When you get a kitten, it’s important to remember that moving to a new home is very stressful for it, so be patient and understanding during this tense time. Every cat, like every person, is an individual, so each kitten will react to the move differently, and the adjustment period will vary a lot. This article will help you ease the stress of moving and help your kitten or adult cat settle into its new home faster.
1. Bringing Your Kitten Home
The best way to transport a kitten is in a small, secure cat carrier, which will greatly reduce stress for your cat. Put something familiar inside that smells like home, such as a toy or a small blanket from its first home.
I strongly advise against carrying a kitten in your arms or inside your jacket, even in a car. A frightened kitten can suddenly break free and hurt itself, or at the very least get an extra dose of fear. If you’re driving, put the carrier on the back seat and secure it with a seat belt (or on the floor behind a front seat), and talk softly to your kitten during the trip. It’s harder if you have to take public transportation, with lots of strangers and loud, scary noises. In that case, do everything you can to make the trip as comfortable as possible, for example by covering the carrier with a light cloth.
2. Your Kitten’s First Hours at Home
If possible, keep things quiet, without loud noises or crowds of people. Ideally, set up one quiet room as your kitten’s “safe room” for the first few days. It’s perfectly normal for a cat to stay in its carrier for several hours after a move.
Put the carrier on a stable surface, open the door and try gently petting your kitten while talking to it softly. It’s natural for a kitten to dash out and hide somewhere. It’s also possible that it will squeeze into the back of the carrier and refuse to come out at all. Either way, don’t pull your kitten out of its hiding place by force. Give it time to recover, sniff the new smells and calm down. Sooner or later, curiosity, thirst or hunger will win over fear, and your kitten will come out.
When your kitten comes out to explore, make sure everything it needs is close by: fresh drinking water, a little food and a litter box. Otherwise, your kitten may start going to the bathroom in the wrong places. To avoid that, check out our full new kitten checklist.
Important! Notice where your kitten hides when it’s scared, and if possible, keep that spot accessible so it can retreat there safely whenever it feels threatened. (Block off truly dangerous hiding spots, like behind the washing machine or inside a recliner.) Having someone at home for the first 1–2 days is also very important for a smooth adjustment, so bringing a kitten home on a Friday, before a weekend when you have plenty of time for your new pet, is ideal. A synthetic pheromone diffuser (such as Feliway) plugged in near your kitten’s safe room can also help it feel calmer.
3. Introducing Your Kitten to Other Pets
This is an especially important issue, because other pets can either help a kitten adjust or make it much more stressed.
If you already have an adult cat, give both cats time to get used to each other’s presence without direct contact. Keep the newcomer in its “own” room, off-limits to your resident cat for a while. Swap bedding or rub a cloth on each cat and leave it with the other, so they get used to each other’s scent. From time to time, let your adult cat into the kitten’s room, or let them see each other through a baby gate, so it can get to know the kitten’s smell. During these early meetings, hold the kitten or supervise closely.
At first, the cats may growl and hiss at each other, but that usually stops within a few days to a few weeks as they get used to each other. Your job is to prevent real fights that could lead to injuries. Otherwise, let them “talk it out” to establish their relationship. Make sure each cat has its own food bowl, litter box and resting spots so there’s no competition.
If you have a dog, make sure before getting a cat that your dog is friendly toward other animals. Otherwise, you may stress your dog and never achieve the peace you’re hoping for. There’s nothing you can do about it: animals, like people, can be very jealous and selfish. Keep your dog on a leash for the first meetings.
Introducing a dog and a kitten works much like introducing an adult cat and a kitten, but the adjustment period may take longer. Dogs are very sensitive to changes, so show your dog it’s as loved as ever, and give both pets equal attention. Always make sure your kitten has high places and dog-free zones where it can escape.
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If you have birds, hamsters or other small pets, don’t forget that your kitten, despite its young age, is first and foremost a predator! If not today, then tomorrow, it will be a real threat to its smaller housemates, so keep everyone safe.
Taking all of this into account, there’s no single formula for speeding up a kitten’s adjustment. You can only make this period easier and more comfortable. Most kittens settle in within a few days to a couple of weeks, while adult and shelter cats may take several weeks or even months. Let me repeat the most important thing: be patient and give endless love! May friendship and understanding fill your home.
