How to Help a New Kitten Adjust to Your Home

You just brought a brand new baby kitty home. This equates into a confusing culture clash for the kitty. How will you ease the transition for your new cat?

Consider it from a kitten's point of view. He or she has suddenly and rudely been ripped away from all they know which is familiar. Bye Mom! Bye brothers and sisters! Goodbye every smell and sight I have known in my short existence.

Then there was the "Oh, my! What is happening to me?" effect during the car ride to your house. The cat is usually placed in a cat carrier and most likely will voice his or her confusion and dislike of the situation with loud meowing.

It only becomes more overwhelming when you get home and let them out of the cat carrier. And what if, oh gosh, there is a monster that the cat has never seen? The monster might be a tiny poodle but it may bark and frighten the kitty.

Most cats get out of their carriers and find the quickest hiding spot they can. They start the process of checking you and your household out from whatever vantage point they find.

It is very important at this juncture to pay close attention to where the cat is hiding. Cats will amaze you at hiding places you never dreamed could exist. They may leap into an open dryer or an accessible drawer. Obviously you would want to know if the cat is hiding in the dryer.

Safety factors aside, you will need to know where the cat is in order to leave food, water, and a litter box in close vicinity. You can always move these items to where you prefer after the cat is acclimated.

Leave the cat alone for a few hours and then enter the room. Speak softly to him or her. Keep repeating the process. After a few attempts and you have not received a response try a catnip kitty toy. Try to keep very young children at bay during this process. Give the cat a chance to get used to the usual banging and yelling kids do on a regular basis.

The cat will come out eventually; they are curious creatures by nature. How long it will take depends on the personality traits of a particular cat. Some are very timid; it may take two or three days. Bolder ones may decide to explore their surroundings the very same day.

How ever long it takes, remember the cat is checking you out and this is the beginning of trust between the cat and you. Before you know it, the kitty will warm to your home and be purring on your lap. The transitional homecoming time will be but a distant memory.