Bringing a new kitten home is simultaneously one of the most exciting and terrifying moments of any cat lover’s life. You’ve imagined it for months — that little purring ball of fluff asleep on your lap, the playful pounces, the absolute chaos of 3am zoomies through your bedroom at full tilt.
Then reality hits. You walk through the door with your new kitten and realise you’ve forgotten approximately seventeen essential things.
After sending hundreds of kittens to their new homes over the years as a breeder, I’ve seen every scenario imaginable. New owners arrive with enthusiasm, a carrier, and… well, not much else. Some panic because they didn’t know kittens eat different food than adults. Others buy the wrong type of litter tray (and then wonder why the kitten refuses to use it). A few forget entirely about the vet registration until the kitten gets ill at midnight on a Sunday.
This checklist is the cheat sheet I wish I could hand every new owner before they leave the breeder’s house. It covers everything from food and water to dental care, microchipping to Instagram accounts. Nothing fancy, nothing you can’t handle — just the essentials to give your new kitten (and yourself) the best possible start.
Quick Answer: Every new kitten needs food and water bowls, the same food their breeder used, a litter tray, toys, a bed, a scratching post, a carrier, vet registration, microchipping, pet insurance, grooming supplies, flea and worm treatment, and a safe sanctuary room to settle into. And yes, you should absolutely take photos.
👇 Skip to the 8 things new kitten owners need to know
Food and Water
Your kitten will have been eating specific food at the breeder’s house. Whatever that food is — premium brand, budget supermarket, wet, dry, or a combination — that’s what you need to have ready when you bring them home.
I cannot stress this enough: ask the breeder exactly what they’ve been feeding the kitten and get the same brand. Changing food suddenly causes digestive upset, which nobody needs in those early days when you’re already sleep-deprived and wondering if you’ve made a terrible mistake.
You’ll need two separate food bowls (one for wet food, one for dry) and a water bowl, positioned away from the litter tray. Cats are fastidious creatures and absolutely will not eat next to their toilet, no matter how hungry they are.
About that water: milk is not a treat unless violent diarrhoea is something you think they enjoy. So keep your kitten happy and hydrated and stick to tap water. Fresh water daily, preferably in a ceramic or stainless steel bowl (plastic can taint the taste, and cats are snobs about these things).
Cat Treats
It’s Okay to Resort to Bribery.
I have no problem at all resorting to bribery when it comes to helping settle in a new kitten. Treats are your secret weapon for everything from litter tray training to getting them to come when you call. They work. Use them.
Start with treats the breeder has already introduced the kitten to, then you can experiment with others if you like. The key is having a stash ready for those crucial early days when you need to build trust and establish good habits.
Cat Carrier
This isn’t optional, it’s essential. You need a proper cat carrier — not a cardboard box, not a makeshift crate, a proper carrier with good ventilation and a secure door.
Your kitten will travel home in one, and you’ll need it for vet visits, trips to the cattery, emergencies, and any transport. It’s not an expense you regret when it’s 2am and your kitten has eaten something they shouldn’t have.
Pro tip: leave the carrier out in the house during settled times so your kitten gets used to it as a normal part of the furniture, not something scary that only appears before trips to the vet.
Litter Trays and Litter
Use the same type of litter your kitten’s breeder has been using. Some kittens will switch to different litter without complaint; others will take one look at the wrong type and decide your bedroom carpet is a perfectly acceptable alternative.
You’ll need at least two litter trays — one for wee, one for poo, as the saying goes. Position them away from their food and water, preferably in separate corners so your kitten has options. Show them where the trays are immediately when they arrive; most kittens get the idea within minutes.
Keep one tray in your sanctuary room (more on that below) so they always have immediate access whilst settling in. You can add more trays to other areas of the house as they get more confident.
Cat Toys
Kittens need stimulation, and toys are how they learn to be cats. You’ll want a mix of solo toys (balls with bells, mice, small objects they can bat around) and interactive toys (feather wands, string toys, laser pointers for supervised play).
