New kitten...What do I do?

I'll be getting a new kitten in a couple weeks. He'll be 8 weeks old. Is there anything I should know about kittens? I have a cat but she was 6 months old when we got her so I'm not too sure about the needs of a kitten. I know that he'll need his his kitten food but that's about all I know. What vaccinations are he supposed to get? and when? Is it too much to hope that my cat will accept him?

Dear Eliza,

As far as your kitten's vaccinations if your vet is reputable he/she should set up a schedule for your new kitty. As far as the two of them getting along, it just takes time. What are you going to name him??

Misty CV CALIF

Having just been through this rather nervous stage with two kittens, then here goes:-

Yes, kitten food, our vet recommended the branded kitten food which is high in moisture content. At 8 weeks the kitten will probably eat half a 'half size' cat food tin a day. Offer water, but don't be too worried if he doesn't drink given the water content of the kitten food.

Litter - the vet recommended wood-based litter, as the gravelly stuff is more dangerous should they eat(!) it.

Jabs - first one is at 8-9 weeks, then a booster 3 weeks after. Our vet recommended the full works including leukemia, which was around 50 UK pounds per kitten.

Also, I'm not letting my kitties out till they've been spayed at about 6 months, but you may want to investigate ID tagging whereby for 20 quid you get a rice-grain-sized ID chip injected into your kitten's neck.

And, of, course, a big flat pooper-scooper

Good luck,

We have a 4 month old Birman, we received him at 2 months and started bathing him almost immediately, now he loves a bath. Fill the bath up to about the kittens stomach with lukewarm water the first time and then keep increasing the level of water each time, make sure you rinse all the shampoo off the fur otherwise your kitten will foam at the mouth during drying.

Feed the kitten small amounts of shredded cheese with its regular food as the calcium level will help strengthen his bones.

Make sure you get your kitten vaccinated against the cat aids virus at 12 weeks of age, as well as all the other relevant injections.

Mix dry food with water, don't drown the dry food, just moisten it a little. Mixing with less and less water every week or so. By the time your kitten reaches 4 months old, it should be able to eat totally dry food without a problem.

Always make sure he has plenty of clean fresh water, you may not ever see your cat drink, but he will. Especially after running around.

I hope this is all useful. Goodluck with your new baby. Emma Hicks

I have a 12 week old tuxedo that I got from the shelter. We fine comb him near the sink so that the odd flea can be flushed down the drain. You have to hold him over the sink. If he gets within 3 feet of the sink, he panics.

I have no doubt that part of the panic is due to his own bad timing. While I was shaving, he took a flying leap at the shaving cream via a toilet bowl assist. Unfortunately, the top was not down (hey, it's a guy thing). All I noted was a big splash, a horrendous yowl, followed by a flash of wet fur at Mach 2+