At what age is it better to take a kitten of different breeds home: advice from a veterinarian

At what age can you buy a kitten and sell kittens: expert advice

Bought a kitten
Often people persistently want to buy a tiny kitten that is barely a month old. Moreover, there is no shortage of advertisements from breeders who want to sell animals at such a young age.

There is an opinion that an older kitten will not form an attachment to its owner. This common misconception is fraught with dire consequences. Read the article on our website about how a kitten develops week by week , and you will understand why it is forbidden to take a little fluffy from its mother.

At what age can you buy a kitten and sell kittens? Experienced veterinarians are categorical on this matter. Here are the experts' advice:

Don't complicate your life by caring for a kitten whose age has not reached 12 weeks.
Younger creatures are very small and depend on their mother for everything.
A three-month-old kitten may seem too old for those who would like to buy a funny little one and watch its development. But for a baby, this is the age when he will feel comfortable in a new place.
Also, damage to the kitten’s well-being can be caused by tearing it away from its mother until the required time. Parting with a nurse and a familiar environment provokes anxiety and stress in the baby, which immediately affects health.
In the worst case scenario, the kitten can become seriously ill and even die.

If you still have doubts and want to adopt a baby, then study the advantages of buying grown-up three-month-old kittens:

Most babies at this age already stop drinking mother's milk and make do with regular solid foods.
The course of preventive vaccinations prescribed for kittens is behind us, therefore, the immune system is adapted to changes.
The kitten has mastered the rules of communication with relatives and animals like him.
Fluffy is ready to meet his new home and is eager to explore the space he will soon find himself in.

Follow the advice of experts and then you will have a new furry friend at home who will be comfortable and safe in the new room.

How to give away a kitten correctly

Before giving a kitten to a new owner, you need to ask whether the future owner has everything necessary. The baby will need:

A place to sleep is a sun lounger. It is better to place the kitten in a box, covering it with woolen cloth. For older cats, a bed with low sides will be suitable. Some pets choose their own resting place, so if it is safe there, you can leave it there;
Tray. If the baby is less than 5 weeks old, you need a basin with low sides. It is better to choose a regular plastic tray; closed toilets are not suitable for babies. Wood or corn filler is suitable;
Bowl and drinking bowl. It is better to choose ceramic or plastic. Metallic ones can oxidize food and water;
Scratching post. When your baby first appears indoors, you should show him where he will sharpen his claws. You can make a scratching post yourself from a piece of an old rug and hang it on the wall, decorating it with movable soft pet toys;
Carrying for trips to the veterinarian.

The new owner needs to be told about the food the kitten receives and the type of filler in the tray that the baby is used to. The buyer should also be made aware of the vaccinations they have received. You can inform about the habits and character traits of the baby. It is necessary to tell about the rules of caring for the kitten, hand over the birth certificate and veterinary passport, if any.

The new home for the kitten should be ready to welcome the baby

All these actions will help not only the kitten, but also the new owner, to quickly get used to each other and become best friends.

Vaccinations for kittens: age, what, first vaccination when?

Vaccinations for kittens
The first year of a kitten’s life is filled with all kinds of medical procedures. These are repeated treatments against helminths (worms), external microbes, fleas and vaccination. Veterinarians convince that vaccination is necessary, because without vaccination the body will not deal with infections, and the animal may get sick.

The first vaccination for a kitten is best done at the age of 8-10 weeks . The second injection should be given after 3-4 weeks . If all vaccines are completed, you only need to worry about getting a booster shot once a year. Here is an approximate calendar of injections, treatments and what vaccinations kittens need to receive:

4–6 weeks - first treatment for worms
6–8 weeks - second treatment for worms
9 weeks - first comprehensive vaccination
10–12 weeks - third treatment for worms
12–14 weeks - second complex vaccination

How to prepare a cat for vaccinations? Here are the tips:

The main condition before the vaccine is that the animal must be given an anthelmintic drug one or two weeks before.
There is a huge selection of them, including in the form of treats that the animal will eat with pleasure.
Can be used in the form of drops on the fur, which will not provoke any protest and will be well tolerated by the cat.

If these conditions are not met, then after vaccination, the cat may contract an infection, and treatment will cost the owner a tidy sum of money. Look at the detailed calendar of vaccinations and treatments for kittens:

At what age is a kitten considered a kitten?

