Please think very carefully before taking on a new kitten. Kittens are just baby's and he may well have been taken away from his mother and siblings to be with you. It is an extremely stressful time. It is important that you spend some time over the next few weeks to help your kitten adjust to his new family so please take the time to read our information before you get your new kitten. Most kittens will need feeding at least 4 times a day when you get them home at 8 weeks of age. No kitten should be taken away from its mother before this age - this could well end with behavioural problems later on in life. Do you have enough time in the day, or are you out at work for 8hrs or more. If you are away from the house for long periods of time consider getting two kittens so they can keep each other company, two males or two females usually get on better with each other.
Getting a young kitten when you have an old cat in the household is not always advisable. If your cat has been used to the company of a sibling which then dies, introducing another cat may not be that simple - he may well have been attached to his sibling, but introducing another cat will be seen very much as an outsider, and will not be made welcome! He will be viewed as competition for the resources within the house - food, water, litter tray, your companionship.
As humans we do not always get on with other humans and so it is with cats. In my household for example Charlie - who has brain damage, is not really keen on anyone else but will tolerate Raffles and Simon. Simon gets on with everyone. Raffles hates Milly with a passion! Milly in return does not like Holly and stays out of Raffles way. Holly gets on with everyone - except Milly! Tom loves everyone, except Charlie who doesn't like him one bit! Everyone loves Chloe, and Chloe loves everyone! Smudgie is the new girl - Tom loves her and Chloe has taken it upon herself to groom Smudgie! Smudgie has returned the favour.
The more cats you have the more 'upset' there will be. Charlie gets on with some males, but not others. Milly loves playing with Chloe, and is inquisitive about Smudgie, but will attack Holly. So you can see how important it is when bringing in a new cat in to your household. They do not have to get on - they will either like each other - or they won't. A kitten can be just as much of a threat as an adult. Never put a shy timid cat with an aggressive overbearing cat. Whilst a confident cat may bring out a quiet cat, personality plays a very important part and should be considered. A cat's personality develops as it matures, so sometimes it may be more beneficial to take on an older cat whose personality is already formed.
Place your new kitten in the bed you have provided, together with a cuddly toy or two for comfort. Your kitten is used to sleeping with his mum and siblings for warmth, so make sure he is warm enough and not in a draught. Provide some form of warmth like a microwaveable heated pad but make sure he can move off the pad to a cooler area if he gets too warm. Put the litter tray in a quiet corner, away from the food dishes. Show the kitten where the tray is by gently placing him into it. If at all possible some litter should be obtained from his previous home to place in the new tray - this will help the kitten to ‘find’ his new litter tray.
Your kitten will be very frightened when you first get home. Children should be discouraged from rough handling or making too much noise around the kitten that could cause more distress. Instead sit on the floor and encourage the kitten to come on to your legs. In time the kitten will get used to the noise and general comings and goings of your particular household. Play is a good way of keeping the kitten occupied.
Now is a good time to establish a routine.If you wish the kitten to stay in the kitchen at night that is fine.
If you start off this way, by the time he is an adult, sleeping in the kitchen at night will be completely natural. Having a little play before bedtime should ensure a good nights sleep for everyone. Kittens are naturally inquisitive. Please check your washing machine and tumble dryer before each use. It has been known for kittens to climb into the machines and fall asleep on the washing. Keep the toilet seat closed and watch the water if you are running a bath. Remember - each week you kitten is growing and what he could not reach last week, could be attainable this week! Let the kitten explore the rest of the house a room at a time. Take things slowly - it is too much for a kitten to take in all at once. Your kitten will vanish and you will have no idea which room he is hiding in.
A Cat Carrier. You will need a secure, well ventilated cat carrier. Your may well need to go to the vets for inoculations and neutering/spaying at some point. It is therefore worth while investing in a proper cat carrier. Most vets insist that animals attend clinic in a proper carrier.
A Litter Tray. We would highly recommend that you invest in an adult litter tray. He will very quickly grow out of the small tray. Your kitten will be indoors for some months to come. Use the same or similar litter that the kitten is used to. If you wish to change brands do so slowly over a week or so, mixing the new and the old brands together, slowly increasing the new litter, while decreasing the old. You will need a scoop for cleaning out the tray or removing solid waste.
