Keeping Your Kitten Safe

Cats do no not need to be outdoors to live happy, healthy lives. There are many good reasons for keeping your kitten as an indoor cat. The most common cause of death in cats is traffic accidents.

There are also other risks, including poisons, infections and injuries from fighting, and feline AIDS. Many cats will hunt and kill native wildlife and birds. Keeping your cat inside will prevent many of these accidents from happening.

A cat can happily live indoors if you make it fun. Make sure you supply suitable toys to play with. There are many commercial cat toys available these days, but most cats like to play with ping pong balls, scrunched up balls of paper, walnuts in their shell and cardboard boxes. Avoid playing with string, as if swallowed, can cause severe damage to the intestines.

You can also make a cat enclosure so that your kitten is able to go outside in a controlled environment. This can be a straightforward DIY project, or commercial cat enclosures are available to buy.

If you want to let your kitten outdoors:

• Confine them inside until desexed.
• Keep all vaccinations, worm and flea treatments up to date.
• Replace the litter and clean the litter tray with hot water once or twice a week.
• Vaccinate for feline AIDS
• Register your kitten with the local council from 3 months of age and attach the registration tag to the collar.
• Have your kitten microchipped.
• Keep your kitten inside at night and during extreme weather conditions.

As a new kitten owner, there’s a lot of new information to learn. Therefore a complete downloadable guide to caring for your new kitten is available below for your convenient future reference.