Taking care of a kitten — tips on how to feed and raise
No matter how much literature you read or advice you get from seasoned cat owners, unfortunately, there is no one single perfect way to take care of a kitten.
Each breed is unique and very different in character. The main condition is to adapt to your four-legged furry friend. To understand what he wants, and this only comes with experience of interacting with a pet.
You can consult an expert, purchase tons of useful «cat» literature, but the final decision on how to take care of a kitten will be up
If you think that anyone who loves cats can become a good owner and take care of a cat, I hasten to disappoint you. It’s not like that at all. One attachment is not enough. Not even a large bank account, a huge apartment, a car, or a country house will help. The most important thing is devotion. Your top priority should be taking care of your pet and being ready to sacrifice a lot for this furry and striped friend.
Taking care of a kitten. Feeding kittens
Let’s start with feeding. A kitten is another full-fledged member of the family, another eater, but that doesn’t mean he will eat what you plan to have for dinner, lunch, or breakfast. Quite the opposite. Kittens need separate feeding. Knowing how to use a can opener is not enough to feed a kitten properly.
Caring for the fur
Next is caring for the fur, but the decisive factor here is the breed of your pet. You can choose shorthaired or hairless cats, and this question will be solved.
Potty training
You need to teach the kitten to go to the toilet, not where he wants, but where he should. In this matter, you will need to be patient, as although a cat is a clean animal, sometimes circumstances dictate other conditions.
Despite all the difficulties in raising and adapting to each other, in return, you will receive the most loyal, affectionate, kind, gentle (the list can go on indefinitely) friend.
Taking care of a kitten/ Should you give milk to a kitten? Does a kitten need milk?
Many cat owners believe that they should provide their pets not only with water, but also with milk. Milk is very nutritious, but if you feed your kitten high-quality balanced food, then it doesn’t need dairy products.
In addition, its ability to digest lactose (which is one of the sugars contained in milk) will decrease after weaning from its mother’s milk. So, this product can even cause diarrhea in your pet.
There are milk formulas with reduced lactose content. And if you decide to give this product to your kitten, keep in mind that the nutrients it contains can affect the overall balance of the diet.
Stories from the life of cats
My grandmother has a dog named Alpha, a mix of a mutt and a Doberman, and two cats. Alpha has kind, expressive eyes that reflect her mood.
She understands her owner without a word. She often follows my grandmother and looks into her eyes, as if to say, «Am I a good girl?» She was also friendly with the cats. They ate from the same bowl and played together. In other words, they lived in harmony.
But the cats gave birth three times a year.
While Alpha was only allowed to have puppies once every two years.
So she was envious of the cats when they had offspring. She wanted to take care of their babies.
One day, one of the cats gave birth to kittens. My grandmother was not at home that day. I came to feed the animals and saw a newborn kitten near the gate. I picked it up and went to look for the cat and the other kittens. There was dead silence in the yard: no cats, no dogs.
I looked into the barn and saw Alpha lying on the floor, with four newborn kittens squeaking next to her. She was licking them and looking at me imploringly, «Don’t take them away from me.»
But I had to take the kittens and put them in a cardboard box. But where was the mother cat? I went to look for her. I found her on the street, under the bridge, frightened, disheveled, and dirty. I brought her home, put the kittens under her, but she ran away from them as if they were the devil himself. What to do? The kittens were hungry, huddled together, whining and crying. And I cried with them.
The mother cat refused to take care of them because they smelled like a dog.
And then the second cat came running, who had also given birth the day before, grabbed one kitten in her teeth and dragged it into her box.
And she kept carrying all five of them, as she also had five of her own. She fed them all — both hers and the adopted ones. Two of them died — apparently, there was not enough milk for everyone. And the biological mother cat never approached her kittens. After this incident, we tried to protect the dog from the cats when it was time to give birth. Alpha obediently sat on a leash with her tail between her legs. Apparently, she understood why she was punished.
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