You don’t need expensive branded toys. In fact, I’ve seen kittens completely ignore a £30 toy in favour of a cardboard box or a hair tie. Try a few different types and see what your kitten enjoys. Many of the best toys cost pennies.
If you want a proper deep dive into enrichment and entertainment, download the “Cat Toys on a Budget” report from the resources section — it covers homemade toys, free ideas, and how to rotate toys to keep things interesting without spending a fortune.
Beds and Blankets
Your kitten will absolutely need somewhere comfortable to sleep. A proper cat bed is ideal — something warm, cosy, and in a safe corner away from the main hustle and bustle of the house.
That said, chances are they will also sleep on your settee, in your bed, on your head and anywhere else that takes their fancy. This is normal kitten behaviour. They’re seeking warmth, security, and the comfort of your presence. If you’re not okay with that, you’re probably in for a surprise.
Have a few blankets scattered around the house. Kittens love a soft, warm spot, and blankets give them options when you’re using the furniture.
Scratching Post
If you want to keep your furniture in one piece, a scratching post is non-negotiable.
Scratching is how cats mark territory, keep their claws healthy, and stretch their muscles. They’re going to do it regardless; the question is whether you’d prefer they do it on the post you’ve provided or on your sofa. I recommend the post.
Get one that’s sturdy enough not to wobble (kittens lose confidence in wobbly posts) and tall enough for a decent stretch. Siamese and Oriental cats are particularly prone to using furniture, so don’t skimp on this one.
Your Kitten’s First Vet Visit
Register with a vet before your kitten arrives. You wouldn’t wait until you were ill before registering with a local Doctor, and you shouldn’t wait with your kitten either.
Find a vet practice local to you, register, and book an initial health check within the first week your kitten is home. They’ll give the kitten a thorough going-over, check for any issues, and discuss vaccination schedules, flea treatment, worming protocols, and any other health concerns.
This is also your chance to ask questions. New kitten owners always have them, and a good vet will have the patience to answer every single one, from “Is this behaviour normal?” to “How often should I be cleaning the litter tray?” They’ve heard it all before.
Pet Insurance
Get pet insurance immediately. Not next week, not after the first vet visit, now.
Kittens get into things. They have accidents. They develop genetic conditions that aren’t apparent until they’re a bit older. A single vet emergency can cost hundreds or thousands of pounds, and you’ll be grateful you have insurance when you’re facing a bill like that at 3am after your kitten has swallowed something they shouldn’t have.
Peace of mind is priceless. Get the insurance sorted before you need it.
Grooming Supplies
Kittens are just babies, and they won’t have developed the full self-grooming routine of adults yet. Have a soft brush or comb ready for gentle grooming sessions.
Regular grooming does three things: it keeps their coat healthy and mat-free, it helps you bond with your kitten, and it gets them used to being handled around the face, ears, and paws — which makes everything from future grooming to vet visits much easier.
For long-haired Siamese and Orientals especially, establish good grooming habits early. It’s far easier to maintain a coat than to sort out mats and tangles later.
The Sanctuary Room
When your new kitten first arrives, they’ve left everything they know — their mum, their siblings, their breeder, familiar sounds and smells. It’s overwhelming.
Set aside one small room (a bedroom is perfect) as a sanctuary space. Put their litter tray, food and water bowls, bed, some toys, and a blanket in there. Leave them in this room for the first few days, visiting frequently but letting them adjust in a quiet, safe space without the stress of the entire house.
Once they’re confident and exploring, you can gradually let them have access to other rooms. This approach prevents the common problem of new kittens hiding for days because they’re terrified, and it means they already know where their essential facilities are.
Cleaning Supplies
If your house smells of cat then you are not cleaning enough.
Have enzymatic cleaner on hand for accidents — and there will be accidents, especially during the settling-in period. Enzyme-based cleaners break down the urine proteins, which genuinely removes the smell rather than just covering it up with pine scent.
