Kitten Classes

Register Your Pet Book Appointment

Congratulations on your purrrrfect new arrival!

Here at The Vets @ Dronfield, we’re excited to offer Kitten School classes. A fun and supportive series of sessions designed to give your kitten the best start in life. Whether you’re a first-time cat owner or you just need some extra support, our experienced team are here to guide you through everything you need to know. During these sessions, we will help you to lay down the foundations for your cat’s health and mental wellbeing, to raise a happy and healthy cat.

These sessions will help you to understand feline behaviour which allows you to better cater to the wants and needs of your new, curious companion!

Our kitten school is £20 per session, however they are free of charge to clients on our Pet Health Plan. Our parasite prevention treatment is also covered on the Pet Health Plan.

If you decide not to attend kitten school classes, that is absolutely fine. We do still recommend keeping up to date with parasite prevention treatment.

First vaccination – 8 weeks old

Your kitten will have a full clinical examination from nose to tail with one of our Vets. The Vet will start their vaccination course which requires one injection now, and the 2nd in 3-4 weeks time. The Vet will also ensure your kitten is up to date with flea and worming treatment, check their weight and answer any questions you may have.

We can offer 4 weeks free PetPlan insurance after your visit which covers your kitten immediately for illness and injury. There is no obligation to take this out or to continue with it after the 4 weeks have finished. However, it’s a great safety net if you are looking at shopping around before taking out a full insurance policy.

Do you have an older cat/s at home and would like advice on how to make introducing a kitten as stress free as possible for everyone? We can signpost you to the right support to help your kitten settle in and become accepted by other cats/pets in the family.

Visiting the Vets can be very stressful for cats, so we want to help reduce any stress associated with the cat carrier, car journeys and having a physical exam with us at the practice. There are lots of ways you as an owner can reduce your kittens stress and anxiety prior to visiting us. We will also make their visits as positive as possible with treats, a calm and cat-friendly approach and taking things at their pace. Hopefully this will help to make visiting us a much more positive experience for you and your kitten from the get go.

A kittens socialisation period is between 2 and 7 weeks of age, which is much earlier than a puppy for example. A lot of their personality traits (boldness or shyness) comes from what they experienced during those early weeks, how much stress the queen was under during pregnancy and the personality of the Tom. However, by providing the right environment, and with patience and consistency, you can make a big difference in helping to shape their behaviour.

2nd Vaccination 11-12 weeks old

(3-4 weeks after 1st vaccination)

Your kitten will be seen by one of our Qualified Veterinary Nurses for their second vaccination. The Nurse will carry out a clinical examination and check your kitten’s weight. The Nurse will demonstrate how to carry out a health check on your kitten and advise on desensitisation techniques for handling them at home (so these checks become second nature when they come to see us)! This allows your kitten to be more amenable to grooming, nail trims etc. too!

This is also an opportunity for you to ask any questions you have. Be it dietary advice, what cat litter to use, outlets for scratching, grooming etc. We can provide their next dose of flea and worming treatment too where required.

We will discuss environmental enrichment and make sure you have everything your kitten needs in terms of resources and their placement. Creative feeding and scheduling safe and appropriate play are important for their mental wellbeing, so we will guide you on how to meet the needs of your little hunter!

It is during the 9-14 week period that kittens develop ‘social play’, so this should be encouraged where possible. After 14 weeks, social fighting can occur and you may also notice your kitten playing more solitary with objects rather than other pets in the house. They may also start to stalk, pounce and bite objects which mimics predatory behaviour. This is completely normal and we will advise on how to navigate this period.

Kitten School One – 4 months old

During this visit, we can combine their health check with a pre-operative check up for neutering as kittens reach sexual maturity at 4 months of age. We will discuss the benefits of neutering and why we recommend it, what the procedure entails and the recovery period. Your kitten will be required by law to have a microchip implanted by the age of 20 weeks. We can implant this at the time of neutering whilst they’re fast asleep under the anaesthetic and know nothing about it! The microchip will give you that peace of mind should your pet go missing. It can be useful for microchip operated catflaps and microchip activated feeders too!

