Introducing a kitten into your household requires some basic preparations to ensure that it settles in, bonds with you and doesn't wreck all your furniture. The advantages of getting a kitten are that it can be socialised to fit into your environment and provide a great deal of fun when it is a small bundle of energy.
Outgoing and friendly kittens coming from a bustling household may settle in quicker than timid kittens. Initially a timid kitten will look for the most secure place to hide (such as behind the sofa) and no amount of coaxing will bring it out. The best advice is to be gentle and let the kitten come to you, which it will do at meal-times.
Preparing to bring your kitten home
You should wait for nine weeks before your kitten can leave its mother and siblings. You should check with the owner whether the kitten has been to the vet, whether it uses a cat litter and the type of food it has been used to eating. A kitten will want to be fed several times a day, but not in vast amounts.
Though you may have some mixed emotions at separating a kitten from its siblings and mother, you may be surprised how quickly your kitten adapts to its independent role.
It has been said that kittens prefer a companion, such a sibling from its litter or even another pet from your household. Before you commit yourself to getting a kitten you should decide if you can handle having two kittens around at the same time. The advantages are that they will occupy themselves with play and keep themselves company during the times when you are out. You might feel that you can fulfill this role, particularly if you spend a lot of time at home. The disadvantages mean two mouths to feed and more to look out for.
Transporting your kitten home
There are several cat carriers available on the market ranging from cage like carriers where the cat can see everything to more enclosed carriers where the cat may feel slightly more protected.
In order to minimise the distress to your kitten, try and have some blanket in the carrier that it has used (from the owner) or perhaps some scent that it will recognise from a toy. Ensure that there is some water nearby. Your kitten won't like the journey but with a bit of luck you may be able to settle it down.
Do not weaken and let the cat out particularly if you are driving in a car because all kinds of mayhem may well be unleashed.
Arriving home
It is important to allow the kitten to recover from its journey. Ideally you should prepare a secure space – such as a room – before you bring your kitten home, since it will be disorientated and may feel a bit nervous. Leave the kitten alone for an hour or so after initially reassuring it with some food. Keep that space available for the kitten to fall back on in times of stress (such as the unexpected noises). Gradually, it will explore every nook and cranny in your home.
Feeding your kitten is an important bonding process. It is a good idea to have a mixture of dry food for the kitten so it can crunch and some semi-moist food as well. You can start establishing patterns by determining when your kitten should eat and it is a useful way of attracting its attention, particularly when it graduates to playing outdoors and you want to call it in. Tapping its bowl usually has the desired effect – a cat has excellent hearing ability. It is useful to have its bowls in the same place so as not to disorient it – and some cats aren't keen to have the litter tray close to their food.
The best rule of thumb is let your kitten come to you. Do not overwhelm your kitten by holding it and stroking it too much. This is true if you have children who may unintentionally over smother their new kitten. Remember it is only a kitten and while it will play vigorously – it is still young and needs its rest.
Kittens spend a great deal of time sleeping and so you might want to provide a blanket or bedding (however, cats are adept at seeking out the warmest cosiest spots themselves).
Hopefully your kitten will be house trained and will recognise the litter tray but it is useful to show it the tray. Cats are naturally clean and they will learn very quickly how to use a litter tray. They will not appreciate it if you are slovenly with clearing it out though. Accidents may happen; your kitten may seek an alternative spot to use the toilet (such as a plant pot).
Curiosity and the kitten
Cats map out their territory using scent from their cheeks or paws. They like high vantage positions where they can feel safe and survey their domains. You should be wary of open upstairs windows, not because your kitten might want to jump, but it might slip during its preliminary investigations. You should discourage your kitten from playing with electrical leads, particularly if it chooses to bite into one. Other danger items are washing machines, water in baths, sinks, cookers or hobs, freezers and fridges.
Your furniture will become fair game to a kitten and so it is wise to have a scratching post available where it can sharpen its claws. You should encourage your kitten to scratch on the post when it targets the sofa or your textured wallpaper. Your kitten will quickly demonstrate its range of leaping and climbing skills, so be prepared for some damage.
Kittens dislike the feeling and texture of tin foil, so if there are areas you don't want your kitten to explore such as the kitchen sink, food surfaces, it is an idea to place some foil out even if it makes your home look like something out of an old space movie set.
Feline behaviour
Kittens use play as an instinctive way to learn to hunt. Your kitten will have particular times, such as dawn and late night, when its instincts are heightened. It may indulge in a mad half-hour when, for no apparent reason, it will leap and run around your house like something possessed. You may want to join in with the fun, but be wary - kittens may scratch and bite in play fighting. They usually know their limits and won't dig in too deep unless you really antagonise them.
You know that your kitten is settling in if its tail is up, it looks alert, it playfully tumbles over, adopts a relaxed posture when resting (with its paws tucked in) and of course if it purrs with contentment when you stroke it. After that you may expect attention-grabbing behaviour such as winding around you and meowing for food. It may greet you with a nose to nose, as a way of establishing its bond with you.
If your kitten keeps its tail tucked in, keeps its ears lowered and has bad posture then you know that all is not well.
In any case you should arrange a visit to your vet as soon as possible for an examination and vaccination jabs, particularly if your kitten is going to roam outdoors unsupervised. You may wish to wait for six months to have your kitten neutered before you let it roam, particularly if it is female, otherwise you may have an unexpected litter greeting you one day.
Allowing your kitten outdoors
Most cats prefer the outdoors where they can stake their territories and hunt for prey. Do not let your kitten outside for the first month or so; otherwise it will make a bid for freedom. You may be astonished how quickly it learns to climb up a tree, a fence or a garden post. If you are close at hand you should be able to stop it.
Your kitten needs to know where the safety of its house is. It is useful to get your kitten to recognise the sound of its bowl being tapped to mean meal-times.
Road safety is problematic. You may need to pick up your kitten and show it moving cars and hope it appreciates the risks of outdoor life. Some people decide to keep their kittens indoors at all times, in which case you must give them plenty of exercise and stimulation.
Eddie Dyja - I have been working as a freelance editor/writer since 2006. My specialist subject is British film and television having worked at the ...