Regular household cleaner, disinfectant, and paper towels are your friends. Clean litter trays daily, wipe up any accidents immediately, and keep the kitchen spotless. Cats are drawn to areas that smell of urine, so thorough cleaning prevents problem behaviours from developing.
Safety: Collars, Microchipping, and Keeping Them In
If your kitten will ever be outdoors unsupervised, they absolutely must have a microchip. It’s a tiny implant under the skin with your contact details; if they go missing and a vet or shelter scans them, they can reunite you immediately.
A collar with ID tags is also a good idea (and required by law in some areas), though collars can get caught on things. The microchip is your backup plan.
For indoor kittens, keep doors and windows closed until they’re confident about the layout of the house. Many new owners lose their kitten in the first week because it bolts for the door and gets lost. Give them time to settle before allowing outdoor access.
Flea and Worming Treatment
Your vet will advise on the appropriate flea and worming schedule for your kitten. Don’t skip this. Fleas are unpleasant, parasites cause serious health issues, and prevention is far easier than dealing with an infestation.
Most breeders will have started initial worming; your vet will let you know when the next dose is due. Set a calendar reminder so you don’t forget.
Dental Care: Toothbrush and Toothpaste
Dental disease is one of the most common health issues in adult cats, and the best way to prevent it is to start good habits young. A feline toothbrush and cat toothpaste (not human toothpaste!) are surprisingly affordable and worth every penny.
Start gently — brush for just a few seconds whilst your kitten gets used to it — and gradually build up to a full clean. Most cats will tolerate it if you introduce it properly. Make it part of your daily routine and you’ll have healthier teeth and gums for your cat throughout their life.
For more detailed information on maintaining your cat’s oral health, read our full guide to dental care for cats.
Photos
Did you know that one of the two reasons the Internet was invented is all to do with our obsession about cats?
Your new kitten is objectively the most adorable creature to have ever lived (I’m not biased at all), and you are legally required to document this with approximately five thousand photographs. From every angle. At every time of day. Especially the unflattering ones.
Serious bonus points if your cat has their own Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Yes, I’m joking. Sort of.
(BTW — in case you were wondering the other reason the Internet was invented was to give people the ability to argue online with complete strangers.)
What I’ve Actually Learned (After 22+ Years at Burnthwaites)
The first 48 hours decide everything. I’ve watched a few hundred kittens leave Burnthwaites over two decades, and the pattern is hard to miss. Siamese kittens who get a quiet sanctuary room and ten minutes of warm reassurance settle in 4-6 hours. Kittens dropped straight into a busy living room with three other pets and a Sunday-lunch crowd take 4-5 days to come out from behind the sofa. Same kitten, same temperament — completely different outcome based on the first 48 hours. Whatever else you skip on this list, do not skip the sanctuary room.
Litter type continuity is the single most overlooked detail. The most common phone call I get in the first fortnight is a confused owner saying “she’s pooing on the bath mat.” Nine times out of ten the answer is they switched litter. The breeder used wood pellets, the new owner bought clumping clay because the supermarket had it on offer, and a confused kitten has decided the bath mat is the closest thing to what she remembers. I now send every kitten home with a small bag of the actual litter they grew up with, and I tell new owners to switch over a fortnight, mixing the two. Problem disappears.
Sanctuary rooms work because of smell, not silence. The reason a kitten settles faster in a quiet bedroom isn’t really the noise level — it’s that you can put a piece of bedding from the breeder’s house in there. I’ve taken to sending a folded square of the blanket the litter has been sleeping on home with every kitten. The new owner puts it in the sanctuary room, the kitten smells “home” the moment she walks in, and the entire transition gets easier. It’s a £0 intervention and it works on every breed I’ve handled.
