Bringing Your Cat Home - Within the First 24 Hours

The best time to welcome your new kitten or cat to its new home is on a weekend, where you could have a couple of days to settle it to its new surrounding.

A cat carrier is essential to the safe travels of your kitten or cat. As much as you may prefer to snuggle the cat in your lap on the trip home in the car, a cat should always travel in the safety of a carrier. If you hold the cat in your arms in a car and it is startled by a honking horn or noisy traffic, it may struggle loose, scratching or biting. It's dangerous as it's prone to road accident. It's better to be safe, not sorry. Well, I admit I did not follow the right way when traveling with my cats in a car from Melaka to Kota Bharu and vice versa. My cats, especially Kurimu turns to be very vocal when he is kept in the carrier. The only way to make them settle and relax is to free them in my car. Well, I may have to reconsider the way I travel with my cats in the future, for their safety and also for ours. For cat owner who doesn't have a cat carrier yet, your cat needs a carrier not only on the first day you brought it back to your family, but also when ever you need to bring it to the vet or send for boarding.Therefore it's worth investing a good quality carrier.

 Many kinds of carrier are available in the market.


It's good to place a small blanket  or towel in the bottom of the carrier for the cat to snuggle in. We always have to make full set of preparation when bringing Kusky and Kurimu traveling with us: the carrier, clean towels, wet tissue papers, kitchen towel (work better in absorbing water), food and water container, cat's toilet with shallow sand, cat comb and brush, scope and plastic bags for us to keep their poo, just in case they do go to toilet.

The first 24 hours with your new kitten or cat are the most important and crucial time. The new kitten/cat may feel lonely, missing its companion or frightened and insecure in its unfamiliar new environment. Through my experiences bringing a few new kittens back home, it's best to confine your new kitten in a smaller room instead of a big one. Reason: cat needs to get familiar to the surrounding, sniffs every single corner to make it feel more secure. The smaller the room is, the easier the new kitten/cat will get use to the new environment. It's important to ensure the small room is equipped with basic needs: food, water and litter tray. Make sure these are visible to them.

 
Kitten/cat with different personality will react to its new surrounding very different. An extravert kitten/cat may just bounced or jumped out from the carrier and ready to explore its new environment. Where else the shy kitten/cat may feel intimidated and not come out immediately. In the case if you happen to bring a shy new kitten/cat home, don't force them to come out from the carrier. You may just sit on the floor, keep a friendly distance from the new kitten/cat, and speak softly to encourage the kitten/cat to move out from the carrier. You may also try to use a teaser to see if the kitten/cat wants to play. It's important to keep the environment as quiet as possible when introducing a new environment to your kitten/cat. For those who have small kids at home, you shall ensure your kids are not getting over excited when seeing a new kitten/cat. High pitch shouting will definitely scares the new kitten/cat away. I remember both Kusky and Kurimu acted differently when they first came to our house. Kusky was a shy boy, he hide himself under the sofa after leaving the carrier. While Kurimu explore the surrounding straight after walking out from the carrier. 


After your kitten/cat arriving home, many people in the family will be very excited and wanting to pet and hold it. Try not to introduce the new comer to too many people on the first day, or the kitten/cat will feel overwhelmed. Especially family with kids, you shall let your kids to understand it is not a toy and it must be given its own space. 

At bedtime, you may place the kitten/cat in a bed. If it feels safe in carrier, let it spends a night or two in the carrier may be a good solution too. You may keep the carrier's door open for it to access the food, water and litter box.

Once the new comer feels comfortable and secure to the room, you may now introduce it to a new area or the rest of the home at its own pace. If you already have another pet at home, confine it so the new kitten/cat has a chance to investigate the home without having to encounter another animal. As the cat gains more confidence, the time will come to introduce the kitten to other family pets.