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Taking Care of Your
Persian/Himalayan Persian Kitten
Congratulations on the purchase of your new kitten!! I'm sure you will have many
happy and fun filled years together. Below are some helpful guidelines/tips that you may find helpful when bringing your new kitten home. In addition, please don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions or concerns about your new baby.
Introducing Your New Kitten
Immediately after getting your kitten home, place him directly into his litter box
so he/she knows exactly where to find it. Please don't move the box for several days until the kitten is comfortable using it. I normally don't let my kittens leave until I am convinced they are using the litter box properly; however, you must remember that they are still babies who are in a strange environment and may be confused for a few days.
Plenty of affection should be given to your new kitten as he/she has been used to
the company of mom and littermates and may initially be lonely. Your attention and presence, especially at night, will usually alleviate any lonliness and avoid excessive crying. However, regardless of the amount of attention you give, it is very normal for kittens to periodically cry and search the house for his mother and siblings. This should subside within the first couple of days, and then your kitten will feel right at home.
Introduce children (especially under the age of 6) gradually and with supervision
AT ALL TIMES. Young children do not understand how to handle/treat a kitten. This is something they must be taught. If mishandled, the kitten will protect itself by the only means it knows....scratching. This may frighten both the kitten and the child. If this happens, please do not punish the kitten as it is only doing what comes naturally and is not intentionally hurting anyone.
This same rule applies when introducing your new kitten to other family pets.
Never leave the kitten and another family pet alone together until you are sure they have gone through the proper introduction stage and are comfortable with each other. Some pets need time to get aquainted and may not get along during the first few days.
Feeding Guidelines
Up to this point, your new kitten has been eating a combination of one or more of
the following dry food (Hill's Science Diet, Eukanuba, Iams, and Eagle Pack Kitten), and mother's milk. Kittens (especially Persians) have very sensitive digestive systems and have a tendency to get diarrhea and/or constipation rather easily during the transition period from mother's milk to solid food. This period is usually experienced between the ages of 5 - 10 weeks of age. Lucky for you, the worst part of this occurs before the kitten leaves my home. This is the reason I get them used to more than one type of food. However, it is strongly recommended that you not introduce any other foods for several weeks. When new foods are given, you must introduce them very gradually. If you don't, you will probably be sorry.....=( Please do not give your kitten milk. If you do, do so at your own risk! Contrary to popular belief, kittens/cats do not need milk and do not digest it well at all. Most kittens will develop diarrhea, vomiting, and/or an upset stomach. If you'd like, there are milk substitutes on the market especially made for cats; however it is not necessary to the health of your kitten.
The same is true concerning canned food. Although I feel it is an essential part
of a kitten's/cat's diet, I feel this is a decision that you, as the new owner must decide. It is not necessary to the kitten's health, but adds an additional benefit of variety. If you are using a high quality kitten food, (such as Eagle Pack, Hill's Science Diet, Iams, or Eukanuba, etc.) no other food/supplements are needed. Also keep in mind most kittens/cats take a big liking to canned food very easily and sometimes will get to the point of refusing to eat their dry food, so I would recommend feeding canned food only a few times a week and not daily. Your kitten needs the benefits of dry food for healthy teeth and bone development; however, at the same time they also need the "meat" of canned food. An ideal diet is a combination of the two with dry food being available at all times, and canned food given 2-3 times a week.
Fresh water should be available at all times. You should never place food/water
close to the kitten's litter box. Cats are extremely clean and meticulous animals and do not like to use the bathroom next to where they eat, so please make sure they are in separate locations. If it's necessary to keep both the food and litter box in the same room, place as much distance between the two as possible. The litter box should be cleaned DAILY. Your kitten was litter trained using the clumping type of litter. The brand is not really important, but believe me, there are differences in clumping litter. Shop around and use whatever is good for you.
ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND THAT A DIRTY LITTER BOX IS
THE NUMBER ONE REASON A CAT WILL BEGIN GOING TO THE BATHROOM SOMEWHERE ElSE!!
