We are getting a new kitten tomorrow! Any advice for us?

[pinkchampagne1]

Think we have bought everything we need for now.

Will he need a vets appointment asap for a check over? When will he need jabs?

Any other advice?

How old is he?

He is only 8 weeks old

From our website:

Kittens should begin their vaccinations at 9 weeks old. A course of vaccinations is two injections 3-4 weeks apart. There are two types of vaccinations available for cats. The basic vaccination is against feline enteritis and upper respiratory tract disease (cat flu). This vaccination is recommended for all cats. There is an additional vaccination against viral leukaemia (FELV). This is recommended for cats that go outdoors or cats that may be mixing with cats that may be FELV positive. If your cats will be indoors only and will not be mixing with other cats they do not need to be vaccinated against leukaemia. A booster vaccination is required once a year to maintain levels of protection against these diseases. In addition to vaccinations your kitten may need worming and flea treatment.

You should only use flea and worm treatment that your vet gives you as kittens can't have adult treatments.

And we neuter at four months. You should certainly book it for no later than five months.

Thank you for that information.

I asked if he had been worm and flea treated. She said he had and then went on to tell me how she treats them with cheap flea stuff from EBay as it is much cheaper than the kind they sell you at the vets. He is apparently weaned and litter trained.

I have bought kitten food. Do I need to buy kitten milk as well or will he be ok with normal milk?

Any tips/things I need to know about settling him in?

Our vet told us our kitten had to weigh 2kg before she can be spayed. It's next week and she'll be just over 6 mths.

Oh god. That cheap stuff from Ebay doesn't work and can kill fully grown cats, let alone kittens.

No you don't need to buy kitten milk. Just provide water.

YDdraig we neuter kittens that are only around 10 weeks old if necessary. And we routinely neuter 'our own' kittens (that is those that are with us for homing) at 12 weeks - so no where near 2kg. Some vets seem to be over cautious - which leads to a lot of unintended pregnancies.

A poster on here last year posted about her kitten, which she had just collected from someone equally dodgy sounding. It was having convulsions and foaming at the mouth. It died. It was killed by the flea treatment the seller had given it before handing it over.

Oh no, that is awful! worried now.

Is not the nicest of homes we are getting him from. Without sounding a snob, she looks like someone that would appear on the Jeremy Kyle show and had 3 different litters of kittens with their mothers in cages in this tiny v smelly front room and the mother cat looked very very thin. The kittens are just beautiful. I can't wait to get him home and look after him.

I'd report her to the RSPCA. Is she charging you for this kitten?.

Oh my goodness, that is awful! I think we need to get him to the vets right away by the sounds of things

Yes she is charging me quite a lot for the kitten and I saw the advert on a pets4homes (or something similar) site, which seemed a good site.. I don't mind paying as he is beautiful and just what I was looking for, but I really didn't like the home I am getting him from. We immediately had doubts about the cheap flea treatment.

It's a kitten farm isn't it?.

Please Report her.

It looks like she breeds cats for a living.

Kittens needs to be flea'd monthly and wormed every 2w with a licensed product. Ask your vet, most offer free new pet consults or nurses welcome parties (we do both), as well as vaccinations.
Neutering is routine from around 5m. It can be done earlier, but pros and cons should be discussed with your own vet.
Best advice I can give is to insure your pet.

You should never buy kittens from anyone. It encourages people like this. You should always go to a rescue centre.

I realise it's too late now. But do report her to the RSPCA.

I didn't realise this. If you look up pets4home it appears a genuine site with guidelines etc, but the majority of kittens have a price with their advert.

Yes it's a site for people selling kittens. There are too many cats for the number of homes available. Every kitten that's born basically takes a home that a homeless cat or kitten could have had. So every extra kitten means that either a cat in a rescue will be put down, or is taking up space that another cat in desperate need could have had.

If people buy kittens they encourage people to breed their cats and to bring more cats into a world where there just aren't enough homes. They also often do it in a way that causes suffering to the mother cats and the cats and kittens aren't given proper treatment. Just like the person you seem to have encountered. These are also the sort of people who end up dumping any kittens they can't sell (the black ones/ those born at the height of kitten season when there is a glut) in bins etc. It really does happen.

If everyone went to a rescue instead of paying people we could stamp this out and make a substantial difference to the welfare of cats generally.

Those poor cats Being kept for breeding in cages
I hope RSPCA prosecute her.
My youngest cat came from similar circumstances, I rehomed her from my local vets. The owner wanted her put down along with two of her siblings because no one wanted to buy them. She's absolutely fine now, I hope your kitten will be too.

I hadn't realised. I googled "kittens in Kent" and this site seemed the most genuine with all the guidelines etc and fell in love with the kittens from the pictures. I was shocked when I got to the house as you could see tiny ginger kittens through the window and I had seen pics of black tabby kittens. When I got through the door I realised this was because she had 3 different litters in cages in this tiny front room, which smelt really bad. It seemed she had dogs in another room. She even offered to let my just 3 year old nephew, who came along with us, to hold one of the kittens by himself. We had to explain he was too young to know how to handle a cat.

I chose a kitten (I wish I could take all of them from that place!) and am going to get him tomorrow. We have also just done a big shop for all the bits we need for him. I am really worried now that his health may be at risk from that flea stuff.

It goes on a lot.

Do you know to keep him in until he's neutered?. It stops him roaming off and meeting lady cats.

I didn't know that so thanks for advice. I thought you could let them out after jabs so that is good to know

Ask her not to give the kitten any more flea treatment, and take the kitten straight to the vet for a check up on the way home. Another poster has been posting a heart breaking story about taking home a tiny little kitten, who was well enough to enjoy the love and fun for exactly one day before deteriorating, and dieing a few days later, leaving £500 vets bills. Poor little thing.

I have just read that thread...absolutely heartbreaking.

We are going to get him checked out at the vets as soon as we can

Have you already paid for the kitten? If not, I wouldn't get him. One, because he doesn't sound like he's going to have been well socialised or make a healthy pet. And two, because you're just encouraging her to keep on breeding in these awful conditions. I know the kitten is gorgeous, but so are all kittens and there will be many more available soon.

I have put down a deposit for him