You may have made a conscious decision to allow your cat to have a litter of kittens, or she may have escaped the house one evening and made the decision for you, but either way your home will soon be transformed into a kitten playground.

Prepare for kittens by gathering the essentials, and by advertising. Those looking for a kitten should be willing to wait a few weeks for the right kitten. People looking for a kitten in a hurry may not know what they are getting themselves in to, so be careful when choosing your kittens new owners.

Make sure your mother cat has the right foods and fresh water available at all times. Prepare a birthing basket for her and take her to the vet for regular checkups. Cats are pregnant for between 60 and 67 days, so try to be prepared for the birth before it’s upon you.

When the kittens are born they will not need anything from you, besides protection to be left alone with their mother for a few weeks. Kittens will begin to walk after about 3 weeks, play after about 4 weeks, and be able to eat solids from about 5 weeks. Allow them to wean themselves and do not take them from their mother. She will know when it’s best for them to start to fend for themselves.

Introduce your kittens to the litter tray at about 4 weeks of age. Put them in the tray after they have eaten, or leave it up to mother to teach them how to use the litter box.

Kittens are old enough for adoption into a new home away from their mother at about 8 weeks of age. It is not recommended that they go to a new home before this age as they are still not quite strong enough for the change, no matter how robustly they play with their siblings!

Recommend that the new owners take out pet insurance for their new kitten, as this small expense could mean big savings in the long run for them, and you will be able to rest assured that your kittens will have the best care as well as a loving home for the rest of their days. Pet insurance can cost as little as a few pounds a month, so it should not be a burden on the adoptive family.

Please note that Direct Line does not control and cannot guarantee the relevance, timeliness, or accuracy of the article above.

http://www.directline.com/pet/welcome.htm