How to Care for a New Kitten at Home

If a new pet, a little kitten, has joined your home this season and you've never had a cat before, this NUPEC Blog article shares the care your kitten needs when it arrives, to help you give it a good life full of health and well-being. Keep reading to learn more.

Before we share these tips, keep in mind that an essential part of a pet's health and harmonious life is starting your responsible pet ownership by taking your kitten for an initial veterinary check-up. At this visit, the veterinarian will check its health and physical development and tell you about the particular care your pet needs at home, as well as the necessary preventive veterinary care (vaccination and deworming schedule).

Your kitten's care begins with this first visit to the vet.

Once you've taken your kitten to the vet and been told what care it needs, we can move on to our recommendations.

Basic kitten care

1. Take your kitten to the vet as soon as you get (or adopt) it for a physical exam and a personalized preventive care plan (vaccination and internal/external deworming).
2. It's essential to give your kitten nutritious, balanced food that provides all the nutrients it needs for optimal development, with products such as NUPEC^® Kitten, available as kitten kibble or kitten wet food.
3. Set a feeding routine with fixed mealtimes, always in the same place, following the feeding guide on the back of the package.
4. Proper hydration is also a crucial part of your kitten's nutrition, and its health depends on it as well.
5. Give it a suitable space at home to grow, with a bed, a scratching post and a litter box that is always clean.
6. Make sure it has a warm place to shelter that isn't exposed to drastic temperature changes (cold, heat or rain).
7. Give it plenty of playtime and recreational activity. This will help your cat develop emotionally, bond with you and socialize.
8. Bathe it once a month with a suitable shampoo (recommended by your veterinarian).
9. Brush it daily (long-haired cats) or twice a week (short-haired cats) to prevent hairballs.
10. Always keep it clean and dry.
11. Get your kitten used to being handled for baths, nail trims and paw checks, and to being around other people. This will help it not be shy with strangers and make vet check-ups easier.

In addition to this essential kitten care, there are other things to keep in mind, so we also recommend reading the following articles:

• Kitten feeding myths
• 2 NUPEC products for kitten nutrition
• Cat name ideas

Finally, we once again remind every responsible owner or pet parent to rely on the ongoing advice of a veterinarian. That way, you'll learn first-hand from an expert the care your cat needs at each stage of life.

As a final note, NUPEC offers a wide variety of cat food, specialized cat food and wet cat food to help you give conscious scientific nutrition to your kitten, adult cat, long-haired cat or senior cat.

At NUPEC^®, we are committed to enhancing the health, beauty and life of pets through responsible scientific nutrition, bringing fulfillment to their owners.