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Helping Your Kitten Settle

Helping Your Kitten Settle

  • Keep the house as quiet as possible when you bring your kitten home and don't be surprised if she seems a bit timid at first.  Many kittens will find that first move a stressful experience and you'll need to give your kitten lots of care and attention to settle in.
  • Leave a door slightly ajar for her to come and go between different rooms, ensuring that you have kitten proofed them first.
  • Give it time to adjust to its new surroundings before introducing to other animals or people in the household.
  • Ensure all doors and windows are closed and there is a guard in front of the fireplace.
  • Ensure the kitten knows where the bed, litter tray and food bowls are.
  • On the first few nights a warm water bottle (not hot) under a blanket may help compensate for the absence of the kitten’s mother or litter-mates.
  • The kitten’s bed should be a safe place to go when things get too much. It needs to be warm, dry, comfortable with soft snuggly bedding, and draught-free. Buy a bed from a pet shop, or use a strong, dry, cardboard box with a hole cut in the side. It should contain soft bedding, and be placed in a warm, safe place.
  • Beware of letting your kitten sleep with you.  If late night antics from your cat wake you, gently put your cat on the floor.  don't reward a disruption with attention or you're inviting your cat to wake you up again and again.
  • If you happen to have, or can borrow, a large secure pen, this is ideal for providing a safe den and can hold the kitten’s litter tray and bed. It is also an excellent way to introduce other animals.  But make sure that the litter tray is as far away from the bed as possible.
  • Make sure that your kitten has access to places to hide and to climb.  Cats feel safest when they are high up.  This gives them a sense of security in their living environment. They should have safe access to places like shelves or tops of cupboards.
  • Cat carriers are the safest and most comfortable way to travel.  Take time to familiarise your cat with the carrier  by placing toys in it or making it a cozy place for a nap inside the house.
  • Have several litter trays around when your kittenis young.  ensure that they are well away from it's food bowl.  Cats are very hygienic and can become stressed if their feeding and toileting areas are not well apart. See Kitten Toilet Training.
     

For more information speak to one of our veterinary nurses.

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