Eight weeks old is when many breeders and shelters allow you to take your kitten home, and whereas they’re actually cute at this age, additionally they have some further care necessities. It is usually a lot to maintain up with, and also you actually don’t need to get it incorrect, which is why we coated all of the fundamentals for you beneath. From what it’s good to choose up on the retailer to the care they require after they’re with you at home, we’ve highlighted just a little little bit of every little thing that goes into caring for 8- to 12-week-old kittens.
Necessary Supplies
When you’re bringing a brand new kitten home, probably the most essential issues it’s good to do is guarantee you’ve gotten all the required provides ready for them there. While there are many further issues you should buy in your cat, these are the requirements:
- Cat service
- Food and water bowls
- Kitten meals and treats
- Litter field and litter
- Cat mattress
- Cat nail trimmer
- Brush
- Toothbrush
- Kitten toothpaste
- Scratching publish
- Kitten toys
Prepping Your Home
Not solely do it’s good to get all the required provides in your cat, however it’s good to get your home prepared for them, too. Everyday issues that is likely to be positive might flip into an issue as quickly as you carry a kitten into the home.
Start by securing free blinds, cords, strings, and different temptations round your home. These issues are tremendous attractive in your cat to play with, however they’ll significantly harm your kitten.
Next, take away any breakable gadgets out of your cabinets. Many cats like to climb and discover, which means your knick knacks might take a beating both accidentally or on function.
Then, go round and choose up any small gadgets in your home that your cat would possibly chew on and probably eat. In that very same vein, guarantee any houseplants you’ve gotten are pet-friendly, as many houseplants may be extraordinarily poisonous to cats.
Finally, contemplate that cats usually prefer to chew cords. Wrap these cords up and do your greatest to place them someplace your cat can’t attain.
What to Expect
Now that you’ve got all the required provides and a kitten-proof home, it’s time to get into what sorts of behaviors to count on out of your 8- to 12-week-old kitten. Kittens at this age are a variety of enjoyable, a bit clumsy, and need as a lot of your consideration as they’ll get! With that in thoughts, let’s go over the fundamentals of caring for a brand new kitten.
Size
Kittens will usually achieve about one pound monthly. That implies that your 8 week old kitten would are available round 2 kilos and a 12 week kitten will weigh about 3. Of course there may be going to be some variation right here, so remember to examine in along with your vet to make sure your kitten’s development is on monitor.
Sleep
While kittens are extraordinarily energetic and playful whereas they’re awake, they spend an excellent chunk of time sleeping. The common kitten spends about 20 hours a day sleeping, which means that after they’re not working round stepping into every little thing, you’ll probably discover them curled up and taking an excellent nap. Ensure that you simply give them a heat, secure place to sleep. This is why a cat mattress is on the checklist of requirements in your new pet.
Behavior
Cats are curious creatures and have a tendency to stay that method all through their total lives, and after they’re kittens, that trait usually shines by much more. They’re always exploring their setting whereas attempting to determine what’s occurring. Remember this when kitten-proofing your home. Everything is new and thrilling to them, they usually’re going to dedicate their waking hours to exploring.
Basic Care Requirements
Now that what behaviors to count on from a kitten, let’s get into their care necessities.
Diet
While kittens is likely to be small in measurement, they have an inclination to have a voracious urge for food. In truth, kittens want about 3 times as a lot vitality of their weight-reduction plan in comparison with an grownup cat. Kittens require the next vitality and protein content material, plus nutritional vitamins and minerals that help the event of their muscle tissues, skeleton, organs and nervous system. This means they need to eat a weight-reduction plan that’s particularly formulated for kittens.
This is usually best within the type of a high-quality dry meals weight-reduction plan. However, including a mixture of moist meals to their dish may also help them get much-needed moisture and assist entice them to eat the dry kibble. If you intend to do that, ensure you are feeding them the correct variety of energy per day. This can range relying on the individual cat and their breed and age, so speak to your veterinarian about an acceptable weight-reduction plan.
Don’t neglect that cats of all ages require 24/7 access to contemporary, clear ingesting water. Be certain to clean and rinse their meals and water bowls each day.
Exercise
Kittens are naturally curious, which can assist preserve them transferring, however additionally they spend a variety of time sleeping. When your cat is awake, spend a while enjoying with them to discover a method that encourages them to maneuver. They usually love chasing lights, enjoying with interactive toys, and climbing throughout cat towers.
This can also be a super time to begin coaching your kitten. This is when these kitten-safe treats come in useful. Remember to reward them for good habits however by no means scold or punish them for habits you don’t like. Instead, give them a stern “no” and walk away in order that they study that the habits is unacceptable and gained’t give them your consideration.
Grooming
Cats spend between 30 and 50 % of their day grooming themselves, and whereas they do an outstanding job, some cats want some assist every so often. Brush your cat each day to assist management shedding and to spend a while with them. Also, don’t neglect to brush their enamel each day to assist beat back dental illness. Starting tooth brushing at a young age is usually a lot simpler than beginning in maturity. In addition to this, guarantee they’ve access to a scratching publish or two so that they have someplace to work on their claws. Regular nail filing could also be needed as properly. For recommendations on this, communicate to your veterinarian.
Cleaning
While we’ve highlighted the fundamentals of what it’s good to do to instantly care in your cat, one generally missed element is cleansing. Cats favor a clear litter field particularly, so it’s good to sustain with this each day chore if you wish to preserve them from going potty exterior the field. Not solely is each day scooping needed, however fully dumping the field and washing it out must be a weekly occasion. You’ll additionally have to spend a bit extra time sweeping and vacuuming to select up their free hairs.
Veterinary Care
One of an important stuff you’ll ever do in your kitten is to get all of them the veterinary care they require. This consists of getting all of them of their vaccinations, common wellness exams, parasite prevention, microchipping, and having them spayed or neutered. For extra particulars, remember to speak to your vet about this, as it’s essential to their well being and well-being. In truth, you need to be on high of this from the second you determine to carry a brand new kitten home.
Final Thoughts
Kittens are cute little creatures, however they may also be a ton of labor when you’re not prepared for them. Now that you’ve got just a little higher understanding of what to anticipate and what they want, all that’s left is so that you can carry one home!
They’re solely this small as soon as, so take pleasure in it whereas it lasts and arrange a robust basis for a cheerful cat and a robust bond for years to return!
Featured Image Credit: Krissi Lundgren, Shutterstock
