Answer: First of all, the kitten must have been properly weaned. Since most cats are weaned at six to eight week old under domestic conditions, this means that the kitten should be minimum of eight weeks old before it leaves its mother.
If it has already been handled frequently as a kitten (through of course not ill treated) it will usually accept human readily and prove an affectionate pet. A kitten over twelve weeks old, reared in a cattery with little human contact, is best not purchased because it will tend always to be fearful of humans and rather distant.
By this age of seven or eight weeks old the kitten will have all, or virtually all, of its, needle sharp milk teeth (deciduous teeth); fourteen in the upper jaw and twelve in the lover, twenty six in all. Also, at the age most kittens will weight about 25 to 29 oz (700 to 800g).
The kitten should be adequately nourished, neither then with its back-bone and ribs sticking out, nor pot-bellied. If the mother of the litter appears poorly cared for, it’s likely that the kittens have had the same treatment. Kittens should appear clean and will groomed, strong active and alert, taking an interest in what is going on around them, including your behaviors. There should be no evidence of fleas or ear mites (see latter)or anything else working with the coat, e.g. yellow staining of diarrhea beneath the tail.
There should be no abnormality of the limbs or any defect in walking, and no discharge around the eyes and nose. With a white kitten with one or both eyes blue, it is as will to test for possible deafness. If you choose from a litter, choose a friendly, bright animal, but not the most aggressive (i.e. the one who fights all his litter mates) or at the other extreme timid shrinking kitten. And don’t choose the ’runt’ of the litter, i.e. the smallest and most put upon, even though you probably feel very sorry for him. These kittens are more likely to develop to physical and emotional problems. The being life less will nourished and with less immunity to disease and, because of the treatment they have received from their litter mates, they are more likely to grow up either excessively timid or very aggressive. If you want test a kitten’s emotional stat, palace it in a room where there are no other cats to distract it and see whether it chase a paper ball or piece of string. Then clap your hands loudly and speck to it for five or ten seconds. If it is scurries away and hides and doesn’t chase this behavior quickly when you come to coax it, the chances are that it won’t fit it well with a house full of noisy children.
Lastly, find out what, if any, vaccinations the kitten has received and take it to your own vet for a check-up.
If it has already been handled frequently as a kitten (through of course not ill treated) it will usually accept human readily and prove an affectionate pet. A kitten over twelve weeks old, reared in a cattery with little human contact, is best not purchased because it will tend always to be fearful of humans and rather distant.
By this age of seven or eight weeks old the kitten will have all, or virtually all, of its, needle sharp milk teeth (deciduous teeth); fourteen in the upper jaw and twelve in the lover, twenty six in all. Also, at the age most kittens will weight about 25 to 29 oz (700 to 800g).
The kitten should be adequately nourished, neither then with its back-bone and ribs sticking out, nor pot-bellied. If the mother of the litter appears poorly cared for, it’s likely that the kittens have had the same treatment. Kittens should appear clean and will groomed, strong active and alert, taking an interest in what is going on around them, including your behaviors. There should be no evidence of fleas or ear mites (see latter)or anything else working with the coat, e.g. yellow staining of diarrhea beneath the tail.
There should be no abnormality of the limbs or any defect in walking, and no discharge around the eyes and nose. With a white kitten with one or both eyes blue, it is as will to test for possible deafness. If you choose from a litter, choose a friendly, bright animal, but not the most aggressive (i.e. the one who fights all his litter mates) or at the other extreme timid shrinking kitten. And don’t choose the ’runt’ of the litter, i.e. the smallest and most put upon, even though you probably feel very sorry for him. These kittens are more likely to develop to physical and emotional problems. The being life less will nourished and with less immunity to disease and, because of the treatment they have received from their litter mates, they are more likely to grow up either excessively timid or very aggressive. If you want test a kitten’s emotional stat, palace it in a room where there are no other cats to distract it and see whether it chase a paper ball or piece of string. Then clap your hands loudly and speck to it for five or ten seconds. If it is scurries away and hides and doesn’t chase this behavior quickly when you come to coax it, the chances are that it won’t fit it well with a house full of noisy children.
Lastly, find out what, if any, vaccinations the kitten has received and take it to your own vet for a check-up.
