Ready to adopt
Preventive Care
Health Exams/Vaccinations
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What you should know about vaccinations
Have your kitten examined by a veterinarian to ensure that it has no major health problems. Your kitten will need a series of vaccinations. Vaccinations are usually given at 3 week intervals from approximately 6 to 15 weeks of age. At 15-16 weeks old, the kitten can receive its rabies vaccination. Kittens should be checked for intestinal parasites (2 stool samples 3 weeks apart), fleas, and ear mites and appropriate medications given for these problems. Your veterinarian may also recommend a preventative for heartworm disease, which is more commonly associated with dogs, but can also affect cats. These are general guidelines. Remember, your kitten is an individual and need for specific vaccinations, timing of boosters, and risk factors for disease are best assessed by your veterinarian.
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Spaying/Neutering
The decision to breed a cat is not one to be taken lightly. Thousands of cats are euthanized each year simply because there aren't enough homes for them. If you don't plan to breed your cat as an adult, spay or neuter your kitten. Spaying and neutering decrease incidence of some tumors and reproductive infections, both of which require more serious (and costly) surgical procedures. A male cat must be neutered if it will be a housepet because the strong urine odor of unneutered males will make your cat an unacceptable housemate. Discuss with your veterinarian the most appropriate time to spay or neuter your kitten.
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Declawing
It is part of your kitten's nature to sharpen its claws so you will need to provide it with a carpeted board or pole to use as a scratching post (unless you want the kitten to use your furniture). Many owners decide to declaw their cats because they believe it makes them more acceptable housepets ¡X easier on the furniture and the kids.
For indoor cats, many veterinarians recommend declawing only the front feet, so that if the cat does get outside it has some mechanism of defense. For cats that are outside on a regular basis, it may be possible (and better) to avoid declawing by keeping nails trimmed or using "nail caps." Whether or not to declaw your cat is an individual and personal decision that is best discussed with your veterinarian.
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Dental Care
Pets At Risk: Bad Breath Isn't Funny Anymore
Frisco caught the guest by surprise in the living room. He planted a big, breathy smooch on her face. "Ugh! Dog breath!" The room erupted in laughter.
It wasn't so funny the next day when Frisco had his yearly check-up. The 2-?-year-old dog was diagnosed with gum disease, and he was in danger of losing a tooth if he didn't begin a regular dental care program.
According to the American Veterinary Dental Society, Frisco's case is not unique. Studies show that more than 80 percent of dogs by age three and 70 percent of cats by age three show some signs of gum disease. Bad breath could be an early warning sign of the dangerous gum disease gingivitis.
Pets Need Dental Care, Too!
During National Pet Dental Health Month each February, pet owners are reminded
that dogs and cats need good oral care. An educational campaign to consumers,
sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American
Veterinary Dental Society with an educational grant provided by Hill's Pet
Nutrition, Inc., helps pet owners understand the importance of regular dental
care for their pets.
Particularly at risk are small dog breeds, such as Pekingese and Shihtzu. Experts say these breeds are more likely to develop tooth problems because their teeth are crowded into small mouths. This can create a haven for plaque buildup.
Cervical line lesions (CLL) are the most common dental disease of domestic cats. Studies show that about 28 percent of domestic cats that veterinarians examine have CLL. Because the lesions often begin beneath the gumline, owners usually are unaware that there is a problem until the tooth is seriously damaged.
Prevention
Prevention is the key to helping pets maintain good oral health. The American
Veterinary Dental Society recommends that pet owners follow three important
steps:
Visit Your Veterinarian
Just as dental visits are the cornerstone of a human dental program, visiting
a veterinarian is the key to ensuring the health of your pet's teeth. A veterinarian
will conduct a thorough physical examination of your pet as part of the dental
evaluation.
Start a dental care routine at home
Removing plaque regularly from your pet's teeth should be part of your pet's
home dental care routine. Ask your veterinarian about the procedure for brushing
your pet's teeth. Dog owners also may feed specially formulated dietary foods
that help reduce the accumulation of plaque and tartar from teeth when the
pet eats. Your veterinarian can offer more information on dietary options.
Get Regular Veterinary Dental Checkups
The family veterinarian needs to monitor the progress of your pet's preventive
dental care routine much the same way a dentist monitors your teeth. Regular
dental check-ups are essential.
Once a pet's teeth display the warning signs ¡X bad breath, a yellow brown crust of tartar around the gumline, pain or bleeding when the pet eats or when you touch its gums ¡X gum disease may already be present. For a professional dental check-up, call your veterinarian today!
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Welcoming Your cat
There's nothing like a new kitten in the house; they're affectionate, entertaining, and curious. As a responsible pet owner, a variety of concerns must be addressed to make sure your kitten grows up to be a healthy, well-adjusted cat.
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Housing
Roaming cats are prime candidates for fights with other animals, traffic accidents, and communicable diseases from other cats. Their life span can be expected to be considerably shorter as a result.
Many cats are strictly indoor pets and are perfectly content, as long as they have access to a clean litter box and fresh water at all times. AVMA strongly recommends that for a healthier, happier pet you consider keeping your kitten indoors only.
If your pet must go outside, make sure you know where it is at all times, that the kitten is old enough to manage on its own, that it is identified in some fashion (microchip ID or breakaway collar and tag), current on vaccinations, and not outdoors in extremely cold, hot, or inclement weather.