Little kitten
Cats remain playful into old age, which is why they always look cute like kittens. Often, owners do not understand when their pet will become an adult. Until what age does a kitten remain a kitten?

Kittens begin to move like adults at two months of age.
Six-month-old animals enter adolescence. You should be careful at this time.
Pets exhibit behavioral characteristics with might and main: they mark space, yell, and conquer territory in fights. However, an animal that has reached sexual maturity is still considered a kitten.
The development of a cat is completed only by one and a half years. Now there is no doubt that the pet has finally matured.
By this time, animals acquire not only physical, but also social maturity.

However, there is no shame in an adult cat frolicking like a kitten. If a cat remains active and inquisitive in his advanced years, then this is not a reason to doubt his maturity.

Bowls and food

You will need a bowl for water and two more for food. The bowl for water should be deep, for dry food - medium depth, for wet food you can choose flatter bowls. However, do not buy bowls that are too deep - it will be difficult for a small kitten to eat and drink from them. The bowls you buy for your baby should under no circumstances be plastic: they are absolutely not hygienic.

First of all, you should buy high-quality dry food for kittens. You can feed the kitten only wet food, but it is more expensive: if the kitten doesn’t finish it, you will have to throw everything away. It is recommended to mix wet and dry food in the diet in a 1 to 1 ratio: for example, give wet food for breakfast, and feed dry food for the rest of the day.

The water in the bowl should not be stagnant: it must be changed every day!

At what age are kittens measured?

Little kittens
Metrica is an officially issued birth certificate for a pet. This is a kind of identity document, like a passport for people. Only the metric contains other data that indicates its pedigree.

This document states:

Date, month, year of birth
Breed name
Gender of the animal
Pet name
Color
Mother's nicknames for father
Parents' color
Breeder's initials
Owner's initials
Signature and seal of the organization where the document is issued

To get a metric, the owner needs to contact a cat lovers club in any city. Before filling out the document, kittens are examined for defects. If there are none, the metrics are signed and certified with a seal. A certificate for a pet can be made at an age starting from 45 days .

How to choose the perfect pet

When people come to adoption to choose a pet, they run into a bit of a problem. There are so many cats here, it’s dizzying! Because of this, it is quite difficult to find “your” cat, because, as soon as they see a person, they all begin to purr and rub against the bars of the cage in the hope of ending up first in the arms of a potential owner, and then at home.

The secret is that the cat itself will choose you - you just have to trust fate and open your heart. Don't get hung up on a specific color or breed. A shelter is not a supermarket - going there as if to buy a certain product is pointless.

The easiest way is to relax and trust that the cat will choose you. All you have to do is trust her instincts.

Read more: How to choose a cat in a shelter?

At what age are kittens spayed or neutered: recommendations

Neutered kitten
The earliest age to have your pet neutered is 6 months . This is the period of puberty of the animal. The optimal age for castration of a kitten is 7-8 months . Cats grow up to 1 year and it is best to do this when the body is formed, but not completely. It is from 6 to 8 months that this is the right time to castrate or sterilize a kitten.

Worth knowing: It is undesirable to delay castration, since an older animal experiences hormonal changes in the body.

Veterinarians recommend not castrating older animals - from 8 years old , due to the possibility of poor effects of anesthesia.

Conclusion: The ideal time for castration of cats is from 6 months to 8 years.

At what age do kittens change their teeth, whiskers, and eye color?

A small kitten whose whiskers, teeth and eye color have not yet changed.
Milk teeth erupt in kittens at the age of 2 to 4 weeks.

Somewhere in the third week, when the baby already has incisors and fangs, baby teeth begin to change to permanent ones.
This process will be completely completed by 6-7 months .
Read more in the article at this link , when kittens change their baby teeth, how this process occurs and how to help your baby so that it is less painless.

At what age do kittens change eye color ?

A newborn baby's eyes do not yet have pigment, and therefore they are blue.
The change occurs depending on the breed. A cat without a breed will have dark eyes at 1-1.5 months . In an animal with a pedigree, this process can last from 1 to 12 months.
A cat's eye color finally changes by age 2 .

Vibrissae and tactile hairs are organs of sensitivity, inspection and tactility in a cat, which we call whiskers. They appear in infancy, then grow and change throughout the cat's life, unnoticeable to humans.

Interesting: It often happens that a mother cat gnaws off the whiskers of her children. It is not known why she does this, but the breeders are sure that this is necessary so that the stupid little tomboy does not crawl out of the nest prematurely. It will take six months for the kitten to grow new whiskers.

