Bringing Your Kitten Home: Essential Tips

Welcoming a new kitten into your home is exciting for the whole family. Here are some helpful tips to ensure a smooth transition for both you and your furry friend.

Preparing for Pickup:

  1. Carrier Essentials: Bring a carrier lined with a small towel or blanket for comfort.

  2. No Food or Water Needed: Kittens can comfortably go a few hours without food or water during the trip.

  3. Litter Box Not Required: Kittens are usually litter box-trained by 5 weeks, and they won't need one during the car ride.

  4. Anticipate Crying: Your kitten may cry initially, but they often settle down and sleep after a short while.

Setting Up at Home:

  1. Create a Safe Space: Designate a small area or room with litter, toys, food, and water for your kitten to explore first.

  2. Comfort in Transition: The first few nights can be tough as your kitten misses their mother and littermates. Keep them in a room with you to provide comfort.

  3. Exploration Time: When you bring your kitten home, open the carrier and sit quietly in the room, allowing them to explore at their own pace. After some exploration, engage them with a toy to start building a bond.

Gradual Exploration:

  • After the first day, as your kitten becomes more comfortable, allow them to explore beyond their initial setup area staying close by but start with hallways leaving most doors closed, then gradually let them explore everywhere

  • Keep bathroom doors closed if people aren’t going to be very careful with closing toilet lids

Introducing Your Kitten to Your Pets:

1.  First have your kitten be familiar with and start bonding with family members

2.  Have your kitten and pet meet under a closed door, playing with each other’s paws.

3.  Feed them a treat or meal on opposite sides of the door

4.  Next let them see each other through a barely open door, end it if there is any hissing

5.  Gradually open the door more letting them sniff each other but keeping it short and sweet.

6.  As long as there is no hissing finally let them mingle and play!

Allergy Considerations:

  • Something to keep in mind for those with allergies: your new kitten’s FelD-1 levels will be higher the first few days due to the stress of the change in homes, but they will lower back down. Daily wiping with a damp cloth can help, and their levels will drop even more after being spayed/neutered.

Playtime and Bonding:

  1. Encourage Play with Toys: Introduce toys for playtime, especially when children are involved. This helps both parties get used to each other while avoiding unwanted scratching.

  2. Provide Scratching Posts: Offer multiple scratching posts of different surfaces and heights to redirect scratching away from furniture. If your kitten scratches furniture, gently say "No," redirect them to the scratching post, and offer praise and treats.

  3. Climbing Solutions: Cat trees are great for satisfying your kitten's natural climbing instincts and preventing them from scaling curtains and scratching your furniture. (Click here to see blog post “How can I get my cat to not scratch my furniture?”)

Feeding Guidelines:

  1. Constant Access to Food and Water: Ensure that food and water are always available. Siberians grow slowly over the first three years. Which is why Kittens should be free-fed for at least 1-3 years.

  2. Introduce Wet Food Gradually: Wait about two weeks before introducing canned or wet food to avoid digestive upset; after that, it can be beneficial in small amounts once a day.

  3. Quality Dry Food and Water : Start with high-quality dry kibble and consider using a water fountain to encourage hydration which is very beneficial for your kitten's health.

Grooming Needs:

  • Trim your kitten's nails every three weeks, ideally when they are sleepy or wrapped in a towel. Rewarding them with treats during grooming can help them become more comfortable with the process.

  •  Brushing your kitten regularly from the start helps them to accept the process and routine and helps to prevent mats as they get older. Reward with treats.

Recommended Products:

  • We recommend feeding your kitten Purina Pro Plan Live Clear for their 1-3 years while the kitten is growing.

  • Use premium clumping clay cat litter that is fragrance-free, such as Dr. Elsey’s Kitten attract litter which is what we use while training our kittens to use the litter box. It would be good for the kitten to have a familiar litter, especially the first few days or week as he adjusts to his new home.  

Enjoy Your New Companion!

Bringing home a new kitten is a joyful experience for the whole family!  Siberian cats are social cats that want to be with you. Your kitten will bond with one member of the family the most, but will want to be with whoever is home at the time. They will become an important member of your family giving companionship to everyone. Follow these tips to ensure a happy and healthy start for your new furry family member!