Please educate me on how to care for a kitten

[MummyInTheNecropolis]

My irresponsible teenager has gone out and bought herself a kitten today 🤦‍♀️. No discussion or anything, just came home with it. She insists she’s done her research and knows what she’s doing but I’m not so sure. I’ve never owned a cat before so have no idea what I’m doing. The breeder told her it was 9 weeks old but when she took it to the pet shop to buy all it needed they said it’s actually about 5 weeks old. She’s bought the litter and food that was recommended and it seems to be settling ok. Please tell me what are the most important things I need to know/do for it? Obviously I am googling like mad but thought speaking to actual cat owners might be more useful.

At the moment he is in DD’s bedroom which is quite large, he has his food and water on one side of the room and litter tray on the other. He is already litter trained. I think he is too little to let him have free reign of the house, I’m not sure he could manage the stairs yet. We work opposite schedules so one of us will be at home almost all of the time, but can we leave him alone for a couple of hours if necessary?

The pic isn't super clear but it looks like he has some discharge around his eyes and nose. He really must be vet-checked tomorrow.

She paid £150? OP this whole situation is ridiculous. You've got a kitten all of a sudden which seems to be extremely young (5 weeks is a ridiculous age to be separated from mum). If it's really that age then it should be fed appropriate formula several times a day. What about ongoing vet costs beyond the check you've booked? Do you have the same wet/dry food the breeder was feeding, if they were? What about neutering, microchipping, food and litter? Flea treating, vaccinations, worming?!
Your daughter clearly planned this in advance and the pair of you are tripping up on the responsibility factor. Is she going to stick with keeping on top of the cat litter?
I have a litter of 3 (carefully and responsibly bred, keeping them all), they're 9 weeks old and certainly not done feeding from their mum.
Have either of you even flea checked the kitten? Perfect time of year for an infestation to quickly take hold. Get a grip on this before it gets out of hand and you're left picking up the responsibility and bills long term.

Yes I am well aware it is ridiculous. I do not want this at all, I never did. But the kitten is here now and there’s not a lot I can do about it, so I’m trying to do the best I can. DD will be responsible for all costs, she knows this. She earns £600-800 a month and has no rent or bills to pay so it is affordable. Kitten will see the vet tomorrow and we will follow their advice. I have no idea what food or litter the breeder was using, neither does DD. She just handed kitten over in a box on the doorstep. Obviously anyone sensible would’ve asked all of those questions, sadly my DD did not.

That poor kitten should be with his mum. He would have been still getting most of his food from his mum and hasn't had time to learn all the stuff mum cats teach their babies. It's really cruel to have taken him away.

However, there's no point giving him back. You really should get another kitten companion (and no, it's not okay to leave him completely alone for two hours at this age). So, making the best of a shitty situation - yes, get him to a vet tomorrow and buy some kitten (powdered) formula, kitten flea spray and worming medicine. Give him lots of cuddles, keep him warm, don't give him the run of the whole flat yet and please do not leave him all alone. For the next month at least he should have been with his mum and siblings. It's so sad.

Okay, away from mum at 5 weeks is not good, but as long as he's weaned, its maneagable. You very much have a baby on your hands and its a lot of responsibility. He will certainly need to be de-fleaed, wormed, and treated for any potential infections and viruses. Then you need

• a contained space, 1 room max, that is safe and warm with lots of cuddly things and nowhere he can get stuck or fall off. If not possible, get a large playpen and set that up for him. A safe heating pad (inside something furry) and a heartbeat toy to simulate mum and littermates is good.
• A low litter tray with a non-clumping, non-toxic litter. Kittens often try to eat their litter experimentally, so it needs to be safe for that.
• Low water dish. Kittens can drown in deep ones.
• Kitten food. Mousse texture is good at five weeks.
• Toys: no need for anything fancy. Boxes, string, scrumpled up balls of paper, its all toys to a kitten. Just make sure its nothing he can eat or harm himself on. I has one that was completely obsessed with the tiny strips of plastic that come off the rim when you first take the top off a plastic bottle. Throwing these up in the air and catching them was the best game in the world to him.
• A lot of time and love. Its a baby. He's never been alone before. He will still sleep a lot at this age, but really, when he's awake, you can't leave him alone for long at all.

I also second the idea, if at all possible, to get another kitten. Two is often less work than one because they'll play with each other, tire each other out and teach each other claw and bite inhibition. You're going to get clawed for a few weeks though. Its inevitable. Do report this 'breeder'.

Hope this helps!

OP, you have stepped up and are doing your best in a difficult situation.

Please keep us updated.

If your daughter earns £600 a month then a vet can easily cost all that and more. Utter madness.

Make sure she takes out insurance

So how did the vet check go?
Also PP saying as long as he's weaned... that's no guarantee at 5 weeks. Might start to show interest in food but still feeding from Mum.
OP have you seen him eat? Mine are on wet food and biscuits 3 x daily at almost 10 weeks plus still feeding from Mum.

@LordSalem That's true. I hope he is weaned. OP if he's not eating much solid food (which really needs to be mousse or a soft mash texture) you can get kitten formula in a large pet shop like Pets at Home.

The vet puts him at 6 weeks, says he’s very healthy, no fleas or worms, he recommended trying him with kitten milk which we have done and he seems to enjoy. He is eating well though, he’s having wet kitten food. He is fully litter trained too, and such a good boy! Vet thought he was unusually confident for such a young age, he doesn’t show any fear, just wants to explore. He will be going back in a couple of weeks for his jabs. I need to sort out insurance now, just researching the best options.

That is such great news. Please do keep us updated on his progress.