Your kitten is moving in: Preparation & checklists

When a kitten moves in, the first time will be exciting. Before you take your kitten home with you, you can take some important precautions for the pick-up and acclimatisation during the first time in the new home. We give you tips & checklists for a successful start in your new home.

1. Preparation: What do I need to consider when collecting my kitten?

It is very important to be well prepared for the arrival of the kitten.
You should make sure that your home is cat-safe. To do this, you can set up a room where the kitten will spend the first few days.
You also need to have the necessary initial equipment and the right kitten food ready for the kitten.

For the journey home, you will need a kitten transport box in which you can place a cosy blanket. Also take paper towels and a spare blanket with you in case the kitten wets itself.
If you are travelling by car, drive slowly and make sure that the transport box is either fastened with the seat belt or held by a passenger. Keep calm so as not to frighten the kitten.
If you cover the transport basket lightly, your velvet kitten will feel safe.

Your checklist:

Cat-proofing your home
Initial equipment (bowls, litter tray, toys, etc.)
Cat transport box (with a cosy blanket)
Paper towels for the journey
Blanket (to lightly cover the transport basket)

2. Preparation: Home & garden safety

Home safety

Think in advance about what things in your home could be dangerous for a kitten and which places you should secure.

These include:

Cooking area and fireplace (keep kittens away or install protection)
Balcony railings and window ledges on higher floors with protective grilles secure
Keep certain doors closed (on washing machines, ovens, fridges and freezers)
Keep windows, drawers and cupboards closed
Plants (some plants are poisonous to cats!)
Close toilets and rubbish bins
Put fragile valuables out of reach
Cover electrical cables and sockets
Store cleaning agents and toxic substances safely
Put away poisonous food (e.g. onions, cow's milk, grapes, chocolate, etc.)
Put away sharp objects, plastic bags, things made of foam, pins, drawing pins, etc.

Garten safety

Securing gates and fences
Poisonous garden plants
Places where there is a risk of injury or getting stuck
Cover or secure ponds and fountains
Clear away hazardous substances (e.g. fertilisers, paints, etc.)

3. Pick up kitten: The ideal time

Before a kitten is separated from its mother and siblings, it should be around twelve weeks old.
For a good start with your new four-legged friend, it is helpful to have a few days of peace and quiet and no visitors at home. It is best to pick up your kitten in the morning or mid-morning so that the whole day can be used to familiarise them with their new home.

4. Pick up kitten: Helpful tips for moving in

When you pick up your cat, take a sample of the cat family's scent home with you, e.g. by rubbing a cloth on the cat's cheeks. This familiar scent will help your velvet paw to settle in. It is also helpful if the kitten already knows your scent. You can give the owner of the mother cat a shirt that you have worn, for example.

Once at home, the kitten should be given time to get used to the sounds of its new surroundings. First leave it alone in a closed room to get used to the sounds of the family and its surroundings. Children and other pets should be patient at first so as not to overwhelm the kitten. The kitten will then gradually become accustomed to all the rooms, the family and other pets. Set up fixed routines in the first week and start socialising slowly and gradually, including visiting friends.

Kittens are very delicate and because their bones are not yet strong and break easily, kittens should be handled with care. Pick up the kitten by placing the flat of your hand under its body and lifting its hind legs with the other hand.

Caution: Do not lift the kitten by the fur on its neck! If your kitten wriggles around, hold it flat above the floor so that it can jump off.

5. Kitten at home: Vet & vaccinations

It is helpful to know the contact details of a trustworthy vet now so that you can make an appointment for a check-up and possibly the next vaccination a few days after you pick up your kitten.
As a rule, kittens are vaccinated for the first time from the eighth week of life. The recommendation of the Standing Committee on Vaccination provides for basic immunisation with further vaccinations at twelve and sixteen weeks of age. This is then completed with a revaccination at the age of fifteen months.
You can also speak to your vet if you would like to have your kitten microchipped.

Important: The microchip must then be registered with Tasso!

6. When is the kitten time over?

From the eighth week of life, a kitten enters its adolescent phase; from the tenth week, a kitten grows very quickly. Most cat breeds are sexually mature around the fourth month of life. After nine to twelve months, many kittens are already fully grown. At one year old, kittens are considered adult cats.