General Guidelines
Congratulations! You are about to add a new addition to your family. It’s a lifetime commitment! While it’s an exciting time for you, it can be a rather frightening time of adjustment for your new kitten/cat. Before they arrive you will need to prepare by having some Basic Supplies:
-Stainless-steel food and water bowls are best. (Keep them clean at all times. If you wouldn’t eat or drink from them, your cat should not have to either.)
-Have a litter box and cat litter ready for use.
-Please have plenty of toys available like balls and mice to stimulate play. I recommend Mylar crinkle balls, springs, fuzzy mice, and some kind of wand for playtime.
-Your kitten will need things available to scratch on; corrugated cardboard boxes are one option for scratching.
Kittens can sometimes be shy when they first arrive in their new home. They have lived at my house for the first few months of their life. They have only known growing up with their mother and siblings in my environment. There will be new faces and a multitude of new sights, sounds, and smells. It’s best to keep them in a small area with few hiding places and to socialize with them often for the first week or so. If you want a lap cat, then pick them up and put them into your lap often. Immediately when you get home place them into the litter box and do so several times within the first couple of days. Your kitten will be displaced and will need to become oriented with the location of things.
Handle them with care, they are infants. Do not allow small children to handle them unattended. Introduce your kitten to existing pets and children gradually and carefully, (NOT all at once) as infants and older cats and dogs can seriously hurt them. Do not ever engage in rough play with your kitten. It may be cute now, but will not be when they are 10-19 pounds. You will be teaching them the acceptable way to play while small and it’s not fair to them that suddenly you no longer want to play rough because it hurts when they get big.
Food, Water & Supplements
Exoticcoons kittens are eating NULO dry/wet food. Your kitten has an immature digestive system and needs probiotics to add healthy bacteria to the gut. Your kitten needs the proper nutrition to stay healthy. (NOTE: If you insist on switching foods later on, find one with whole meat as a first ingredient. It must be high in Taurine.
Food will need to be left out at all times until the kitten is mature. Do NOT feed foods that have corn or meat meal as a first ingredient. To switch foods from what I am using you will need to do it slowly. Add 1/4 for a week, and then 1/2 the next week. Also, feed wet 2-3 times a day. Do not keep food/water near the litter box. Change the water once or twice a day. Note: Wheatgrass is great for adding much-needed live veggies to their diet, and can be purchased at stores like Albertsons for a reduced price.
FOOD/SUPPLEMENTS TO PURCHASE:
1. Nulo Freestyle Turkey & Duck Recipe Grain-Free Dry Cat & Kitten Food
2 . Nulo Freestyle Turkey & Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Canned Cat & Kitten Food
3 . Taurine (for good heart health)
4. Probiotics (any human probiotic can also be used. Just open the capsule and empty it into food.
Litter
The Maine Coon is a large cat and requires a larger litter pan. I recommend Rubbermaid 10-gallon containers (these come in blue, green, and grey) for kittens/adults and Sterilite 25-gallon containers for adults. These pans are in my home, so your kitten is accustomed to them. I like them because they are larger than your everyday litter box and help with containing the litter and preventing it from getting all over the place. Please do a Google search for them. I do not recommend litter boxes with a cover or a lid and do not put them in corners where there is only one way out, cats do not like this. Please purchase Dr. Elsey’s Kitten Attract litter, as your kitten is used to it and it contains an attractant. Rehoming your kitten will require it to orient itself to the location of things.
Toys
Please have plenty of toys available like balls and mice to stimulate play. I recommend Mylar crinkle balls, springs, fuzzy mice, and some kind of wand for playtime. Below are some SUGGESTED TOY EXAMPLES TO PURCHASE in advance for your kitten. (Click on each numbered item to go to the Amazon website):
Note: Be careful not to buy toys that come apart easily and could choke a kitten/cat (Ex. feathers, eyes, etc.)
safety
Make your home safe. Many dangers can exist inside your home. Hide or wrap up any exposed electrical cords as some kittens will chew them. Remove any small choking hazards that may look like toys to your kitten. Also keep toxic household products out of your kitten’s reach including medications, vitamins, and essential oils. This also includes ant/mouse/roach traps. Do not use any products that end in “sol” like pine-sol, etc. They can cause serious problems.
Also, keep your kitten away from balconies and decks unless you have securely screened them in. Have a trash can with a lid and keep your toilet seat down. Be careful with irons and curling irons. Kittens love laundry baskets. Be sure to check them before adding them to a washing machine. Ask your veterinarian about plants that may be poisonous to your kitten and remove any in your home. Many can kill a kitten, including Lilies.
Care
To save time, choose a vet before your new family member comes home. If you can’t select one, ask family members or friends to give you a referral. Also, find the nearest emergency vet that has after-hours and add that number to your phone or post on your refrigerator in case of an emergency.
The first night may be very scary for your kitten and it may cry. Do not allow children to smother the kitten, they cannot get away. They are not toys. Supervise children while they play to help them avoid getting scratched. If the kitten scratches, it is very scared. Adult cats do not always appreciate the invasion of their territory. Some may show displeasure with threatening behavior. If this is the case, introduce slowly like during playtime or wet food time. Repeat this process until the cat no longer minds the presence. A hierarchical relationship will then be established between the cats. Dogs can easily kill a kitten in seconds and a slow introduction will be necessary.
grooming
Along with sleep, grooming is one of the kitten’s top priorities. Grooming your kitten with a brush to reduce shedding as soon as possible is a must, especially if you have purchased a long-haired kitten. Brushing can become a treasured time and will produce a beautiful shiny coat. They will learn to love the attention you give them. You can do this in the evening while you watch television. It will remove the dead hair that accumulates in the fur. It will also reduce hairballs because they will not swallow it. Metal (greyhound) combs work best for long-haired cats to reduce matting.
vaccines, Wormer & Microchips
In regards to vaccinations, I recommend giving 3 sets total of 3-way vaccinations every 3-4 weeks to ensure proper inoculation. I do not recommend giving 5-way vaccines. Many kittens can get Chlamydia from the vaccine. DO NOT give a Leukemia shot, I don’t care what your vet tells you. Many cats have died from the vaccination. I also recommend deworming your kitten at the same time you vaccinate them. I will have given your kitten 1-3 vaccinations before you receive him/her. After your first 3 vaccinations, you will do one more at 1 year old. After that, you only need to give a vaccination every three years.
I will send a health record with your kitten that details what I have done. Please do not lose them as I do not have a replacement for you. Included will also be a spay/neuter certificate. I will include your kitten’s microchip number. You will need to visit the proper website to register the microchip, which is fully paid for. If you don’t register the kitten promptly, I will register it in my name, and you will need to request a transfer to your name through their website. As a responsible breeder, I require you to return the kitten to me if you can no longer keep him/her.
You should worm your kitten once a month until it turns 6 months old, and then every three months to a year thereafter. If you have fleas, then your cat will get tapeworms and it requires Praziquantel to get rid of them.
Contact Me Anytime
I am always available to answer any questions for the lifetime of your new family member. I also always love photo updates and I use them on my Past Kittens page. Congratulations again on your new Exoticcoon kitten/cat.
Email: americanmohavebobs@gmail.com
(951) 255-7202
