Congratulations on your new furry family member!
(If you're thinking of adopting a kitten, jump to the bottom of this page)

Adopting a kitten is a big step to take, and requires a whole new element of responsibility from you. Your kitten will bring you endless hours of joy, but will need a lot of care from you in return.

What You and Your Kitten Will Require:

Here is a list of the essentials that you will need when you bring your new kitten home with you:

litter box
litter scoop
fresh clumping litter (opt for non-dusty, unscented litter)
food and water bowls (avoid plastic)
kitten food (canned)
cat carrier (for transportation to and from your vet's office)
scratching post
nail clippers
cat brush
cat toys

Here is a list of non-essential items that you may not require immediately upon your kitten's arrival at home, but that you may wish to acquire over time to improve your kitten's quality of life:

litter mat
cat bed
cat self-groomer
food dish mat
kibble dispensing ball
cat play tunnel
fresh running water fountain (unfortunately at this time there are only plastic water fountains available: if your cat develops chin acne in reaction to contact with the plastic, then running water fountains may not be advisable for your cat)

Additional Information:

For more information about feeding your kitten, enriching your kitten's life, litter box care, scratching post selection, grooming your kitten, and nail clipping, please refer to these other resources available on this site, including the Know-How Videos.

Veterinary Care:

During your kitten's first year of life (or your newly adopted adult cat's first year of life with you), they are going to require multiple trips to your veterinarian. Your kitten's primary veterinary needs in their first year of life will include the following:

overall health check(s)
vaccine booster series
deworming
ear mite and/or flea treatment if indicated
spay or neuter (sterilization)
Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) testing
microchipping and/or other appropriate forms of identification
behavioral consultation

For more detailed information about your kitten's needs, please see the following articles on Squidoo:

I Just Adopted a Kitten: What Do I Need to Take Care of My Kitten?

A Dozen Key Points on How to Enrich Your Cat's Indoor Environment

What You Can Expect at Home in the First 6 Months:

Life with your new kitten will be exciting, entertaining, and full of unconditional love! Here are a few tidbits of advice about what you can expect while you and your kitten are both acclimatizing to life together in the first 6 months:

Your kitten will litter train him or herself. Unlike a puppy, there will generally be no stressful period of house training. All you need to do is show your kitty where the litter box is, make sure it is easily accessible, and your kitten will take care of the rest! Cats instinctively want a substrate to dig in for doing their business, and as long as you provide them with a healthy litter box set-up, their instincts will guide them in the right direction.

Your kitten may seem to have two modes: energized-playful kitten, and sleepy-cuddly kitten. This is entirely normal! Kittens frequently seem to be either awake & wired, or zonked & sleeping. This is normal kitten behavior.

Some owners worry that their kittens will never cease being as frisky as they are in their first 6 months, and that they will never be able to get a sound night's sleep again. Eventually your kitten will slow down and the nighttime disturbances of having a kitten bounding across your bed at 2 a.m. will become less and less commonplace - just hang in there, and try to play with your kitten as much as possible during daytime hours to tucker them out for later!

Your kitten may seem to have some destructive habits during the first few months of life with you. From climbing the sheer curtains and the screen door, to scratching locations that are definitely not their scratching posts, you may feel a bit like you've brought a small, furry little monster into your home. Again, this is normal kitten rambunctiousness, and it will decline as he or she gets older and learns what areas of the home are meant for play, and what areas of the home are not. These kitten activities are not reasons to have your kitten declawed; it is simply a phase and one that can be well controlled with methods such as nail trimming, Soft Paw application, behavioral modification training, and environmental enrichment.

Thinking About Adopting a Kitten or Cat?

So you are contemplating adopting a kitten or cat, and you are not quite sure where to start, or if this is the right choice to make at this point in your life. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when making this decision:

- If you adopt a feline friend, he or she may be with you anywhere from fifteen to twenty five years. Cats live a long time, and as such they are a long-lasting commitment! Spur of the moment impulses to adopt kittens or cats should not be acted upon because if the decision is later regretted, the kitten/cat will have to deal with the stress of a change of home, being placed in a shelter, and, even worse, getting euthanized if they do not get re-adopted.

- Take the time to carefully think through your decision to adopt a cat. Remember that cats require a financial commitment. Cats will require veterinary care throughout their lives, and their needs will increase as they age; diagnostic screening tests, dental work, and disease treatments are part and parcel of owning an aging cat. Additionally, unexpected and costly veterinary care may be needed along the way, even when cats are healthy young adults: foreign body surgeries, toxicities, cat fight wounds, traumatic accidents, and other such unforeseen situations may occur. It is imperative to ensure that you are equipped to provide your kitty with veterinary care when the need may arise. If you do not think that you can afford such costly veterinary care but truly wish to adopt and care for a cat, then I strongly urge you to consider getting pet insurance for your cat; your cat needs to be enrolled in a pet insurance program before there are any documented health problems, so be sure to do so as soon as you adopt your cat.

- Where to obtain your kitty: pet store, breeder, or rescue cat (ie. stray cat or shelter cat)? The answer is the last option listed. Pet stores and breeders make a business out of creating and selling pets; the overpopulation problem in North America is astounding, and every year millions of unwanted cats are euthanized. Rather than endorsing this business, rescue one of the many kittens or adult cats that are in need of good, loving homes. A shelter kitty will cost you far less money than purchasing a pet store or purebred cat, and will give you every bit as much love and joy in return for your good deed as a purchased kitty would. Additionally, purebred cats are a poor choice because they suffer a much greater prevalence of genetic disease due to their inbreeding: yet another reason that adopting a 'mutt' cat is a more ethically sound decision, and you will also save yourself veterinary bills by doing so!