If you are a cat person, bringing a new cat home is always an exciting time. Aside from your joy, there is also some level of anxiety. Will your new feline friend fit in and be comfortable, or will it have a long adjustment period?
Naturally, you prefer that it fits right in and is as happy to be home as you are to have it there.
While it’s not always a straightforward process, there are things you can do to hasten the integration process. Here are some expert tips to help the process along.
1. Place Their Utilities Conspicuously
Place water and food in separate bowls at one end of the cat’s safe room or space. Shy cats are known to go 24 to 48 hours without eating as they get used to the new environment.
If they go longer than this, try something irresistible. Tuna and salmon are a good place to start. If this does not work, you might want to see a vet.
Aside from nourishment, you need a good cat waste disposal system. Find an easy, open, no-frills litter box and place it in an easily accessible spot as well. Your kitten might experience some diarrhea. This is normal in the first few days and is often resulting from stress.
2. Create a Safe Room
Cats, just like people, get some anxiety in new environments. It helps your cat have a safe room they can retreat to whenever they need to feel safe.
This is especially useful in the first few days or weeks as your cat tries to become familiar with the sounds and scents of your home. There is no set size requirement for the safe room. It just needs to have a roof, a door, and be accessible to your kitten.
This can also be a cozy enclosed area of your house if you can’t spare an entire room.
3. Get a New Post
If you had cats previously, you need to get a new scratching post for your new kitten. A one-meter tall post should be adequate.
For cats, scratching is a comforting natural behavior, and it helps your kitten to do this.
This post must be new. The last thing you want is to stress out your kitten with scents of other cats at a time when it’s trying to acclimate to new surroundings.
4. Spend Time with It
The more time you spend with your new kitten, the more familiar you will be to it, and the sooner it will feel comfortable around you.
When you are at work, you can leave a worn t-shirt in its safe room/space so that it gets used to your scent.
Easy Does It
While it’s understandable that you want to see progress quickly, this does not always happen. Your new kitten will get used to you and your home with time and patience and will begin happily prancing from one corner to the other.