A kitten arriving home is small, fast and mostly asleep. The first month sets up the next fifteen years, and most of what matters is straightforward if you know the order.
The first 48 hours
One room, a litter tray, water, the food they were already eating, and a quiet place to hide. Let them come to you. Keep other pets separate. Resist the urge to show everyone.
The first visit
Book it in the first week
- A full check — heart, eyes, ears, mouth, coat, belly
- Vaccination timed against what the breeder or shelter has already given
- Worming and flea cover appropriate to weight
- Microchip check, and registration transferred to your details
- A desexing plan written down for later
Bring the paperwork you were given. Half of what we need to know is on it.
Setting up
One more litter tray than you have cats, somewhere quiet. Scratching posts before the couch gets discovered. Kitten food, because the nutrient balance is different from adult food. Windows and balconies checked, because kittens have no fear of heights and no judgement.
The two things people forget
First, that the microchip is only useful if the registry has your current phone number — the chip does not update itself. Second, that lilies are lethal to cats, and a surprising number of new-kitten households have a bunch on the table.
