Helpful Information

Kitten Checklist:

Food
Food and Water Dishes
Litter Box
Cat Litter (non clumping)
Litter Scooper
Carrying Crate
Kitty Bed
Scratching Posts
A Variety of Toys
Cat Nail Clippers
Cat Brush

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Tips

Start nail trims as early as possible to desensitize your cat to having their feet touched.

Safe and Unsafe Foods

Unsafe:

Onions & Garlic
Raw Eggs & Meat
Chocolate
Alcohol
Grapes and Raisins

Safe:

Peas
Spinach
Pumpkin

Taking Home Your New Kitten

Prepare a safe room. A safe starter room or sanctuary for the new cat will provide the cat with the quiet and safe space they need while becoming familiar with the scents and sounds of their new home. Make sure this room is clear of any safety hazards. We like to tuck cords away, remove toxic houseplants, and make sure they are not in a bathroom with an open toilet where drowning could occur when they are still small.

Spend time with your new cat. In the first couple days, visit frequently for short periods of time. Visiting can mean interacting directly with the new cat in the form of play or petting, or quietly reading a book or chatting on the telephone in the same space as your new companion.

The kitten will appreciate a hiding place. New cats are often nervous and like to hide. Cardboard boxes or sheets draped over chairs make ideal hiding spots when you bring your kitten home. If you’ve adopted a shy cat, we recommend choosing a space with limited furniture. It is much easier to interact with a cat hiding in a box than a cat hiding under a bed.

Help your new cat get to know you. Place a t-shirt or a piece of your clothing that contains your scent in the safe room.

Equip the safe room with cat food, water, and litter. Place food and water on one side of the room and an open litter box on the other side. Shyer cats may not eat much during the first 24 to 48 hours. If your cat has not eaten in 48 hours, try some extra tasty treats.

Give your new cat a new post. Place a scratching post that is at least one meter tall inside the safe room. Scratching is a natural and comforting behavior for cats.

Give your cat some cat toys for entertainment. Provide toys such as mice and balls in the safe room for when you are not around.

Transition beyond the safe room. When you and your new cat have established a trusting relationship, the cat is ready to begin exploring the house. Be sure to begin this process when you are home to supervise. Close most of the doors so the cat begins its orientation in stages. Too many new spaces at once can be stressful and frightening.

Ready to explore the roost. Remember, integration into the rest of the house is dependent on the personality of your new cat as well as your existing pets. Sometimes the integration process can begin in just two to four days; however, sometimes it is best to wait a couple weeks.

Point Coloration

Point coloration is an animal coat coloration with a pale body and relatively darker extremities, including the face, ears, feet, and tail. It is most recognized as the coloration of Siamese, Ragdoll, Himalayan, and Birman Cats.

Cats with point coloration have a gene for partial albinism and a mutation to the gene that affects the enzymes controlling fur color. This combination creates this gorgeous coat with stunning blue eyes.

Over time the coat will change on colorpoint cats. Kittens when they are first born are completely white. Within the first few weeks they begin to show darkness around their nose, ear tips, and paws. As they age the body color is an even creamy white color and the darkness around their nose spreads to their whole face. Older cats may darken, but there is always a distinction between the body and the points.

Common Mistakes

Choosing the Wrong Litter Box

Did you know you can set up a cat’s litter box the “wrong” way, and that it’s pretty easy to do? Cats can be very particular about their litter, litter box, its location, and more. To minimize the mess at home and maximize the results of your litter training, keep these tips in mind when shopping for items on your new kitten checklist:

Buy unscented litter
Choose a litter box with tall sides to avoid litter spilling
Buy non clumping litter while the kitten is small, as baby kittens may eat litter and clumping can cause a bowel obstruction
Give your kitten privacy by placing the litter box in a quiet area of your home
Choose an uncovered litter box, which most cats seem to prefer
Pick a litter box with ample space for your kitten to turn around without touching the litter box walls and enough room for them to push their elimination away where they won’t touch it when coming back later.

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Setting Unrealistic Expectations

Let’s start by looking at your expectations for your kitten. Are they realistic and fair? Remember, your kitten is currently undergoing a lot of stress adjusting to its environment. You'll need to desensitize your kitten to its new surroundings and all the experiences that come with it. Prior to training your kitten, you can't expect them to know what counters they can jump on, fabric they can scratch, etc. Initially, they won’t recognize the difference between jumping on the kitchen table and their cat tree. It’s up to you to patiently train them on what behaviors are acceptable, but recognize that there will be an adjustment period while you first train your kitten.

Punishing Your Kitten for Their Natural Instincts

Kittens will be kittens. Temper your expectations for your kitten’s training, it’s also crucial to recognize that your pet is an animal with basic instincts. They will want to explore the world by chewing, jumping, scratching, and clawing at things. These behaviors are completely natural for cats and shouldn’t alarm you. Instead of feeling frustrated by these behaviors, embrace them by encouraging your kitten to entertain themselves by climbing or jumping onto their cat tree or perch, hiding out in a laundry basket or box, or playing with their toys. It also can be helpful to remove problem items, for example if your kitten has chosen a sentimental chair as their favorite scratching post, place the chair in a room closed off to the kitten.

Not Providing Sufficient Energy Outlets

Kittens have an abundance of energy that require healthy, productive outlets for release. Otherwise, they may become bored, frustrated, and/or destructive. Be sure to make time in your day to play with your cat, ideally with toys and games that allow them to express their natural hunting instincts like wands or fake rodents. Many people don’t realize that when cats act weird by swatting at random things and knocking objects over, they’re actually testing their “prey” to see if it’s alive and whether it’ll fight back. Help your kitten burn off some of that energy and tap into their inner lion with constructive playtime, so they’ll have less of an urge to inappropriately hit things off your desk, shelves, tables, and so forth. If you play with your kitten for at least ten minutes twice per day, you may help prevent some of the behavioral issues that can come with excess energy in cats.

Giving Kittens Attention for Bad Behavior

It’s natural to want to express frustration when your kitten won’t stop crying, claws up your nice carpet, chews through cables, or destroys a beautiful houseplant. However, negatively reacting to your pet’s inappropriate behaviors is a surefire way to reinforce bad kitten habits. Like dogs, cats want attention from their owners (even though they can be known to act aloof and play it cool sometimes). So, if they receive attention from you when acting out, they’ll quickly learn that this behavior is rewarded with your attention. Instead, reinforce your kitten’s good behavior, like when they use their scratching post as intended, by going over and petting them or giving them a treat. If you find your kitten behaving mischievously, ignore them or calmly correct the problem. For example, if your cat is meowing excessively for food, walk away and ignore them until they quiet down. Or, if they jump up on the counter, calmly place them on their cat tree or perch, then give them attention once they’re in the appropriate spot.

Most importantly enjoy your baby kitty!