New kitten - a few questions!

embee

Hi there folks,

I got a new kitten two weeks ago from the local animal sanctuary. It is a female cat and she's about 9 weeks old, a long haired black and white kitten, very sweet.

Just wanted to double check with those in the know - when is the earliest she can have her jabs and be microchipped and spayed? We are keeping her as an indoor cat (she has "supervised" outdoor time) until she gets spayed. 1 vet I rang said the earliest she could be spayed is 6 months old, another said 3 months, so who is right? Also, I am keen to get her vaccinated - my last cat had to be put to sleep after being diagnosed with FeLV and I don't want to go through that heartache again.

Also, worming - is it true you have to worm very young kittens every fortnight until they're around 6 months old?

Oh yes, I also wanted to ask.... my young cousin has a female cat that gave birth to 6 kittens three weeks ago. Unfortunately, all but 1 of the kittens were stillborn - the queen had a very traumatic time of it, with her labour and delivery lasting 48 hours... we had to rush her to the vet as she was in danger of needing a c-section etc... anyways, the one remaining kitten is 3 weeks now and thriving - nice fat tummy on him and his eyes are open, but he is crawling with fleas. I know that a bad flea infestation could cause anaemia in the kitten, but all the flea treatment I have looked at say they can't be used on kittens under 6 weeks old, or on nursing mothers. As they are both outdoor cats, the mother has the fleas as well.... is there anything we can try to get rid of their fleas?


Will try to post a pic of my wee kitty when I get a chance.

carwash_2006

Kittens can be spayed from 3 months, but not every vet will do it. I reckon if it's an indoor cat it's not so vital to get it done really early, but if you can get it done around 4-5 months you will be reducing the risk of having to deal with a kitty in heat. But you will need to let a vet see her to decide if she is ready for it anyway.

I would strongly recommend bringing her to a vet for a general check up at this stage and get their advice about worming and vaccinations. If you think she is heavily worm bound do ask them about liquid wormers as they are a bit gentler than tablets. She should be able to get her first vaccination at this stage.

Cats should be tested for FeLV before being vaccinated against it. There is no point in vaccinating a cat that is FeLV positive in fact it could be harmful. I would question the necessity to vaccinate an indoor cat for FeLV. I have heard that the vaccination can possibly be linked to sarcoma, so if you are vaccinating ask your vet to do it in the thigh rather than the leg.

For the kitten get a flea comb and get the advice of a vet - Do Not use any flea products on a kitten that young without the input of a vet. A flea comb is perfectly safe and will reduce the number of fleas somewhat.

BlackCat2008

I recommend your cat be neutered at 6 months no younger I don't know any vet that will do it any younger for you and I highly do not recommend it.Some will say before they go into season others will say after but not before six months.

What sanctuary did you get her from ? if she's 9 weeks now she would have been given to you at 7 weeks I don't think many sanctuaries will give out a kitten before they are 8 weeks and had there first set of vac's. If she's 9weeks now speak to your vet and have her tested for FELV and you should be able to get that vac at 3 months.

I can understand if you got her from a home rescue were funds are low to do everything and the new owner is made aware of that fact but not a sanctuary.

I would double check with who ever you got the kitten from for age and why she is not vac's already or maybe they just didn't make it clear to you she is already.

Ask at any vet and they'll give you frontline spray for mammy and baby I am only aware of this one myself and know it's safe but I did see someone say on another tread that the vet gave them a different one that is also save for kittens and mams I'll try and find it for you but get it sorted asap for the kittens sake, if she's covered in them then she'll start to fade away until they suck the life out of her.

And yes worm every two weeks I think just until 12 weeks and once a month after that again check all this with your vet first. Right down a list of everything you want to know and take it with you any good vet will answer any question you have or get one of the nurses too if you arrive at a very busy time.

Best of luck with her hope you's have many happy times ahead.

MsFifers

If you are keeping your kitten indoors, it would be worth waiting until 5/6 months to have it neutered. I had to get my cat done 4.75 months but that was necessary because her brother and herself were looking like they were about to get up to divilment! If your cat isn't having any contact with other cats you can wait until its a bit older.

By the way - if that kitten at your cousin's has a fat little pot belly - it could be worms, so keep an eye on him. (You might see worm segments in its poo or on the bum area - like little grains or seeds). If it has fleas it most likely has worms too.

Some people recommend to wash a kitten with fleas in ordinary soap or mild detergent (check with vet!) and them comb it through with a flea comb. You would have to do the same with the mother though - so that might be v. difficult!!

I think you are supposed to wait until 6 weeks before you can give a worming treatment on a kitten, but the vet might have a product that is suitable for younger ones. Ring up and check with the vet nurse - save yourself the cost of the visit!

embee

Hi everyone - thanks for your replies!

I got the kitten from Collon Animal Sanctuary. They told me she'd only just come into them that morning, and I picked her up in the afternoon. She was there with one of her female littermates who I suspected was blind in at least one eye - it had no visible black pupil whatsoever in the right eye and it had a blue cloudy appearance. They said she was 7 weeks old that day, which would have her around 9.5 weeks old now. They said she hadn't been vaccinated as she was too young at 7 weeks and had only arrived that morning. A lot of the other kittens that were at the sanctuary had sticky discharge from their eyes and noses so perhaps they aren't being vaccinated at all.

The three week old kitten my cousin has - I'm almost sure he's wormy - his belly is just massively round and feels quite hard. It seems to be way too rotund for only drinking its mothers milk. My wee cousin has taken that in hand though and went to the vet this morning about the fleas, and they've given her Frontline for the Mammy and a flea comb for the baby. The Mammy cat is going to be spayed once the baby is 6 weeks old, thankfully... she really had a horrible, horrible time giving birth.

About the FeLV vaccination - I feel its necessary to do so as the cat isn't going to be a permanent indoor cat. We are keeping her indoors (with supervised outside time) as there are a lot of un-neutered toms around the place and whilst they wouldn't be interested in her now, they certainly will in a couple of months. As soon as the vet says she's old enough to be spayed, she will be. My last cat died from FeLV - he was only young (18 months) and he had been neutered, he was a mostly indoor cat too but he died of it anyways, so if this kitty tests negative, I'll definitely be vaccinating her. We will be moving to the countryside in the new year and there are farms nearby, probably with cats, so I don't want to take any chances with her.

Away with me so to the vets tomorrow for worming and flea treatment and a quick general health check for Maggie (that's her name now )

Thanks again for all your advice!

BlackCat2008

I'm glad you got the info and know were you stand it's better in the long run not to be double vacating an animal if it can be helped. Yet again take advice from the vets as best when too. Mine were happy to start at six weeks given the amount I have at home and need to protect.

The front line should hold of them fleas of until he is aloud to have his own drops/spray. My foster wasn't aloud to be wormed until he was 6 weeks and like the other like one he had a huge round hard belly full of them he couldn't even walk properly until he got his worn stuff but being kittens you's must go by exactly what the vets recommend for them as they have to be killed of bit by bit, trying to kill them altogether my kill the kitten to as when the worms die they release a toxin as they decay which is poisonous to kittie if he can't pass them.

Glad to here things are looking up for them and you.