Bringing home a new kitten is an exciting time for a family. But it can also be an extremely stressful time for a new baby-- and even more so for an adult cat. Kittens are leaving the security of their mom, the home of the breeder, and especially their litter mates. They are entering a world that is very foreign to them where they are not familiar with the surroundings, the new owners and above all a new house which may or may not have other pets.
It is normal for a new kitten to get diarrhea or even throw up if it is feeling stress or anxiety. If this happens, take your kitten to a quiet place to rest. If it continues, call your vet.
What to Purchase--There are a few things that you may wish to purchase to make the transition easy:
Travel Crate
Litter box and litter
Life's Abundance Cat food, dry and canned
Sisal or Cardboard Scratching Post
Catnip
Food Dishes
Brush and Comb
Nail Trimmers
Kitten Safe Shampoo or Powder
Cat Toys (Balls, rods, mice, etc)
Cat perch or condo--they love them!
Make an appointment with your veterinarian to give your kitten a well kitten exam. If you don't have one, ask local breeders or pet stores who they recommend. Be sure that you find a good vet, your kitten will thank you!
Integrating your kitten into it's new home--Your new Ragdoll may be stressed after a long car or airplane ride to its new home. It has never been away from it's mother and litter-mates, so it is probably feeling anxiety. You will need to arrange a quiet place for your kitten to go when you first get home. Now is not the time for visitors to meet the new kitten, let it take a few days to adjust to its new home.
If you have other pets, especially dogs and cats, don't be alarmed at the interaction between your beloved pet and the new 'intruder'. It is completely normal for there to be friction between the resident pet and your new kitten. It can take a few days--to a couple weeks for them to completely accept this annoyance as a member of the family. You will want to be sure you are present at all times they are together. Let them sniff each other, and allow the pet to see your kitten without touching her. As the new kitten adjusts and becomes more assured it is a part of the home, your pet will begin to accept it. Just be patient, before you know it, they will be the best of friends
How to Introduce Your Pets to Each Other
When you already have a pet in your household and will be introducing a new addition, we have found that the first meeting goes better if you can introduce the smell of the new addition to your older cat. Take a small hand towel and rub it all over your existing pet to get his or her smell on it. When you bring home your new kitty, you then rub that towel all over the new addition, putting your other pets smell on the new arrival. This way, it decreases the desire to be as aggressive towards the new baby since that baby now has your other pets odor on it as well. Why would we want to attack someone that smelled like us ?
Litter Box
Even before you bring your new baby home, we always suggest that you have the litter box already in place. Place the litter box in a location that is easy for the kitten to get to, but in a secluded area where it can have some privacy. Some animals do NOT like you to watch them in the litter box so do not place the box where there is a lot of traffic. If you put the kitten in the box as soon as you get it home and then let it get out and wander on it's own, it will be able to remember how to get back to the box. If you take the kitten out and take it to another part of the house, you are asking for mistakes to happen. Remember, this new kitten does not know your house and when they have to go, they have to go! We also do not use litter boxes that are covered as they tend to keep the odor in the box and the kitten may not go back there. It would be like us using the toilet and not flushing it but having to use it over and over again. If you have a 2 story house, you would be wise for the first while to have a litter box on each floor as some kittens are afraid of stairs at first and you will have more accidents. Do not leave kitty's food and water near their litter box. They will not want to eat near where they go to the bathroom, would you? We always use stainless steel dishes but you can use ceramic ones. Plastic dishes hold germs that cannot be sanitized.
Your Kitten's Bed
Give your kitten a bed of his or her own that is close to you at night. Young kittens may like a ticking clock to make it feel safe and secure. It will remind them of mom's heartbeat. Adult cats may choose their own sleeping spots in other parts of the house.
Shedding and your Home
If you are extremely fussy about getting hair on your furniture, DO NOT get a cat! Cats love to curl up in a nice cozy spot. If the new sofa feels comfy to them, that is where they will make their 'spot'. Most of our cats sleep with us on the bed and it can get rather cramped at night but they love to be near their human.
Scratching Posts
A cat scratching post is a MUST if you own a cat and do not want them ruining your furniture. Our Ragdolls are very good about scratching the posts instead of our furniture, as they are raised with scratching posts from the time they can walk. (You can also cover a piece of wood about 6" wide and 2' long with carpet, and screw it to an accessible place on the wall.) If you see your kitten scratching some place you do not want them to, do NOT yell at them. Just gently take them over to the scratching post each time and they will learn that this is where they are to scratch. Scratching is a totally natural act for cats and they must be allowed to do it somewhere in the house. It is important to provide them with their own scratching post.
