How to Introduce a Kitten to a New Home

Are you the proud new parent of an adopted kitten (or just about to become one)? Congrats! Bringing a new feline friend into your life is exciting, but it also comes with an adjustment period. The good news? A little prep goes a long way in making your new kitten’s transition home smoother.

To help your tiny roommate get comfortable, you can start by kitten-proofing your space and setting up a quiet cozy room where they can decompress. And most importantly, be patient. Settling into a new home takes time, but with a little care (and a lot of love), your new kitty will be ruling the house in no time.

How to help your kitten adjust to their new home

This new cat checklist can guide you in everything you need to do when welcoming a new kitten into your home.

1. Kitten-proof your place

One of the first things you should do when bringing home a new kitten is cat-proof your house and be aware of common household hazards, including keeping breakable objects out of reach, covering electric cords, cables, and phone chargers, putting away household cleaners, and hiding sharp objects. Secure window screens — even if they’re quite happy in their new homes — new kitties can pull off a window screen (often seemingly miraculously). The escapee is then disoriented and can very likely become lost and injured.

“When preparing their home for a cat, especially if this is their first cat, [pet parents] should look at their house plants, making sure that they’re cat-friendly and not toxic,” says Paula Plummer, a veterinary technician at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine. Here’s another crucial tip: make sure cabinet doors are difficult to open, as cats can learn how to open them.

2. Contact a veterinarian

You can also prepare for a new kitten by scheduling a trip to the veterinarian. Kittens should see a vet within the first week of coming to their new home as they will likely need some vital vaccines, such as those that protect against feline herpes virus, feline leukemia, rabies, and other diseases. Kittens are also particularly vulnerable to parasites, so they may need regular fecal exams and deworming. They should also be spayed or neutered if old enough.

3. Plan for a safe ride home

One of the most important things to remember is that it’s completely normal for a kitten to be scared when they enter your home, especially after a car trip. Unlike dogs, most cats do not enjoy traveling in a car, so do not leave them loose or try to hold them in your lap or on the seat next to you when bringing them home. They might panic and cause an accident or try to hide and get stuck under a seat. In a car, it is safest for them to secure them in a cat carrier lined with an easily washable towel or a few sheets of newspaper. They may complain by meowing (some more loudly than others), but some cats relax with soothing music or if you sing along.

4. Create a quiet spot

You can make your new kitten’s transition to your household as comfortable as possible by selecting a quiet, closed-in area, such as your bedroom or a small room away from the main foot traffic, and set it up with everything they’ll need, including a litter box, bed, scratching post, toys, food, and water. “Cats need their own private areas so that they can adjust to their new environment in their own time, but they should also have lots of positive interactions with anyone living in the home to know humans are safe,” Plummer says.

Then close any other pets (and humans) in a separate room, and carry your new cat into the starter room while they’re still in their cat carrier. Set the carrier down, and open the carrier’s door. Allow the kitten to come out (or not) at their own speed. Leave the carrier in the room with them if they want to hide in it.

Once home, it can take days or weeks for them to adjust to their new environment; Let them adjust at their own pace.

5. Prep the litter box

If possible, make the starter room the permanent location of the litter box. If you plan on moving the litter box after bringing home your new kitten, you’ll need two litter boxes; keep the first litter box in the starter room and put a new litter box in the new location. Once your kitten is using the new litter box, you can slowly move the first litter box closer and closer to the new one. When they are next to each other, remove one box.

Once your kitty has adjusted and seems relaxed and happy in their starter room, you can open the door and let them explore the rest of your home for the first time. If you have other pets, though, see the section below about introducing your pets.

6. Intro them to other pets

Even the friendliest kitties often need a few days to feel safe in a new environment, so if you have other pets, don’t introduce them to your new pet immediately. You can find more detailed instructions for introducing your new cat or kitten to resident cats, but there are a few essential things to know.

• Keep pets separated in their own room

• Shelter/rescue cats should wait 14 days to prevent disease

• Connect with your cat one-on-one first

• Give them plenty of time to adjust to new sights and smells

• Initial introductions between pets should be done through a barrier

• Supervise all interactions between pets

Keep other pets separated at first

In order to avoid common problems faced when introducing cats too soon, keep your new pet totally separated in their own room. For multi-cat households, when your new kitten is from a shelter, rescue, or kennel, this separation period should be 14 days to prevent spreading contagious diseases during their incubation period. Before making any pet introductions, let the new kitten get to know and trust you, and let your other pets discover they are still loved — although they smell a new furry one in the house, they are not going to lose their home and family.

Introduce other pets by scent

Allow your pets lots of time to sniff under the door to the new pet’s starter room. You can try switching rooms for a while and let the new cat explore the house while your current pet sniffs around the room. Feeding them on opposite sides of a closed door can also help create positive associations.

Let them greet each other in stages

As they progress, you can introduce them at a distance. For example, you can place a baby gate across the doorway of the safe room and open the door for an initial greeting.

Once your pets can do this calmly, you’ll be able to let them interact in the same space, but you’ll want to micromanage these interactions and keep food and litter box areas separate.

Be patient and understanding

Take it slow. Some kittens will walk around and want to explore right away, but more typically, cats will take between one to two days to a couple of weeks to adjust to a new home. This is totally normal, and you should give your cat space — but make sure they are eating and using the litter box daily, even if they are hiding.

Commonly asked questions

What should I feed my new cat or kitten?

Kittens should eat wet kitten food at first, then transition to solid food. You can learn more about cat nutrition here.

What are some common household hazards I should be aware of when bringing a cat home?

Common household hazards include breakable objects, electric cords, cables and phone chargers, toxic plants, household cleaners, and sharp objects.

References

Henton, Lesley. “How to Successfully Introduce New Cats to Other Pets.” Texas A&M Today, 14 Dec. 2023, today.tamu.edu/2023/12/14/how-to-successfully-introduce-new-cats-to-other-pets/.

‌“New Pets | Indoor Pet Initiative.” Osu.edu, 2025, indoorpet.osu.edu/cats/feline-life-stressors/new-pets. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.

‌