A Few Toys. Again there is a wide choice of toys available. Do not choose anything too small that the kitten could get in his mouth and choke on. Likewise, anything on a string or piece of elastic should be played with under supervision. If a kitten gets the string caught around his neck he could easily strangle himself. Plastic balls, furry mice, rolled up pieces of newspaper, even a cardboard box with holes cut out in it will do. We would recommend a cat charmer as both kittens and adults alike seem to love this. It is a long piece of fabric attached to a wand.
If your kitten is on its own then it is even more important that you engage in some play with him. NEVER use your hands for playing, and do not engage in any rough play whatsoever.
You will end up with an aggressive adult cat that just sees your hands as prey - you cannot blame the cat for this behaviour if you have allowed him to behave like this previously. You will notice that two kittens playing will play rough until one of them lets out a squeal - as soon as this happens the game stops. This is their way of learning that biting hurts and is not acceptable. Our pain threshold is obviously higher than that of a kitten so we allow them to continue. I cannot stress enough that biting and scratching are not acceptable behaviour.
The chances are your kitten is bored and is trying to interact with you by biting - seeing you as prey. Put him down on the floor and redirect the biting by playing with him using interactive toys like the cat charmer. I cannot impress on you the importance of play. The more you play with him and interact the less likely he is to be aggressive towards you. Biting from kittens is often a sign of boredom.
You must make the effort to spend some time with them. Throwing a ball from a seated position is not his or my idea of play - you need to get up and move about, so he can 'chase' the toy in question. View it from the cats point of view - 'dead' prey is no fun - 'moving' prey brings all his instincs together and makes play fun! You must NEVER smack a kitten or punish him in any way. This will cause the animal stress and can lead to behavioural problems such as toileting in the wrong area, or he will become aggressive and/or nervous around people. Please seek our help if you are not sure how to react to a situation. Never use the kitten’s name when you are cross with it. He does not understand why you are angry and then later on when you are calling him for his food, you will wonder why he is not responding to his name - our voices and hands must be used for kindness at ALL times.
Weighing Scales: If your kitten is on dry food you will need some kitchen scales to measure out the food - it is imperative that your kitten is fed the correct amount and that the amount is gradually increased as your kitten gets older. Always follow the manufacturers recommendations. Find out beforehand what your kitten is being fed as you will need to keep to this diet for the first few weeks. You can then change to an alternative if you so desire. We would recommend feeding a mixture of both wet and dry food. Remember to adjust the amount of dry food offered if you are also using wet food. When he is adult you will need to re-evaulate his food intake as he is no longer growing. Feed enough to maintain an optimum weight - usually between 3.5kg-4.5kg for females and 4.5kg to 5.5kg for your average adult male.
Introducing Your Kitten: This cannot be hurried and can be quite complex. A further sheet has been prepared on this subject Introducing a New Cat. For now your kitten needs to be apart from the existing pets in the house for all their sakes!
Your kitten will ‘naturally’ bite and scratch. He will climb up your furniture, run around the back of the television to chew the wires, over the chairs, up your leg, whirl around the living room and up the curtains!! This is normal kitten behaviour! Your kitten is still learning and it is now up to you to offer some guidance. To avoid getting bitten and scratched, you should never use your hands for playing. Hands should only be for kindness, stroking and grooming.
At some stage you will probably have to give your kitten a tablet, whether it be for worming or if it is sick and needs medication. If you have previously ‘played’ or even worse ‘smacked’ the kitten with your hand, he is unlikely to trust you.
Your kitten will very quickly grow in to a cat, and a bite from a cat is going to hurt a lot more than a bite from a kitten! If the kitten is climbing up the curtains, pick him up and put him on the floor. It is important that you repeat this evertime. Do not speak to the kitten - just remove him from the work surface, table, curtains etc, and then distract him by playing at floor level.
Do not let small children pick up kittens - they have extremely sharp claws, the kitten may catch the child on the face, or worse in the eye. It is best to supervise small children and kittens.
Scratching posts are very useful - if the kitten starts to scratch your furniture, gently (don’t scare him) put the kitten on to the post. Again if you are in the room, distract the kitten away from the piece of furniture that is being scratched. When you see the kitten using the scratching post, praise him with lots of stroking.
Never smack a cat or kitten, it does not understand what it has done wrong. If it toilets in the wrong place, do not rub its nose in it - this is meaningless to the animal. I use a product called Urinator which removes all traces of little accidents! NEVER shout at an animal toileting in the wrong place, if he is nervous you will make it worse, if you think the kitten needs to go to the toilet, or it starts to scrape the carpet, gently lift him into the litter tray, close the kitchen door and leave it in peace to use the tray. If he has urinated in the wrong place, mop it up with some kitchen towel and then wipe the wet towel around the inside edge of the litter tray - hopefully he will return to the 'smell' in the litter tray.
