10 Tips for Bringing a New Kitten Home

Bringing a new kitten home is exciting—but it’s also a big commitment and should be planned out carefully. Pet parents must keep their kitten safe, comfortable, and happy in the new environment, and it can take a few days for a kitten to adjust.

Our new kitten tips can help. Here’s how to introduce a kitten to a new home and set them up for success.

1. Set up a Safe Space

The first step to bringing a new kitten home happens before they even get there. It’s setting up a safe, confined, and kitten-proofed area where they can stay when unsupervised. This allows them to make a gradual transition into their new home and gives them their own safe space where they can relax.

If you have other pets, this also lets your kitten and resident pets adjust to each other’s presence and prevents exposure to potential diseases. It’s not necessary to show your kitten to your other pets just yet, as they are already well aware of each other’s presence.

Preferred locations for a kitten are a spare bedroom, an office, a laundry room, or a bathroom.

The space should:

• Be free of potentially hazardous, toxic, or valuable items
• Not contain nooks or crannies where a kitten might hide and become stuck
• Be easy to clean
• Be easy to close off with a door
• Have natural light and good airflow
• Be somewhat quiet

What To Put in the Kitten’s Safe Space

Prepare the room with everything a new kitten needs, including food and water bowls, a cat bed, toys, and a litter box filled with cat litter. 

Very young kittens who are just learning to use the litter box should use a non-clumping litter, like Fresh Step Premium Non-Clumping Cat Litter.

Some kittens might prefer unscented litter, like Fresh Step Simply Unscented Clumping Clay Cat Litter.  

Once they are a little older, about 8–10 weeks old, you can switch to a clumping litter. A clumping cat litter, like Fresh Step Heavy Duty 30 Day Odor Control with Febreze Freshness Clumping Cat Litter, will help make cleanup easy.  

You might need to try a few different types of litter to find the one your kitten prefers.

Make the litter box very convenient for your kitten to find. Kittens prefer an open-top, shallow litter box that is easy to walk into and out of, like the Frisco Senior & Kitten Cat Litter Box. They also prefer it to be kept away from their food and water.

A potty pad or towel placed under the litter box can keep things cleaner and reduce litter tracking.

Other supplies to include in the room are:

• A comfortable place to rest, such as a cat bed
• Cat food and water bowls
• Several kitten-safe cat toys (those without strings or detachable parts that can be ingested)
• Calming diffuser (optional)

2. Let the Kitten Explore

When you first bring your new kitten home, immediately take them to their designated room and let them explore the area at their own pace. It might take several days for a kitten to adjust to a new home—even a healthy, social, outgoing kitten.

After your new kitten has had some quiet time in a restricted location, slowly allow access to other areas of the home under your supervision. Kittens are natural explorers, and during the first few weeks this gradual access to your home will meet their need for exploration.

If you have other pets, keep them in a separate area of the home while the kitten explores. This will allow your kitten to smell your resident pets (and for them to smell the kitten when they return) without the possibility of negative interactions. This process is called “scent-swapping.”

3. Stay Present

Think of your kitten as a toddler, needing constant supervision to avoid accidents or getting into unsafe situations. Kittens are naturally curious and can quickly get into mischief, so it is important to keep a watchful eye on your kitten when they are not in their safe space.

Always supervise your kitten when playing with teaser wands, as kittens can chew and ingest strings and feathers.

Inspect your kitten’s toys daily for loose pieces, strings, rips, or holes, and discard the toy if it’s not intact.

Do not allow your kitten to play with ribbon, string, yarn, rubber bands, hair ties, plastic items, and small chewable items. When items like string are ingested, they can cause your kitten to become seriously ill.

4. Introduce the Kitten to Your Other Pets

Although some kittens might show fear and defensive postures toward other pets in the home, most young kittens are playful and inquisitive around other animals. It’s typically the existing pets who may pose more of a problem during introductions, so it’s important to make introductions slowly and properly.

Introducing the New Kitten to Your Cat

Keep the kitten and your resident cat in separate rooms for the first one to two weeks.

When introducing cats, let them briefly meet through a barrier, such as an extra-tall pet gate (like this 70-inch tall one from Richell) or by sniffing each other from opposite sides of a door.

You can cover the pet gate with a towel and raise the towel over time.