What should a kitten be able to do by the time it starts living independently in a new home?

By the time a kitten begins independent life, it must master a number of skills. He must:

walk well;
eat solid food independently;
know the tray;
maintain hygiene.

The kitten acquires all these skills thanks to its mother. She is an excellent teacher of her children, and they are wonderful imitators. Skills are developed gradually:

by the age of one month, kittens can walk confidently;
by one and a half months they are already trying solid food;
the tray is firmly mastered by 2 months;
From one month to two months, the kitten masters the litter box
they begin to take care of themselves by the age of one month, but they do this effectively at the age of no earlier than 2–2.5 months;
By 3 months the kitten has fully adapted socially.

It turns out that at about the age of 3 months you can already look for a new home for the kitten.

At what age should kittens be bathed?

The kitten's first bath
In the first weeks of life, the kitten's hygiene is maintained by the cat herself. Therefore, during this period you should refrain from swimming. At what age should kittens be bathed?

It is best to do this at 3-4 months , after the baby teeth have been replaced.
This age guarantees that the body will tolerate the procedure well and that mental disorders will not occur.

Of course, you need to perform bath procedures when it is relatively warm in the house and outside. During cold weather it is better not to take risks. Read more in the article at this link , you need to bathe kittens in general, because many owners are sure that this is not necessary.

Worth knowing: You should not bathe kittens with human shampoo - it is best to purchase a special one. It would also be a good idea to check the composition - for children it is better to use a product that has natural ingredients.

At what age are kittens trained to use a litter box or scratching post: recommendations

A kitten is taught to use a scratching post.
Kittens grow quickly and strive to constantly explore the world. At what age are kittens trained to use a litter box? Here is the answer :

Kittens are trained to use the litter box from 3-4 weeks .
If the kitten does not understand what needs to be done, you can “interest” him and lightly rustle the litter in the tray.
As a rule, animals are smart and curious, so the baby will quickly understand what is required of him.

As for the scratching post, here are some tips and recommendations:

It is also worth accustoming a kitten to it from a very early age, while its desire to explore the world around it is at its peak, and its claws already need a little “polishing.”
From the age of 1-2 months, kittens are already making attempts to tear at furniture with their still weak claws.
You can buy a scratching post during this period.

It is important to remember: The process of accustoming to a scratching post is not that simple. Therefore, in some cases, it may take a long time.

Temperature regime for newborn kittens

It is necessary to feed orphaned kittens as early as possible, so that no more than a day passes after birth. But even more important is to keep them warm. Newborns cannot regulate their body temperature and are at risk of hypothermia outside their cozy den.

A heating pad will replace your mother's warm side. If you don’t have a special rubber heating pad, you can take a regular plastic bottle. The container is filled with boiling water and wrapped in a terry towel in several layers. This way the kitten will not get burned, and the water will cool more slowly. Depending on the temperature in the room, the hot water will have to be changed. In an apartment where it is about 20o, the heating pad keeps warm for about 6 hours. If the kittens are restless and huddle together, check the temperature of the heating pad.

For the first week, you should always have a heating pad on, change the water even at night. It becomes unnecessary when kittens reach one month of age. But knowing the love of cats for warmth, you can continue to apply the heating pad longer.

If there are a lot of kittens, then the box should be large. But then the blind kitten may get lost, bumping into the wall, and freeze. To prevent this from happening, you need to place bottles of hot water against each wall, and leave a free space in the center where the kittens can crawl. The cubs can simply snuggle up to the heating pad, or they can climb onto it and sleep on top.

At what age can a kitten be treated for fleas: wear a collar, use drops?

Kitten treated for fleas
Fleas prevent the kitten from developing normally. In addition, they carry diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to promptly begin to protect the baby from these pestering insects. At what age can a kitten be treated for fleas? Here is the answer:

You can treat a kitten against fleas using special drops starting from 1-2 months of age .
After all, the presence of these insects can cause significant harm to the animal even in infancy.
Of course, the age of the pet also determines the type of product. For very young kittens, you should choose more natural, gentle products.
Those drops that are used to treat adult cats will not work.
You can use sprays or drops on the withers.
As a rule, at the age of 1-2 months, kittens are treated for fleas even by the most humane owners, who believe that it is not worth “tormenting” the animal until a month.

