Looking to bring home first kitten

I moved into my own house a little over a month ago and am settled in now. Before when I lived with my dad and his new girlfriend (who had brought a cat with her), I enjoyed having the cat around. He was an all black cat and loved to lay on you when you were laying down watching a movie or relaxing. Sadly, shortly after I moved into my house he had to be put down. He was suffering from chronic kidney failure and his health was very poor. I'd like to have the comfort of a cat again as it helps my overall mood. However, I don't want to be selfish and get a cat for my own personal gain while possibly not having a suitable environment for a new kitten. I'll explain in detail below my situation and you guys can chime in with your advice and personal experience.

My dad's girlfriend has a friend at work who had a litter of kittens. There is one left, he is 12 weeks old now, all black (love black cats, lol). I'm scheduled to meet with her next weekend and see the kitten. It seems to be a rather unique opportunity because she has stated that if it doesn't work out, I can hand the kitten back over to her so someone more suitable can come and take him and care for him. I figured I have nothing to lose, really. But I'd still like to get some input from long time cat owners.

I work Monday to Friday. I leave at 5:30am and can be back anywhere from 4-6pm. I'm aware that cats don't need as much attention as dogs, however, with no one being home at all during the daytime, is this too much alone time for a new kitten? If not, how should I go about keeping him in the house? Is closing off the top floor (much warmer on the top floor) enough? There's an entire room I can dedicate to the kitten for the litter box, toys, food etc. How does feeding work? Can I leave a bowl of food out for the day for the kitten or does it need more attention than that? I'm not out a whole lot so he would get plenty of attention after work and on the weekends.

Any input would be much appreciated.

You don't want to give a kitten full acess to the entire house right away Confine the kitten to one kitten-safe room for at least a couple of days to settle in. Here are TCS articles about how to let a new cat or kitten settle in and what to have ready:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/new-cat-checklist-what-you-need-to-get-before-bringing-kitty-home

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-help-a-new-cat-adjust-to-your-home

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/bringing-home-a-new-cat

Kittens should be fed as much as they want to eat. So just leave a bowl of dry food out all day (toss leftover food at the end of the day and wash the bowl) and supplement with canned food when you are at home.

Your kitten will be fine if left alone for those hours. Just have plenty of kitten safe toys out and maybe leave a battery operated radio (electrical cords can be chewed on) on to a news station or soothng music type station (classical or jazz are good) on a low volume so the kitten won't be too lonely. Put the radio out of reach of the kitten (high shelf or in a cabinet)  because kittens are super curious and may knock over the radio causing the batteries to pop out and then the batteries get batted around like a toy and possibly gnawed on. When you get home, let the kitten out so he can burn off all that energy he has and to explore the rest of your home udner supervision.

Consider adopting a second kitten from a shelter or rescue. Some kittens really like to have the company of a friend. Two kittens can play with each other all day while you are away. Having two kittens isn't much more work than just one.

When I got my first kitten, I put her in the bathroom. I was gone all day at work & then I would let her out. Granted this is when I lived in an apartment, 600 sq ft. When the bathroom cabinets started to be open when I got home & the toilet paper unrolled, that's when I took away her confinement.

When I got the kitties that I have now, I worked all day & kept them in my master bathroom (which was the biggest). I put a scratching post in there & lots of blankets. Each night when I would get back I would let them out & follow them. I wanted to make sure they got used to the house, just not all at once. After they became familiar with the layout & would run around like crazies, then I would keep them out all day.

You just have to go in stages until you feel the kitty is ok to be left alone in your place. You just want to make sure they can't get into the trash cans, can't leave (balcony), can't get locked or shut in anywhere, you just need to make sure they are going to be safe when you're gone. You have to think about everything, think of a toddler getting into stuff except cats can jump really high.