Your kitten is ready for his 1st vaccination at 9 weeks of age, and his 2nd vaccination at 12 weeks.
The most common vaccine is for feline enteritis and cat flu, both of which can be fatal. We will automatically vaccinate for both of these. Feline Leukaemia vaccine is also now available. You will need to have your kitten vaccinated with at least feline enteritis and cat flu should you wish to use a boarding cattery when you go away on holiday. Again your vet will be able to advise you on this.
Fleas and Worms: Kittens can be wormed and flea’d from as early as two weeks of age with the correct products obtained from your local veterinary surgery. Worming should be done every two weeks until they are three months old, then monthly until they are 6 months old and then every three months thereafter. It is important to keep this up, especially if your kitten turns out to be a hunter. Seek advice from your vet as there are several different worm preparations on the market including tablets, paste, and injections. Different flea treatments are also available in the form of sprays, powders or now there is the ‘spot-on’ which is put just on the back of the cats neck, very simple and easy but it needs to be done on a monthly basis. Again your vet will advise you on the best method to suit you and your kitten.
Chewing: Be aware that some plants, such as the dumb cane (Dieffenbachia) or Poinsettia are poisonous. Some cats are born nibblers. Cat grass can be bought and grown in a couple of weeks. It may be advisable to offer your kitten this to chew rather than your houseplants. At about 5 months of age your kitten will start to lose his baby teeth. During this teething period your kitten may start to chew on items such as his cardboard box - be aware that some cats choose to chew on electric cables - be aware of this and watch him during this time. I usually smear a menthol type gel - that we humans use for nasal congestion - onto the wires, or a couple of drops of Olbas oil on a piece of cotton wool. Cats hate the smell of this and usually back off immediately, although initially you may have to do this on a daily basis. For a full list of poisonous plants, or poisons within the household,The Feline Advisory Bureau have a very comprehensive listing.
Under no circumstances allow your kitten outside on its own until it has been neutered/spayed. It is a myth that a female needs to have a litter of kittens before she is spayed. A female can become pregnant at just a few months old, when she is still a baby herself, putting both her and the kittens at risk. An adult cat can be responsible for over 20,000 descendants in its lifetime! Your vet will advise you when it is the right time to have your kitten neutered or spayed, but it is usually around six months of age. Many people these days look for ways to cat proof their gardens. Should you still wish to keep your cat indoors all the time then you must make it a cat friendly home.
Never carry your kitten out into the garden in your arms. If he is scared the kitten will wriggle out of your arms and run off much quicker than you can catch him! If you wish to take your kitten into the garden you can buy a cat harness, although it may be advisable to get the kitten used to wearing the harness indoors before you venture out in to the garden. Once outdoors your kitten will come across the neighbourhood cats - many of which may be un-neutered males. These cats may well be carrying FIV (cat equivalent to HIV - but no risk to humans) and FeLV. (Feline Leukaemia Virus) both viruses attack the immune system and are fatal. We test for both of these viruses. The virus can be passed from cat to cat from bite wounds, which is another reason for keeping your cat indoors at night, as the un-neutered males will be on the prowl looking for a female, and fighting with the other males over territory.
Should your kitten get out put up posters, contact the local vets, RSPCA and other rescue centres across the region. Some animal shelters will only keep cats/kittens for a week before rehoming them! Your kitten has been microchipped, which will help, but unfortunately it is not always a guarantee. Try and use the kittens name along with another ‘signal’, for example a plastic box with some dry food - rattle the box and call his name - when the kitten responds reward with a biscuit or two, or try it at meal times and then place the bowl of food on the floor. You must ensure your kitten will respond to you before letting him out. This is more difficult to achieve if you leave food out all the time, as there is no reward in coming for a biscuit, when you already have a plateful on the kitchen floor! Try using a different type of biscuit as a treat. If you have a cat flap teach the cat to come IN before you teach him how to get out. This can be done either by propping the cat flap open for a few days and then closing it slightly from the inside, call the cat in for feeding so it has to push with his nose to get in for the food. Remember, when the ‘magnet’ is on the cat has to push harder and at first this may be confusing. Sometimes a gentle push through can help.
