Kitten Tips

For pick up all you will need is a carrier with a small towel or blanket inside. Your kitten will not need any food or water for the journey, they will be okay for a few hours. They will not need a litter box either in the car, even if you have a several hour trip.

Designate a small area or room with litter, toys, food and water and let him/her get familiar with this area first. The first few nights they will be missing their litter mates and mother so you will want to have them in a room with you.

When first coming home, in the set room, open the carrier, sit quietly in the room and allow the kitten to explore on their own. After they have explored a little, it can be a good time to play with them with a toy to start bonding.

After the first day or so as they seem ready, allow them to explore further outside the room.

Something to keep in mind for those with allergies: your new kitten’s FelD-1 levels will be higher the first few days due to the stress of the change in homes, but they will lower back down. Daily wiping with a damp cloth can help, and their levels will drop even more after being spayed/neutered.

Toys and play are a great way for them to get familiar with you and bond, especially with children. Encourage children to first use a toy to play with the kitten and allow them to get used to each other that way. Also using toys for play instead of hands will deter unwanted scratching.

Have plenty of scratching posts available with different surfaces and heights if possible to deter unwanted scratching of furniture.

Cat trees will help deter unwanted climbing of curtains. Cats love heights and will need a place to climb

Have water and food available always. For at least the first year or more of their life kittens should be free fed. Siberians are a slower maturing breed and are not fully grown until at least two and can keep maturing until five years old. Many adults do well being free fed also.

We recommend waiting to feed canned or wet food for a couple weeks as it can give them loose stool when they are adjusting to their new environment. After the two weeks, supplementing with wet food can be beneficial. All kittens will be used to eating dry food when they go to their new homes.

Kittens will need their nails trimmed about every three weeks. Trimming while they are sleepy or wrapped in a towel helps. Daily brushing is not necessary but it is a nice way to bond as well as help them get used to brushing and enjoy it. Once they are around a year old and have their adult coat they will need weekly brushing (and daily brushing in the spring when they molt their winter coat).

All kittens will be on Life’s Abundance dry food, the orange bag, when they come home and we highly recommend continuing that food for the first year of their life. We also recommend using any premium clumping clay cat litter that is fragrance free. Here is a link for ordering the food: www.lifesabundance.com/sestra

Enjoy your new kitten!