I am an animal lover, to be more exact, a cat lover. I have a cat named Mr Meowzums, I have raised him since he was an 11 week old kitten. He is now a year and a half old. He is healthy and happy thanks to being looked after properly.

So for this hub, I decided I would write about raising a kitten, including foods, jabs and fleas.

When your kitten is born, their eyes don't open till about their seventh day of life, although their sight will not be developed fully until they are about ten weeks old. Kittens develop very quickly from about two weeks of age until their seventh week. Their coordination and strength improve, they play-fight with their litter-mates, and begin to explore the world outside the nest. They learn to wash themselves and others as well as play hunting and stalking games, they will learn the hunting and stalking games from their mother. At three to four weeks old, you would wean your kitten from milk onto solid foods. By eight weeks your kitten should be living primarily on solid foods in preperation to leave their mother.

Food: When your kitten is eating solid foods, he should be fed meat and biscuits specifically for kittens as it helps their growth and development. Usually a kitten will eat four times a day, as your kitten gets older he will eat three times a day and by the time he is six months old he should be eating only twice a day. With my own kitten by six months old he was fed wet food twice a day but his bowl for dry food was always full if he wants to eat during the day. Cats are natural 'grazers'. They do not adapt well to eating just one meal a day, as some dogs do.

Moving on to adult food:
Even though most cats look fully-grown by six months, they're still kittens on the inside. Their bones are becoming stronger and their bodies filling out. Traditionally kittens shouldn't transfer to adult food until they are 12 months old. This should be done gradually, again to avoid stomach upsets.Your vet may tell you to begin feeding your kitten adult food before he reaches 12 months old, this happened in my case, my kitten had developed enough and was very healthy and it was advised to begin feeding him adult food to avoid him becoming overweight. Milk: Fresh drinking water should always be available to your kitten if he is thirsty. Cow's milk should not be fed to a kitten. Cow's milk isn't good for cats as most cats lose their ability to digest lactose shortly after weaning. Only feed specially formulated 'cat milk' and check that it is suitable for kittens, as some are designed for adult cats only, when it is appropriate to begin feeding your cat adult food, he can also move on to adult milk.

Vaccinating your kitten: Most vets would advise your kitten should be vaccinated against most common illnesses at around two-three months old. The combination vaccination protects against Feline Viral rhinotracheitis (FVR), Feline calicivirus (C), and Feline panleukopenia (P) and is therefore called FVRCP. This vaccination is given at 8 weeks and 12 weeks with a third FVRCP and a rabies inoculation at 16 weeks. When your kitten is seven months old he/she can be spayed or neutered, depending on your kittens gender. Lots of veterinarians will spay or neuter kittens as young as 7 weeks and weighing at least 2 pounds but this is more common with kittens living in animal shelters. Kittens can be de-wormed against roundworms from four weeks old, you can buy de-worming tablets at any pet shop or supermarket, the tablets are crumbled up into your kittens food. If your kitten ever develops diarrhea, it is best to seek advice from a veterinarian.

Fleas: If a kitten contracts fleas it can cause them to become anemic. Kittens should not wear flea collars until they are four months old. Until then, if your kitten has fleas use a flea comb to gently remove the dirt and fleas from the fur. When you comb your kitten, if the comb gathers black specks, this may be flea dirt. Use an anti-flea spray such as frontline to kill fleas, it kills fleas already on your pet and prevents new fleas from settling in. Fleas are as much of a problem on your pet and off your pet so as well as using front line or an anti flea spray you should do the following:

1. Vacuum frequently, especially carpets and other soft coverings where your pet tends to lounge.
2. Wash your pet's bed, blanket, toys and other soft items in the hottest water possible.
3. Mow the lawn and rake any clippings or leaves as this is traditionally where your kitten/cat will have contracted the fleas.

Useful website: http://frontline.us.merial.com/index.asp

I do hope I have given readers an idea on how to look after a kitten. In addition ensure you give your kitten lots of toys to play with, plenty of love and somewhere warm to snuggle at night! Love your kitten and they will love you back ten times more.

Enjoy the photographs of my kitten, he has turned into a fully grown tom with a lovely glossy coat and healthy teeth and stomach! Very cuddly and loving!