How to Care for a Persian Kitten

Take your Persian kitten to a veterinarian for a checkup and vaccinations. However, first check with the breeder or rescue group to see what tests or vaccinations it received. Have the veterinarian test the kitten for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus. Give your kitten a distemper vaccination at 8 weeks old, a booster shot at 12 weeks old and a rabies vaccination at 4 months old.

Set up a room in your home where your kitten will feel safe. Provide it with food and water dishes, as well as a litter box. For young kittens under 4 months, use nonclumping litter to prevent it from ingesting it and matting the kitten's fur. Place a soft cat bed for your Persian to lounge on near a window so it can sunbathe. This sedate breed enjoys lounging on soft, comfortable surfaces.

Feed your kitten a diet of canned or dry kitten food or a combination of both. Continue to feed your kitten what the breeder or rescue group was previously feeding it to prevent stomach upset from changing its diet. A kitten under 4 weeks old requires bottle feeding with kitten milk replacement formula every two hours. You need to wean kittens off formula between the ages of 4 and 10 weeks of age by mixing the formula with canned kitten food. Most breeders or rescue groups will not allow you to take home a kitten under 12 to16 weeks old, so your kitten should come to you already weaned.

Give your kitten toys to play with. Although Persians tend to be more docile than other breeds, they still enjoy some play time to keep them from becoming bored. Provide the kitten with a scratching post to stretch and groom its nails.

Comb your Persian kitten daily with a Teflon-coated comb, for 10 to15 minutes to keep its hair soft and free from matting. Other types of brushes may damage the Persian's delicate coat. This long-haired breed will become matted very quickly if you fail to groom it daily. Give it a longer grooming session of about an hour once a week to completely comb its coat and prevent it from ingesting the hair, causing hairballs. In addition to grooming give your Persian kitten a small amount of hairball prevention gel daily in its food.

Bathe your Persian kitten every two weeks to clean and remove excess oils from its coat. Use lukewarm water in your kitchen sink or bathtub to wet the kitten's fur and lather it up to its neck with cat shampoo. Massage the soap into its fur, and then rinse with lukewarm water using a sink sprayer or shower attachment. Wipe its face with a damp washcloth to remove any excess tears from its eyes and clean its nose. Condition its coat with a cat conditioner or spray-on conditioning spray for pets. Dry the Persian with a blow dryer set to warm or cool, not hot.

Clean your Persian's eyes with special pet eye wipes daily to prevent eye discharge or stains from forming around the eyes. These can be purchased at pet stores. Persians tend to tear and sometimes this stains the fur around the eyes. For light-colored Persians, use boric acid liquid to remove the stains near the eyes using a moist cotton pad. You can also clean the eyes using a cotton pad moistened with sterile saline solution.

Allow your Persian kitten to explore the rest of your home after keeping it in its room for the first week or two after you bring it home. Slowly introduce it to all of the members of your family and other pets.