introducing the new kitten to the household

It is cruel to remove a small kitten from the mother cat. In order to be a confident and happy cat, the kitten should learn first of all "the facts of a feline life" from Momcat. It also receives anti-bodies against illnesses from her.

The selfish wish to have a "baby" will last only 8 weeks for the human, but it is a lifelong influence for the kitten - if not a death sentence.

For the first approximate 6-7 weeks of the kitten's life he lives in close contact with mom and siblings.

Then the kitten starts to explore further from home and socialize with the other members of his family - that is the humans.

Important:- Young kittens are afraid of loosing contact with their feet. Hold your hand under their feet when you lift a kitten up. It is remarkable how quick their instinctive reaction is to grab at anything whenever the feet dangle, but do not stress them in that way.
Very young kittens are not toys for children or baby substitutes for humans. They need their cat mother most of all.

samoa gems has been breeding kittens for more than 17 years - we learned a lot and we are still learning. We share some information with you, feel free to contact us to give or ask for information.

Introducing the new kitten to the resident cats

Where the stud lives in a family circle with the female, he enjoys the kittens and is part of the family group. However if he does not feel part of the family he may kill the kittens.

This is just my opinion:- I know that in the colder countries many studs live indoors with their cat families, but as to a South African bred stud, I will not put kittens with their sire unless he is used to live in a group with the females and even then I do not trust his instincts. He may have smelled a female in heat from outside or he may decide he wants new females and kill any young kittens.

From around the age of 7 weeks the kitten starts to socialize His immune system would have kicked in too. At 7-9 weeks it is the time for his inoculation and by 12 weeks he should have a second inoculation.

The best age to go to a new home is around 14 weeks when the kitten will have had all the inoculations and al factions of his system should be fully developed.

He should be using the litterbox without fail.

If you are not sure, rather wait than letting the kitten go too soon.

Never introduce a kitten/cat(whatever age) to a male cat (not neutered cat).

Take care when introducing a new cat or kitten (whatever the sex) to your resident cat (whatever sex).

Unlike dogs, cats do not have any sentiment for a young kitten, and the opposite sex is only welcome for sex.

This does not mean the cat is happier alone, they form very close bonds once they accept the new member.


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