Caring for a kitten: food and the first weeks

Vets, breed clubs and welfare bodies that give an age mostly say 12 to 13 weeks. Breed clubs often ask their members to hand over kittens only at 13 weeks or older, healthy and at least 1 kg. Those are club rules, not the law.

Some sources give 8 weeks as the lowest safe age: then a kitten can live without its mother and eat solid food. In a University of Helsinki study of about 6,000 cats, cats weaned before 8 weeks showed more aggression and more repeated odd behaviour. Cats that stayed until 14 weeks had fewer behaviour problems.

Between 8 and 12 weeks a kitten learns from its litter mates how to play: gentle bites, soft paw swipes, reading other cats. Some countries set a legal minimum age: Sweden and Denmark name 12 weeks. Rules differ per country, so ask the seller or your vet what applies where you live, and do not take a kitten of 8 weeks or younger without a very good reason.

It helps if the kitten has had short daily moments away from its litter mates, with food or play, before it moves. A cloth that smells of its mother and litter mates should go with it.

Start in one small, quiet room with food, water and a litter tray, and open up the rest of the home slowly. Watch which rooms or sounds frighten your kitten. A cosy bed, or a carrier with the door open, gives a safe place to retreat to, and a blanket from the first home smells familiar.

Make the home safe before the kitten arrives. Tuck away electrical and blind cords, put away medicines, cleaning products and laundry detergent, keep toilet lids and windows closed, and check narrow gaps under and behind furniture where a kitten can get stuck.

Keep the first days quiet with few visitors: a kitten sleeps a lot and needs rest. Keep the routine the same, with the same feeding times, the same place for the bowls and, for the first days, the same food as in the previous home. A kitten of 6 weeks and older should be in a room of about 21 to 24 degrees Celsius. Younger kittens cannot regulate their body temperature and need warmth.

Already have a cat? Wait about a week before the two meet and do not force contact. Introduce a friendly, calm cat through a gate or barrier so the kitten can approach on its own. Young kittens should not meet unfamiliar or unvaccinated cats, because their immune system is still developing.

After weaning a kitten needs food made for kittens (growth food) until about a year old. Kittens need more energy, protein, minerals and amino acids than adult cats. On the pack, look for the word 'complete' (not 'complementary') and the life stage, such as kitten or growth.

Wet and dry food are both fine. Many vets suggest a mix, and the kitten's own liking decides. Wet food is at least 75 percent water, dry food about 10 percent or less. So a kitten that eats mostly dry food always needs a water bowl and will drink more.

A kitten has a small stomach and grows fast, so it eats several small meals a day. One guide, from an article written by a vet: four meals a day from 8 to 16 weeks, three from 16 weeks to 6 months, two from 6 months. Other sources suggest 4 to 5 meals at 1 to 2 months. Your vet may advise differently. The amount on the pack is a starting point, adjusted to the weight with the vet.

Fresh water must always be there, in a wide, shallow bowl away from the litter tray. Cats prefer to eat alone in a quiet spot. A bowl in a busy place, near noise or near the tray can put a kitten off its food. Change food by mixing the new into the old over about two weeks, or your kitten may get loose stools or vomit.

Weaning starts at about 3 to 5 weeks, when a kitten first tastes solid food, and is largely done by about 6 to 8 weeks. It is gradual and does not start before 3 to 4 weeks. Weaning is a different thing from leaving the mother, which happens much later.

The first tastes are soft kitten food mixed with water or kitten milk replacer, in small amounts. Not every kitten takes to it at once, so be patient. Kittens that stay with their mother mostly wean at their own pace. Weaning too early stresses mother and kittens. Offer a few flavours and textures during weaning, so changes are easier later.

Loose stools during weaning are common and most often mean the food changed too fast. Diarrhoea that lasts more than a day or two, or a kitten that is tired and refuses food, needs a vet quickly. A kitten without a mother needs warmth, special kitten milk replacer, help to pass urine and faeces, and regular vet checks. Do not try that without a vet's help.

Do not give cow's milk, not even as a treat. Cats lose the enzyme that digests milk sugar and get diarrhoea. A kitten that needs milk takes milk replacer made for kittens. Do not give food made for people or other animals, or table scraps either. They are not balanced for a kitten and some are dangerous: chocolate, onion and garlic, and canned fish made for people has caused serious illness in some cats.

Raw meat and raw fish can carry bacteria, parasites and toxoplasmosis. A vegetarian or vegan diet does not suit cats: they cannot make enough taurine and other nutrients, which come from animal tissue. Home-made food without a plan from a vet or nutritionist is hard to balance, and a kitten has very little margin for error. Supplements are usually not needed on a complete diet and can do harm without a vet's approval.

Treats stay occasional, no more than 10 to 15 percent of the day's food. Canned tuna as a meal or a habit has too much salt and mercury. A small piece now and then is not a problem.

The most sensitive period for learning that people, sounds and new things are safe is about 2 to 7 weeks of age. One veterinary body puts it a bit wider, roughly 2 to 9 weeks. What a kitten meets then shapes the adult cat. Most of this happens at the breeder or shelter. Ask how the kitten was handled, whether it has met several people and how it responded.