Pet insurance is the boring detail with the biggest payoff. One of my buyers in 2024 had a 14-week-old Siamese kitten swallow a hair tie. Two days of vomiting, an emergency scan, surgery to remove the obstruction, three nights in the vet hospital — total bill £2,400. She’d taken out cover the day she collected the kitten. Insurance paid £2,300 of it. She told me afterwards that she’d nearly skipped insurance “because the kitten looked healthy.” Kittens look healthy until the moment they don’t. Sort it on day one, not after the first vet visit.
The microchip pays for itself the first time you need it. About six years ago, one of my Siamese girls bolted through a front door when a delivery driver came up the path during her first month in her new home. Her owner was hysterical — first kitten, gone, lost, classic nightmare. She turned up at a vet practice two streets away the next afternoon, a kind neighbour having scooped her up. The vet scanned the chip, rang the owner, kitten was home in twenty minutes. Without that chip, that’s a kitten who never makes it back. £20 of admin saved a heartbreak.
Bringing home a kitten? Don’t wing it.
I wrote an eBook for new kitten owners that covers everything you actually need to know — how to prepare your home, what to feed, litter training that actually works, stopping the biting and scratching, reading your kitten’s body language, and what’s normal versus what’s not. It comes with printable checklists, a vaccination record and a first-week diary.
It’s called Kitten Care for New Cat Owners, it’s an instant download, and it will save you a lot of late-night Googling at 4am.
Key Takeaways
- Ask the breeder what food they’ve been using. Switch food gradually to avoid digestive upset, and never use milk as a treat.
- Treats are bribery tools. Use them liberally to build trust, establish good litter tray habits, and reinforce positive behaviour.
- Set up a sanctuary room first. A small, quiet space with everything they need lets your kitten settle safely before exploring the rest of the house.
- Buy a litter tray before your kitten arrives. Use the same litter type as the breeder, and show your kitten immediately where it is.
- Get pet insurance on day one. Kittens get into things, and vet bills for emergencies can be thousands of pounds.
- Register with a vet and book a health check. Your vet will check for problems, advise on vaccinations and treatments, and answer your questions.
- Scratching posts are non-negotiable. Kittens will scratch something; make sure it’s the post, not your furniture.
- Microchip and keep detailed records. If your kitten ever goes missing, a microchip is the best way to get them home.
If you’re bringing a kitten home and you want a proper, practical guide to the first few weeks and beyond — not generic internet advice, but the stuff that actually matters — my Kitten Care eBook covers everything you need. It’s £12.99 and it’s an instant download.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for a new kitten to settle in?
Most kittens settle within the first week if they have a quiet sanctuary room and minimal stress. Some are confident within days; others take a couple of weeks. Let them set the pace. They’ll come out of their shell when they’re ready, and there’s no benefit to rushing them.
Can I give my kitten regular cow’s milk?
No. Most kittens are lactose intolerant, and cow’s milk causes digestive upset and diarrhoea. Stick to fresh tap water, and if you want to give them something special, use kitten-specific milk replacement (available at pet shops) instead.
What if my kitten won’t use the litter tray?
Make sure you’re using the same type of litter as the breeder, position the tray away from food and water, and show your kitten where it is immediately. If they still have accidents, ensure the tray is clean (empty out poo daily), large enough for them to move around in, and in a low-stress location. If the problem persists, your vet can rule out medical issues.
Do I need more than one litter tray?
Yes. The rule is one tray per cat plus one extra. So for one kitten, have at least two trays, preferably in different locations. This prevents territorial disputes and gives your kitten options if one tray is dirty.
How often should I groom my new kitten?
Start with gentle grooming sessions of just a few seconds, a few times a week. As they get used to it, you can increase frequency and duration. For long-haired breeds, daily grooming is ideal once they’re comfortable with it. Always use a soft brush and make it a positive experience.
When should my kitten have their first vaccination?
Your vet will advise based on the kitten’s age and any vaccinations the breeder has already given. Most kittens receive their first dose of the feline combination vaccine (FVRCP) at 8 weeks, with booster shots every 3–4 weeks until 16 weeks old. Bring your breeder’s vaccination records to your vet appointment so they can continue the appropriate schedule.
