Introducing a New Cat to the home

Getting a new cat or kitten is a fun experience and the right advice, recommendations and support can make it an easy and successful experience. New owners have lots of questions and fortunately we have lots of answers! Get comprehensive and accurate information up front to prevent issues later.

• Try to purchase supplies and set up the house before bringing your new cat home. You should have a sturdy carrier to confine the kitten or cat.
  
• Kittens should be confined in a carrier anytime they are taken in a car – loose kittens in the car can be hazardous as they can panic or try to explore the vehicle.
  
• Coming into a new home will most likely be highly stressful for a new kitten or cat. Older cats may especially have a rough time in new and different surroundings. If necessary, calming aids can be used to make the transition less stressful.
  

• Set up a small room like a bathroom for the cat to have as his own territory for a little while. A spare room or walk-in closet can work fine. The room should be quiet and separate from other pets.
  
• The safe room should have at minimum: litter box (with scoop), food, water, scratcher, toys and a bed.
  
• The litter box should be kept as far as possible from the food and water; kittens and cats, like dogs, prefer to have their potty areas away from the food and bed.
  
• When your new kitten or cat into the safe place, open the cat carrier but letting the cat come out on her own. Some cats will remain in the carrier for hours. This is normal. Eventually a bit of comfort and some hunger will set in and the cat will come out to explore.
  
• If the owner works during the week, bringing the cat home on a Saturday morning is a good idea so you’ll be home with the cat for a period of time.
  
• Visit the kitty's safe room several times a day, but to not force attention on the cat. She'll let you know when she's ready.
  
• The cat's comfort will depend on several things such as her temperament, past experiences, and whether there are other animals in the house. Kittens often adjust quicker than full grown cats.
  
• The stay in the safe room can last anywhere from a few days to several weeks depending on the age of the cat, while they get comfortable and used to the rules of the house - like sleeping at night!
  

• Like a human toddler, a kitten toddler (5 months and younger) should always be supervised when left out to explore the household. If left alone with full access to the house, without supervision, the kitten may develop unwanted toilet habits, bad scratching habits or be injured while exploring.
  
• In the beginning, when you’re not able to supervise, we recommend returning the kitten to her “safe room”. This means confining them when sleeping, at work, or when running errands. The owner can bond with the kitten while watching TV, working on the computer, or laying in bed. But the minute they need to do something else and can’t watch her, the kitten should go back into her room.
  
• In the beginning, always keep the door to the safe haven open so the cat can retreat when she needs to. The cat may likely appear hesitant and a bit of a “scaredy” cat at first. Kittens are generally bolder than adult cats.
  
• There may be additional considerations if they are bringing the new cat home to a household that already has one or more cats or a resident dog.
  

• Do not choose clumping clay litter until the kitten is at least 5-6 months old. Kittens are messy and curious and they tend to ingest the litter they get all over themselves. We don’t want clumping litter causing serious issues in the digestive tract. Plant-based litters tend to be the best option for kittens.
  
• Consider a Premium Litter. You really get what you pay for with litter, and premium litters will last longer and perform better on odor control, low dust, minimizing tracking, and strong clumping with a similar cost-per-use to bargain litters.
• If the kitten is eliminating in front you in the wrong spot, simply interrupt her rather than getting angry. The owner should place the kitten gently in the box and praise her if she finishes her business. Owners should never rub the kitten’s nose in it, swat her or shake her. The kitten will learn nothing by using these methods except to fear the owner and it may cause the problem to become worse.
  
• Cats are clean animals and prefer to have waste removed daily from their litter boxes. The box should ideally be scooped daily, and completely cleaned once a week.
  
• Cats prefer a minimum of one litter box per cat in the home, plus one. For multi-story homes, place at least one litter box on each floor.
• Litter boxes are like plastic toilets. For maximum sanitation and odor control, clean with soap and water weekly and replace litter boxes every six months.

• Cats are obligate carnivores. We recommend high meat content diets, free of fillers, by-products, and artificial colors or flavors. If you choose to feed a dry diet, add moisture through wet food, broth, and goat milk. Strongly consider a moisture-rich, high-meat, minimally-processed diet, like raw or gently cooked options. Whole Food Nutrition has the potential benefits of improving urinary tract health, reducing the risk of kidney failure, decreasing the chance of allergies, and maintaining healthy weight and muscle tone.
  
• Consider a fountain to entice the kitty to drink more water.
  

• Cat Trees are essential to meet cat’s instinctual basic needs for comfort, safety, exercise, grooming and sleep. An important initial purchase should be a decently sized cat tree; to prevent future problems, bigger is better.
  
• Good scratching habits come from training, rather than simply presenting the scratcher in the hopes that the cat will use it. Show the kitten how to rub its paws on the surface, extending its claws out with gentle pressure on the pads. The kitten should be praised when she works her claws on it. The owner can hide treats on the tree throughout the day, feed the cat on the tree, drag teasers up the tree to entice play, and generally just interact with the cat on the tree.
  
• The more room the cat has to scratch, play, and frolic the less likely she will be to use the couch as a scratching post. Kittens that have more than just a simple post are more likely to develop good play habits. While small scratching posts are certainly a welcome addition, these are not recommended as a sole scratching surface; small posts simply do not provide the holistic benefits of a cat tree.
  
• A full-size cat tree will allow cats to retreat to a safe place, up high and away from any perceived danger. This is imperative in helping cats to minimize stress and prevent the negative behaviors that can be a reaction to fear like scratching, biting, hissing, hiding, etc.
  
• Kittens should have an interesting indoor environment, packed with simple toys as well as interactive toys. Window perches allow them to look out and many cats enjoy lying on a perch in the afternoon sun.
  

• Kittens need plenty of play periods per day. This develops coordination and establishes a good habit of playing with toys. At least twice a day the owner should entice the kitten to play - make her run, leap, and pounce to the point of exhaustion. Then put the toy away and allow kitty to rest. When not interacting with the kitten, the owner can leave out several safe toys.
  
• Play periods are also a great way to exhaust an energetic kitten before bedtime. Since cats are nocturnal, they will naturally want to play at night, and an evening play session before settling in for the night in a safe room will help teach them the new schedule in the house.
  
• Kittens should be introduced, in a positive way, to as many different people as possible to help them become sociable, secure adults.
  
• Children need to be closely supervised when they are near young kittens. Parents should teach children to pet gently and hold kittens only when sitting down. Kittens are fragile and cannot take rough handling so fur, ear or whisker pulling should be avoided.
  
• Do not wrestle with kittens with your hands as this teaches the kitten to use human hands as toys by biting and scratching – a habit the owner will later come to regret and which will confuse the cat when the same behavior is not acceptable as an adult.
  
• Kittens can often become overexcited during play; even though owners may not be trying to play with them at the moment. If the kitten does bite out of excitement, ”YELP” like you have been injured and then stop all petting or playing for a couple minutes.
  

Flea & Tick Medication

Harness (for outdoor fun)

Leash (for outdoor fun)

Calming Aids

Litter Genie