All You Need to Know About Caring for a New Kitten

Bringing a new kitten into your home is an exciting experience, but it also comes with responsibility. From feeding and vaccinations to training and health care, knowing how to look after a kitten ensures they grow into a happy and healthy companion.

Bringing Home a Kitten for the First Time

The first few days in a new home can be overwhelming for a kitten. Create a quiet, safe space for your new furry friend to adjust. Avoid loud noises and over-excitement, and allow them plenty of time to nap and explore their new environment.

Things You Need for a Kitten:

A cosy bed and crate
Two different Litter box and litter options
Food and water bowls
Kitten-appropriate food (ideally try to keep their food the same as what they were eating prior to coming to you for at least the first few weeks)
Scratching post and toys

Things You Should Know About Bringing Home a Kitten

Bringing home a kitten for the first time is very exciting, but it also requires preparation and patience. Here are some of the most important things to consider when bringing home your new family member:

Kitten-Proof Your Home:

Remove hazards like electrical cords, toxic plants, and small objects they could swallow.
Secure windows, balconies, and other escape points.

Set Up a Safe Space:

Create a quiet area with a bed, food and water bowls, toys, and a litter box. This gives your kitten a place to adjust and feel safe. Make sure their litter box and food and water bowls are not too close together though.
Avoid overwhelming them with too many new faces or too much noise.

Should You Keep Them Indoors?

For their safety, kittens should be kept indoors, especially during their first year. Outdoor environments pose risks from predators totraffic, and outdoor cats are at much higher risk of injury or picking up diseases.
If you plan to allow outdoor access later, wait until they are vaccinated, microchipped, and desexed. The best option for outdoor access is to provide a contained catio, or use cat proof fencing to prevent your pet from roaming.

Schedule a Vet Visit:

Book a health check and discuss vaccinations, parasite prevention and other health care needs.

Stock Up on Essentials:

Kitten essentials generally include a litter box, scratching post, kitten food, toys, grooming tools, and a carrier for vet visits. Optional extras could include a harness if you wish to harness train them, as well as calming pheromone diffusers such as Feliway to help them settle in to their new home.

Kitten Diet and Nutrition

Proper nutrition is one of the most critical aspects of caring for a new kitten. A well-fed kitten is more likely to grow into a healthy, energetic, and happy adult cat.

Feeding Tips for Your Kitten:

Start with Age-Appropriate Food:

For kittens under 6-8 weeks a good quality milk replacer is essential if they are not nursing from their mother. Use a vet-recommended product and follow a newborn kitten feeding guide.
After 6-8 weeks introduce a high-quality kitten food (wet or dry) designed specifically to meet the nutritional needs of growing cats.

Portion Sizes:

Serve small, frequent meals—around 3-4 times a day for kittens up to 12-14 weeks old.
Consult your vet for the appropriate portion size based on your kitten’s weight and breed.

Hydration Matters:

Always provide fresh water in a shallow, stable bowl.
If your kitten prefers wet food they may consume less water, but hydration is still crucial, especially if feeding mostly dry food.
Water fountain bowls can be a good option once your pet is old enough to reach them.

Avoid Unsafe Foods:

Never feed kittens cow’s milk, as it can upset their stomach.
Avoid toxic foods like chocolate, onions, garlic, and grapes.

Transitioning to New Food:

If you need to switch brands or types of food, do so gradually over 7–10 days by mixing the old and new food in increasing proportions.

Treats in Moderation:

Use kitten-appropriate treats sparingly. Treats should never exceed 10% of their daily caloric intake.

Signs of a Healthy Diet:

A shiny coat
Steady weight gain
Regular, firm stools

If your kitten shows signs of digestive upset (e.g., diarrhoea, vomiting) or refuses to eat, consult your vet. For more information on how to feed your kitten check out our Kitten Feeding Guide.

How to Train a Kitten

Training a kitten might sound ambitious, but young cats are surprisingly quick learners when given patience and consistency. Teaching good habits early can prevent problem behaviours later.

