3100 Brighton 3rd St, Brooklyn, NY 11235 (718) 913-0826 322 Betty's Drive, Stroudsburg, PA 18360 (570) 992-1611
NY Cats* Items needed prior to bringing your new family member home: You need to purchase a few items in advance, such as a durable medium to large sized cat carrier that you will need for travel and visits to the veterinarian in the future. You will also need to purchase some kitten food, a kitten toy, a litter pan and litter. We recommend buying these items from PetSmart or 1-800-PetMeds because of their excellent quality and low prices. * Adjusting to New Home: When bringing your new kitten home, it is best to keep him in a small area, like a bathroom, at first until he is comfortable with his new surroundings. Then you can allow him access to other rooms and so on, until he has full run of your house. During this isolation period, make sure to spend time with him giving him reassurance and lots of love and affection. When you take your new kitty home, please realize that he will be under a great deal of stress. He will be leaving his Mother and littermates. Some kittens will seem like they have a cold because of this, but it is due to the stress of the new environment! By spending time, playing with and giving your kitten lots of love and attention, the transition to their new home should be quite smooth. We are here for anyone who may need help, guidance or simply has a question. We will do absolutely everything we can to answer your questions and help make this transition a pleasant experience for both you and your new kitten! * Food: We recommend feeding the kitten(s) with the food "Royal Canin" or "Science Diet Nature’s Best". If you do decide to change food, you should do it slowly over a period of a few days by adding a little bit of the new food along with the old. Eventually, the kitten will want more of the new food until you have totally switched over to your desired brand. You should be very careful switching food because it can cause upset stomachs and runny stools in your kitten. Wet food should be discarded after two hours of feeding to prevent stomach problems. Dry food should be available for your kittens all the time. Wash the food bowls thoroughly daily. * Water: We recommend using boiled, filtered or bottled water. You should have water available for your kittens all the time and it should be changed frequently. DO NOT EVER FEED YOUR KITTEN OR ADULT CAT WITH MILK! * Litter: We prefer to use "Fresh Step Scoopable Litter" because it is easier to clean up. When you bring your kitten home, a small litter pan is fine. However, as the kitten grows, you will need to purchase a full sized litter pan. Make sure to scoop them daily and clean them weekly replacing with fresh litter. If the litter box is dirty, kittens will most likely not use it and will find somewhere else to relieve themself! * Small Children: Teach small children how to handle the kitten gently. It is not a toy, but a living creature and deserves the love and respect we show others. By showing them the proper way in the beginning, you're ensuring the safety of the kitten as well as building a lifelong friendship for your child. * Other Animals in the Home: When other animals are in the home, be sure to keep them separated and slowly introduce the other animals in your home ONE animal at a time. NEVER leave them together unsupervised until you are absolutely sure they have declared a "truce" between them. We find that within about a week or so, everyone is getting along wonderfully. Most often your other animals will go through more of an adjustment period. Just give them the time and space that they need and make sure to give them lots of love as well. * Nail Care and Declawing: We highly advise you do NOT to declaw your kitten as this is a form of mutilation. The purchase of appropriate cat scratching post or climbing stand will save your furniture and give lots of fun to your cat. It's a a cat's natural instinct and behavior to scratch, you will just need to show him WHERE you prefer this to be done. Also, make sure to buy some cat toys. Kittens love to play and so do many adult cats! It is also important to clip the kittens nails. You can use pet nail clippers to do this. Simply squeeze the end of each toe on the paw to retract the claw and clip the end of each nail off. Cats have five toes on each of the front paws and four toes on each of the rear paws. Make sure not to clip into the quik (the pink part of the nail). * Hair Grooming: Persian and Himalayan cats should be brushed daily to avoid hair clumps especially around their ears and under legs. Persians have long, thick fur requiring extra care and grooming. A good rule is to brush your kitten everyday or every other day. We recommend a brush with metal bristles that doesn't have "balls" at the end of each bristle because it pulls out hair during brushing. Some cats matt easily and others do not. If yours develops fur that tends to matt, make sure to brush him more often. If he does get one, the best way to remove it is to cut it down the center and work it out with a comb. Just be VERY CAREFUL not to cut too close to the skin. If you find one, remove it immediately, it will only get worse!! * Eye and Ear Care: Persians and Himalayans do have some tearing due to their facial structure. The area around their eyes must be cleaned daily with a wet cotton ball, a soft tissue or a Q-tip to avoid stains on the fur and to prevent irritations of the eye lid especially for light furred and flat faced cats. Some will have slightly have more drainage than others. Also the front area of their ears should be cleaned every month with slightly damp cotton swab. * Bathing: We recommend bathing long haired cats at least once in three months or as needed. * Neutering and Spaying: All our kittens are sold as a pet, so they should be neutered or spayed between eight and twelve months. * Health Care: It is imperative that you find a good veterinarian that you trust and has 24-hour emergency care. Make sure to keep your kitten up-to-date on all vaccinations. For example, the second kitten shot must be done between three and four weeks after the first shot to booster the kitten’s immunity and then adult cats should be vaccinated yearly.
Kitten Necessities