Bringing Your Kitten Home
A Step-By-Step Guide
You’ve anxiously awaited your kitten’s homecoming. What do you do from here? Below is a step-by-step guide to ease your new kitten into them into their new home.
- As with any new pet, start them off in a small section of your house. Most customers choose a bathroom or laundry room. “But why not give my kitten the entire house to play in?”
Your kitten has lost the only home they have ever known, which is a lot for them to understand. Too much stimulation can cause anxiety, unnecessary stress, and even litter pan issues. Giving your kitten a smaller space to adjust will help them feel safe and confident. Never turn the kitten free in your entire home on the first day or two after they arrive. This will overwhelm the kitty. Never introduce your new kitten to dogs or other cats for at least the first week after arriving at your home. They are just trying to adapt to the new environment and their new caretakers. Keep in mind they are trying to adjust to the fact that all their nursery mates are missing out of their life and their former caretakers. If you have recently added another kitty from another cattery or humane society, we ask that you do not introduce it to our kitten for at least sixty days.
Home Base
Prepare your kitten’s “home base room” prior to them arriving.
Your new kitten should stay in this home base room for the first 72 hours after arriving.
Make sure their litter pan, food, and water are set up in this room/area.
The home base should have soft music playing so your new kitten hears human voices at all times.
Always be sure to keep their nursery blanket with them. This blanket has the scent of their nursery mates on it and is very comforting to them.
Talk to your kitten softly, so they learn the sound of your voice.
Be sure to have catnip toys in their home base room. These help them to relax and start the playing process.
We have linked to some of their favorite ones below.
NEVER chase your kitten around the room. Do not allow children to scream around them.
After 72 hours, allow your kitten to venture out and explore on his or her terms, keeping the door open so they can return should they get frightened.
Remember, the keyword is always the same: TIME.
Some kittens come bouncing out of their carrier, ready to tackle the world and cover you with whisker kisses, while others are a little more cautious and take some time to win over.
Suggested Home Base Products
Yeowww! Catnip Yellow Banana Cat Toy
Silvervine Catnip Teething Sticks
Catnip Temptation Treats
Best Catnip EVER!!
(((A MUST HAVE before your new kitty comes home)))
Feliway Calming Diffuser
A drug-free solution for cats & kittens that helps reduce signs of stress, including scratching, urine spraying, hiding, and changes in their environment.
Click here to purchase.