Kitten Information

Elm Vets are committed to the best possible patient and client care. Please feel free to discuss any problems with the vet, or telephone for advice from one of our experienced reception/nursing staff.

Vaccinations

Your kitten will need a course of 2 injections 3-4 weeks apart to protect him/her from the main infectious diseases of cats:

• Cat flu (herpes and calicivirus)
• Feline Panleucopenia Virus
• Feline Leukaemia Virus (only for cats who go outside)   

When can he/she go for a out?

• One week after the final injection
• We would advise waiting until your kitten is neutered and has a microchip before letting them out

Your cat then requires a yearly booster to keep the vaccinations up to date.

Worming and Flea Treatment 

• In most pets we recommend one of the three following flea treatments:
• Bravecto flea and tick spot-on (every 3 months)
• Advocate Flea spot-on (every month)
• Credelio flea and tick tablets (every month)

We recommend the following worm treatments, to be given every 1-6 months depending on the age and lifestyle of your cat:

• Milbemax tablets
• Profender spot-on

Neutering

Spaying Queens prevents:

• Unwanted pregnancies  - a Queen can have 2-3 litters of kittens a year! 
• Womb infections, which can be fatal

It is not necessary for a Queen to have a litter before she is spayed. If your Queen is not spayed, she will usually come into season between 6 and 12 months of age and every 2-3weeks after that. Queens will call loudly when they are in season to attract the local Tom cats. We recommend spaying from 4 months onwards.

Cat castration involves removing both testicles and prevents:

• Some prostatic diseases 
• Certain behavioural problems e.g. roaming, spraying, and aggression
•  We usually recommend castration from 4 months onwards

Microchipping 

We recommend getting your kitten microchipped before they start going out. It contains a unique number that is registered to a microchip database, containing all your details. If your cat gets lost vets and shelters can scan the chip and help return your pet. It is vital to keep your contact details up to date on the microchip database. 
We recommend inserting the microchip when your cat is neutered.

Diet/Nutrition

The easiest way to give your kitten a balanced diet is to feed him/her a proprietary kitten diet. Initially your kitten will need four meals a day, reducing to three by about 12 weeks old. By 6 months of age, they can be on two meals a day. 

We do not recommend raw feeding for the following reasons:

• Risk of poorly balanced diets – cats need supplemental taurine for good heart health.
• Risk of Tuberculosis – raw feeding in cats has been linked to tuberculosis infections in cats.
• Risk to your health – we cook our food to reduce this risk of food poisoning from Salmonella and Campylobacter, and contracting other diseases such as Toxoplasmosis. Public Health England have expressed concerns about the risk raw feeding poses to human health.

Pet Insurance

Elm Vets strongly recommend that you consider insuring your pet. There are many different policies available. Check whether your policy provides ‘lifetime’ cover, so that if your dog develops a condition which will require treatment throughout its life, e.g. diabetes, the insurance company will continue to pay for the condition. 
Remember if you swap insurance companies any pre-existing conditions will not be covered, even minor things like ear infections.

Further Information

For further information on socialisation, tooth brushing and common problems in cats please have a look at: www.icatcare.org
This website is written by passionate cat experts from across the globe and is a fantastic resource.