Your kitten could be with you for the next 25 years - if you cannot commit the time or money then you need to think seriously about taking on a new kitten. If you plan to have a family in the future what will happen to your kitten then, or will he be surplus to requirements and join the hundreds of other cats now behind bars. These are living breathing creatures that have feelings and are affected by their surroundings. They are NOT a disposable commodity.
Getting a young kitten when you have an old cat in the household is not always advisable. If your cat has been used to the company of a sibling which then dies, introducing another cat may not be that simple - he may well have been attached to his sibling, but introducing another cat will be seen very much as an outsider, and will not be made welcome! He will be viewed as competition for the resources within the house - food, water, litter tray, your companionship.
As humans we do not always get on with other humans and so it is with cats. In my household for example Charlie - who has brain damage, is not really keen on anyone else but will tolerate Raffles and Simon. Simon gets on with everyone. Raffles hates Milly with a passion! Milly in return does not like Holly and stays out of Raffles way. Holly gets on with everyone - except Milly! Tom loves everyone, except Charlie who doesn't like him one bit! Everyone loves Chloe, and Chloe loves everyone! Smudgie is the new girl - Tom loves her and Chloe has taken it upon herself to groom Smudgie! Smudgie has returned the favour.
The more cats you have the more 'upset' there will be. Charlie gets on with some males, but not others. Milly loves playing with Chloe, and is inquisitive about Smudgie, but will attack Holly. So you can see how important it is when bringing in a new cat in to your household. They do not have to get on - they will either like each other - or they won't. A kitten can be just as much of a threat as an adult. Never put a shy timid cat with an aggressive overbearing cat. Whilst a confident cat may bring out a quiet cat, personality plays a very important part and should be considered. A cat's personality develops as it matures, so sometimes it may be more beneficial to take on an older cat whose personality is already formed.
Place your new kitten in the bed you have provided, together with a cuddly toy or two for comfort. Your kitten is used to sleeping with his mum and siblings for warmth, so make sure he is warm enough and not in a draught. Provide some form of warmth like a microwaveable heated pad but make sure he can move off the pad to a cooler area if he gets too warm. Put the litter tray in a quiet corner, away from the food dishes. Show the kitten where the tray is by gently placing him into it. If at all possible some litter should be obtained from his previous home to place in the new tray - this will help the kitten to ‘find’ his new litter tray.
Your kitten will be very frightened when you first get home. Children should be discouraged from rough handling or making too much noise around the kitten that could cause more distress. Instead sit on the floor and encourage the kitten to come on to your legs. In time the kitten will get used to the noise and general comings and goings of your particular household. Play is a good way of keeping the kitten occupied.
Now is a good time to establish a routine.If you wish the kitten to stay in the kitchen at night that is fine.
If you start off this way, by the time he is an adult, sleeping in the kitchen at night will be completely natural. Having a little play before bedtime should ensure a good nights sleep for everyone. Kittens are naturally inquisitive. Please check your washing machine and tumble dryer before each use. It has been known for kittens to climb into the machines and fall asleep on the washing. Keep the toilet seat closed and watch the water if you are running a bath. Remember - each week you kitten is growing and what he could not reach last week, could be attainable this week! Let the kitten explore the rest of the house a room at a time. Take things slowly - it is too much for a kitten to take in all at once. Your kitten will vanish and you will have no idea which room he is hiding in.
A Cat Carrier. You will need a secure, well ventilated cat carrier. Your may well need to go to the vets for inoculations and neutering/spaying at some point. It is therefore worth while investing in a proper cat carrier. Most vets insist that animals attend clinic in a proper carrier.
A Litter Tray. We would highly recommend that you invest in an adult litter tray. He will very quickly grow out of the small tray. Your kitten will be indoors for some months to come. Use the same or similar litter that the kitten is used to. If you wish to change brands do so slowly over a week or so, mixing the new and the old brands together, slowly increasing the new litter, while decreasing the old. You will need a scoop for cleaning out the tray or removing solid waste.
A Few Toys. Again there is a wide choice of toys available. Do not choose anything too small that the kitten could get in his mouth and choke on. Likewise, anything on a string or piece of elastic should be played with under supervision. If a kitten gets the string caught around his neck he could easily strangle himself. Plastic balls, furry mice, rolled up pieces of newspaper, even a cardboard box with holes cut out in it will do. We would recommend a cat charmer as both kittens and adults alike seem to love this. It is a long piece of fabric attached to a wand.
