Bringing Your Kitten Home
A little preparation makes the first weeks much calmer for everyone. Here's the checklist.
Before they arrive
- Kitten-proof: tidy away cords, blind cords, hair ties, rubber bands, string and thread (all are swallowing risks), along with medicines and cleaning products.
- No lilies, ever. Every part of true lilies and daylilies, even the pollen or the water in the vase, can cause fatal kidney failure in cats. Check your houseplants too: tulips, daffodils and sago palms are also toxic.
- Set up a 'base camp' room: a quiet spare room or office with a bed, food and water (away from the litter box), a litter box, a scratching post and a few toys. Hiding spots help too: a box on its side is perfect.
- Get the kit ready: the same food the breeder used (switch slowly later, if at all), litter, a carrier and a vet appointment booked for the first week.
Day one
Take the kitten straight to base camp, put the carrier on the floor, open the door and sit quietly. Don't pull them out: let them come out on their own time, whether that's seconds or hours. Show them the litter box once. It's normal for them not to eat, drink or use the box for the first several hours. Keep visitors and other pets away for now.
The first weeks
Once your kitten is eating, using the box and coming to you happily, open the door and let them explore the rest of the home bit by bit, with base camp still available to retreat to. Most kittens settle in within a few days to two weeks.
Introducing other pets
- Scent first. Keep them apart and swap bedding between the new kitten and your resident pets for a few days.
- Swap rooms. Let the kitten explore while the resident pet is shut away, then swap.
- See each other. Use a baby gate or a door open a crack, with treats and short sessions. Hissing means you go back a step, not that it's failing.
- Supervised time together, with a wand toy as a distraction, gradually getting longer.
This can take anywhere from a week to a couple of months. Going slowly is the fastest way to get there.