So You Have A New Kitten ! 
What To Expect. 
1st Day to My New Home.  An Ocicat Will Remember For Life !

The first 3 days home, your new kitten may cry or not eat.  This is his first time away from his constant companion and caretaker, his mom.  Soon your new kitten will learn to trust you if he is held with loving hands and spoken to in a loving manner.  My kittens are disciplined  as follows:

1)         Most of the time, a stern, harsh NO, will stop the behavior.

2)         If that does not work, then a piece of paper the shape & weight of an envelope slapped on something very close to the kitten, perhaps your own hand.  The sound usually startles them and disrupts their behavior.  A last resort, one light slap with the paper.

3)         A small spray mist bottle of water, and a couple squirts does the trick.

Averting from a problem, or, a reminder such as placing the kitten in the litter box when he wakes up or finishes eating is a good habit until he masters the correct behavior and the location of the litter box in his new surroundings. 

If you have a good cat scratching post with rope, and you do NOT trim fingernails, your cat should never scratch on your furniture.  If a problem continues in this area, then sticky tape from the pet store will help when you are not at home, and actions 1-3 above will work when you are.   A cat only scratches to sharpen its claws…..!  A loving cat will never use sharp claws on it’s owner intentionally.  

Cat/Kitten Dangers

String  *  Rubber Bands  *  Plants  *  Plastic Bags  *  Batteries  *  Electrical Wiring  *  Clumping Cat Litter Just to name a few. 

A cat/kitten is not much smarter than a toddler, and will put anything in their mouth as well.  String and rubber bands can twist throughout the intestines requiring surgery to remove, if you are lucky enough to be able to remove them.   Other dangers; small plastic toys, wood chips, household cleaners....you get the idea. 

I do give chicken and fish table scraps.  Don’t over do it though or your feline may train you to perform every day.  Although there are many other varieties of cat food on the market, and in grocery stores, I recommend only, natural products without corn byproducts.

Cats are nocturnal and eat more at night.  Feeding at night promotes a good nights sleep.

Clumping Clay Litter, is a Deadly Convenience

Clumping litter is designed to form a hard, insoluble mass when it gets wet. It also produces a fine dust when stirred (as when a cat scratches around to bury a recent deposit). And these clumping litters absorb many times their weight in fluids.

When cats or kittens use the litter box, they lick themselves clean; anything their tongues encounter gets ingested. Kittens especially tend to ingest a lot of litter when they are first learning to use the box.

Once the litter is inside a kitten or cat, it expands, forming a mass and coating the interior-thus, both causing dehydration by drawing fluids out of the cat or kitten, and compounding the problem by preventing any absorption of nutrients or fluids. 

Symptoms;  vomiting a yellow frothy substance and to pass yellow diarrhea; nasal and eye discharge. The diarrhea proceeds to turn harder and even more clay-like, and finally the kittens stop moving their bowels at all, forming a hard mass inside.  Finally dwindling into thin, dehydrated, frail little skeletons, sunk in apathy, they die.

http://www.catmom.com/marina/articles/clump.html

Natural alternatives such as; clay and crystals are acceptable.  I personally recommend:

1)  Line the bottom of your plastic liner with a paper towel or newspaper to absorb wetness & odor.

2)  Crystals (optional and only a few)

3)  Clay litter, no clumping  (Johnny Cat, Pet Pride any low dust) 

(clay, 1 bag over crystals)

The crystals are formulated to absorb liquid.  Dailey scooping and mixing of the material is required to be efficient.  This combination should last 1 cat 1 month.  This is a great product for multiple cat homes or catteries.   This combination will last 7 cats up to 5 days before having to change the litter box.  What a relief. 

I have found that the cats love this combination, and the combination suits all types of finicky felines.   

NEVER De-Claw

Never de-claw a kitten or cat.  Although this may seem like a logical and simplistic resolve to a troublesome problem, it is not. Just imagine your pets pain having it's nails removed. 

Let's also imagine the kitten or cat, that has been de-clawed, gets out of the house on accident.  It meets a dangerous cat, dog, or coyote.  Oh, Oh.  That's right.  Say good bye to kitty for ever.   You have just sentenced your beloved pet to death.  Those claws might of helped him climb a tree to safety, or protect himself in battle.  

As stated above, because it is worth repeating:  

If you have a good cat scratching post with rope, and you do NOT trim fingernails, your cat should never scratch on your furniture.  If a problem continues in this area, then sticky tape from the pet store will help when you are not at home, and actions 1-3 above will work when you are.   A cat only scratches to sharpen its claws…..!  A loving cat will never use sharp claws on it’s owner intentionally. 

Vaccines

Attached is a one page description of diseases which your cat may be immunized against.  You may decide to vaccinate against one or all, depending upon your cats exposure to other animals.  

We only vaccinate against the following, and booster every 3-7 years.  Please ask your vet for a titer test instead of a booster.

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/titer_test.htm

1. Feline Panleukopenia (Distemper)

2. Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (FVR)

3. Feline Calicivirus (FCV)

We do not vaccinate against FIP or Leukemia.  There is grate controversy regarding the safety of these vaccines.

It was considered necessary to vaccinate yearly, because of sarcomas, some discussion and controversy has developed in this area.  Alternate opinion concludes that boosters should be given only every 3 years.  You can ask for a titer test to determine if your pet still has immunity.  If so, there is no need to vaccinate.  Vaccinations have lasted up to 8 years.
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/titer_test.htm

Vaccines & Sarcomas

In 1991 Veterinarians began to notice a higher than expected number of sarcomas occurring on the body in places where vaccines are commonly injected.  A clear relationship is difficult to establish.  The Vaccine-Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force is a coalition of national veterinary organizations dedicated to resolving the dilemma.

Vaccine Information 

Fleas

Obviously, avoidance is the best scenario.  Keep your cat indoors.  Fleas are in the grass and dirt.   If fleas are brought into your home from someone else, then I suggest:

You must be careful using all flea products.  Some name brand products have actually caused death to the pets.
 http://www.apnm.org/publications/resources/fleachemfin.pd