Settling your kitten into their new home

Written by: Carolyn Menteith, accredited behaviourist and trainer

While we are going to be excited about our new arrival, for a tiny kitten, going to a new home can be a daunting thing. Not only is everything strange and different but they are leaving their mother and siblings for the very first time.

It is important to give your new kitten time to adjust to this change – and to start with when they come home it is best to choose one room where they can start to get used to their new surroundings and to you. This will also help keep them safe and help with toilet training. Once they start to seem confident, usually after a week or two, you can start to let them explore more of the house.

Before you bring your kitten home

Before bringing your kitten home, check the room you are going to use for hazards. These could include poisonous plants (like lilies), fireplaces, chemicals, breakable objects (even quite high up!), open windows, and full-length curtains that a curious kitten can climb!

Block off any places they could get under and hide – that is either unsafe or totally inaccessible.

Make sure the room is ready and fully prepared, as this will reduce disruptions to your new kitten.

A kitten pen can be useful too. This is a large metal mesh crate with a solid floor that is large enough to have plenty of room for a bed, toys, food, water and a litter tray. For the first few days this can keep your kitten safe (especially at night) – and this can also be moved room to room once you are ready to let them explore other rooms in the house. Bring some bedding from their original home back with the kitten to put in the pen, as this will smell familiar and help them feel at home.

The first day at home with your kitten

For the first day, just let the kitten take their time to explore slowly. This should be a period of calm – and so no matter how excited everybody is, all the family should understand the kitten needs time to settle and find their feet.

When you bring the kitten into the room just place the basket they travelled in on its side on the floor, open the lid – and wait until the kitten feels ready to come out. There is no rush – and while you might think the kitten is just hiding in the basket, they are actually experiencing and taking in all the new sights, sounds and smells for the very first time, so be patient until they are ready to venture out

They may come out and explore – or they may hide somewhere. That is absolutely fine.

Offer your kitten food and water, and show them the litter tray so they can begin to work out where everything is. They may well refuse food at this time but at least they know where it is when they need it.

Then, when they are ready, they can start their explorations!

The early weeks

Kittens need plenty of sleep when they are young – so make sure your kitten gets plenty of rest time but also be prepared for energetic bursts of activity. Also be prepared for doing lots of kitten rescues! Kittens are great climbers and explorers – but they often find that climbing up is a lot easier than getting back down again!

In these early weeks, you should be starting to make a bond with your kitten – but don’t force this. No matter how cute a kitten looks they should never be woken for affection or playtime. If the kitten shows interest, play with them but don’t persevere if they seem disinterested or worried - there’s a lot to take in at the start.

Play can be anything from chasing rolled-up balls of paper or far more expensive purpose-designed cat toys. But any games that simulate hunting, stalking and pouncing are perfect cat games that your kitten will enjoy.

Spend lots of time in the same room but just sit on the floor and read or watch TV, and continue to let the kitten explore you in their own time. If they want you to stroke them or play with them, you will know. Every day they will get more confident, and playtime and handling time can be longer as the bond between you develops.

After the first few days of calm, make sure you spend time every day with your kitten handling them and playing with them, but let them choose how much they want to interact with you. Cats like to build relationships on their own terms and you can’t rush this.

Often our ideas of affection and cats' ideas of affection are very different. We tend to like prolonged bouts of stroking, cuddling and interacting with our cats, whereas for cats this is often way too intense. They are more likely to be far more comfortable with short bursts of affection – and there may well be times when they want to be with you (or even sat on you) but don’t want stroking or touching. Let them solicit affection from you and never force it on them. This way they will come to trust you not to over-step your boundaries and so will be far happier to interact with you.

Encourage everyone in the family to do the same, and before long your kitten will be feeling at home and you will have a very special new family member who will be in your lives for many years to come.

Is your kitten insured? With our kitten insurance, you will have peace of mind knowing that your newest family member has coverage against hereditary, congenital conditions, dental illness, injury, and behavioral treatment.

For more advice on kittens, see our following guides:

About the Author

Carolyn is an accredited behaviourist and trainer with over 20 years experience working with dogs and other companion animals. She has written books, over 800 published articles and trains owners and professionals alike, both nationally and internationally. She is currently the Chair of the UK Dog Behaviour and Training Charter. Carolyn is also an experienced broadcaster and presenter, has appeared in five TV series’ and countless radio shows. Her passion is for helping owners build a strong and positive relationship with the companion animals who share their lives, and fully develop the potential of the bond between them.