Cat Condos
There are many beautiful cat condos out there that will provide your new kitten with exercise and a place to sleep and play. PetSmart carries a wide variety or if you have a good imagination, you can build your own. Just be careful about what kind of carpet you put on them. There are carpets out there that will leave long strings if they are pulled at. Cats can choke and strangle on these very easily. Use Fun Fur on ours so there is no danger of that happening. Sisal is another good choice to wrap around your posts and cats love it. If you find that your kitty is not using the climber, you can put a bit of catnip on it to draw his attention to it. Some cats react strangely to catnip and run wildly through the house or get aggressive so just watch what happens when you use it.
Toxic Plants
Some houseplants are very toxic to cats and will either make them very ill or even kill them. Please make sure that your animals cannot get access to any of them. Check to see if they are poisonous and dispose of the ones that are. Plant some cat grass for your cats to chew on if they are inclined to eat plants. You can use a tinfoil container to grow it in all year round.
Kitten Proofing Your Home
You NEED to kitten proof your home before you bring kitty home. There are many dangers in your house that you may not think of. We NEVER leave a toilet seat up in our home. Young kittens can easily fall in and not be able to climb back out or get there heads stuck down inside the bowl and drown.
Other dangers include :
Stove/Oven
Never leave your stove unattended or an open oven door. Kittens will burn the pads off their feet if they jump up on a hot oven door. Dishwashers are also a hazard so always check inside before you shut the door.
Washing Machine/Dryer
Cats and kittens are very inquisitive creatures and will crawl into all kinds of places, so NEVER leave your washer open. A dryer looks like a nice warm place to snuggle up in to a cat, so pay attention before you throw clothes in--- just in case someone has left it opened and kitty has crawled in.
Garbage Cans
Lids from tin cans, strings, plastic bags and bones from meat are always in garbage cans. NEVER allow your cat or kitten to get into garbage as they can smother, suffocate or choke to death on these items. Popcorn, peanuts, small screws, beads and any other small items are definite NO NO's for kitty. Don't let animals get near open paint cans and especially anti-freeze. Anti-freeze has a very sweet taste and many animals have died from licking up even the tiniest amounts of it. You would be pretty upset if you were to cause an accident that could not be repaired.
Electrical Outlets and Cords
Electrical outlets/cords pose a very deadly threat to your animals. Treat animals like children and cover any exposed outlets with plastic plugs and wrap any exposed cords with fiber optic plastic split tubing.
Bathing Your Kitten
If you are not showing your cats and kittens, you should not have to bath often. Excessive bathing strips out all the natural oils from your cats coat and causes dry skin problems. If your kitten gets dirty and MUST be bathed, use a very gentle shampoo like Johnson's baby shampoo. Other adult shampoos are too strong if your kitten licks himself after his bath. Rinsing your kitten takes 3 times longer than washing, just to get ALL the soap off their coat. Never get soap or water in your kittens eyes, ears or mouth. You can prevent this by putting cotton balls in their ears first. Young kittens can be bathed in your kitchen sink until they get bigger.
Cat Toys
Always make sure that you have safe toys for your new kitten to play with and play WITH him/her. Cats need exercise and one cat by himself needs stimulation so take the time to make time for your kitten. A lot of new owners will go out and literally spend a fortune on new toys that your kitten will NOT play with. Paper bags and cardboard boxes provide excellent play toys and are basically free. Never use plastic bags ! Make sure your toys do not have strings on them or small pieces that can break off and choke kitty.
Tinsel on Christmas trees looks very fun to play with for kittens so never use it on your tree. Many cats have choked to death on it, plus it gets wrapped around their intestines. People see their cat going to the washroom with a long piece of tinsel hanging out and they instinctively want to pull on it - DO NOT !!! You will only cause damage to your cats insides.
LOVE!!
Lastly and above all else LOVE YOUR KITTY! Do not get a kitten to please a child if that kitten is going to get neglected. Kids often think a kitten is a great Christmas gift but once the novelty wears off, they no longer have an interest in the new baby. We do not place many kittens in new homes at Christmas, specifically for this reason. Animals are a life long commitment and should not be purchased on a whim. Let your kitten share your life as part of the family and you will never be disappointed. To many owners, their cat is their child and is given all the love they have. This is the one thing we look for with prospective owners. We have refused a few people that we did not get the warm and fuzzies about. You can sense a TRUE cat person a mile away.
BE KIND - BE GENTLE - BE LOVING ! Treat your cat the way you would want to be treated, with love and respect. You will get it back 100 times over.
Integrating your kitten into it's new home--
LOVE!!