When bringing a kitten home for the first time it is understandable that you will want them to settle in as soon as possible. Please remember that a kitten is a living creature: it is easy to forget, especially with all of the perfect images on social media, that kittens are living beings. The images we see so often look like little cuddly toys. But a kitten is a big commitment. It is your responsibility to make sure that your kitten's needs are met. Ensuring an easy transition to your new home is a crucial part of being a kitten carer. Here are some tips on how to make the transition easiest for your kitten...

Think like a kitten...

The key thing when bringing a kitten home is to understand that:

• Moving home is a huge change for your cat or kitten. Everything will smell different, and feel different.

• If you are bringing a kitten home they may have just left their mum and littermates, which will be very disconcerting for them.

• Cats' immune systems are very affected by stress, so it is important to reduce the stress placed on them as much as possible.

• Your kitten will be frightened, nervous and/or feel insecure. Be considerate to your kitten's needs. 

Bringing a kitten home: the best way

Here is the best way to bring a kitten home:

1. Before you collect your cat or kitten, prepare a small room in your home for them. Place a scratching post, cat tree or diogenes barrel in the room.  Put a clean food and water bowl down for them. Place a clean litter tray with litter in it nearby, but not too close to the food or water bowls. Cats do not like to go to the toilet where they eat! Your kitten breeder should have told you what food and litter your kitten has been using, so make sure you get them the same one. Discover our best ever cat trees in this article.

2. Make sure that the room is free from kitten dangers: wires, laundry detergent, shower gel and cleaning products. Find a comprehensive list of household items that are toxic to cats in our article.

3. Use a clean cat carrier for you kitten, with a clean blanket in. A puppy pad can also be useful if you will be making a long journey - just in case of any accidents!

4. Once you get your kitten home, place their cat carrier in their room. Make sure that everything is calm and quiet for them. If you have children, explain to them that it is important that they be quiet and relaxed so that they don’t frighten the baby kitten! If they are too excited, keep them out of the room until your kitten has settled.

5. Give the kitten 15-30 minutes in their carrier on their own, so they can get used to the smells of the room.

6. Then, go in and quietly open the door of the cat carrier. You can sit quietly on the floor at this point so you can watch your kitten emerge!

7. Never try to take the kitten out of the carrier - this will stress them out and mean they take much longer to settle in. They must be allowed to come out in their own time. This might take 2 minutes, or several hours. Sometimes a kitten will only come out when there is no one in the room, and take several days to feel comfortable outside the carrier when people are present in the room. 

8. Once they have settled in a bit, you can introduce them to some cat toys.

9. Keep your kitten confined to this room for a day or two, and then gradually introduce them to the rest of the house, one room at a time.

10. Some kittens might bounce straight out of the carrier on the first day, and then be more shy on the second day, which is fine - just let them take it in their own time. Other kittens may be very shy at first and get a little better each day.

11. Your kitten may not eat much for the first day or two, or use the litter tray. Keep an eye on what they are drinking, to make sure that they are getting some water - giving them wet food will really help with this. Pay attention to the litter tray - your kitten should do a wee within the first 24-48 hours. If there is nothing in the litter tray after this time, it may be an idea to give your vet a call and just let them know in case they have some advice for you.

Bringing a kitten home is a crucial part of settling them into your home. It is worth investing time to get it right, so that your kitten can feel comfortable and relaxed as soon as possible. Remember - it is your responsibility to care for your kitten (and not their responsibility to entertain you the second you get home!).

Read more...

- understand how important litter tray hygiene is for your new kitten

- find out why not all cat litters are suitable for kittens in our cat litter review

- understand Feline Coronavirus, a common virus in the cat population

- learn what makes a Bombadillo kitten so unique

We are expert British Shorthair breeders. We specialise in the more magical and unusual British Shorthair colours and patterns, but we do also get some fo the more classic colours as well. Bringing a kitten home is a crucial part of the settling in process.