Bringing Home a Kitten: The First Month

How kittens differ from adult cats

Kittens eat differently and need different gear from adult cats, so the adult setup with smaller portions isn’t enough. Between 8 and 16 weeks she is also getting to know people, sounds and places, and what she meets calmly now is less likely to frighten her as an adult.

This article is about kittens between 8 and 16 weeks who have just left their mother. A kitten under 8 weeks is better off with her mother; she needs bottle-feeding and warmth, which is a different kind of care. If yours is older than 16 weeks, most of this still applies, and the first month with an adopted cat may help too.

Before she comes home

When to take her home

How old a kitten should be when she comes home depends mostly on whether she grew up with her mother.

With a mother, later is better. Whether it’s a breeder, a shelter mom-cat with her litter, or a rescued TNR litter, as long as she still has her mother and siblings around, let her stay a while longer. Kittens separated from their mother before 8 weeks are more likely to show aggression as adults, or repetitive behaviors such as overgrooming. Those who leave at 14 to 15 weeks have the fewest behavior problems. Twelve weeks is a reasonable floor, and 14 is better.

A kitten without a mother around is a different case. She may have been abandoned, found on her own during TNR, or separated from her mother too early. Keeping her in a shelter until 12 weeks only costs her weeks of time with people. What to look at is whether she was held and handled often between 2 and 9 weeks, and whether she’s physically ready (eating dry food on her own, stable weight, first vaccine done). Most shelters make these kittens available for adoption around 8 weeks.

Either way, before you take her, ask the foster carer or breeder how often she’s been held, whether she’s used to having her paws touched and her mouth looked at, whether she’s heard a vacuum and a doorbell, and which people she’s met. A kitten who’s been held a lot from the start will usually warm to you faster, even at 8 weeks, than one who sat in a cage until 12 weeks with little handling.

Supplies

You don’t need to buy out the pet store, but kittens have a few things adults don’t.

Put these away before she arrives

Kitten-proofing needs to go further than cat-proofing for an adult. An adult cat roughly knows what she can climb and what she shouldn’t do, and a kitten doesn’t. Walk through the house before she arrives and deal with these:

• String and thread: yarn, hair ties, ribbon, dental floss, tinsel, sewing thread. A swallowed string can do real damage: one end catches while the intestines pull the rest tighter, which can badly injure the gut and often means surgery. Cats are especially prone to going after string. Get all of it out of reach, and check under the couch.
• Recliners: a kitten climbs up into the mechanism and can be crushed when someone sits down or leans back. If you have one, make it a rule to check where the cat is before adjusting it.
• Toilet lids: kittens fall in and can’t climb out. Keep the lid down for the first few weeks.
• Looped blind and curtain cords: a strangulation risk. Cut the loops or move them out of reach.
• Washing machines and dryers: doors always closed, and check again before every load.
• Balcony gaps: kittens fit through smaller gaps than you’d think.
• Small objects: coins, beads, earring backs, small Lego pieces, rubber bands.
• Toxic plants and foods: lilies are especially dangerous, a single lick of pollen can cause acute kidney failure, so move the whole plant out of the house rather than just “up higher.”
• Cleaning products: in a cabinet that closes, not under the sink.
• Dangling cords: lamps, chargers and electronics. Kittens chew them.

The first day

Most kittens don’t hide for long. Some poke their head out of the carrier the moment they arrive, do a lap of the room and jump into your lap, and others hide under the furniture for half a day. Both are normal.

For the first day, give her one small room as a base. Let her loose in the whole house and you won’t be able to keep track of her. A spare bedroom or a study is fine, door closed. Put her food, water, litter box, a scratcher and a few toys in there, sit on the floor, and let her decide when to come out and find you.

Once she’s relaxed in the small room, you can open up the rest of the house, usually within a few hours, at most by the next morning. The first time she explores another room, follow behind her and leave everything else for later. This is usually when you spot the kitten-proofing you missed.

