Preparing for a new Kitten

Look for places a kitten can get into (holes in walls, fireplaces, etc.) and put barriers in front.

Look for personal items that they might hurt themselves with – pens, needles, scissors, knives, all dangerous!  Protect your cords too – especially electronic ones – they love to play with them.

Secure breakables (glasses, vases, etc.) on places they can easily reach.

Look for toxic plants (http://www.petmd.com/cat/emergency/poisoning-toxicity/e_ct_poisonous_plants) and get them out of reach (or ideally gone!)

 You will need at least 1 per floor that that kitten will be on.  If you already have a cat; you should have one more litter box than cats.

Unscented, no clay litter is important for kittens.  They can easily eat it or breath it and that’s horrible for them.  For kittens, we recommend: World’s Best or Swheat Scoop

 We will provide either wet food or raw food on your choice. We’ll let you know the wet food brand your kitten prefers and you can start with some of that.  If you want to transition to a new food; please do it slowly to avoid upsetting their stomach.

Toys are ridiculously important for Kittens and Bengals in particular.  Get a variety and see what they (and you) like!  We’ve started making our own, but there are lots of cool things out there.

 Treats aren’t that important at this stage, but they can be fun.

You need at least one of each.  If you are feeding wet/raw food than they won’t drink a lot of water – this is completely normal! Cats who are fed dry food drink a lot and that’s not normal.

Buy a soft bed to lie in – usually, they want a much larger bed than you think!  Heated beds are a plus.

You will want to have a brush (a soft brush; their soft fur doesn’t need to be brushed so it’s more for enjoyment).

You want this style: https://www.amazon.ca/Ecloud-Shop-Clipper-Grooming-Trimmer/dp/B00N4RAYB6/  You can get them in all pet stores.

it’s a calming spray which is a good way to help them adjust.  There is a diffuser or just a spray.  Amazon sells it, so do most vets.

You need to get at least one scratching post.  We have 6 in our house; however, 3 of them are also cat trees.

We highly recommend cat trees – specifically Armarkat Trees – they are more expensive, but they last much longer.  Even the kittens love spending time in the tree as young as they are.  Here is our current favourite tree.  Don’t get a knockoff (Go Pet or something similar) – the quality is so much worse.