Purr-fectly at home: Your essential new kitten guide
Contemplating bringing a furry, four-legged feline into your family?
Paw-some.
Becoming a fur parent is an exciting milestone. But you must take a meow-ment to plan and prepare for your new kitty – before they arrive.
Otherwise, your new housemate might develop some truly claw-ful habits.
That’s why we created this hiss-ential new kitten guide – so you and your moggie can enjoy a happy homecoming.
What do I do before my new kitty arrives?
Firstly, from our family to yours – congratulations! You’re about to welcome oodles of joy, entertainment and love into your life, meow and forever.
But before a fluffy feline pounces through the doorway, here are a few things you need to do.
Create a kitten-only zone
We all need a bit of purr-sonal space. So create a dedicated zone for puss with a bed, litter tray, scratching post, and bowls for food and water.
Cats are hygienic creatures who don’t like to toilet in twos. So get one litter tray per animal. And for kittens’ sake, keep the litter trays as far away from the buffet as possible!
Kitten-proof your palace
It’s well known that curiosity can kill cats. So it’s time to move or rehome anything that might lead to a cat-astrophe.
Think irresistibly chewy cords, delicate knick-knacks, and tasty – but toxic – plants, like that super trendy monstera. (Sorry!)
And to make sure fluffy doesn’t get caught up in a fur-ever game of hide and seek, block any nooks and crannies they might get trapped in.
Establish paw and order
If you have small children, now’s the time to set some ground rules for interacting with your new kitten, to keep everyone feline fine.
Rules like leaving fluffy alone when they’re getting their 40 winks. Or resisting the urge to yank their tail.
But don’t let rulemaking dampen the fun. Keep it paw-sitive and involve your kids in the fun stuff too – like choosing a perfect name (more on that later).
Stock up on the essentials
That includes your feline’s food, cat litter and a carrier – the Cat-illac of all pet transport types. Carriers are great for whisker-ing your wildcat home, away on vacation, or to the vet.
And speaking of the vet – don’t forget to find your local, and put their emergency contact number on the fridge.
Then, organise pet insurance for peace of mind and top-notch care if something claw-ful happens.
What do I do when I bring my kitten home?
Ok – you’ve bought your supplies, laid down the law, and set up a private space for kitty that is truly the cat’s pyjamas. So fur, so good.
Now, to settle your new bosom buddy in, make sure of these few things.
Take it slow
You might be ready to paw-ty, but new beginnings – and new digs – can be overwhelming for a tense tabby.
So when kitty first comes home, confine them to their private space and let them kit around at their leisure. If you have other children around – furry or human in kind – introduce them to your new offspring gradually and under supervision.
Train your tabby
It’s time to help puss understand the lay of the land. First claw-der of business: toilet training.
To help mouser get used to using a litter tray, gently place them in the tray a few minutes after sleeping, eating and playing. Eventually, they’ll cat-ch the drift.
But if they’re more scaredy-cat than cat-zilla around the tray, try changing the litter type until you find the one your feline prefers.
You’ll also need to train your kitty to enjoy grooming. Because although they might consider themself the next Kital Sassoon, they’ll need some help keeping their coat a cat above the rest.
Start by placing them in your lap, and gently brushing one small section with a furminator. Over time, they’ll let you groom them all over, helping them transform into their best glamourpuss self.
Establish your routine
Kitten trampolining on your bed at midnight? Scratch that!
It’s up to you to help your little fluff ball become familiar with the family routine. And stick to it!
At night, confine them to the room with their bed and litter tray, so they understand it’s time for sleep – not practising cat-letics while you’re catnapping.
Prepare for kitty clean-ups
Sometimes your kitten’s behaviour might leave you feline frustrated. But if you use positive reinforcement when they’re behaving mice-ly, they’ll soon accept the house rules.
Until then, an accident – or two – might cat-ch you off guard. So be prepared with cat clean-up supplies – and never fear a misplaced piddle puddle again.
Love, play, repeat
You’ve covered a lot of ground at kitty-college. And you’ve worked hard to establish routines and maintain order.
But don’t get catter-brained and forget the most important part of owning a kitten: cuddles and play!
Take time to bond with your bestie through smoochy pats and chats. And pick up a cat toy or two to enjoy an afternoon of pouncing, prancing and poking.
Choose the perfect name
Every mouser needs a moniker.
So we’ve put together some names to help you get started, from traditional titles to something a little more radi-claw:
| Famous Felines | Tough Tomcats | Peckish Pussycats | Traditional Tabbies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kitty Purry | Zeus | Snickers | Atticus |
| Catniss | Rambo | Pepper | Jasper |
| Picatso | Turbo | Peaches | Maurice |
| Cat Efron | Rocky | Waffles | Bambi |
| Cleocatra | Scarface | Mochi | Lulu |
Your new kitten checklist
Congratulations! You’ve officially completed kitty-garten.
But in case you’ve already fur-gotten an important point or two, we’ve summarised everything you need to do before your kitten comes home:
✓ Decorate the new digs: From beds to litter trays, scratching posts and feeding bowls – it’s time to get all the essentials for a comfortable kitty-condo.
✓ Kitty-proof your home: Get down low, and do away with any items that might tempt your tabby into testing their nine lives.
✓ Bring in paw enforcement: Set the ground rules for kitty-contact with the kids, and decide which parts of the home will be off-limits to tabby.
✓ Book peace of mind with pet insurance: Make sure you compare quotes from several providers, weeding out in-fur-ior cover with hidden costs and exclusions.
✓ Stock up on supplies: Add new staples to your shopping list, like cat food, parasite treatments – and a toy (or two) to keep your kitty stimulated.
✓ Toilet train your tabby: Help kitty get litter-ate by periodically placing them in their personal poo tray.
✓ Get the menu right: Sudden changes in diet might cause a deluge of diarrhoea – and nobody’s cat time for that. So shake up the menu gradually with top-notch nosh.
✓ Get the cleaning crew sorted: Be prepared for hiss-takes with professional formulas that will nix stains and banish odours.
✓ Eat, play, love: Clear space in your schedule for your new favourite pastime: cuddling and mousing around with a toy or two. Both you and your kitten will have paw-session of each other’s hearts before you know it.
→Printable New Kitten Checklist