At home you carry on. It is not 'too late' for a kitten that arrives at 8 or 12 weeks, but it needs many calm, positive experiences with people, other animals and places. The window closes slowly, not suddenly. Handle your kitten gently every day in short moments, with several people, including children under supervision. Look at its ears, feet, mouth and tail, so vet visits and nail trimming are easier later.

Introduce household sounds slowly: play a recording of a vacuum cleaner or washing machine softly and turn it up over days. Never expose a kitten to loud or constant noise. Let it walk on different floors and get it used to a carrier, a harness and short car trips with something nice. Introduce each new thing on its own.

Watch for stress. A kitten that hides, hisses, freezes, runs away, will not play or will not take treats is overwhelmed. Stop, step back and try again with less. Do not keep exposing it and wait for it to get used to it. A kitten that stays afraid of people or hides all day needs help from the vet or a cat behaviour specialist.

Most kittens learn fast, often by copying their mother. They start to explore the tray from about 3 weeks and most use it reliably by 6 weeks, with an accident now and then. Use a low, shallow tray the kitten can step into, big enough to turn round in, without a lid at first. Put it somewhere quiet and easy to reach, away from food and water, and use the same litter as the previous home for the first days.

Put your kitten in the tray after it wakes, a few minutes after eating and after play, and when it sniffs around or crouches. Praise it quietly when it uses the tray. Scoop the tray once or twice a day and wash it weekly with a cat-friendly cleaner: cats are fussy. With more than one cat, give one tray per cat plus one extra, in different places.

After an accident, clean the spot with an enzyme cleaner, not ammonia, since the smell of ammonia draws the kitten back. Never shout at the kitten, rub its nose in it or punish it; calmly carry it to the tray. If a kitten that used the tray before starts to go elsewhere, or strains in the tray, that can be a health problem and needs the vet.

Play with your kitten every day, with toys that are safe for its age, and rotate them. Kittens need mental games too, such as hiding food. Keep sessions short and let the kitten rest, because growing and learning are tiring. Do not let a kitten play with your hands or feet: that is where play biting begins. Use a toy on a stick or string and stop the game when teeth touch skin.

Fishing-rod and string toys are for play you supervise. Toys with loose parts or strings can be chewed and swallowed. Offer scratching posts in different materials and heights, safe places to climb and to retreat, and a cardboard box. A kitten can be left alone for short times, built up slowly: kittens need company and play.

Baby teeth come in at about 3 to 4 weeks and start to fall out from about 14 to 16 weeks. All adult teeth are in by about 24 weeks. Your kitten chews more while teething.

Find a vet before the kitten comes home and book the first check for the first week at home, or sooner if the kitten seems unwell. Bring the papers from the breeder or shelter and ask whether to bring a stool sample. Vaccinations protect against cat distemper and cat flu. A kitten gets several shots 3 to 4 weeks apart, starting at 6 to 9 weeks, the last at 16 weeks or older, because antibodies from the mother can block a shot. A booster follows, and the vet makes the plan. After one shot a kitten is not fully protected.

For worming, vets in Europe mostly follow ESCCAP guidance: from 3 weeks, every two weeks until two weeks after weaning, then monthly until about 6 months. The product and plan come from the vet. For fleas and other parasites, ask for a product made for cats and for your kitten's age, because dog products can be poisonous to cats.

A chip makes it far easier to bring a lost cat home, and it works best when the number is registered with your details. Whether chipping and registration are voluntary or required differs per country (see the country block). The vet does the chipping.

Neutering: guidelines name about 4 to 6 months (RSPCA 4 months, AAHA by 5 months), and a kitten is not neutered before 8 weeks. A cat can become fertile from about 4 to 5 months. The vet decides the age for each kitten, and some countries have rules on neutering before a cat is sold or given away (see the country block). After neutering a cat needs less energy, so growth food is usually swapped for an adult diet around then. The vet advises when.

A kitten is born at about 90 to 100 g and gains roughly 50 to 100 g a week during the first 3 to 4 months. At 8 weeks it weighs roughly 650 to 1200 g. Growth levels off at around 150 to 160 days and is usually done by 200 to 220 days. Large breeds grow longer, such as the Maine Coon, up to 18 to 24 months.

Weigh your kitten every few days at first, then weekly, and write it down. A kitten that stops gaining weight, or loses weight, needs the vet. Overweight is easy to reach from about 16 weeks to 6 months: watch the weight, body shape and treats. Kitten food is kept up until about 8 to 12 months. Ask the vet when to move to adult food.

Newborn kittens make a high-pitched mew when picked up, from 1 to 2 weeks old, and some start to purr at about 3 weeks.

At birth telling the sex is usually easy, but from 6 to 8 weeks fur covers the area and it gets harder. In a male the opening is round and farther from the anus; in a female it is a slit and close to the anus. If you are not sure, ask the vet at the first check.