The first 24 hours with your kitten: the journey, introductions and the first night

Get everything ready in advance

The day your kitten comes home is exciting for everyone. To spend it with your kitten rather than hunting for a litter tray in the shops, buy everything you need beforehand. You'll find a checklist in “How to prepare your home for a kitten”.

Most importantly, set up a "base room." This is a quiet room where your kitten will live for the first week or two while it settles in. It should have:

• a litter tray with the litter your kitten is used to;
• water and a food bowl, placed apart from each other and away from the tray;
• a bed, ideally with raised sides, and a hiding place such as a cat house or a box;
• a scratching post and a few toys;
• no hazardous plants, cables or small objects.

Check with the cattery which food and litter your kitten uses, and ask for a piece of its bedding or a toy that smells of its old home.

The journey home

• Bring your kitten home in a carrier, not in your arms or a box — it's safer for both of you.
• Line the carrier with an absorbent pad and the familiar bedding.
• In the car, secure the carrier with a seat belt or place it in the footwell so it can't slide.
• Drape a light cloth over the carrier: kittens feel calmer in the half-dark.
• Don't open the carrier on the way, even if your kitten cries — soothe it with your voice instead.

The first few hours

Carry the carrier into the base room, close the door and open the carrier door. Don't pull your kitten out; let it come out when it's ready. Some kittens emerge within a minute, others sit in the carrier for half an hour. Both are normal.

Once your kitten comes out, calmly show it the litter tray and water. After that, just be there: sit on the floor, talk quietly, offer a wand toy. Let your kitten decide when to come over.

You can offer a little food in the first few hours, but don't worry if your kitten eats little on the first day, as nerves often dull the appetite. Feed the same food it had at the cattery, in small portions. After naps and meals, you can gently place your kitten in the litter tray to help it remember where the toilet is.

Meeting the family

• Family members say hello one at a time, without crowding the kitten.
• Children sit on the floor and wait for the kitten to come to them. Explain the rules beforehand: no grabbing, no carrying the kitten around the house, and play only with a toy.
• Other pets — not on the first day. Let your kitten settle into its own room first, then make introductions gradually and under supervision.
• Visitors are best invited after a week or two.

The first night

Decide where your kitten will sleep right away — and stick to it. If you let your kitten into your bed tonight and shut the bedroom door a week later, it won't understand what changed.

Both options are perfectly valid:

• in its own room. There's nothing cruel about a kitten sleeping in a warm, cozy, safe bed in another room, with water, a litter tray and familiar bedding;
• in your bedroom. In that case, put a litter tray and water nearby, add steps up to the bed and make sure your kitten can't squeeze into gaps behind furniture.

Your kitten may cry for the first few nights; it's missing its mother and littermates. Don't scold it. You can talk to it softly or give it a stroke, but don't start night-time games, or your kitten will decide that night is the best time for fun. An active play session and a meal before bed help a kitten sleep more soundly.

What not to do on day one

• Don't pass your kitten from person to person or pick it up every time it comes out of hiding — let it look around.
• Don't wake it up to show it to friends or take photos.
• Don't switch its food or litter to "something better" straight away.
• Don't bathe your kitten or take it to a groomer.
• Don't leave it unsupervised in the whole home until you've checked every room for hazards.

The days that follow

• Once your kitten feels confident in its room, gradually open up the rest of the home — under your supervision.
• Keep to a routine: meals, play and sleep at roughly the same times every day.
• Keep an eye on appetite, litter tray habits and general wellbeing. To learn what's normal in the first weeks and what's a reason to call the vet, read “The first weeks at home”.
• Plan your first visit to the vet within the first few weeks.

The takeaway

A quiet room prepared in advance, a calm journey in the carrier, familiar food and litter, unhurried introductions and clear rules for the night all help your kitten feel at home sooner.