Worth knowing: If the kitten is less than 4 weeks old and has fleas, they do not use medicines, but folk recipes - as a rule, these are natural decoctions and infusions.

Anti-flea collars are also used to control fleas. But it is worth remembering that they do not serve to eradicate existing parasites, but for prevention. if fleas are already present, then it is better to resort to medication.

Important: Carefully study the composition of the drops and choose those whose recipe contains natural ingredients. After all, the smaller the kitten, the more sensitive its body.

During the treatment, the pet should not experience discomfort from substances with a pungent, unpleasant odor, much less suffocate. Keep an eye on your baby, and if he doesn’t like something or doesn’t feel well, then you need to remove the product as soon as possible.

What does a kitten need to grow?

Receiving nutrition from liver glycogen, newly born kittens can go without food for the first few hours, while underdevelopment of the sucking reflex and incomplete activation of digestive functions are observed. On average, the weight of newborn kittens ranges from eighty to one hundred and twenty grams.

The following dynamics are characteristic of normal growth: their weight doubles after the first week, then the weight gain is approximately one hundred grams. The average weight of a two-month-old kitten can reach 1-1.3 kilograms.

The umbilical cord usually dries out on the second day, and after three or four days it falls off. After seven to fourteen days, the kittens' eyes begin to water, and by the appearance of a dark edging around the closed eyelids, it can be assumed that the babies will soon open their eyes. As a rule, this happens within two to three days. First one eye opens, and then the second. If necessary, they are washed with a diluted chamomile decoction. Remember that the more time you spend with your kittens in the first weeks of their lives, the better they will feel later on.

Because for a grown kitten, you will remain the only and beloved “mother” until the end of your days.

Warmth and comfort

The temperature in the kitten house should be about 28-30 degrees C. A cardboard box measuring forty by fifty centimeters is suitable for this. Until the eyes open, about two weeks, the box must be closed and the kittens kept in the dark. At the same time, after opening your eyes, do not expose them to bright light. And when feeding, you should slightly close the curtains and turn on the light.

One heating pad should be placed on four sides of the box. Glass bottles with a capacity of 0.5-0.6 liters are suitable for this. Every five to six hours, boiling water is poured into them, while they are wrapped in a terry towel in 5-6 layers. You should not use a linen towel because it transfers heat and wool too much, as kittens can become entangled in the threads pulled out by the claws. With this heating, if the walls are hot, the kittens sleep in the center of the box.

And vice versa, if they have gathered in any of the corners, then you need to pour boiling water into the heating pads again. This should be combined with the next feeding, since there is no need to wake the kittens up again. So that they can move easily, you need to lay a smooth cloth on the bottom of the box.

Hygiene

During each feeding it is necessary to carefully examine the kittens. Take a hard cloth slightly moistened with warm water, linen is suitable for this, and gently wipe the kitten’s ears, head, back, sides and paws. This imitates the process of a cat washing itself.

Next you need to massage the tummy and force the kitten to urinate by massaging the surface on the inner thighs around the urethra. As a rule, there are no difficulties with this. If the rules for care and feeding are followed, once every two or three days, kittens walk around.

At what age do kittens start walking?

The kitten is already starting to walk.
From birth, kittens are absolutely helpless and are not able to move independently. But at what age do kittens begin to walk? Here is the answer:

5-10 days after birth, the animal’s sensory abilities increase, and it begins to develop its front legs.
Closer to the 10th day , the kittens' eyes open, which gives them a sense of orientation in space.
In the future, babies will continue to develop sensory abilities. Thanks to the organs of touch and hearing, the kitten will achieve the ability to navigate in space, which will contribute to confidently standing on its paws.
Within two weeks the baby will feel confident and will even try to jump.

From this moment we can assume that the kitten actually began to walk. With practice, the ability to walk will improve, and already 20-25 days after birth, the kitten’s ability to walk will approach the skills of an adult.

