Integrating a newborn kitten into your home, if you don’t have any additional pets in the home, is a no-brainer. You will be spending a great deal of time with your kitty, bonding with her and generally “spoiling” her, unconsciously making her one of the relatives.

However, keep in mind that your home is a new and mysterious place for your kitten and, depending on her experience, she will need time to adjust and explore. Perhaps she comes from a place where care was taken to bond with people, such as a nurturing situation. On the other hand, many kittens spend their first few days inside a shelter, either in a cage with littermates, or in a “space” setting between multiple new kittens, babies, and adults. In the latter case, your new kitty will require a lot of adoration and tolerance, as well as the chance to be alone when she needs it. Your care in providing these requests will help lessen your kitty’s concerns regarding her new placement.

Gentling is a great technique for bonding with your new kitten, so get started now! (google it) I can’t get credit for this content. This information comes from a veterinarian, I have read it in another guide. Not only does this technique support the bonding process, it also gets kitty used to being handled, which will be invaluable later with dental work, brushing, and veterinary exams.

Reserve a private section, including a bed, food, and a dedicated litter box for your kitten. It can be a screened part of the ordinary action of the area, it does not have to be a total room. It is labeled as a “Protected Space”.

She’ll soon feel right at home with you if you give your new kitten lots of loving attention as soon as she asks for it, as well as a break when she wants it.

Integration with more animals

However, it may be a totally different matter if you have existing dogs and/or kittens within your family. To begin with, it is very important to quarantine new arrivals until they have passed their veterinary examination, to prevent them from spreading diseases or parasites that they may carry. Feral kittens regularly carry parasites, ear mites, and additional parasites. Occasionally they may be carriers or infected with FeLV or FIV. Kittens adopted from shelters get URIs (upper respiratory infections) quite often, including Bordetella (kennel cough). URIs have an incubation period of up to three or four weeks, so even kittens from well-regarded breeders can sometimes have their first, so even a reputable breeder can ignore this situation within a newly adopted kitten.

Therefore, place your kitten in an isolated Safe Space (see above) for a couple of days. Make sure he has his personal single bed, food and water bowl, and litter box. You’ll be able to open the entrance to her “safe area” a bit, as soon as your vet clears it, to allow additional kittens to sniff and look at her. To get your existing cats used to your scent, you can rub your kitty with a towel to impart your scent, then leave the towel in your existing cats’ sleeping area. Reverse the tactic by giving her a towel or blanket that smells like her adult kittens. In a couple of days, you can place her in a carrier and allow additional cats to come in and sniff her. Expect a bit of snarling, cheeky behavior at first; it’s actually intuitive.

For the “resisters,” make an effort not to rush things, except on occasions when the older cats and the new kitten can share pleasurable actions. “Chase the ball” with little Brandon is what my cats enjoy playing. The “ball” may simply be a crumpled part of the document, but it offers interactivity as the cats compete to be the leader in knocking down the “victim.” Sometimes it’s really amazing how repeatedly they allow Brandon to “succeed”.

Almost immediately, within a week or two, the group of them should settle down and get along very well. The group of them should settle down and get along, usually within a week or two. The secret is not to rush things, and to give both parties plenty of personal interest in the meantime. In no time at all, your kitty will be part of your cat crowd.