New kitten after 18yrs

[goplacidly]

DCat died last year aged 17. We waited a year and brought a new kitten home yesterday.

Teenage DC are loving it. They have never known a kitten before!

How long do I need to keep him in for? Till he gets his jabs? I can’t even remember from
before, and I’m sure we used to get kittens at 6 weeks old not 8 weeks

We are exactly the same! Our darling 16 yr old cat died in February and we just got an 8 week old kitten this week.

She has an appointment at the vet on Monday for a full ‘set up’ so vaccinations, microchipping etc and I’ll ask then when she should be spayed.

She’s so tiny that I can’t imagine letting her out this side of Christmas!

I gather at least 4 months until they should go out, if nothing else their vaccination courses should be complete and when they are small they can be very vulnerable to any other animals in the garden. Almost everyone I know wouldn't let theirs out until at least 6 months old for that reason. 8 weeks is still quite early by today's standards to go to their new home, most places recommend 10 - 13 weeks.

They should never go out until they have been neutered, which is usually at about 4 months unless they are particularly tiny.

Get him registered at the vet asap, and don't forget to get the insurance sorted before you first take him in. When you do take him in, ask the vet for advice on things like vaccination & neutering timings.