A lot of kittens cry the first night. She’s just left her mother, her siblings and every smell she knew, and it’s normal for her to feel unsettled. You can keep her in a room to settle on her own or let her sleep next to you; either is fine. Put a piece of bedding from her old home next to her (don’t wash it, keep the scent), keep the room quiet and dim, and most kittens settle within a few nights.

After that she may sleep 18 to 20 hours a day, and the occasional 3am zoomies are normal too. For her rhythms and how to handle them, see the cat sleep guide.

Use the socialization period to show her the world

Kittens go through a stretch when they’re unusually open to new things, called the socialization period. It runs roughly like this:

During this time she’s working out which people, sounds, animals and places are safe. The earlier she meets them, and the safer she feels at the time, the more easily she’ll treat them as ordinary parts of life once she’s grown.

If she doesn’t come home until after 12 weeks, that’s not too late at all. Kittens who stay longer with their mother and littermates tend to be calmer, and better at controlling how hard they bite in play.

At home, keep letting her meet the everyday things she’ll run into as an adult, and keep each encounter pleasant and unforced. No training is needed; she just has to feel safe in the moment.

• People who aren’t you: one or two friends over is plenty, don’t throw a party. Have them sit on the floor with a few treats, and let her hide if she wants. The point is for her to learn that visitors are nothing to be afraid of.
• Handling: hold her gently, touch her paws, open her mouth to look at her teeth, brush her a few strokes with a soft brush, trim one nail at a time with a treat. You’ll be doing these every few months for the next fifteen years. Get her used to them now, and nail trims and vet visits stay easy.
• Household sounds: the vacuum, the doorbell, the blender, the TV, the sounds of cooking. Don’t come at her with the vacuum running; let her hear it from a distance, on low, with treats nearby, and close the gap slowly.
• The carrier and the car: take her on a short car ride, anywhere, as long as it isn’t the vet. Treat when you get home, and do it again next week. A cat who learns young that the carrier doesn’t always mean the vet is far easier to live with for the next fifteen years.
• Other animals: if you have a dog, or a cat already, follow the slow introduction routine for multi-cat homes. Kittens adapt faster than adults, but don’t skip the steps.

Don’t try to do too much at once. One badly frightening experience during this period can leave her afraid of that thing for a long time. Keep each session gentle, do it often, pair it with treats or play, and always leave her somewhere to hide.

Feeding and growth

Kittens need more calories, protein and fat than adult cats, and the gap is biggest when they’re youngest. Feed kitten-formula food for the whole first year, and don’t switch to adult food too early; she’ll be underfed and may grow up smaller. Feed small, frequent meals: three to four a day when she’s little, dropping to two as she nears a year. For portion sizes and when to switch foods, see the cat feeding guide.

Weigh her once a week on a kitchen scale and write it down. Her weight should climb steadily; if it levels off or drops, take her to the vet.

Many people think a kitten must never miss a meal. A healthy kitten between 8 and 16 weeks can skip a meal, or go a whole night without eating, and won’t become hypoglycemic. The kittens who need feeding every few hours are neonates under 6 to 8 weeks. An occasional skipped meal is nothing to worry about; if she refuses two or more meals in a row, call the vet.

Vaccinations and medical care

Over the next few months she’ll get a series of vaccines, starting at 6 to 8 weeks, one every few weeks, running until after 16 weeks. Why so many? The antibodies passed down from her mother block the earlier shots, and because those antibodies fade at different times in different kittens, only by boostering past 16 weeks can you be sure at least one dose has taken. The full schedule, what each vaccine does, and the rabies rules where you live are all in the complete cat vaccination guide.

Book her first checkup within a week or two of coming home. Besides setting up her vaccines, the vet will give her a physical exam, check a stool sample, and deworm her; even from a good shelter, kittens often come home with intestinal parasites. You can also ask about spay/neuter at this visit; it’s usually recommended before five months. Bring any past medical records with you.

How to play with her

Kittens play rough. Wrestling, chasing, pouncing and biting are all normal cat play, their hunting instinct getting its practice. Your part is to show her where the line is.

