This information is intended as a guideline only. You will find what works best for you as time goes by or you may already have a program intact. By providing this information, you will know what your new kitten is accustomed to here, where they are born and raised as members of the family in our home and "underfoot."

For LITTER, we use two different combinations. One is a combination of clay (Fresh Step) and clumping (ExquisiCat) - the other is Feline Pine. Our cats and kittens are accustomed to both combinations.

For WATER, we have well water so we suggest that you use bottled water (distilled rather than spring water) at first then gradually mix whatever water source you have at home with the bottled water to help convert your new arrival to what your family is using. A drastic change in water is a quick way to start experiencing diarrhea; an unpleasant experience for both you and your new kitten.

The FOOD we use here at HattKatts is also a blend of several premium dry foods. We send some with all our adoptees and recommend that you mix it with your food of choice, gradually decreasing the blend until he is totally switched over to what you have chosen to feed him. For the most part, the kittens are fed a blend of:

   Royal Canin Kitten

  Royal Canin Special

  Blue Buffalo Kitten

     Blue Wilderness

  Iams Kitten   

  Innova Evo

  Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken

  Wellness Kitten

Royal Canin, Blue Buffalo, Iams, and Wellness can readily be found in your larger pet food stores such as, Petsmart, PetSupermaket and Petco. Innova and Solid Gold will be harder to find but as we also show our fur babies, we want to maintain those food in our blend as these foods along with Royal Canin and Wellness provides them with all the nutrients necessary to maintain their coat and condition. We find that Petsmart carries Royal Canin, Blue Buffalo and Iams. PetSupermarket carries Iams and Wellness and Petco also carries Royal Canin along with Solid Gold. We keep dry kibble down all the time. We use only stainless steel bowls or ceramic bowls as these can be sanitized, while plastic cannot.

During the weaning process, we feed Science Diet A/D mixed with plain yogurt and baby food (meat only - no onion powder). We continue offering a premium wet food as an occasional treat, rotating brands and flavors (Avoderm,  Innova, Precise Plus, Wellness, Fancy Feast and Friskies) so the kitties don’t tire of one kind. We suggest the use of GROWTH products until the kittens are about 9 to 12 months of age, then change to maintenance or ADULT products using the same brands as above.

DO NOT change foods all at once but rather start at about 9 months of age and blend the adult and kitten foods (more of the kitten food at first) together and gradually wean the kitten food out. Again, a drastic change in food can also trigger diarrhea.

The CHANGE OF HOMES, WATER AND FOOD are often enough to cause stress and thereby result in a problem of diarrhea. This is not at all uncommon, nor is a sudden bout of sneezing from a change in homes or after being given a vaccine. DO NOT let the kitten go without treatment. Doing so can cause a chronic diarrhea problem and/or dehydration resulting in the possible death of the kitten.

The INTRODUCTION of your kitten to other cats or dogs could be a problem. Ours are raised with dogs as well but they have become accustomed to them; they need time to adjust to ALL their new "family" members. Do it very gradually so as not to stress anyone too much. We recommend putting the kitten in a small confined area (a bathroom or bedroom) and closing the door between the new kitten and any other pets you may already have. This not only allows them to get use to each other’s smells through the door first, but also lets them know where the litter box is. Babies sometimes forget they need to use the litter box until it’s too late to run looking for it. They need to learn where to find it in a hurry! After a couple of days, you can change places by putting the new kitten where the other pet was and vise versa so they use each others litter pans, etc. and really get to know each others smells. When you finally put them together, make sure someone is there. Don’t go off and leave them alone as this may be asking for trouble.

We also recommend that you start your new arrival out in a small confined area as an initial practice even if you don’t have other pets so your kitten knows where to find that litter box. Be sure to increase his area very gradually so as not to frighten him too much. The toys that come with our placements are the type of toys they have played with since birth so they smell like home to them. They should be with him until he is comfortable in his new home to help with the transition.

We welcome your questions or concerns; please feel free to contact us at any time. Adopting a new furbaby is a lifetime commitment for both you and us. We make ourselves available 24/7 to answer any questions or concerns you may have with one of our kittens. There are just a few things that we ask, enjoy them, love them, keep them safe and keep us updated with their progress and send pictures when you can so we may enjoy their development as well. Please understand, adjusting to a new home may take a few weeks with some kittens. If you are not willing to allow them this adjustment time then please, in all fairness to the kitten, do not adopt one of our babies. Going from our home to yours and back again is not in the best interests of the kitten and an experience we prefer they not have to endure.

All our best to you,

Pete & Donna