Young kittens, however, can be reared successfully with extra attention. If the kitten is too young to lap, pet nursing bottles are available at most pet shops and some supermarkets.

Before taking your kitten home, brief your family on how to handle the newcomer. The kitten is not a toy and can be hurt if not handled correctly. Support the kitten well when carrying it, with one arm supporting its bottom and stomach.

Diet
It is not advisable to use fresh cow's milk to feed very small kittens as it may cause diarrhoea. Use evaporated milk, "Esbalac" or "Animalac" which are better tolerated.
Kittens below three months of age - Should be fed at least four times a day. Evaporated milk (diluted with 50 percent water), "Esbalac" or "Animalac" and small portions of canned cat food or dried cat food moistened with a little warm evaporated milk or water should be fed to the kitten.
Kittens between three and nine months of age - Should be fed three times a day with canned or dried cat food.
Kittens above nine months - Should be fed once or twice a day with canned or dried cat food.
Fresh water must always be available for your pet.

Medical Care
Feline enteritis is common and nearly always fatal. To prevent this, the kitten should be vaccinated between eight to twelve week's old, and have a further injection four weeks later. As the vaccine only protects a cat for 12 months, an annual booster is necessary.
As most kittens have worms, they should be dewormed at three to four weeks of age with a follow-up dose 10 days later. This is easily done, and your vet will advise you on the treatment. Thereafter deworm at least twice a year.
It is not true that a kitten eats more if it has worms. It is more likely to be off food, listless and have a dull coat. A kitten with worms has a distended spongy stomach, sporadic diarrhoea and can even vomit up live worms.
Ear mites are also common and cause great discomfort. If present the cat will appear to have very dirty ears, scratch them often and shake its head a lot.
Ear mites cannot be seen with the human eye and they can be deeply imbedded in the ear. So if these symptoms are apparent have a vet clean the ears and get him to show you how to clean them correctly.
If a kitten has fleas, rub a very small amount of flea powder into its coat. Excess powder should be wiped off with a damp cloth or the kitten could become very ill when it licks itself.
No kitten under the age of six months should wear a flea collar.

Bathing
Bathing of kittens is not often necessary but if the kitten is very dirty it will do no harm to bathe it. Frequent bathing, however, is bad as it destroys the natural oils in the fur and causes dry flaking skin. If you have to bathe your kitten, use a special mild pet shampoo, dry with towel and place it in the sun or a warm place away from draughts to let it dry completely.

Toilet Training
Kittens are clean creatures and usually bury their droppings. A simple tray filled with litter is the most usual form of toilet for kittens. Place the litter tray in a convenient, easily reached but quiet area. The kitten should be placed in the litter tray immediately following each meal. If the kitten does not perform as desired, but chooses to wander about, don't allow it to leave, restrict its movements as much as possible. After the kitten excretes, lavish praise on it. If a mishap occurs, firm correction is appropriate. You must be careful not to overdo it; be firm and corrective, not vociferous and irrational.
A scratching post prevents your cat from destroying furniture etc., you can buy this from most pet shops. Kittens soon learn to sharpen their claws on the scratching post and will leave the furniture untouched.
Follow the above instructions and your reward will be a happy, healthy, affectionate, playful and entertaining kitten.