Bringing Home Your New Kitten

What an exciting time, you’ve chosen your kitten, you’ve prepared your home with toys, a bed, litterbox and food. It’s time to collect the little darling and bring her (or him) home. Now what?

It’s a good idea to arrange for the new resident to arrive at a time when you will be around for at least a few days to help her settle in, and if you live in a multi-room home, maybe confine her to just one or two rooms to start with. She’s just a baby and still has lots to learn about her new accommodations and life in general.

Make sure she can easily find her litterbox, and keep an eye on her so that after she’s had a meal you can encourage her to go in the right direction. It’s better to let her walk to the litterbox as she will learn the route through repetition and scent. Never mind how clean you think the litterbox is, her nose is way more sensitive than yours, so she will be able to smell her way there.

Play is an important part of settling baby into her new surroundings. She’ll want to do a bit of exploring on her own, but a little interactive play with her new human is important and general supervision. And she will, of course, do lots of eating and sleeping as she’s still young.

Did you remember to kitten-proof your home? Electrical wires are very attractive as toys, plants, anything than dangles, tiny holes and crevices are all things that your new kitten will want to investigate, but that may be very dangerous for her.

Once she is a bit older and has her litterbox habits organised, you may want to gradually let her in to other parts of the house…if you live in a smaller home, she can probably have free reign from day 1. A two-storey home should have a litterbox on each floor, especially in the early days when she may not make it in time to one all the way down in the basement.

Think like a kitten so that you can be a step ahead of her as she settles in to her new home, especially when she will be left alone and will no doubt get up to mischief (in your mind), but just play in her mind. Cats are cats and will do what cats do. Together you will get to know and appreciate each other.

To Touch or Not To Touch…The Cat

Everyone wants to stroke their cat, but any cat lover knows that some cats will only tolerate a small amount of touching. Overstaying your welcome on your cat’s belly or ears or anywhere else can be hazardous to your health.

Some cats are actually ticklish on their belly and won’t tolerate touching their at all, and claws and teeth can come out very quickly. Learn to watch for signs of irritation, watch that tail and as soon as it starts to twitch remove your hand.

It is possible, with time and patience, to increase the length of time that you can stroke your cat, but always always always, as soon as you see the tail twitch or other sign of irritation, stop. Sometimes just resting your unmoving hand or finger is adequate for the cat. If you overdo it just once, aside from having a scratched hand, you will have to start the whole procedure over.

Most cats love a rub behind the ears, on top of the head, under the chin or on the back of the neck, but they are always in control of how much, how long and where, because if you overstay your welcome, you will be the one to suffer the consequences. Thankfully, most cats love to be stroked gently on a regular basis, and they will come to you when the time is right, especially those that are a bit ticklish, and you need to grab that moment when it comes.

I have always brushed my cats regularly, from head to tail and under the belly, however, I did have one cat who didn’t like belly brushing or touching at all, and after about ten years, I was able to use the comb for a minute or two, but as soon as that tail twitched, I was done. It doesn’t sound like much, but a minute or two of combing or brushing on the belly does actually make a difference, but yes, it took years.

As always with anything cat related, patience is an essential part of the process. 

More Litterbox Tips for a Happy Cat

Believe it or not, the location of your cat’s litterbox is very important. Cats are very private animals and would prefer to do their toileting in a quiet and secluded location. If you do not provide that for them, the cat will most likely just find somewhere more to it’s liking and probably not to yours.

A high traffic area is a bad place to put your cat’s litterbox. Somewhere that the family dog or children can interrupt toileting will not end well. Dogs are notorious for eating cat poop, so not only is it good for the cat to have it’s litterbox out of reach, but also good for the dog. And you definitely wouldn’t want your toddler copying the dog’s behaviour by trying to eat poop or just playing in the litterbox, so it really is better for everyone.

The litterbox should not be in close proximity to the cat’s food, water or bed. You don’t want to eat and sleep next to the toilet, neither does your cat. If your cat is not using it’s litterbox, pay attention to the chosen location for toileting. It might not be ideal for you, but if it keeps the cat happy, then I’m sure you’d be happy that poop is actually being deposited into the litterbox rather than in a corner of the living room for you to clean up.

Litterboxes do not have to be ugly, smelly and messy things either. There are many different “houses” available into which your litterbox can be placed, so that it looks like a piece of furniture or a cute little cottage or some other fun design. Get creative, and once it’s scooped regularly, smell shouldn’t be an issue.

My cat’s litterbox is in a small storage room with a cat flap in the bottom of the door, so that the cat can get access at any time. It’s dark, with the only light coming through the cat flap, it’s quiet as there is very little traffic. If I had a dog or a small child around, they would not be able to gain access to the room either, so it works very well.

So, for the cat’s litterbox, it’s all about location, location, location!

