I met a nice woman on Nextdoor (the app where you learn just how awful most of the people in your neighborhood are) who was looking for some equipment for the new kitten she is adopting. So, I messaged her offering her some things and tipping her off about the great pet-stuff selection at Marshalls (seriously, if you are looking for cat scratchers or pet beds, go there!). She was bringing home a little 6-7 week-old kitten from a litter that someone rescued and raised until they were big enough to go to homes. So nice!
When she came by, I asked if she would mind if I gave her some unsolicited kitten advice and now, I have new kitten protocol on the brain. So, I’m sharing my top “do’s and don’ts” on bringing new kittens home with you guys to get it off my mind.
You’re welcome.
*Caveat: I am NOT a new kitten expert and none of my new kitten advice is groundbreaking info.
- Keep your new kitten in a restricted space. Your new kitten doesn’t need free-range of your house and neither of you are going to be happy about it if you start off that way. Set up an area with all the things your kitten needs: food, water, litter box, bed, a few toys. My kittens liked sleeping in their travel crate when they first came home. Having it out and easy to get to was helpful when they were going to the vet every couple weeks.
- Play with your kittens in their “room” and when you bring them out into the rest of the house, keep them with you. After Anabel and Sally were pooped out from playing, I would bring them out to cuddle and nap on me while I watched tv (they like watching golf).
- Hold and touch your kittens a lot. Touch their paws, their tummies, their faces. Be gentle but persistent.
- Keep an eye on them when the are using the box. When Anabel and Sally first came home, they couldn’t clean themselves. So, I would use a wet washcloth and give them the momma cat treatment. Clean kittens = happy kittens and happy pet parents.
- You can use a wet washcloth to keep their face and paws clean too (maybe not the same one that you just used to clean their bum). Go ahead and give then a full wipe down, it’s an easy cat-bath.
- Trim their nails! They will be fussy, but if you start when they are little bitty, they will quickly get used to it. Do it weekly. You will be so much happier in the long run.
- People fingers are not toys. Do not play with your kitten using your fingers instead of a toy. If you do, you are teaching them that you are for pouncing, attacking, and biting. Pulling a toy mouse around by the tail = good playing. Teaching your kitten to chase your finger = bad playing.
- As your kittens grow you can start expanding their “area” slowly. Even after they had free-run of the house, we still put Anabel and Sally in their room when we weren’t home and at night. Eventually they let us know that the gate we were using wasn’t fooling anyone, but it at least gave me a sense of comfort to think that they were in a controlled area when I wasn’t there to supervise their shenanigans.
I’m very excited for my neighbor and so happy for this poor kitten to have a good home. I hope that they will have many happy years together!
Such good advice. Teddy is all ready to get a kitten. I am going to keep this in mind if we finally give in.
That sounds like a great idea! Let me know and I’ll post volume 2.
I wish I had followed your advice about playing with fingers as toys. That must be why Qui’ka the Cat loves to bite me
We all do it. I don’t know why getting up to grab a toy seems like so much effort in the moment.
Any advice on how to trim Kevin’s nails? He has never liked his front paws touched. Otherwise, he’s such a loving, sweet boy!
Oh no! Well, the way that I do it is I hold Sally or Anabel like a baby in one arm and then will use that hand to grab a paw and expose the nail. I try to go quickly and if they are being fussy I just try to get a little snip off of the end so they know that it’s no big deal. You could try just doing one paw and then giving him a treat or brushing or something else nice and then repeating until you get them all. But you have to keep doing it regularly or he’ll never get used to it. When we would try to trim Tailer’s claws, I remember we would wrap him up in a towel to get a better grip on him. But depending on how touchy he is about his front paws, maybe start with just trying to touch them often and get him used to that?
Also, my vet does nail trims, yours probably does too. Then you don’t have to be the one hurting his feelings.
Any other cat ladies out there with a suggestion?
Really good stuff! I’ve always had free range kittens and I see how this can help them become comfortable in their surrounds a little quicker.