Keep kitten and adult seperate?

Question
Hi, a friend of mine is going out of town for a few days.  He has a 3 week old kitten -- I have a 5 year old cat.  My cat just had her annual exam/vaccinations in Feb.  Is it all right for me to babysit the kitten and let her be around my cat, or (because of the kitten's age) would the kitten's immunities be too impaired?

Answer
Sheena,

A three week old kitten is much too young to be around adult cats. This baby's immune system is far too underdeveloped to be away from her mom. I am guessing that this baby is a rescued kitten. She should still be receiving kitten formula with soft kitten food or pureed meat or meat baby food. She should be eating foods that are about the consistency of pablum, she may also need to be getting these feedings through either an oral syringe or a bottle made for kittens with a slightly larger hole in the nipple than would normally be there. The kitten should not however be eating pablum, kittens do not need the grains that are in pablum, their systems aren't designed for that in fact cats are obligate carnivores which means that they need meat in order to have their nutritional needs met. It would be best if this little one was still on the bottle with only supplemental feedings of solid food mixed with kitten formula, if this kitten was still with mom she would only be nursing, her system really isn't ready for solids yet. Also you should be aware that this baby may need help to go to the washroom as some kittens this age still require stimulation from their mothers to use the toilet. If this is the case the way to help this baby use the toilet is to use a warm, damp piece of clean cotton and gently stroke the kitten from the genitals to the rectum. Sometimes this can take a bit of patience as humans are a poor substitute for mother cats, it can take up to 5 minutes to get the kitten to go potty. If the kitten is using a litter pan I would strongly suggest that you have a kitten sized litter box in all four corners of the room that she will be staying in while your friend is away. Kittens that young are sort of like human infants and toddlers, sometimes playing means that they forget they have to pee and accidents happen. If any such accidents happen and you happen to see them you will need to gently pick the kitten up, place her in the litter box, and very gently use her front paws to dig a hole in the litter. She will get the idea. You will also need to clean any accidents up with an enzymatic cleaner to prevent the kitten from making the same mistakes based on smelling urine or feces in the wrong places. You will need to pay very close attention to this kitten's behavior and habits as very young kittens can get really sick with little warning. For instance a day of vomiting and diarrhea could cost a kitten that small her life. Hopefully you have found this information helpful. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again. Good luck looking after this little one, and remember to be sure to wash your hands before handling her to prevent her from getting viruses or infections that could be very serious at this point in her life. Your adult cat's immune system is fully developed and viruses that either wouldn't affect your cat at all or would be a mild issue could be extremely serious in a three week old kitten. Take care!