If your kitten is on its own then it is even more important that you engage in some play with him. NEVER use your hands for playing, and do not engage in any rough play whatsoever.
You will end up with an aggressive adult cat that just sees your hands as prey - you cannot blame the cat for this behaviour if you have allowed him to behave like this previously. You will notice that two kittens playing will play rough until one of them lets out a squeal - as soon as this happens the game stops. This is their way of learning that biting hurts and is not acceptable. Our pain threshold is obviously higher than that of a kitten so we allow them to continue. I cannot stress enough that biting and scratching are not acceptable behaviour.
The chances are your kitten is bored and is trying to interact with you by biting - seeing you as prey. Put him down on the floor and redirect the biting by playing with him using interactive toys like the cat charmer. I cannot impress on you the importance of play. The more you play with him and interact the less likely he is to be aggressive towards you. Biting from kittens is often a sign of boredom.
You must make the effort to spend some time with them. Throwing a ball from a seated position is not his or my idea of play - you need to get up and move about, so he can 'chase' the toy in question. View it from the cats point of view - 'dead' prey is no fun - 'moving' prey brings all his instincs together and makes play fun! You must NEVER smack a kitten or punish him in any way. This will cause the animal stress and can lead to behavioural problems such as toileting in the wrong area, or he will become aggressive and/or nervous around people. Please seek our help if you are not sure how to react to a situation. Never use the kitten’s name when you are cross with it. He does not understand why you are angry and then later on when you are calling him for his food, you will wonder why he is not responding to his name - our voices and hands must be used for kindness at ALL times.
Weighing Scales: If your kitten is on dry food you will need some kitchen scales to measure out the food - it is imperative that your kitten is fed the correct amount and that the amount is gradually increased as your kitten gets older. Always follow the manufacturers recommendations. Find out beforehand what your kitten is being fed as you will need to keep to this diet for the first few weeks. You can then change to an alternative if you so desire. We would recommend feeding a mixture of both wet and dry food. Remember to adjust the amount of dry food offered if you are also using wet food. When he is adult you will need to re-evaulate his food intake as he is no longer growing. Feed enough to maintain an optimum weight - usually between 3.5kg-4.5kg for females and 4.5kg to 5.5kg for your average adult male.
Introducing Your Kitten: This cannot be hurried and can be quite complex. A further sheet has been prepared on this subject Introducing a New Cat. For now your kitten needs to be apart from the existing pets in the house for all their sakes!
Your kitten will ‘naturally’ bite and scratch. He will climb up your furniture, run around the back of the television to chew the wires, over the chairs, up your leg, whirl around the living room and up the curtains!! This is normal kitten behaviour! Your kitten is still learning and it is now up to you to offer some guidance. To avoid getting bitten and scratched, you should never use your hands for playing. Hands should only be for kindness, stroking and grooming.
At some stage you will probably have to give your kitten a tablet, whether it be for worming or if it is sick and needs medication. If you have previously ‘played’ or even worse ‘smacked’ the kitten with your hand, he is unlikely to trust you.
Your kitten will very quickly grow in to a cat, and a bite from a cat is going to hurt a lot more than a bite from a kitten! If the kitten is climbing up the curtains, pick him up and put him on the floor. It is important that you repeat this evertime. Do not speak to the kitten - just remove him from the work surface, table, curtains etc, and then distract him by playing at floor level.
Do not let small children pick up kittens - they have extremely sharp claws, the kitten may catch the child on the face, or worse in the eye. It is best to supervise small children and kittens.
Scratching posts are very useful - if the kitten starts to scratch your furniture, gently (don’t scare him) put the kitten on to the post. Again if you are in the room, distract the kitten away from the piece of furniture that is being scratched. When you see the kitten using the scratching post, praise him with lots of stroking.
Never smack a cat or kitten, it does not understand what it has done wrong. If it toilets in the wrong place, do not rub its nose in it - this is meaningless to the animal. I use a product called Urinator which removes all traces of little accidents! NEVER shout at an animal toileting in the wrong place, if he is nervous you will make it worse, if you think the kitten needs to go to the toilet, or it starts to scrape the carpet, gently lift him into the litter tray, close the kitchen door and leave it in peace to use the tray. If he has urinated in the wrong place, mop it up with some kitchen towel and then wipe the wet towel around the inside edge of the litter tray - hopefully he will return to the 'smell' in the litter tray.
Your kitten is ready for his 1st vaccination at 9 weeks of age, and his 2nd vaccination at 12 weeks.
