Quarantine has led many to become bored and crave companionship, the solution to both problems would be fostering or adopting a forever buddy! That is, of course, if you have the means to do so as this is a lifelong commitment of adoption!
I have recently had the opportunity to receive a new kitten myself, the timing for her arrival was rather immaculate. On August 30th, 2020 a week right after my summer courses ended, I found myself bored and dedicating immense time to social media in an attempt to satisfy my mind with free time. Luckily, I came across a mutual friend who posted that they found a litter of stray kittens struggling to find a home for all 8 of them.
Fortunately, all 8 of them have found loving homes, and one of them has become my little daughter! In today’s piece, I will be covering how to properly care for a kitten who was once essentially a stray and how to get your older pets to get along with the new pet (kitten)!
Upon receiving the new kitten at the age of 2 weeks old, who we have named Mimi, we gave her a gentle flea bath and kitten formula. It is key to note that the misconception of cats enjoying milk is incorrect, cats are lactose intolerant!
The next thing we realized was that her stomach was a bit potbellied. Not to worry though, this is normal for young kittens. We then made an appointment with the veterinarian to check up on her as this could easily be a sign of roundworms as well.
Mimi is now good and safe and even indulging in canned cat food! We have allowed her to play with our older, 2-year-old cat, Pluto!
At first, he did not like Mimi as she could have been a threat; hissing is completely normal! We had the two become acclimated by keeping them at opposite ends of a door and greet with their hands then slowly give each of them each other’s blankets (for smell).
Fast forward nine days, they are now playing and eating together! It is quite adorable as Pluto watches Mimi’s every move, as she believes Pluto’s tail is a toy!
I wanted to highlight the claim, adopting a pet is a full-time commitment. If you simply do not have the facilities to forever care for an animal, please do not get one. Reality check, just like humans, baby animals grow up too, that is no way a justification for leaving them behind. Far too many animals become strays due to the neglect of spaying/ neutering and the downright inhumanness of abandoning fur babies. Do not become one of those people!
And lastly, be sure to adopt, not shop.
Feel free to follow Pluto and Mimi’s Instagram @ plutosaha!