We can offer a second 4 weeks free pet insurance cover note with Petplan at this stage if your kitten is not insured and you’re still shopping around. We can also provide your kitten with their next round of flea and worm treatment if required.

Your kitten may be starting to lose their deciduous (baby) teeth around 4 months of age. Most kittens have all their adult teeth by the time they reach 6 months old. At this point, we will discuss the importance of good dental hygiene and preventing dental disease from developing in the future.

Kitten School two – 5 months old

At this point, your cat may have been neutered already or be in the recovery period. Your kitten will have a clinical exam and their wounds inspected. If they have had a microchip placed, this will be scanned to confirm it is still in situ and reading correctly. If your kitten hasn’t had a microchip placed, we will need to implant one. Don’t worry, we will make sure your kitten has some tasty snacks to take their mind off the microchip and it is over and done with very quickly!

Your kitten will be provided with flea and worming treatment at this point where required.

We will advise you on how to care for your cats coat, particularly if your cat is long haired! Getting your kitten used to grooming at an early age will help to maintain their coat, prevent mats and help them to tolerate it going into adulthood too.

Your kitten needs to be able to maintain their claws by scratching on surfaces. We will look at the importance of this process and how to direct them to an appropriate scratching area (and away from your sofa!).

Kitten School three – 6 months old

At 6 months of age, we will discuss their dietary requirements as they no longer need kitten food. They can be transferred on to adult food or neutered cat food if they have been neutered. In addition to their health check, we will weigh them and carry out a body condition score. This allows us to assess their body fat distribution and advise if their body condition is starting to increase beyond the healthy boundary.

Obesity is more likely to occur after neutering, so it is important that we ensure your cat is fed a good quality diet which reflects their neutered status and is being fed the correct amount. We will revisit creative feeding which not only caters for their mental wellbeing but helps to burn some calories too!

All of their adult teeth should be through at 6months of age so we can further support you with maintaining dental hygiene.

You may have decided that you want to keep your kitten indoors and that is absolutely fine. We can discuss what environmental enrichment your kitten requires to allow them to express their natural behaviour whilst indoors. This will prevent stress and frustration which can make your cat become unwell. Letting your cat outside can be a daunting prospect! Once your cat is neutered, they will be less likely to roam or fight with other cats. We will advise on how to introduce your kitten to the big wide world and answer any questions you may have.

At this point, you should have all the tools you need to ensure your kitten is happy and healthy. We will see them again in 3 months time to monitor their growth and development, however if you want to continue to bring your kitten for checkups that is absolutely fine. We are also just an email, WhatsApp or phone call away if you need any help or advice.

Kitten School four – 9 months old

Your kitten will have a health check with the Nurse who will also check their weight and review their body condition score. Their growth will be starting to slow down now and most will have reached more or less their expected adult weight. It is at this point we can start to see signs of obesity, so this gives us an opportunity to spot it quickly and act accordingly. We will discuss their diet and ensure that your cat is fed the right life stage diet and the right quantity.

If your kitten is now spending time outdoors, we will review their flea and worming requirements (especially if they have started hunting!). We will make sure they’re protected against anything they may inadvertently pick up during their escapades! We should be able to provide you with a 3month supply of flea and worming which will take you to their 12month check up.

Kitten School five – 12 months old

Happy Birthday! Your kitten has all grown up and is now the equivalent of a 15 year old human! They’re still a juvenile at 12 months of age and won’t really ‘mature’ until 2-3 years of age. They won’t be quite as active as they were as a young kitten but they will still have plenty of energy whilst they continue to figure out how to ‘cat!’ With all you have learned during these sessions (including understanding their requirements and behaviour), you should have a happy, independent and well rounded cat.

Hopefully they have been able to maintain a healthy body condition, however if not we are here to support you! We will carry out a health check, weight check and body condition score assessment. It is at this point we can start to see signs of gingivitis (inflamed gums) or calculous build up. We will carry out a dental examination and support you should your cat require further dental hygiene interventions.

Here are some links you may find useful. We will signpost you to these at varying intervals to help support you at the different stages of their growth and development:

ICatCare Resources:

If you would like to know more about Kitten School or book your kitten in, just give us a call on (01246) 903536 or WhatsApp us on 07426712065.

Pet Health Plans