The single most important rule: don’t use your hands or feet as toys. Fingers wiggling under a blanket are great fun to a 10-week-old kitten, but once she’s a 5kg adult, the same game becomes ambushing your ankles, and by then it’s hard to undo. Use a wand toy or a throw toy instead, so her teeth stay away from your hands and feet. If she bites your hand mid-play, end the game right there, stand up and walk off; after a few repetitions she gets it.

Two sessions a day, ten minutes each, is plenty for most kittens. How long you play matters less than letting her actually catch the prey a few times; a cat who can always see the target but never catch it gets frustrated. Cats who play with laser pointers a lot are more prone to repetitive behaviors like staring at lights and shadows. If you do use one, finish by tossing a treat or a toy where the dot vanished, so she has something real to catch.

One kitten or two?

Two kittens are often less work than one, not more. They play with each other, wear each other out, and keep each other company while you’re out, which is a lot for one owner to cover alone. If you have any room in your space and budget, bringing home a bonded pair from the same litter is one of the easiest choices you can make.

One kitten is fine too; you’ll just need to spend more time with her: more interactive play, more regular handling, and if possible regular contact with a healthy, indoor-only adult cat.

If you already have an adult cat, two new kittens are easier than one. The pair stick to each other instead of latching onto your resident cat, and being latched onto is exactly what a resident cat likes least.

When to worry

A lot of what looks alarming in a kitten is normal. Passing out cold after a wild play session, hiccups, and briefly soft stool during a food change are all common, and the odd small vomit is fine, but repeated or ongoing vomiting isn’t.

Reasons to call the vet the same day:

• Low energy that a short rest doesn’t fix. A kitten with no interest in a toy at all isn’t right.
• Not eating across two or more meals.
• Ongoing diarrhea, especially with blood or a bloated belly. Parasites are common in kittens and treatable, but they need to be diagnosed first.
• Repeated vomiting.
• Labored breathing.
• A belly that’s swollen, hard, or painful to the touch.
• Limping that doesn’t improve within an hour.
• A string or thread hanging from her mouth or rear: don’t pull it, go to a vet right away.

After the first month

After the first month, she’ll shift from a fully charged little motor to something more like a cat. Socialization winds down gradually, too; it doesn’t end at week four. These are worth keeping up:

• Once a week, let her eat a meal in the carrier, or take her on a short trip that isn’t to the vet
• Nail trims, brushing and a look at her teeth, a few seconds each with a treat
• Two play sessions a day

Before long she’ll come running at the sound of the food bag, sit still for a nail trim, walk over to greet visitors, and climb into your bed at night on her own.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old should a kitten be when I bring her home? It depends on whether she grew up with her mother. A kitten still with her mother and littermates should stay until at least 12 weeks, ideally 14; kittens taken from their mother too early are more likely to grow up aggressive or to overgroom. A kitten with no mother around (abandoned, separated, or found during TNR) doesn’t need to wait, because extra weeks in a shelter only cost her time with people. What matters for her is whether she was held and handled often, and whether she eats on her own, holds a steady weight, and has had her first vaccine. Most are ready around 8 weeks.

How many weeks is the kitten socialization period? The socialization period is when kittens are unusually open to new things. Its core is roughly 2 to 7 weeks. From 8 to 14 weeks it’s still open, she just learns a little more slowly, and after 14 weeks it slows further but doesn’t shut. The most important weeks have usually passed before she comes home, so how much she was handled before tells you more than her age does. At home, keep letting her meet people, sounds and everyday life, and keep each encounter pleasant and unforced.

Should I get one kitten or two? If you can, two are often easier than one. Two kittens play with each other, wear each other out, and keep each other company while you’re out. One kitten is fine too; plan on more play and more regular handling.

Is it a problem if a kitten skips a meal? A healthy kitten over 8 weeks can miss a meal, or go a whole night without eating, and won’t become hypoglycemic. The kittens who need feeding every few hours are neonates under 6 to 8 weeks. An occasional skipped meal is nothing to worry about; if she refuses two or more meals in a row, call the vet.