What to buy for a kitten

You need to prepare for the arrival of a kitten almost as carefully as for the discharge of a newborn from the hospital. Here is a list of necessary purchases:

Bowls for food and water. There should be three bowls: for dry, wet food and water. If the kitten is on a natural diet, he will still need three bowls for different types of food.
Tray. At first, the tray and its filler should be exactly the same as in the previous house. Only when the kitten is completely comfortable can you change the tray and filler.
Scratching post. Sharpening nails will not only help reduce them or remove dead scales, but is also a way to mark territory. Therefore, even with trimmed claws, the cat will “sharpen” them on the scratching post, leaving the smell of the secretion of the interdigital glands.
Claw cutter. Cats' nails need to be trimmed periodically, especially if they are prone to ingrown nails, growths, or peeling.
Bed. The cat can sleep wherever he wants, but there must be a house where no one else sleeps and where he can hide.
Carrying. It is necessary when traveling or visiting a veterinarian.
Toys will not let the kitten get bored.

The question of what age is best to adopt a kitten is something everyone decides for themselves. Recommendations to take a baby at 3-5 months do not guarantee that there will be no problems with him at all. The deciding factor will be love and education, not the age at which the kitten was taken home.

Anti-worming medications for kittens: at what age are kittens dewormed?

Anti-worm medications for kittens
Worms for animals cause many problems with health and well-being. Therefore, they need to be removed in a timely manner, and it is better to do prevention. At what age are kittens dewormed? Answer:

You can fight helminths as early as three weeks of age.
However, drugs must be labeled accordingly. If there is no inscription “for kittens” , then this product can only be used at one and a half to two months.
Kittens should not be wormed often - once every three months will be enough.

The most popular medications for kittens against worms:

Tablets: Milbemax, Drontal, Prazitel, Dirofen. Despite the fact that the tablet form is more difficult for animals to consume. Veterinarians recommend it, since the tablets contain a higher concentration of active substances. You can crush the tablet and put the powder in the kitten's food or directly in the mouth. But then you need to give it a drink, for example, from a syringe without a needle.
Suspension : Prasitel, Prazicide, Dirofen and Febtal combo. Convenient form for reception. In liquid form, you can give the product using a special dispenser, which is included in the package, or using the same syringe without a needle.
Drops : Drontsit, Profender, Stronghold, Prazicide. Used as a preventive measure.

It is important to consider: How often does your kitten go outside (and whether it does), how often does it communicate with other animals. If your pet is always at home and there are no other animals in the apartment, deworming can be done less often.

Food products are also taken into account. In some cases, deworming medication is used more often than once every 3-4 months, if the animal eats offal, raw minced meat, etc. But a kitten can become infected with worms even before birth - from its mother cat. The drug should be chosen according to age and weight. As a rule, most products are available in both an “adult” version and a “children’s” version (for kittens).

Advice: Give preference to natural preparations.

At 1.5 months

Below we will consider how and what to feed a 1.5 month old kitten at home:

At this age, the pet can already feed on its own, and its diet should be balanced. At this age, the kitten can be fed:

rolled oats and buckwheat porridges;
vegetables (any vegetables, except potatoes, served boiled or raw);
raw meat (low-fat varieties). Served raw, boiled or scalded with boiling water. Meat products make up from 60 to 80% of the total daily food volume.;
boiled offal;
cottage cheese - 30 g per day, preferably not fatty;
raw fish, previously doused with boiling water (about 1 time every 7 days);
greens (you can ask at the animal department).

How often should I feed?

Kids eat a lot, 5-6 meals a day is the norm. In general, a kitten should eat 120 g per day. The baby cannot eat this amount at once. If the kitten eats less than normal, then you should try changing the food. If the animal refuses food, it is better to contact a veterinarian.

Once the kitten reaches 2 months, you can feed it a little more - up to 180 g

At this moment, it is important to monitor the pet’s activity - more playful and active animals need more food.

If you are going away for the day and leaving your kitten alone, feed him before you leave and leave some food in his bowl and feed him more when you return.

Food additives

Do not neglect this important point - vitamins and supplements will have a beneficial effect on the kitten’s body.

From 1.5 months you can add to food:

Kitzim;
"Doctor Zoo";
"Brevers";
"Farmavit";
"Biofar".

Before purchasing vitamins, consult with specialists. Veterinarians can advise you on which food supplements are best for your pet and whether your pet needs them at all. The most popular supplement for cats is fish oil. Veterinarians advise giving it 2 capsules for 7 days.

What not to give to a kitten

Every caring owner should remember the list of prohibited foods. Kittens should not eat:

food with spices (the kind that people like);
fatty meat: pork, beef;
human medicines;
sweets;
river fish;
legumes;
fatty dairy products;
flour;
potatoes.

Is it possible to have ready-made food at 1.5 months?

