Practical Kitten Care , livre ebook

Turner Publishing Company - James DeBitetto

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

172 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Practical Kitten Care gives owners all the health-care advice they'll need for their kitty's first 1 to 18 months. There are chapters on feeding and nutrition, overall grooming, preventive care, problems of various areas such as eyes and ears, and a final chapter on ushering in cathood.

Sujets

Pets

Cats

Informations

Publié par	Turner Publishing Company
Date de parution	01 novembre 1996
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781620459843
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0650€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

Practical Kitten Care
James DeBitetto, D.V.M.
Practical Kitten Care
James DeBitetto, D.V.M.
Howell Book House
A Simon Schuster Macmillan Company
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019-6785
Copyright 1996, by James DiBitteto
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher.
Macmillan is a registered trademark of Macmillan, Inc.
Book design by Douglas Gayle, Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication
Data DeBitetto, James.
Practical kitten care: an easy-to-understand manual for the
health and care of your kitten / by James Debitetto.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-87605-763-6
1. Kittens. 2.Kittens-Health. I. Title.
96-24293
SF447.D39
CIP
636.8 083-dc20
97 98 99 00 01
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Contents
Chapter 1 Finding and Providing For Your New Kitten
Chapter 2 First Visit to the Veterinarian
Chapter 3 Health Maintenance
Chapter 4 Feeding Nutrition
Chapter 5 First Aid and Household Hazards
Chapter 6 Skin Diseases
Chapter 7 Eye Diseases
Chapter 8 Ear Diseases
Chapter 9 Dental Diseases
Chapter 10 Mouth Throat Diseases
Chapter 11 Heart Diseases
Chapter 12 Respiratory Diseases
Chapter 13 Digestive Upsets
Chapter 14 Liver Diseases
Chapter 15 Neurological Problems
Chapter 16 Blood Disorders
Chapter 17 Hormonal Problems
Chapter 18 Orthopedic Problems
Chapter 19 Urinary Diseases
Chapter 20 Kittens Into Cats
Appendix I Feline Registries
Index
Acknowledgements
Because this is my third book with Howell Book House, it is important for me to thank the publisher, Sean Frawley, and my editor, Dominique DeVito. They have been inspirational and so supportive-I could not have asked for a better team and publisher. Thanks again so much.
My staff has now put up with me for three books and all I can say is Thanks again, guys. A deep and heartfelt thanks to Katie Baldwin, Penny Kohlman, and Jacqueline Rieg. They are the best staff a veterinarian could ever ask for. They were also very generous in allowing me to photograph their kittens for parts of the book. A very special thanks to staff member Pam Koerner, who helped me with the grooming section and most of the instructional photographs. Her champion Maine Coon, Tiffany, was a perfect model.
A thanks to Dr. Marjorie Neaderland, my dear friend and colleague, for supplying photographs of cat eyes and her continued expertise as a veterinary ophthalmologist. Thanks to Ray Crawford for his help in medical photography, and Tammy Thomas from Pet Pics for use of one of her professional shoots.
I would like to extend a sincere thanks to a dear friend of mine who really taught me how to be a cat fancier, Pat Bender. She is the founder of Rags R Us Ragdolls, and knows more about cats than I could ever hope to. Thank you so much, Pat.
Lastly, I would like to thank my family: my parents, Dr. and Mrs. Dominick DeBitetto, for a lifetime of caring and love, and my brother, Bob, for his work on the contracts and years of legal and personal advice. Thank you to my in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Imschweiler, for all their love and support these last eighteen years. To my beautiful wife, Donna, who has been my soul mate and companion through it all-I love you more each day.
Introduction
Congratulations on your new kitten! There is nothing more endearing and enjoyable as a new kitten-fuzzy, cute, and playful. Many of us had kittens growing up, and if you didn t, you might want one now for your family or yourself. Kittens provide hours of fun and entertainment, not to mention endless love.
Many of my clients say that they would rather sit and watch their kitten at night than the television.
Cats are quickly surpassing dogs as the number one national pet, and those who have cats tend to have more than one. There are 2.1 cats per cat family, and almost 60 million cats nationwide. Let s face it, cats are certainly easier to care for than dogs. They require less space, time, training, and energy than dogs. The fact that you can litter-box train your kitten means that you don t have to take him out for walks like you do a dog. Many people keep their cats indoors. Also, most people keep their cats home when they go away and have someone come in every day to take care of them, eliminating the need for boarding kennels. For many busy, overworked people, cats are the ideal pet-easy to care for, fairly independent and forever giving in the love department. For children, kittens are the stuff dreams are made of.

