New Kitten

Congratulations on your new kitten! This can be both an exciting and stressful time as you adjust to having a new member in your family. There are several things to consider after getting a kitten including vaccinations, starting on prevention, and purchasing insurance and it can all get a bit overwhelming so we have outlined below the process to expect over the coming weeks to get your kitten vaccinated and on the right track for a health kittenhood.

The most important thing for you to do after you get a new kitten is to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian to establish care and do a thorough physical exam to be sure the kitten is in good health. It is equally important to get an accurate health record from the breeder or shelter so that we can see what vaccinations the kitten has already had and what the yare due for next. Kittens typically start getting vaccines between 6-8 weeks old and should continue to get them every 2-4 weeks until they are at least 16weeks old. At the first kitten visit, we will examine the kitten, update vaccines that are needed such as FVRCP. Depending on the age of the kitten, we may also recommend to vaccinate for Feline Leukemia as well (see our blog about vaccinations in dogs and cats).

Kittens usually see the vet at least twice while getting their vaccines: at their first kitten visit and again at their final kitten visit around 16 weeks old. In between these visit, a technician will see your kitten for a quick check-up to be sure he/she is growing, booster vaccines, and answer any questions you may have. We also recommend testing the kitten for FeLV (leukemia) and FIV (immunodeficiency virus) around 12 weeks old. These are viral infections that can be spread to kittens from their mother or through contact with other cats. It is very important that we know whether or not a kitten is infected with either of these viruses as they can weaken the immune system and cause other challenges as a cat ages.

Checking your new kitten for intestinal parasites is a vital part of a new kitten check-up. Intestinal parasites are common in kittens andcan have many negative health effects on a growing kitten. Some parasites areeven transmittable to people which is why we strongly recommend two fecal testsin kittens. The first test we run in house checks for common GI parasites suchas hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and coccidia. The second sample we collectis sent out to the lab to check for other parasites that are not evident on thein house test such as giardia and tapeworms. We also recommend dewormingkittens with a broad spectrum dewormer two to three times to be sure we aretreating any undiagnosed parasites that may not show up on the tests we haverun.

During the first vet visit, we will discuss flea, tick andheartworm prevention for your new fur bab. Cats in Florida are susceptible toheartworm infections due to the high number of mosquitoes we see and fleas arealso very prominent in this area. There are several options for prevention(topical vs oral, some that last 1 month and some that last 3 months) so ourveterinarians and technicians will help you to choose the best type ofprevention for your kitten.

At your final kitten visit with the veterinarian (usually 16weeks old), we will discuss having your kitten spayed or neutered. This is strongly encouraged at 4 Paws for many reasons (see our blog on the importance of spay/neuter). We usually recommend spay or neuter procedures to be performed around 6 months old and after their vaccines have been completed and we do offer this procedure at 4 Paws.

Please also consider purchasing insurance for your new kitten! There are multiple companies that provide preventative and/or catastrophic insurance for dogs and cats. A few that we recommend include: Trupanion, Fetch, Pumpkin Pet and ASPCA. If you do not wish to purchase insurance then another option would be to set aside an emergency fund for your kitten to help pay for unexpected expenses that may arise.

If you ever have questions about raising a new kitten, feel free to call, text or email us and we will be happy to help in any way that we can. You can also see our blogs about heartworm prevention, importance of spay and neuter and vaccines as well as our videos about bringing home a new kitten!