New kitten checklist
A kitten settles into a room before it settles into a house — set the space up first, then bring them into a home that is already ready for them.
20 items
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
The items
- Litter tray×2One per cat plus one spare, in a corner they can find without you showing them twice.
- LitterThe same kind they were already using, if you can find out. Changing litter and home in the same week upsets both.
- Litter scoop
- Food and water bowls×2
- Kitten food, the same brand they are already eatingSwitch gradually over a week once they've settled — a sudden change of food on top of a new home is a lot at once.
- Bed or a covered hiding spotKittens hide when everything is unfamiliar. Give them somewhere legal to do it rather than behind the sofa.
- Scratching postPut it near wherever they already want to scratch, not wherever looks tidiest.
- Carrier for the journey home and every vet trip afterBuy it now. The first time they see it should not be the morning of an injection.
- Kitten-proofing the room
- Trailing wires tucked away or boxed in
- Small objects picked up off the floorKittens investigate with their mouths.
- Windows and balcony doors checked for gaps
- Toxic houseplants moved out of reachLilies are the one that kills — check before anything else.
- Toys, a couple of different kindsYou won't know which one they'll like until you watch them ignore the expensive one for the box it came in.
- Vet registeredDo this before you need it, not during the first emergency.
- First vaccinations booked
- Microchipping bookedLegally required within eight weeks of getting a cat in the UK.
- Flea and worming treatment arranged
- Insurance sorted before anything happensCover starts from the day it's bought, not the day something goes wrong.
- Nail clippers
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- How long should a kitten stay in one room before exploring the house?
- A few days to a week, until they're eating, using the litter tray and coming to you confidently. Rushing this is what causes weeks of hiding under the bed.
- What is the one item people forget?
- A second litter tray. One tray for one cat sounds like enough until they decide the only tray in the house is needed for something else.
- When should the first vet visit be?
- Within the first week, even if they seem healthy — it's when vaccination timing gets set and any early problems get caught before they become bigger ones.