The whole emphasis of this book is to make kitten care fun, practical, helpful and simple . This book is written for the novice kitten owner, but experienced cat fanciers will learn a lot, too. And unlike most of the big cat textbooks out there, you can pick it up and use it without going to veterinary school first. All of the most important and common topics are covered: Bringing a kitten home Concerns for pregnant women Kitten introductions into a household Vaccines and wormings Common viral diseases Health maintenance Feeding and nutrition Spaying and neutering First aid and household dangers Kittens at cat shows Kitten handling Encyclopedia of kitten pediatrics (part II)

Courtesy of Rags are Us, Pat Bender
I have included, throughout the book, a quick and easy reference graphic to alert you if the disease being described is contagious to other cats or people. This is good to know at-a-glance so you can start taking necessary precautions immediately.
If you see this graphic, it means that this particular disease is contagious to other cats.

If you see this graphic, it means that this particular disease is contagious to people.

Have fun, learn a lot, and most of all, bond with your new kitten. Your reward will be a lifetime of purrs, bonks, and love. As with all self-help books, use this as a guide and consult your veterinarian regarding specific questions about your kitten.
Chapter 1
Finding and Providing For Your New Kitten
The first thing you need to do is find a kitten; a healthy, happy, socialized kitten. By kitten, I mean a young cat, certainly under six months of age, and often under three months. Finding a kitten might sound easy, but you need to keep certain things in mind, depending on where you go looking. I describe the people and places who offer kittens in the following sections. If you already have a kitten, reading the section that applies to you anyway could still give you some helpful tips.
Cat Breeders
Many people buy pedigree kittens from cat breeders. A breeder is a person who professionally breeds cats to sell and/or show. Suppose you wanted to purchase a Persian kitten. You could find a Persian cat breeder in your area, or a breeder who ships kittens to anywhere in the country. Ideally, you get a breeder s name from someone else who bought a kitten from them. If not, however, you can look in your local newspaper under the pet section. Cat magazines have listings in the back, or you can call national organizations for listings of registered breeders (see Appendix I for helpful addresses and phone numbers). Your local veterinarian also can assist you.

This kitten is almost old enough to leave Mom-but not yet!
Breeders usually have a range of ages of kittens for sale, from six weeks to six months old. Kittens under three months of age are the most popular. You can expect to pay several hundred dollars for a quality pedigree kitten.
You want to make sure the breeder is registered with a national cat registry and has been breeding cats for at least five years (long enough to be sure their cats are free of genetic defects). They should be able to give you a certificate of pedigree with the kitten to prove it s a pure breed. Find out whether they offer a written guarantee for the kitten s health, and make sure they ll give you a refund or exchange if the kitten develops a disease or genetic problem within the first year. Reputable breeders are more than happy to meet these conditions. If they re reluctant, or refuse, you don t want to do business with them-find another breeder.
Pet Stores
Many pet stores sell pedigree and non-pedigree kittens. Most of them are young-under 12 weeks of age. They are often kept together in a pen or crate, which is great for display purposes, but not so great if one of the kittens is ill, because then all the kittens get exposed. The kittens are often placed in the main area of the store so people can get close and even hold them if they want. Although this is a bit risky (kids tend to drop kittens when they squirm), it does socialize them early, which is a good thing.
If you re interested in a pet store kitten, try to find out how the store got the animals-from a breeder, pet wholesaler, or maybe just a neighborhood family looking to place a litter of their cat. This matters, because it should reflect the price of the kitten. Prices at pet stores can range from free to a good home, to a minimal fee of about $25, to several hundred dollars for a pedigree kitten.
Like breeders, most pet stores give a written guarantee for the health and pedigree of the kitten. These guarantees usually are good until the kitten is 6-12 months old. They are also willing to exchange or replace a sick kitten. In some states, pet stores must offer to pay for veterinary care up to the purchase price of the kitten in the event that the owner doesn t want a replacement or refund, which does come into play because many people quickly become attached to their new kitten.
Animal Shelters
I commend you if you choose or have chosen to get your kitten at an animal shelter! Every adoption helps, with so many homeless animals in this country. Animal shelters often have a wide variety of ages and breeds; as you can imagine, the young healthy kittens go fast. You might have to go