Grooming Your Cat

Most cats love to be groomed, and it’s great for bonding between human and cat. Aside from the health benefits for the cat (and human), grooming can be very effective as a means of healing for a grieving or depressed cat.

Ideally, grooming should start in kittenhood, but once you start slowly and gently, most adult cats will grow to love the experience and the time with their human. I tend to both brush and comb my cat, but depending on your cat’s coat and personal preferences, one or the other is adequate.

Brushing and combing removes loose hair that will otherwise end up in your house or in your cat’s stomach, so lessening the quantity of ingested hair is an added benefit to your cat’s general health. Long haired cats need regular grooming anyhow, including regular bathing, but even short haired cats benefit from this exercise.

If you are grooming an adult cat for the first time, be very aware of your cat’s warning signs as to when he or she has had enough. Start with gentle strokes on the head and neck, places that a cat usually likes to be stroked, and going in the direction that the hair grows. Your cat may only tolerate a minute or two, but that’s okay. Immediately you see warning signs of irritability, stop, you can have another short session later in the day. Gradually, your cat will start to enjoy the brushing/combing and will tolerate extended periods on a regular basis. I groom my short haired cat for a good fifteen minutes two or three times a week, and she loves it.

If your cat is grieving over the loss of a companion, grooming can be a good way to help him or her come to terms with the loss and to move on. Similarly, a depressed or unhappy cat can benefit immensely from regular grooming from their human. That interaction is so important and is not only important for the cat’s physical and mental health, but there are similar benefits for the human too. 

Choose your tools carefully as you don’t want to pull the cat’s hair and cause discomfort in any way. I find that a simple flea comb and a silicone brush are ideal for my short haired cat. Long haired cats will need tools specifically for longer coats, but everything is easily obtainable online or from your local pet store.

Play as Therapy for Cats & Kittens

Kittens start to play from the time they can walk or stumble around on wobbly legs. They learn a lot from playing as they hone their motor skills in preparation for hunting and climbing. Chasing siblings around and attacking your toes are all practice for hunting.

Play has other important benefits, and not just for kittens. As a cat ages, it will play less, and senior cats may not play at all - this is a normal part of aging. However, a cat that is unhappy, depressed or just plain bored, may benefit from regular play sessions.

There are so many toys available for both interactive and alone play, that there should be no problem in finding something suitable. In fact, you can even make toys using old bits of cloth, feathers and other bits and pieces knocking around the house. Your cat will probably respond better to some toys than others, but that’s a case of you figuring out what your cat likes. A bit of cat nip hidden somewhere on the toy is a good idea, or even making a tea with it and soaking a bit of cloth in the tea.

Offer your adult cat some play time occasionally is not only good exercise, but also great bonding time for you and your cat. If your cat is bored and gets up to mischief when you are not around, regular play sessions can help to alleviate this boredom, as well as tire your cat out so that it will be less inclined to destroy the house in your absence.

Playing is a good way of interacting with your cat if it is grieving after having lost it’s companion cat. If you have moved to a new location or have a new job/working hours, playing can help your cat settle in to the new routine. Play can also be used when introducing a new cat or other pet to the household. Even a senior cat can be encouraged to play though the session will probably only last a couple minutes. 

Remember that a happy cat = a happy household.

Catify Your Home

Anyone who has had a cat knows that they can get up to all sorts of mischief when left alone, so making your home a cat friendly home can help to alleviate some or all of that boredom. Yes, cats do get bored, especially when left at home alone. 

A cat is a cat is a cat, and cats naturally like to do certain things, like climb trees, hide under bushes where they can be concealed but still see everything that’s going on, they like to chase things, hunt and scratch surfaces. These are part of the cat’s natural behaviour, so having things inside your home that can substitute for these outdoor activities can help to make for a happy indoor cat, and we all know that a happy cat is a happy household.

Catifying your home does not mean that it needs to look like a junk yard either. Get creative. Add shelves and cubby holes, scratching posts and trees that will blend with the decor of your home. Save your furniture by building cat friendly add-ons. 

Scratching and pulling claws on furniture is a common complaint from humans, but it is a very natural and important part of the cat’s grooming. Before you add your scratching post, pay attention to the type of surface that your cat seems to like, and whether it prefers a vertical or horizontal surface. Include your observations into your scratching post. Ideally, have several different surfaces and at different angles. This will keep your present cat happy and accommodate any additional cats that you may add in the future.

Cats like to sit up high and survey their kingdom - they love kitchen countertops and even on top the kitchen cupboards. So maybe a cat shelf in the kitchen will help to keep him or her off the counters - they can still see what you’re doing and be part of the process. A cubby hole somewhere that the cat can hide in when it wants quiet time or just to hide from you because you’re going away is a good and easy thing to add.

The internet is full of ideas and ready made bits and pieces to accommodate every cat’s taste, including adding little outdoor spaces from windows, balconies and patios. A little input from you can help to make your cat’s life (and therefore yours) much happier.