GROOMING GUIDELINES
Ideally, Persians need to be groomed daily from the day you bring him/her home.
This is especially important if you have more than one cat in the family. If done on a regular basis, this only takes 5-10 minutes a day and in the long run, you will be glad you did. Regular combing/brushing helps to keep your cat's coat healthy, free of mats, and reduces the amount of shedding and coughing up hairballs. Start by combing the fur on the abdomen and legs to untangle any knots. Gently comb the fur upward toward the cat's head one section at a time to pull out all the dead hairs. To help remove grease or dirt, sprinkle a little cornstarch onto the coat once a week. To remove tangles, first sprinkle with cornstarch and then gently "tease" the knots out by hand. Comb the fur around the neck in an upward direction so it forms a ruff. Remove all cornstarch from the cat's coat. Finally, make a parting down the middle of the back and tail and gently brush the fur out on either side.
Claws should be trimmed regularly. Ears should be carefully cleaned once a
month with a Q-tip moistened with baby oil. DO NOT CLEAN DOWN INTO THE EAR CANAL ITSELF!
By nature of the breed, Persian's eyes have a tendency to tear up often,
sometimes daily, and need to be cleaned to keep the fur around the eyes from becoming stained. This is especially true in the lighter colored cats. The area around the eyes should be cleaned daily using a soft cloth or Kleenex moistened with water or a sterile saline solution (human contac solution works well). Be careful not to touch the eyeball itself. I have found that unscented baby wipes work great also.
Bathing your kitten should not ever be necessary unless he/she gets extremely
dirty or is going to be shown. Cats are very clean animals and give themselves baths constantly. Regular grooming and spot cleaning should be sufficient in most cases.
Miscellaneous
Under most circumstances, registration papers have been provided with your
kitten. These should be filled out and sent to the Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) along with the required fee of $10/$15. The CFA will then send you your offical cat registration in about two weeks. There have been times when the kittens registration papers have not come by the time the kitten is old enough to go to it's new home. If that is the case with your kitten, be assured that I will send you the papers as soon as I receive them.
Your kitten has already received his core vaccinations. This consists of two
vaccinations given 3-4 weeks apart. There are some vets who still recommend a series of 3 shots rather than 2. If your vet is of this belief, your kitten still may require one more shot at around 15-16 weeks of age. He also was wormed at 7 wks. The vaccination I give is a 3-way vaccine (modified live virus) protecting against Panleukopenai (feline distemper); Rhinotracheitis (FVR-a highly contagious respiratory disease); and Calicivirus (PCV-another very serious respiratory infection). A booster shot is due in 3-4 wks and should be done when you take the kitten to the vet for his first exam. At that time, the vet can explain to you when your kitten needs it's next series of shots.
For the safety and wellbeing of your cat and for the management of his coat, I
strongly recommend your cat be kept indoors at ALL times.
In addition, although the ultimate choice is yours, I do not recommend nor
advocate the declawing of your cat. The only exception, in my opinion, would be if a family member has a bleeding disorder, such as hemophilia. Declawing is done for human convenience alone, and is not in any way beneficial to your cat. The procedure is likened in human terms of having your fingers severed at the first joint. It is NOT a simple removing of the claws as most people think. Persians, by nature of the breed, are much less inclined to scratch/damage furniture than other breeds. Especially if your kitten/cat is provided ample places to scratch/sharpen his claws (such as a scratching post or a sisal post); destruction of property is highly unlikely. If you decide to have your cat declawed, may I suggest that you research the procedure as much as possible beforehand? I also enclosed an article on declawing in your kitten folder.
Once again, thank you very much for purchasing your kitten from me. I have no
doubt that you will have many years of love, companionship, and friendship with your new kitten.
Please don't ever hesitate to call me or email me if you have a question or a
concern about your kitten. Especially if an unusual medical condition arises or is discovered. It is vital to the success of my breeding program, that I be made aware of any genetic disorders, flaws, or serious illnesses. Not only because I care, but also so it is not passed on to future generations. |