Preparing for New Kitten!

Hey everyone.

I'm Carrie and I live with my fiancÃ[emoji]169[/emoji] in a tiny little house on the very-outskirts of a little rural town.

A friend's cat has just had kittens and as we've been talking about it for months, we thought it was a good opportunity to finally take the plunge and get our first cat! We've reserved a little ginger boy and he'll be ready in about five weeks, so now is the time for all the preparations! We've both grown up with cats so we're used to them (and miss them!) but it's been a long time since either of us brought a kitten home, so I just had a few questions.

So far we have a large covered litter tray and litter (matching the kitten's current litter), bowls, feeding mat and food (matching the food he'll be weaned on to), a sturdy cat carrier and some soft squidgy catbeds. On the list to buy is a scratching post and grooming brushes. We've already picked out a good local vet and have budgeted for de-worming, de-fleaing, neutering, vaccinations etc.


My main questions is about what to do on the very first day. I mean, where should we let it out and get settled into? Our house has a tiny (very tiny!) heavily-used living-room with a door, but then the dining-room, kitchen and stairs are all open to each other, so it's a very big space and less frequently used. The (very tiny) bathroom has a door, as do the bedrooms but I don't want to encourage the cat to spend too long in the bedrooms if possible (we have friends who stay over who are mildly allergic to cats).

Everything I've read says that on the first day you should let kitty out of the carrier in a small, quiet room with litter tray, food and water. But in my house, the only shut-able room big enough to put all those things into is the (busy) living room.


So question 1 is: which is more important on the first day: a small safe space, or a quieter larger space? I'm choosing between the kitchen/dining room/stairs complex, or the living room.

Also, in the longer-term, the litter box is going to 'live' in a quiet corner under a table in the dining room and I don't want to confuse the baby by moving it and risking accidents.


So question 2 is: how easily to very new kittens adjust to moving the litter box? Should I settle him into the shut-able living room for the first few days and move him later, or settle him into the place it's always going to be?


Finally, (I'm so sorry this is so long!), there are three ginger boys to choose from (their sister is being kept by the mother's owners) and we have first choice. We just want a friendly pet cat. I've read up on choosing a healthy kitten, but does anyone have any advice on what to look out for personality-wise when viewing a kitten and its litter? He'll be an only-cat at least for a few years, so should we go for outgoing-and confident or laid-back-and-relaxed? Any behaviours or signs to avoid?


I'm really sorry if these questions are stupid, I just want to get it right! The house is rented and I want to keep risks to my landlord's beige carpets to a minimum, hehe!

Thank you so much - this site is so full of lovely people and excellent advice, I've been browsing for hours!

Since you're getting in on the ground floor, so to speak, the first thing your little kitten needs is handling. Lots and lots of handling. That's the way to develop a kitten/cat that likes affection. If they're not handled a lot early on, they will likely never like it much, later.

The important thing is to the new kitten somewhere he can't get lost, can't hide, can't fall, can't chew on wires, etc. You know, "child proofed."

At the start, you'll want a low-sided litter box (we have used a cake pan) and you'll want it where he can easily find it. Young kittens, like young children, easily have accidents if they can't find the box quickly.

The last time we had tiny kittens, we closed them in our kitchen. We put up a cardboard barrier across the door, about 24 inches high. We figured when they could get over that, they were probably large enough to be out and about in the house on their own.

Until he's comfortable with you, I would suggest putting him in a spare bedroom or even the bathroom. Also, you'll want to make sure he's eating well, drinking well, and using the litter box efficiently before turning him loose in the whole house.

Get multiple litter boxes and put them throughout your house. He's tiny and sometimes little ones are like little kids, they hold it until they HAVE to go. Having litter boxes nearby ensure no accidents. We've used disposable aluminum cake pans or old cake pans bought at garage sales.

TOYS! Be sure you have a variety of toys such as soft things for him to chew on, toys he can kick (a paper towel tube or toilet paper tube work well), straws are great for teething and you can snip off the ends when they get tattered, a turbo scratcher will keep him entertained for hours, toys on wands and strings are good, too.

Be prepared for him to cry when separated from his mom & sbilings. You might want to get him a small stuffed toy or put an old wind-up alarm clock wrapped up in an old shirt in his bed for him to snuggle with. OR....adopt 2 kitties so he'll have a friend to play with and feel more secure! (That's what I would do if adopting a young kitten.) Two really are just as easy to care for as one.

Get him used to having his paws touched and caressed so that you will be able to clip his claws on a regular basis. I use regular human nail clippers for Bijou. Even now I often just take his paw in mine and caress it gently and sometimes even give it a little kiss (on the top ). I don't even have to hold him now to clip his nails. He'll just lay there and let me do it.

Your kitty will lose his baby teeth and will likely want to chew and bite. When he is teething, get a bunch of those big, fat, plastic straws and toss some around your living area for him to chew on. When one gets really chewed up a bit, throw it out and give him some new ones. Don't use your hands to play with him as he will consider them as toys and bite/scratch them. Use wand toys. If he chases your ankles and tries to bite, don't pull away from him even though instinct tells you to. He'll think this is playing. The best thing is to stop moving immediately and loudly say OW! Bijou was terrible for biting my ankles when he was a kitten. He's very gentle now and never plays rough.

Lastly, congratulations on your new addition and I'm sure you'll have many happy years with a sweet kitten.

BTW, cats and kittens usually choose their owners. When you visit to see the kittens you may be surprised to find that one of them will definitely choose you rather than the other way around.

Thank you for the lovely replies!

We're getting really excited now. I'm trying to calm myself as we still have several weeks to go!

I think we still have a bit of kitten-proofing to do in the house, but there'll always be something he'll get into, hehe!

There'll be pictures and updates later on!

Thanks again!

Congrats! I just got two new kittens and they sure have been a blast!