If you don't want your kitten in certain areas of the house, start training it immediately to avoid those areas. When choosing where your kitten will sleep, keep in mind that cats are nocturnal animals and will be active at night. Placing soft bedding materials in secluded corners will help your kitten to feel at home.
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Toys
Toys should be strong enough to withstand chewing, not have bells or squeakers that could be torn off and swallowed, and large enough so that the entire toy cannot be swallowed. String, thread, balls of yarn, and ribbons are deadly toys that can be swallowed and become lodged in the digestive tract; do not allow your kitten to play with these items.
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Spaying and Neutering Frequently Asked Questions
What is neutering?
To accomplish surgical neutering, a veterinarian removes certain reproductive
organs. If your cat or dog is a female, the veterinarian will remove her ovaries,
fallopian tubes and uterus. The proper name for this operation is an ovariohysterectomy,
although it is commonly called "spaying."
The testicles are removed from a male animal. This operation is properly called an orchiectomy, although it is usually referred to as castration, or simply "neutering."
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What are the advantages?
For you, the operation results in added convenience. It eliminates blood stains on carpets and floors, and usually stops tomcats from spraying strong-smelling urine on furniture and drapes. You'll no longer have annoying or menacing suitors to contend with. There's no need to confine your pet during "heat" periods, and no unwanted litters to take care of or find homes for. Your pet will be more likely to stay home and devote attention to you and your family.
For dogs and cats, surgical neutering eliminates a female's chances of developing uterine infections and reduces the possibility that she might develop mammary cancer. Males usually become less aggressive and spend more time at home, thus decreasing their chances of being injured in fights or automobile accidents.
Your community will also benefit. Unwanted animals are becoming a very real concern in many places. Stray animals can easily become a public nuisance, soiling parks and streets, ruining shrubbery, frightening children and elderly people, creating noise and other disturbances, causing automobile accidents, and sometimes even killing livestock or other pets.
As a potential source of rabies and other less serious diseases, they can be a public health hazard. The capture, impoundment and eventual destruction of unwanted animals costs taxpayers and private humanitarian agencies millions of dollars each year.
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Will it change my pet's intelligence or disposition?
Only for the better. The operation has no effect on intelligence. And most neutered pets tend to be more gentle and affectionate. They become less interested in other animals and spend more time with the family.
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Will it make my pet fat?
Removing the ovaries or testicles does affect metabolism. This seems to make many neutered pets put on weight more easily if permitted to overeat. The diet of every dog and cat should be carefully regulated to prevent excess weight, and this is particularly true after a neutering operation.
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Is the operation painful?
Spaying and neutering operations are performed painlessly while your pet is under general anesthesia. After the surgery there may be some discomfort, but this is part of the normal healing process and can be controlled with medication.
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When should my pet have the operation?
Generally speaking, as early as possible. Most veterinarians recommend that a female be spayed before her first estrus or "heat" period (around 6 months of age). A male dog or a tomcat can be neutered at 6 months to a year old. Your veterinarian can recommend the best time for your pet.
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Is the operation expensive?
Professional fees for spaying and neutering reflect the difficulty of the procedures involved. The actual fee varies from one area to another, depending largely on the economics of maintaining a veterinary hospital in a particular community. The size, age, sex and health of your pet affect the cost of the operation.
If the fee seems high, remember that surgical neutering is permanent. It's a life-time investment in your pet that can solve a number of problems for you, your pet, and society already burdened with too many dogs and cats. In fact, it could save you money in the long run. The cost of boarding your pet during just one or two "heat" periods, for example, probably would pay for an ovariohysterectomy.
A litter--wanted or unwanted--also means added expenses. A nursing mother needs extra food and care, and once weaned, the offspring must be fed as well. New pups and kittens also need inoculations and they may have to be treated for parasites. Even if your pet never has a litter, she could develop "female disorders" that would require surgery similar to or even more serious than spaying.
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What are the alternatives?
The oldest (and in some respects the easiest) way to prevent mating is to keep your pet confined during its fertile periods. Once they reach sexual maturity, male animals can mate any time they are not confined.
Females can become pregnant only during their estrus or "heat" periods. These cycles usually occur twice a year in dogs, and at least two or three times a year in cats. Many cats "come into heat" as often as once every 2 or 3 weeks during certain months.
Since pets are capable of mating so much of the time, confinement is not particularly convenient for the owner. It also does nothing to eliminate such problems as spotting and spraying, or susceptibility to uterine infection and mammary cancer.
Veterinary medical scientists are working to develop a "pill" or some other convenient method of birth control for pets. There are now several medications on the market that can be used temporarily to keep an animal out of heat.
At present, other than confining your animal, the sure way to keep your pet from mating is to have it surgically neutered.
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Will it stop the "pet population explosion"?
Spaying and neutering pets should help reduce the problem of surplus cats and dogs, but surgery alone is not enough. Unowned animals are a major part of the problem. In addition to creating a public nuisance and possible health hazard, stray dogs and cats give birth to unwanted pups and kittens at an alarming rate.
Many communities have tremendously reduced or nearly eliminated their unwanted animal populations simply by enforcing existing animal control regulations. Others have come to grips with the problem by passing more stringent laws and enforcing them rigidly.
As a concerned citizen, you should do everything you can to see that leash laws and other animal control regulations in your community are up to date and adequately enforced. And, as a responsible pet owner, you should make sure your pet does not contribute to the problem
Source:http://www.avma.org
