Considerations for kittens

Choosing your first kitten can be difficult – the cute factor is extremely high.

Kittenhood has a few stages: cute and cuddly (six to eight weeks plus), gawky and gangly (around four to eight months), and the hyperdrive and hunting period (8-18 months or so). But after that you own an adult cat that will potentially spend much of the next 15 years or so sleeping, eating, spreading the intestines of some small creature down your cream carpet, but mostly sleeping.

A cat is a long-term commitment but it’s easy to forget that when you’re feeling besotted by a cage full of cute little kittens. Age

A kitten should be at least eight weeks old when you adopt it, but preferably 9-12 weeks so he is eating solid food, has been well socialised by his siblings and mother, and had time to develop a good immune system. If you work long hours or travel a lot, a young kitten is going to get distressed without company, so it might be a better option to adopt a slightly older kitten (six months+) or even an adult cat that needs rehoming. Tip: Not sure of a kitten’s age? A kitten is born with blue eyes, the colour changing to its adult tone when it is around nine weeks old.

Note: A pure white cat that stays blue-eyed may have the gene for deafness.

Coat

Even with regular grooming, all cats shed hair. Get any kitten you adopt used to being brushed from a young age. It helps prevent hairballs, controls the shedding to a degree, and is a great way to bond with them. A longhaired cat requires more of a commitment. Breeds like Persians need daily grooming to keep their coats in good order, and you will have to learn good techniques when he is a kitten so it doesn’t become a life-long battle of wills, claws and teeth. If you are thinking of adopting a long-haired cat, talk with the breeder or your vet about how best to approach this aspect of his care.

Breed

It’s estimated there are around 1.4 million pet cats in New Zealand and most of those are moggys. But if you have your heart set on a pedigree cat, research the breed you like, talk to several breeders and visit them before making a decision. Depending on the breed, there may be a waiting list and you may need to wait months for a litter to be born. Make sure to visit breeders on separate days wearing clean clothes and shoes so you don’t risk the possibility of spreading disease.

Questions to ask Breeders: Does the breed have any inherited tendencies or diseases, for example, some flat-faced breeds can have eye issues. Has the breeder had them vet checked or tested?

Health check

If you buy a kitten, check out the hygiene of the seller’s facilities – it should be clean to discourage disease – and they should also be willing to let you get them checked by a vet before you make a final commitment. The basic checks are:

• Age (a kitten over four weeks will have his front teeth and two canines at the front)

• Clear eyes, a slightly damp nose, no-smell inner ears (no dirt or discharge)

• Clean, shiny, no-smell coat (push the fur against the grain to look for black flea ‘dirt’, ticks or mites)

• Clean bottom (no sign of diarrhoea or sores)

• Bright nature and easy moving

• Bare patches of skin may be an indication of ringworm which can be caught by humans, but it’s not always that obvious. A vet can check using a ‘black’ light to see ringworm (which will glow).

Questions to ask: What flea and worming treatment have they had, have they had any or both their vaccinations, what food are they eating (feed the same type to avoid tummy upsets and only gradually change over 7-10 days), what litter are they used to (again, use the same type and change it gradually or a kitten may get confused)?

Last on the list: Do you want a male or female cat? What colour? These aspects will be your personal preference as they make little difference once a cat has been spayed or neutered. Consider the important aspects like health, temperament and coat length first

When looking for a kitten check what food are they eating.