information on orphaned kittens.
Once the kittens are about 4 weeks old the mother should be starting the weaning process. This is a good time for you to start introducing small amounts of wet food. Only choose a premium brand made especially for kittens. It is important the kittens get the proper nutrition in the beginning so that they may grow into healthy adults. Adult cat food is formulated for adults, the same as you wouldn't feed a baby a Big Mac, you shouldn't feed a kitten adult food. Around 5 weeks you can begin to add a little dry kitten food to the wet and introduce it slowly.

Once the kittens have their eyes open they are starting to walk and beginning to play. This is the time to introduce toys. Get them started with small kitten safe balls or scratchers to climb. The sooner they understand their toys the less likely you will have scratching problems later.
This is also the time to get them used to the litter box. Make sure you have a new smaller pan for the kittens. Let mom have her own box. She may not feel like sharing and the kittens will need a short sided one so they can get in and out easily. One key to the new litter box: Only use a natural litter such as the wheat or corn variety. I say this because some kittens will think it's a snack. Clay litter can literally kill a kitten if they eat too much. They may vomit with the wheat or corn but it won't turn to cement in their little tummies. Make sure you supervise their litter box visits as much as possible. Most kittens are easily litter box trained, some however might need a little assistance. If you adopt kittens that are having litter issues, try Kitten Attract. It was the only thing that worked for my last two. It can be found at most PetSmart locations.
Try to keep the kittens contained in one room until they are at least 6 weeks old. By that time, they should be ready to venture into the rest of the house, supervised of course. They will be curious and try to get into anything and everything. Make sure you kitten proof before you let them have an adventure. Much of the same rules apply to kitten proofing as for baby proofing. I recommend outlet covers, cabinet locks, and then you must think about the little spring in their rears. Kittens will jump much farther and higher than you think. Try to remove items from dressers, counters, and a word of caution, make sure the toilet seat and lid are always down. Cats usually don't like water, but kittens will be curious enough to play in it.

Keeping the proper toys, scratching posts, climbing devices, food, and litter box will help you to take care of the kittens properly. They will have accidents, so to help with odor elimination, click here.
Make sure the kittens make their first veterinarian appointment around 6 weeks so they can get their first shots. The vet will be able to help you with any development issues you might be having and will de-worm the kittens if needed. Taking care of kittens is a huge responsibility, much as a human baby, they need constant care and you will need quick reflexes to keep up. Upon their visit is also the time to talk about other topics such as getting the spayed/neutered, and declawing. If you plan on breeding your cat with another household cat, then that's fine, for many have done this. If this is not the case, then I would suggest that the sooner you get your cat spayed or neutered the better. This cuts back on a lot disciplinary problems that your cat will go through when they go into heat. It will also help with the tempered noises, the scratching, and the urinating through your home, which smells a lot stronger than normal. Declawing is something that many have different reservations about. Some feel that it's cruel to do to an animal, and others say that it's a precautionary move for the sake of their children. The best thing to do is talk with your veterinarian about what they suggest, for some have agreed with declawing the front but not the hind claws, and some say that there's no need for it.
If you are planning to adopt a new kitten, please consider getting two. You will cut down on your stress as well as the kitten's stress and boredom. Click here for more reasons kittens are best in two's.
I have a friend who, about a year back, adopted a kitten. She was taking classes at a university for art, so her schedule was always inconsistent with morning classes and projects that kept her up through the twilight hours into the next day. She spent as much time with the kitten as possible, but because kittens are much like babies, there is that extra amount of attention that they absolutely ne
ed. The attention factor, much like developing children, is helpful with helping the kitten to develop properly in the social area. It also helps the kitten to develop a relationship with you. Well, as my friend's time grew her kitten, he grew to be a little disobedient, always into something and full of energy that he took out in trying to get her attention. Her intention was to never neglect her kitten, but with anything that we have for the first time, it's a learning experience. A year into having the kitten, her relationship with her kitten did grow stronger, but his deviousness didn't grow any less. Her veterinarian suggested getting another kitten, one that is slightly old enough that all she would need is the weekend to train it and get it acclimated into it's new home. The new kitten would help keep her cat at home out of trouble and keep his attention focused on having a playmate, distracting him from terrorizing through her personals. In short, the results were exactly what my friend needed. She no longer felt guilty leaving her cats at home for she found that they quickly bonded and were able to keep each other occupied when she wasn't able to.
One final thought, there are millions of stray and unwanted cats and kittens in shelters all over the country, please make sure you spay or neuter your new kittens when they reach the proper age. You will save many lives by helping to control the cat population.
Enjoy your new family additions!
i took Socks and Lucky from their mom.i also felt guilty but i let her keep one we called Smoky.