Kittens ... The First Year of Life

• Health Priorities

• New arrival advice & checkup
  
• Start vaccinations - the "primary course" of injections need to be given no more than 6 weeks apart:
  

         1st injection (primes immune system)
         2nd injection (immunizes)
         NB:  A 3rd injection at 16 weeks is advisable in high risk   
         situations (eg boarding cattery)

• Pet insurance
• Pre-neutering check
  
• Neutering - can be done from 12 weeks onwards 
• Microchipping - best done at the time of neutering
• Diet - kitten food until 6 months of age, avoid obesity with reduction in activity levels and hormonal changes post-neutering
• First booster vaccination

Common diseases of kittens

• Birth defects (eg cleft palate, hernias, liver shunts, heart disease etc)
  
• Infectious diseases (eg cat flu, FIP, worms, fleas)
  
• Trauma (eg cars, falling off furniture/rooftops/trees, misadventure with children/dogs/other cats etc) 
  

Lifestyle considerations

• Grooming
  
• Dental hygiene
  
• Diet - type, aim to feed twice daily rather than ad lib, at least 50-75%, grain-free wet food
  
• Indoor/outdoor lifestyle
  
• Microchipping/ID collars & tags 
  
• Behavioural issues
  
• Neutering 
  
• Tailored preventative infectious disease/parasite control
  

Find out about the other life stages...

Adults 

Senior & Geriatric Cats