As long as both kitten and cat remain calm and relaxed, gradually increase these sessions and remove the barrier.

Remember that there is no set timeline for introductions—you should always progress at the rate your pets feel comfortable with.

Introducing the New Kitten to Your Dog

Keep the new kitten and your dog in separate rooms for the first one to two weeks. Once both pets are comfortable sniffing each other through scent-swapping and hearing each other on opposite sides of the door, let them see each other.

For safety, use a barrier, such as a tall pet gate, when introducing the kitten to your dog. If both pets remain calm and relaxed, make introductions with your dog on a leash.

Again: Go slow and at a pace both animals feel comfortable with.

5. Play With Your Kitten

Multiple short, positive interactions during the day (each about 10 minutes long), as well as scheduled playtime, will strengthen the human-animal bond with your new family member. Play also provides your kitten with physical exercise and mental stimulation.

During these play sessions, it’s important to teach your kitten how to play properly and to work on eliminating play-related aggression, since a kitten’s idea of play might involve unsolicited scratching and biting. Lack of stimulation or lack of appropriate play and exploratory behavior options can worsen this behavior.

6. Redirect Inappropriate Behavior

Never punish a kitten for playing inappropriately. Instead, redirect any unwanted behavior toward more appropriate activities, and reward desired behaviors. For example:

• Redirect your kitten with interactive play: The kitten plays on their own with treat-dispensing toys, interactive toys, boxes, iPad videos, etc.
• Redirect your kitten with active play: The kitten plays with you, using wand toys, laser pointers, or feathered toys. Always use toys, and never teach your kitten to play with your hands or feet.
• Reward your kitten for relaxation behaviors: Reward the kitten with treats and praise when you observe your kitten exhibiting calm and relaxed behavior.

7. Get Your Kitten Used To Handling

Sometimes your kitten will need to be handled, such as during a vet exam, when having their nails trimmed, when being groomed or brushed, or when having their teeth brushed. The sooner you start getting your kitten used to physical touch, the more likely they are to feel comfortable and cooperate with these practices later.

Start with short periods of gently touching your kitten’s sides, back, legs, and head. Reward them with praise and treats for being calm and relaxed while being handled. As your kitten becomes more comfortable with being touched, you can increase the duration and intensity of these interactions.

Be patient with your new kitten, and allow them to come to you when they are ready for scratches and pets. If your kitten is uncomfortable, don’t force it.

Your kitten uses their eyes, ears, whiskers, tail, and voice to communicate their needs to you. Learning about cat behavior and cat body language will help you recognize when they want attention and when they would prefer to be left alone.

8. Stick to the Same Diet

Speak with your vet about the best diet for your kitten and stick with it.

Because the digestive system of a kitten is very sensitive, changing foods can trigger upset stomach (vomiting and diarrhea). And kittens are happy to eat the same diet every day—it is not necessary to offer kittens a variety of flavors and brands.

Here are helpful ways to provide great nutrition for your kitten:

• Check the bag or container for a nutritional statement from the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) to ensure it is complete and balanced for kittens.
• Offer your kitten both wet and dry food early on to help them get used to different textures. This comes in handy to prevent your cat from becoming a picky eater later in life.
• If you must switch your kitten to a new food, do this slowly over a seven-day period to avoid digestive upset.
• Consider adding a vet-recommended cat probiotic to their diet when transitioning foods. A probiotic may help aid digestion.
• Avoid giving your kitten human foods.

9. Give Your Kitten a Quiet Place To Eat

Loud noises can distract your kitten from eating their meal. They need to feel safe and secure and that no one else will try to eat their food.

Make sure you place your kitten’s food bowl in a quiet, private area. You can do this by separating your pets—ideally behind closed doors—when you feed their meals. Their initial safe-space area also can serve this need.

Remember, kittens prefer their food and water bowls to be far away from litter boxes. Keep the dishes and litter box separated even if they are kept in the same room.

10. Keep Your Kitten Safe at Night

It’s best to keep kittens confined at night, even if they have access to other parts of the home during the day. Again, their initial safe-space area can serve this need.

Because cats are crepuscular animals (meaning they’re active at dusk and dawn) and natural hunters, this practice can help prevent play-related behavior problems in the early morning or evening hours—and let you sleep undisturbed.

It also helps keep your kitten safe, since they will be in a kitten-proofed area during these high-activity times.