Cat owners and veterinarians do not recommend mixing food and natural food. Many people primarily purchase ready-made cat food for a number of reasons:

saving time;
nutritional balance.

If you want to feed your pet food, you should consider that:

it will not be possible to switch to natural nutrition;
You cannot mix food of different brands, as they contain different microelements;
Only high-quality commercial feed is suitable for feeding.

Choose high-quality, balanced food and your kitten will not have any health problems.

Kittens love wet food, but it's a little more expensive. However, according to veterinarians, dry, high-quality ones are more useful.

It is worth noting that wet food contains about 80% water, and your pet does not need to constantly drink water. With dry food, everything is different - there should always be a clean bowl with drinking clean water near the food bowl.

Veterinarians consider the following brands to be good food:

Royal Canin;
Almo Nature;
Pro Plan Junior;
Eukanuba Puppy Kitten.

The price tag may scare the kitten's owners, but believe me, by purchasing good food, you only win. You won’t have to buy additional vitamins, and the kitten will be healthy, and you won’t have to spend money on treatment.

Until what age does a cat take care of a kitten: facts

The cat takes care of the kitten
Kittens, like any children, are always very dependent on their mother, but at some point, they still need to become independent. Until what age does a cat take care of a kitten?

During the time when babies are socializing ( from 1 to 3 weeks ), they develop a sense of family connection. They understand that they need to repeat everything after their mother, but there are also people with whom it is also interesting and fun.
Also at this time, the role of the cat increases not only as a mother, but as a teacher and mentor.
Using games and communication, the mother builds the behavior of her children and teaches them to hunt.

In the subsequent stage of socialization, from approximately 3 to 8 weeks , the final formation of self-care skills and the instillation of cleanliness occurs. Although the kittens may seem to be on their own, separating kittens from their mother is not the best option.

Worth knowing: Closer to 12-16 weeks, kittens become much more independent, and the cat stops taking care of them, and this is already a proven fact by many owners of these cute animals.

Natural food recipes

There are two options for feeding natural food: monofeeding and mixes. Monofeeding involves eating one or two types of meat, usually in noticeably large pieces. Mixes are mixtures of different types of meat and offal with other ingredients. Before serving, the meat is frozen in the freezer for at least 3 days in portioned bags. Before serving, defrost and warm naturally to room temperature. If you need to heat it up quickly, you can put the bag in water at room temperature.

A scheme that you need to follow to plan the diet and ensure that the cat is always fed.

We plan the menu a week or two in advance, if freezer space allows. We calculate how much a cat should eat per day, multiply by the number of days for which it should be enough. From this number of kilograms we calculate how much muscle meat and hearts should be, how many organs, how many meat bones and how many vegetables. Convert percentages to grams (kilograms). Based on this, we write a shopping list. It is not necessary to calculate down to the gram; an approximate proportion is sufficient. For example, a cat weighs 5 kg, 5% per day of his body weight = 250 g. To create a menu for a week, you need to multiply 250 g by 7 days, we get 1750 g. Of this, a third (about 580 g) are meat bones, half (875 g) is muscle meat, the rest (about 300 g) is organs or organs with a pinch of grated vegetables. Based on this, you need to buy, for example, 580 g of chicken necks, 875 g of hearts or thighs and 300 g of stomachs at the market or supermarket. It is enough to calculate the proportion once and follow it. If the animal is growing, then we weigh it every week and adjust the numbers.
We go to trusted retail outlets or order the required amount of products on the Internet. We stock up on small bags or containers for laying out the meat.
If we make mixes, then we throw in muscle meat, meat bones and organs, and vegetables. All this can be pre-ground in a meat grinder or cut into small pieces, or you can leave it in the form of large pieces if the cat can chew them. When monofeeding, we do the same thing, only we put one or two types of meat in each bag. We weigh each bag on a kitchen scale. One packet can equal one serving or a daily serving for two meals.
We put the bags in the refrigerator. It is advisable to write on them the start date of freezing or mark it somewhere so as not to forget.
When the right time comes, take out the bag and defrost the meat. Serve your cat food at room temperature.
When there are 3-5 bags left in the freezer, we do everything again: buy, chop, freeze.

To make it easier to create a menu, here are recipes for natural food for cats. Each owner can make his own using the correct proportions. But there are also ready-made ones from specialists.