Basic Training Tips:

Litter Training:

Most kittens take to the litter box naturally. To encourage good habits, keep the litter box clean and placed in a quiet and private but accessible spot.
Use unscented litter, as some kittens are sensitive to strong odours.
Initially, it is important to keep your kitten confined to a small area with an appropriately sized litter box. As long as this area is free from other loose materials, like clothing or bedding strewn on the floor, your kitten will likely be drawn to the litter box when they need to use the bathroom.
Generally, kittens will need to go to the toilet after they eat, when they wake up, and after play. At those times, place the kitten in their litter box and praise them for their work. A kitten does not need to be confined continuously but should be supervised and frequently brought back to their litter box to prevent accidents.
Be careful to avoid anything that may stress your kitten when they attempt to go to the toilet as this can create litter box aversion.

Discouraging Unwanted Behaviours:

Avoid yelling or physically punishing your kitten. Instead, redirect unwanted behaviour (e.g., scratching furniture) to acceptable alternatives like a scratching post.
Use deterrents like double-sided tape or sprays to protect furniture.

Reward-Based Training:

Use small treats or verbal praise to reward good behaviours like coming when called or using their scratching post.

Play Training:

Playtime isn’t just fun; it teaches kittens how to interact without biting or scratching. Use toys like feather wands or balls rather than your hands.
End play sessions if your kitten starts biting or playing too rough.
Be cautious with things like lasers as they can cause frustration as they do not allow your pet to complete the hunting sequence during play.

Socialisation:

Expose your kitten to new experiences, people, and pets gradually. This helps them grow into a confident, well-adjusted adult cat.

Teaching Commands:

Start with simple commands like “sit” or “come.” Use treats to lure your kitten into position and pair the behaviour with a verbal cue. Positively reinforce desirable behaviours consistently when you first start training.
Keep sessions short—no more than 5–10 minutes—and always end on a positive note.

Training for Independence:

Teach your kitten to tolerate being alone by gradually increasing the time they spend on their own.
Provide toys and puzzles to keep them entertained.
This prevents separation anxiety and destructive behaviours.

Vaccinations and Preventative Care

The diseases that vaccinations protect against are serious and often hard to treat. Vaccinations are vital to your kitten’s health. Complete protection can only be achieved if all vaccines are given, and your kitten is kept away from public areas and other pets until after their 16-week vaccine.

6 to 8 weeks old – Feline Enteritis and Cat Flu + FIV*
10-12 weeks old – Feline Enteritis and Cat Flu + FIV* + Leukaemia*
14-16 weeks old – Feline Enteritis and Cat Flu + FIV* + Leukaemia*

* Please consult with your Greencross Vet to tailor the most appropriate vaccinations for your cat.

Parasite Prevention:

Kittens should be dewormed every two weeks until they are 12 weeks of age, then every month after that until they are six months old. From then, and depending on which product is used, deworming your cat every three months will maintain effective worm prevention. Deworming should be performed regardless of whether worms are seen in stools or not, as many are too small to be seen with the naked eye. A high-quality all-wormer (ideally targeting roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms and whipworms) should be used and is available in a variety of forms. Speak to your Greencross Vet for more information about worming.

In terms of fleas, prevention is the best way to stop an infestation before it starts. Speak to your Greencross Vet about the most appropriate flea prevention treatment for your kitten. Topical spot-on products are often recommended. Depending on your geographic location tick prevention (especially for paralysis ticks) may also be important.

When to Desex a Kitten:

Kittens should be desexed at around six months of age. Desexed pets are less likely to roam and fight. Several behavioural problems can be reduced with desexing, and it helps avoid unplanned litters . There is no advantage in allowing female kittens to have a ‘heat’ or litter before considering desexing. Learn more about desexing your kitten.

Keeping Your Kitten Healthy

Regular vet visits are essential to monitor your kitten’s growth and address any concerns. Your vet can also guide you on:

When to test for parasites like heartworm.
Updating vaccinations and parasite prevention.
Maintaining a balanced diet as they grow.

Healthy Pets Plus

Healthy Pets Plus is our preventative wellness annual membership program that gives you peace of mind and confidence that your pet is healthy and happy. Benefits include all standard veterinary consultations in clinic, access to WebVet 24/7, your pet’s annual vaccinations as recommended, 20% off pet food and parasite prevention in-clinic and much more! Speak with us to join today, or learn more.