The most common vaccine is for feline enteritis and cat flu, both of which can be fatal. We will automatically vaccinate for both of these. Feline Leukaemia vaccine is also now available. You will need to have your kitten vaccinated with at least feline enteritis and cat flu should you wish to use a boarding cattery when you go away on holiday. Again your vet will be able to advise you on this.
Fleas and Worms: Kittens can be wormed and flea’d from as early as two weeks of age with the correct products obtained from your local veterinary surgery. Worming should be done every two weeks until they are three months old, then monthly until they are 6 months old and then every three months thereafter. It is important to keep this up, especially if your kitten turns out to be a hunter. Seek advice from your vet as there are several different worm preparations on the market including tablets, paste, and injections. Different flea treatments are also available in the form of sprays, powders or now there is the ‘spot-on’ which is put just on the back of the cats neck, very simple and easy but it needs to be done on a monthly basis. Again your vet will advise you on the best method to suit you and your kitten.
Chewing: Be aware that some plants, such as the dumb cane (Dieffenbachia) or Poinsettia are poisonous. Some cats are born nibblers. Cat grass can be bought and grown in a couple of weeks. It may be advisable to offer your kitten this to chew rather than your houseplants. At about 5 months of age your kitten will start to lose his baby teeth. During this teething period your kitten may start to chew on items such as his cardboard box - be aware that some cats choose to chew on electric cables - be aware of this and watch him during this time. I usually smear a menthol type gel - that we humans use for nasal congestion - onto the wires, or a couple of drops of Olbas oil on a piece of cotton wool. Cats hate the smell of this and usually back off immediately, although initially you may have to do this on a daily basis. For a full list of poisonous plants, or poisons within the household,The Feline Advisory Bureau have a very comprehensive listing.
Under no circumstances allow your kitten outside on its own until it has been neutered/spayed. It is a myth that a female needs to have a litter of kittens before she is spayed. A female can become pregnant at just a few months old, when she is still a baby herself, putting both her and the kittens at risk. An adult cat can be responsible for over 20,000 descendants in its lifetime! Your vet will advise you when it is the right time to have your kitten neutered or spayed, but it is usually around six months of age. Many people these days look for ways to cat proof their gardens. Should you still wish to keep your cat indoors all the time then you must make it a cat friendly home.
Never carry your kitten out into the garden in your arms. If he is scared the kitten will wriggle out of your arms and run off much quicker than you can catch him! If you wish to take your kitten into the garden you can buy a cat harness, although it may be advisable to get the kitten used to wearing the harness indoors before you venture out in to the garden. Once outdoors your kitten will come across the neighbourhood cats - many of which may be un-neutered males. These cats may well be carrying FIV (cat equivalent to HIV - but no risk to humans) and FeLV. (Feline Leukaemia Virus) both viruses attack the immune system and are fatal. We test for both of these viruses. The virus can be passed from cat to cat from bite wounds, which is another reason for keeping your cat indoors at night, as the un-neutered males will be on the prowl looking for a female, and fighting with the other males over territory.
Should your kitten get out put up posters, contact the local vets, RSPCA and other rescue centres across the region. Some animal shelters will only keep cats/kittens for a week before rehoming them! Your kitten has been microchipped, which will help, but unfortunately it is not always a guarantee. Try and use the kittens name along with another ‘signal’, for example a plastic box with some dry food - rattle the box and call his name - when the kitten responds reward with a biscuit or two, or try it at meal times and then place the bowl of food on the floor. You must ensure your kitten will respond to you before letting him out. This is more difficult to achieve if you leave food out all the time, as there is no reward in coming for a biscuit, when you already have a plateful on the kitchen floor! Try using a different type of biscuit as a treat. If you have a cat flap teach the cat to come IN before you teach him how to get out. This can be done either by propping the cat flap open for a few days and then closing it slightly from the inside, call the cat in for feeding so it has to push with his nose to get in for the food. Remember, when the ‘magnet’ is on the cat has to push harder and at first this may be confusing. Sometimes a gentle push through can help.
Your kitten could be with you for the next 25 years - if you cannot commit the time or money then you need to think seriously about taking on a new kitten. If you plan to have a family in the future what will happen to your kitten then, or will he be surplus to requirements and join the hundreds of other cats now behind bars. These are living breathing creatures that have feelings and are affected by their surroundings. They are NOT a disposable commodity.
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Caring for you kitten