Your kitty's first day homeWhen you first bring your new kitten home, you need to make things as simple and non-stressful as possible. Don't introduce kitty to the entire neighborhood the first day home. (That will come later!) You should also keep the kitty away from your other cats and dogs for today. The new kitten has had quite an ordeal already, being taken away from it's mother, as well as being taken from the only home the kitty knows of. Give the new kitten at least 12-24 hours to adjust and calm down. You definitely don't want to overwhelm your new kitty. Before bringing the kitten home, you need to create what I like to call a “safe room.” This will be a small room such as a spare bedroom or bathroom with a cat bed, a cat carrier (or any other type of box kitty can hide in/under), a water bowl and a litter box in plain sight. Put an unwashed T-shirt or blanket that you've used on the bed or in the 'hiding box' so the new kitten can start getting used to your scent. Some kitties like to “go” in loose material like blankets, towels and other soft materials. If your kitty does do this, remove all those materials from the kitty's room and replace them with a flat kitty bed to sleep on. Most kittens won't do this unless they don't like the litter you've provided for them. (In Cat Behavior Secrets Revealed, read the section on choosing a litter to make sure you pick the right one for your kitten.) Right when you bring the kitten home, go straight to the safe room. Don't put the kitten down on the kitchen floor, don't give the kitten a bath, don't give the kitten any chance to run away and hide somewhere. Take a bowl of food into the room 2-3 times a day. Even if you are planning on free-feeding your kitten later, (Leaving a bowl of food out all day) the reason for not doing that now is to build trust in the kitten. You'll be the provider, and your kitten will learn to trust you through food. Don't give the kitten free access to any other rooms for at least the first week and if you are planning on letting him/her be an outdoor cat, (which I don't recommend) you need to wait at least 4 weeks before ever letting the kitten outside, so he/she learns where home is. There are many dangers kittens can get into. After kitty proofing your home, you may let your kitten wander around – but only under strict supervision. It's best to introduce your kitten to one room of the house at a time, focusing on one or two new rooms a day. This applies to all kittens under 4-5 months.
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