Transition Guidelines

CatsWithLove Transitioning Guidelines


The Concept: The kitten will be in "isolation" or "solitary confinement" as a means for your kitten to realize the sun rises and sets on YOU; these steps will help your kitten bond to you, and be the loving, engaging, inquisitive, "smarty pants" you'd hoped for. This describes introduction of a kitten into a house that does not have any other pets. This process requires about 2 weeks. 


The basic steps are:


Confine/Isolate


  • Select a visually isolated, confined space (Le. bathroom) where your kitten will live for the next 2 weeks. (2 weeks is a VERY long time, trust us, it's WELL worth the effort). This should NOT be a dog crate. 
  • Be sure to take a look around and "kitten proof" the room (no cleaning products on the floor, behind the toilet, accessible, etc.) Think about (temporarily) removing the toilet paper from the roll until kitten is no longer confined. 
  • Provide bedding, litter box and water at all times. You might want to take the door off the crate and let her use it as a cozy den. 
  • Do not leave any toys in the room except for one ball. 


Visit


  • For the day or so, visit with the kitty 10 minutes (or so) each hour; then you can extend how much time you spend with her, still in her confinement room. 
  • Every time you visit the kitty, bring a treat (1/4" size piece of lightly cooked chicken meat) with you. 
  • Call kitty by name when she comes to you give her the treat. 
  • Play for a while, lavish praise on her, cuddle her, love her, play play play! 
  • Here's the hard part-leave when she still wants to play. You'll get a sad little look and maybe a meow thru the door after you leave. She's starting to miss you, and she wants you to come back; this is EXACTLY what we want; she's bonding to you. Don't cheat and  return immediately to her; Be strong. Wait a while, then visit her again.


Feed


  • Feed her 2-3 timed a day. Give her 10 or so minutes to eat. Whatever is left over, take away. You want her to want YOU for play time, for food, for love, etc. 

 

Extend


  • You'll begin to extend the time between visits and the duration of the visits depending on how well she does. 
  • After 5-7 or so days, she'll try to escape when you come visit, or when you try to leave her. This is good because she's becoming more confident and knows that she can trust you and her natural curiosity about 'where is my human? I want my human!' is growing. 
  • After 7-10 days, let her come out with you; rather than let her bolt out the door, pick her up, carry her out, keep her in your arms, walk around and tell her about her new home. DO NOT let her sniff other animals. Return her to her room. 
  • Have a toy with you to engage her in this new environment when you're walking around. 


Integrate


  • After 14 days, you can transition to let her run all around her new home, still keep her confined when you're not home. Depending on how she's doing, you can either keep her confined overnight, or give her free run. Eventually you'll decide when it's right to let her have the roam of the house or is she can still benefit from a little confinement. 


When other animals are in the house: 


  • Around day 5, have your other pet sleep on a small cloth and bring it into new kitty's room. This will let kitty "get to know" their house mate. Share another cloth kitty slept on with the other pet. 
  • At the first introduction (after day 14) you should hold kitty, bring her out of her room, walk into the room where another pet is located. Find a place to sit and sit high enough that kitty is located above the other pet (this helps her feel secure) and let her and the other pet watch each other. 
  • Dogs want to go sniff kitty immediately, watch kitty and only let dog proceed if kitty is comfortable. 
  • If kitty is upset, make the other pet stop, and comfort kitty in a higher location than the other pet. When kitty settles down try again later. 
  • This part of the process may take as little as 3 days or as much as 2 weeks, it depends on both animals. 


Especially with other cats: 


  • When transferring scent on the cloth, be sure to rub the cloth on the side of the face/cheek of each cat/kitten (the scent glands on the side of the face are most important for cats to learn about each other)
  • Do not put the cloths near the litter box, food/water or sleeping area of either animal (could be perceived as a threat) instead, put the cloths on the floor, near a wall. Let each cat smell it when they are ready. 
  • After Day 10, feed the cats on each opposite side of the door (placing food greater than 2 feet away) gradually move the food closer to the door until after day 14, they are practically touching the door. 
  • After day 14, take a ribbon and tie kitty-toy to each end of it, let playtime be between the cats-they will tug-o-war, bat it around, touch toes, etc. getting to know each other. 
  • Around day 14-16 take the kitty out of the confinement room (in your arms) and walk over to resident cat. Let them watch each other. If that goes well, give kitty a treat and return to confinement room. Walk over to cat, give praise and a treat for good behavior. 
  • Complete physical separation is necessary for 14 days to maintain health of all cats; research shows that most germs have been resolved by 2 weeks, and we don't want the cats to get each other sick. 
  • Do this a few times and when you think it is the right time, let kitty and cat have some playtime in the same room. 


FAQ


  • Vaccinations: We use a modified live vaccine. We highly recommend using the same vaccination.
  • ALL VACCINATIONS ARE UP TO DATE


 Food:


  • Kittens will eat approx. 1 heaping tablespoon (approx. 3 oz) of raw food at every meal, possibly more. She has been eating raw diet as well as Royal Canin kitten food.
  • Anticipate feeding kittens less than 6 months old 2-3 times a day 
  • From 6 months old to 12 months old, anticipate feeding twice daily, about 12 hours apart, if possible 
  • After a year old, feed twice daily, 12 hours apart, adjust food quantity to suit development, healthy lifestyle, etc.


Litter:


  • We use pellet type litter exclusively YESTERDAYS NEWS UNSCENTED; FELINE FRESH 100% PURE PINE PELLETS; ADVANCED WORLD’S BEST CAT LITTER-PICKY CAT (pink and black bag).
  • The litter is scooped twice daily and changed as needed. This pellet litter expands approx. 4 times when absorbing urine, a new litter pan needs at most 3” to 4" of litter to be effective. 


CAUTION: Clay litter should be avoided until kitten reaches at least six month of age due to the fact that it will expand in kitties stomach if they eat some inadvertently.


Other


  • If you have other questions not covered in these guidelines, please call us 204-955-6968 or send us an email info@catswithlove.com. There are no silly questions; we really want to be here to help you enjoy your new baby for a long time. We really like getting photos of your family and your new kitten and LOVE hearing stories. 
  • In the future, if you bring another pet in your home, repeat the "Isolate-Integrate" process with the new pet to assure the health of all pets in your home.
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