Bringing Your Kitten Home
Bringing a kitten home for the first time is sure to be an incredibly exciting time for you and your family. Remember, though, it can be quite a traumatic time for the kitten. Here's a quick guide to making sure it goes as smoothly as possible.
If you are bringing your kitten home by car, it's probably the first time that the kitten has travelled on the road. The kitten should feel safe and secure in a suitable cat carrier.
Try and ensure it's a quiet day that you decide to bring home your kitten. The less noise and chaos your kitten encounters when it's arrives at it's new home, the more comfortable the ordeal will feel.
Many people choose to get a new kitten at Christmas or for a family member's birthday. These can often be loud, busy and frantic days that a kitten will definitely not appreciate. We advise bringing your new kitten home during a weekend - when you've got plenty of time to dedicate to the new family addition.
Perhaps even take a day off before and after you bring your kitten home so you can spend some relaxing time together, helping to make the new arrival welcome, in relaxed surroundings.
Preparing your kitten's new home
It's important that you've already got the necessary equipment for a new kitten set up at home for the new arrival. Cats are creatures of habit, so once you've decided on a place for each item, try and stick to it. Your kitten may become somewhat confused if it gets used to it's bed in one place, only to find that it's moved all of a sudden one day.
We recommend that the kitten's litter tray is not placed close to it's food and water bowls. In the wild, cats will never go to the toilet near where they drink and eat, and this should be no different for their domestic counterparts.
Your new kitten's bed should be positioned in a warm and quiet area of the house. It's at this point that if you let your kitten sleep on the bed with you, it may become the habit of a lifetime, so think carefully!
When your kitten arrives home, show him or her where it's food and water bowls are. Once you've done this, ensure the kitten is familiar with the position of it's litter tray. Let the kitten explore parts of the house that it's allowed to spend time in.
It Is important to remember that your kitten's new surroundings will feel very new to the little feline fella. Allow your kitten to take time to soak in it's new environment and try to always be around for that added degree of extra comfort.