Mary Allen
As long as kittens are consuming breast milk, the antibodies it contains protect them from infections. Only when they start to eat solid food from about the sixth week onwards does this protection diminish. Therefore, think about the correct care for kittens in good time.
Prevention for Kittens: Vaccinations
Now you have to develop your own defenses against viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Fortunately, most pathogens are quite harmless, but kittens cannot cope with some virus representatives that easily. It is therefore advisable to have the vaccination at around eight weeks of age.
Cat Flu & Cat Disease
First and foremost, this includes vaccination against cat flu and cat disease. Even a cat kept in the apartment without exception can be infected through people, e.g. through shoes worn indoors and outdoors. The tough parvoviruses cause insatiable diarrhea in young cats. Herpes and caliciviruses are responsible for cat flu, but vaccination can also help prevent them.
Leukosis
Pure house cats are relatively safe, but anyone who comes among the people should be vaccinated against leukosis. This viral disease can only breakthrough after years of infection. The result is tumors, recurring infections, or swelling lymph nodes. A blood test at the vet will show whether the cat was infected by another animal.
Rabies
Further preventive measures are rabies vaccination and protection against worms. Even the mother should be dewormed during pregnancy, as her worms would pass onto the young. To be on the safe side, the little ones should also be dewormed a week before each vaccination.
Castration: Yes or No?
When the flail weeks have finally come through more or less happily, another question arises: castration yes or no? A hangover that marks urine in the apartment makes the decision easy. In principle, neutering is also advisable for a female if one does not want any unwanted offspring. A positive side effect is that the risk of tumors is reduced. Negative effects are not to be feared.