Travelling with kitten

Question
QUESTION: Hello Teresa,
I have a big question for you. We are getting our 7 week old kitten this weekend. He is going to be with us on the weekend and during the week when my wife and I work she is going to be home alone. Next weekend we are going to visit my parents in law which stays about an 1h40 away from us. They also have a cat about 12 years old, is it safe for us to take our little kitten with which is going to be 8 weeks old at the time. Or is it better for us to leave him at home for the weekend when we are going to my parents in law. Please give me urgent advice please.
Thanks
Hannes Viviers
South Africa

ANSWER: Hi Hannes, It is better to wait until your kitten has had all of his kitten vaccines before you travel with him anywhere. It is unlikely that your parents have a cat that is ill but it could always carry a disease to your kitten from another cat that he has been in contact with ! And that is good advice even when you are home. Do not let you kitten in contact with any other cats until he is over 12 weeks old and fully protected from the common cat viruses by way of his vaccines. If you do want to travel with him start doing it when he is young so that he gets used to the car and used to new things easier. So, it would be nice to plan a trip when the kitten is about 12-16 weeks old if you can! This will get him used to being flexible and also it makes him more of a family pet if he can go with you on family outings ! You can purchase a little cat harness anytime now and get him used to wearing it. This way you can just snap a leash on him when traveling and he will be safe and under control in new surroundings.
Teresa

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QUESTION: Hello Teresa,
Well the friends of ours we are getting the kitten from stay on a farm and they have about 12 cats and know the new additions are one of there cats had kitten litter of 4 they are 7 weeks this weekend when we are going to take him home with us. So he is already busy walking around outside where the other cats are. All there cats are healthy so I dont think that he will get any problems being with them. They stayed outside in a barn since being born. and I only now coming outside since about being a bit over 5 1/2 weeks. What must we do I've we go away next weekend and we want to leaveh him home. What do we do for fresh food and water? It is only going to be for the saturday evening that we are sleeping there with my parents in law. So we would be able to give him fresh food and water in the morning and then when we are back the following day we can give him fresh water again. Will it be fine I've we feed him is wet food in the morning and then just leave pellets for the time we are away? Thanks for all your help.

Regards
Hannes Viviers
South Africa

ANSWER: Hi Hannes, If you are going to leave him home for the weekend I would put down a couple of bowls of fresh water before you leave. This is in case he knocks one of them over or accidentally contaminates one with food or a toy or ?? So, always leave extra bowls and make sure they are heavy ceramic type of bowls that are less likely to tip. Leaving him some canned food and then lots of dry kibble will be fine for the weekend. Make sure there are no household hazards that he could get into such as a toilet with the lid up, long cords on curtains that he could get tangled in, any sewing supplies with thread or needles left around. Walk around the house and babyproof it so that it is so safe you could leave a 1 yr old child alone and they would not be able to hurt themselves ! i would suggest this anyways, even if you were not going away ! You now have a baby to think about :)
Teresa

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QUESTION: Hello Teresa,
1.)Thanks a lot for the info but wont canned food go sour I've we leave it out for him? 2.)And you did not comment on the question about him being with 12 cats on the farm all there cats are healthy is it just better for him to become more social while he is around so many cats being a kitten. 3.)When is the best time to get his first vaccine injection? 4.)I have plenty of speakers cables and power cables behind our tv and home theatre cabinet must I really cover them all somehow or can I teach him not to go there?

Regards
Hannes Viviers

Answer
Hi Hannes, Sorry I am in Canada and it is bitter cold here right now so I wasn't thinking about the food going sour so quickly !! I guess if you are in south africa that would be a real concern. Just put down the amount of wet food that he would eat in half a day. If the remainder goes sour he will know enough not to eat it. And it may be a little stinky when you get home but there should not be too much of it if you just left the amount he would normally eat in a morning. Although the cats on the farm seem healthy they can still carry viruses that don't affect them but WOULD affect a little unvaccinated kitten. So, just to be on the safe side I would get his first vaccine at 8 wks old and the 2nd at 12 wks old and then allow him contact with those adult cats. The diseases of cats that are very contagious usually affect the very young and the very old and the middle aged ones look as healthy as horses ! If he has been raised long enough with his mom and siblings then he doesn't need any more social contact with other cats right now at this age. He can start "mingling" when he is 13 wks old. Re the cables, I would try to block access to the back of the cabinet if you can. Use some bricks, boxes, cardboard etc. You can even push another dresser up next to the entertainment center... or ?? and keep it blocked until he is about 8 or 9 months old and too big to care about what is behind there... you could certainly train him not to go back there but I have found that is more of a headache than it is worth because I have cats backing out of the area trying to correct their behaviour and they are getting tangled and unplugging things as they go.. groan..
Teresa
Teresa