Assorted

Turkey legs - 1 kg, heart (pork, beef, chicken, turkey) - 1 kg, turkey liver, beaten and cut chicken necks - 1 neck per bowl, grated seasonal vegetables (for example, carrots or pumpkin) - pinch, dried kelp (added just before serving).

Chicken mix

Chicken thigh meat - 25%, chicken breast meat - 25%, chicken backs and necks twisted in a meat grinder - 25%, chicken heads twisted in a meat grinder - 5%, chicken liver - 5%, chicken hearts and gizzards - 10%, cauliflower - 1%, grated pumpkin - 1%, grated cucumber - 1%, grated apple - 1%, kelp (dried seaweed) - 0.3%, piece of trout - 1%.

Turkey mix

Turkey thigh meat - 25%, turkey breast meat - 25%, turkey necks - 30%, turkey heart - 5%, turkey gizzards - 10%, cauliflower - 1%, pumpkin - 1%, zucchini - 1%, apple - 1%, lingonberry - 0.5%, kelp - 0.3%, trout oil - 0.2%.

Healthy cats should not be served meat in the form of soups, broths, minced meat or pate. The cat should eat pieces - small, medium or large. Large ones are preferable if the cat can handle them.

EXPERT COMMENT: VETERINARIAN-FELINOLOGIST YULIA BROVKO

At what age can a kitten’s claws be trimmed: recommendations

Kitten's nails are trimmed
Long nails are a nuisance to any pet. In addition, they can break, damaging the tip of the paw, and this is already dangerous, since an infection can get inside the body. At what age can a kitten's nails be trimmed? Answer:

This can be done starting from 4 months . At this time, they are already beginning to interfere with the cat’s ability to run and move actively.
The formation of claws begins much earlier - from 4-8 weeks of life , and if there is a possibility that the cub may be injured due to the length of its claws, you can begin the procedure much earlier than the deadline.
At a younger age, kittens' claws are fragile, so they do not cause significant harm, but they can interfere and injure the paws if the animal accidentally gets caught on something.

Of course, you should also pay attention to how quickly the claws grow. After all, some animals' claws grow faster, while others grow slower. It is best to trim once or twice a month.

Important recommendation: When carrying out the first haircut, you should pay attention to accustoming your pet to the procedure, calming it down and encouraging it with treats.

At what age do kittens open their eyes?

A grown-up kitten with long-open eyes
Not every cat owner knows the characteristics of their pet’s body. Especially beginners cannot even answer such a question as opening the eyes of a kitten. Let's try to clarify the situation.

Experienced owners, based on their expertise, know that kittens open their eyes 7-20 days after birth . It all depends on the characteristics of the cat breed:

The Sphinxes are considered to be leaders in this matter . There have been cases of these kittens being born with their eyes already open. Basically, on the third day, sphinxes already confidently look into the eyes of everyone around them.
Next in line are representatives of Siamese, Thai and Siberian breeds . These include the British and Scots . The period of eye opening in such kittens occurs from the fifth to the tenth day.
In last place are kittens of the Ragdoll . They open their eyes around 21 days after birth.

Worth knowing: Cats do not finally gain sight at the moment they open their eyes. They become fully sighted 5-8 days after they open their eyes.

Negative psychological factors of early weaning

According to statistics, in 80 cases out of 100, when adopting a kitten before three months of age, minor and medium-sized problems arise. In the remaining 20 babies they had a serious form. More than a third of pets separated from their mother too early acquire the habit of sucking on pillows, soft toys, and blankets. 40% of kittens have an aggressive attitude towards people. Many babies, separated from their mother before 2 months, are too timid, afraid of sounds, strangers, and do not adapt well to a new environment. Such pets often exhibit psychoneurotic dysfunctions.

Up to 3 months, kittens undergo the formation of basic organs and systems; during this period they receive the main lessons from the cat, learn to contact the external environment, people

A pet that has not gone through this important period in a familiar society with its mother, sisters, and brothers often:

does not comply with the rules of cat hygiene;
difficult to switch to regular diet;
He is disobedient and poorly trained in the litter box.

A serious problem is the psychological stress experienced by children who have not undergone social adaptation next to their mother. They are hit by several negative factors at the same time. They are deprived of the guarantees of safety that a cat provides, they are surrounded by foreign objects, smells, sounds, they do not know how to properly explore this area and look for a reliable shelter. No matter how caring the owner is, he will not be able to explain all these wisdom to the kitten the way a mother would.