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Your kitten’s first few days at home

a. The first few hours

When you first bring your new kitten home, be aware that it will be lost, frightened, and missing its mother and litter mates. It will not immediately be your best friend, and you will have to win its trust.

Place the kitten in the warm, safe room you have already prepared for it, and open the carrier, letting it come out in its own time. Never force your new kitten to do anything, and do not overwhelm it with too much attention. If the kitten is too nervous to immediately come out of its carrier, leave the carrier door open and shut it in the room with its food, water and litter tray, and leave it for an hour or so. After that, you can coax it out with toys (string or feather sticks work well here) and a soft voice, and hopefully it will play. Do not restrain your kitten or force it to sit on your knee. Your lap should be a haven to it, not a prison. Patience with your kitten in the first few hours will be well rewarded.

When it does emerge, show it its food and water, and place it in its litter tray. It will already be house-trained, but if it goes to the toilet outside the litter tray, do not shout at it. (I would say ‘do not hit it’, but there is never a good reason to hit a cat!) Instead, clean the soiled area, and consider either spraying it with a cat-repellent spray (anything that has a lemon or orange smell, such as citronella oil, will do the job), or surgical spirit. Alternatively, move the litter tray on top of the soiled spot (moving the food and water away if necessary). Then show the kitten its litter tray again, gently scratching its paws in the litter – it should soon get the idea.

b. The first night

Your kitten needs warmth at first - it will miss its mother and litter mates. If there is not some form of heating in the room at all times it should be provided with a heated bed - a warm – not hot – covered hot water bottle is fine. Even when adult, a short haired cat should never be left alone in an unheated room at night or in cold weather without some basket or bed with warm bedding in it.

c. Introducing children and other animals

If you have small children, let the kitten settle in and become comfortable before they are introduced. Children should understand that they must keep very still and quiet. Never leave a child alone with a small kitten! Many web-sites exist with detailed suggestions about how to introduce new kittens to a home - for example, the Animal Behaviour website has good suggestions.

There is no hard and fast rule about when to introduce other animals. In general, this should not be done on the kitten’s first night. When the kitten and the resident animal(s) are curious about one another (resident cats camping outside the door is usually a good indicator), they are probably ready to start supervised interactions

Some breeders advocate a very slow process over a number of days or even weeks – for example, removing the kitten and allowing the resident cats into the kitten’s room, and vice versa, to mix scents. Others recommend introducing the animals with some pleasurable activity, such as food or playing with two ends of a piece of string. Whatever the case, ensure that you never leave a kitten and other animal alone together until you are sure of their good behaviour!

Be aware that some hissing, spitting, growling and hostile behaviour is virtually inevitable during the first few meetings. With luck, the animals should have come to terms with one another (i.e. become used to one another’s scents) within a fortnight. If they are still hostile within a month, contact your breeder to seek advice.

During this process, ensure that you give your resident animals extra attention and love.
Above all, remember that your breeder is only a phone-call away, and will be pleased to offer any advice and reassurance.