Bringing a kitten home is a special moment — and a bit stressful for the little one. In the first few days, your cat is discovering a whole new world. With a good start, the settling-in period is much quicker and smoother.
Get your home ready before they arrive
Before you go to collect them, make sure you have the following ready: a litter tray, food and water in separate bowls, a bed or bedside, and a few toys. Keep cleaning products, loose electrical cables and toxic plants out of reach. See the full list of essentials before bringing your pet home.
Safety first: windows and balconies
This is the one that hurts the most when it goes wrong. Cats fall from balconies and windows far more often than you might think — not because they’re clumsy, but because they get distracted chasing a bird or an insect and lose their footing. And no, they don’t always ‘land on their feet’ without consequences: falls from lower floors can actually be worse, because they don’t have time to right themselves.
If you live in a flat, safety nets on balconies and tilt-and-turn windows are no overkill — they’re the difference between a scare and an emergency. Pay particular attention to tilt-and-turn windows: the cat may try to squeeze through the wedge-shaped opening, get stuck and suffer serious injury.
Start with a single room
Don’t open up the whole house at once. Choose a quiet room with everything they need and let them explore at their own pace. A small, safe space gives them confidence; the whole house at once tends to be overwhelming.
After a few days, once he’s settled in that room — eating well, using the litter tray and playing — gradually give him access to the rest of the house, preferably under supervision the first few times.
The litter tray
Place it in a quiet spot, away from their food. Show them where it is right from the start. Cats are naturally clean — in most cases, they just need to know where it is. Keep the litter clean: a cat that refuses to use the tray is often simply telling you that it’s dirty.
Rule of thumb: one litter tray per cat, plus one. For a small kitten, also make sure it can get in without difficulty — very high sides are a real barrier in the first few weeks.
Food and water
If possible, stick to the same food they were already eating for the first few days, so as not to add a change in diet to the stress of moving house. Any change in food should be gradual, spread over a week.
Keep the water bowl away from the food bowl: many cats drink less when the bowls are placed next to each other, and hydration is important for long-term urinary health.
Play with toys, never with your hands
It may seem harmless to let your kitten bite and grab your fingers — he’s small and won’t hurt you. The problem is that you’re teaching him that hands are prey, and that lesson won’t fade once he weighs four kilos and has adult claws.
Always use a toy on a stick, a ball or a soft toy mouse as an intermediary. And end each session by letting it ‘catch’ and bite the toy: a chase that never ends in a catch leads to frustration. If he grabs your hand, don’t pull away or shout — just stop moving and redirect him towards a toy.
Give him time
Some kittens explore everything in a matter of minutes; others hide away for a day or two. Both are perfectly normal. Let him come to you, sit on the floor and speak softly. Trust is earned through patience, not by force.
Continue to gently introduce it to new things — the hoover, visitors, the carrier, having its paws and ears touched. In cats, the most sensitive period for socialisation happens very early on, whilst they’re still with their mother, but positive and gradual exposure afterwards continues to make a difference to the adult cat they’ll become. Link every new experience to something positive: a treat, a cuddle, a game.
If you already have other pets at home
Don’t introduce them face-to-face on the first day. The process that usually works well is a gradual one: first, just a scent (swap blankets between them, let them get used to the smell under the door), then seeing each other without touching (a barrier or a half-open door), and only then short, supervised encounters, always with an escape route for each of them.
Initial growls and snorts are normal communication, not a sign of failure. What mustn’t happen is constant chasing or physical confrontation — in that case, take a step back and proceed more slowly.
The first visit to the vet
Book an appointment within the first few days for a general check-up, worming and a vaccination schedule. This is also the right time to discuss neutering when the time comes, and to arrange for a microchip and registration with the SIAC, which is compulsory in Portugal.
Intestinal parasites are common in kittens, often passed on by the mother — we explain the signs and prevention of roundworms in cats.
Signs that require immediate attention
A kitten has few reserves and its condition deteriorates quickly — what you might be able to monitor for another day in an adult cat is not an option with a kitten. Contact your vet without delay if you notice:
- refusal to eat for more than a few hours, or a marked loss of appetite;
- listlessness, lethargy or feeling cold to the touch;
- repeated diarrhoea or vomiting;
- difficulty breathing, or breathing with its mouth open;
- a very distended or painful abdomen;
- failure to urinate, or straining without success;
- pale gums.
With plenty of space, a regular routine and a calm environment, in just a few days you’ll have a curious and confident kitten making your house its home. 🐾
Informative content, revised in August 2026. This is not a substitute for a veterinary consultation.