Kitten confidential: Essential tips for new cat parents

Are you ready for an onslaught of adorable? Because that’s what’s coming your way when you decide to bring home your first kitten. Of course there’s more to being a cat parent than filling your entire camera roll with shots of your fluffy new bestie — cats can be very particular creatures and sharing your home with one (or more) requires a bit of prep work and some tips from the pros.

Here’s how to handle the kitten period while hanging on to your sanity and keeping your charming, wild, mischievous, and hopefully cuddly new housemate happy and healthy.

Kitten in the house!

One of the biggest misconceptions about cats, says veterinarian Dr. Garrett Schuilenberg is “that your cat has to go outside to live a happy life.” In fact, indoor cats are safer from disease and parasites, fights with other animals, and traffic to name just a few hazards.

That said, you want to make sure your home is an environment where your cat has what it needs. Before bringing home a kitten, equip your space with these essential items:

• 1. A scratching post with cat appeal

  Scratching is a fact of feline life and a way for cats to sharpen nails and mark territory. While it’s not a behaviour you want to discourage, it’s also not one you want them to practice on your new couch. Choose a post with a secure base and a rough surface, then place it in an area where you’ve seen your cat scratching, or close to their favourite snoozing spot. As an extra incentive, spray the post with catnip or honeysuckle.

  When you see your kitten using their post, reward her with a treat. Until your cat truly takes to the post, cover your furniture or spray scratch-prone surfaces with a pet-safe deterrent.

• 2. A room with a view

  Indoor cats love to see what’s happening in the great outdoors almost as much as they love to sunbathe. Make sure there’s a place where your cat can do both.

• 3. Toys that inspire

  Kittens require both the intellectual and physical stimulation toys can provide. A new toy is exciting for a kitten and you can keep that excitement alive by rotating the toys she plays with. Make sure to spend time playing along with them (laser toys are great for this) so that you and your kitten can bond.

Purrfecting a picky eater’s palate

“A lot of cats are picky eaters,” says Kylie Hogan, a product developer and nutritionist at Performatrin. “So when you find a food that they like, it's kind of hard to switch.” With kittens, introducing them to a wide variety of healthy cat foods — while keeping their preferred kibble a constant — is a great way to expand their palate.

“You want to introduce them to as much as you can,” Hogan explains, “but keeping that base food the same is the most important thing so that they sustain proper growth.” She recommends rotating wet foods and treats to inspire your kitten to become a cat foodie.

Hogan says that the biggest nutritional issue she sees with cats is overfeeding and excess weight (learn more about how seasonal changes can impact your cat’s weight here). “People aren't as active in their cats' lives as they should be. And that's even apparent when it comes to nutrition.”

She advises cat parents to keep an eye on young cats in terms of their food intake, body weight, and physical activity. “When you can attack that at a young age, that's going to set them up for success in their later lives.” Leaner animals tend to live longer, says Hogan. And if your cat is lean when they’re younger, they can carry that into adulthood.

Litter box 101: “You want me to do what? Where?”

Kitten toilet training is probably priority number one when integrating a new cat into your home. Luckily, practice can begin as soon as your kitten arrives. You’ll want to be prepared by setting up the ideal litter box situation ahead of time.

Invest in a box that’s large enough — the “good things come in small packages” axiom doesn’t apply here. A comfortable box will be at least 17” by 22” in terms of area. Ideally your cat’s primary box length and width should be at least 1.5 x the length of your cat from nose to tail tip), and 19” tall if your cat prefers a box with a cover. Keep the box lined with around 3.5” to 4” of litter so that your cat has a firm surface to walk on.

Place it in a well-ventilated, well-lit spot that’s quiet and stress-free making sure that access is never blocked by a closed door. In larger homes, multiple boxes are also a good idea. When purchasing, it’s important to follow the litter box rule. The litter box rule is 1 litter box per cat + 1. For example, in a household with 3 cats, there should be 4 litter boxes in total. Providing multiple bathroom facilities can help to ease tensions in multi-cat households providing additional space and access to clean litter.

In houses with more than one cat, it’s important to spread litter boxes out and create separate litter areas. If all the litter boxes are in the same area, cats will view this as a single litter box. For example, for a single cat in a two-story home, instead of placing two litter boxes by the back door, Devoted Pet Lovers should consider moving one litter box to the upper level if the cat does not have issues with mobility.

Now that setup is taken care of, it’s time to get approval. From your kitten. Like with…well…everything, cats can be picky about the type of litter they’re willing to do their business on.

First-time kitten parents need to decide between a simple non-clumping litter or a clumping brand that makes cleanup easier. It’s entirely possible that your kitten won’t like either. Testing out materials (pine, newspaper, silica) and scents until you find one you both agree on, is all part of the process. But be on the lookout for allergies, since certain litters can set off reactions.

As for training and behaviour reinforcement, after allowing your kitten time to sniff and explore the outside of the litter box, gently place them inside. Many kittens will paw at the clean litter instinctively. If they don’t, show them how to with your own “paws.” Keep placing them in the box after eating, drinking or napping until they begin to seek it out and use it on their own.

Once a kitten, now a catfluencer

Cats may play it cool but we’re quite sure that most of them want to be social media stars. Setting up an Instagram or TikTok account for your new kitten is a fantastic way to document their antics all the way into adulthood — even if they don’t go viral.

Famous felines like @benbencatcat won us over by sharing heart-warming backstories and perfect pussycat pouts. Take a page from BenBen’s book and share the tale of how your kitten came into your life.

Do you have a gorgeous kitten with a movie star face like @sukiicat or @fomo.the.cat? Focus on their best feature while taking snapshots for the ‘gram.

Then there are the cats with skills. @goalkitty (real name: Keys) is all about sharing her talent for a particular pose while @pompous.albert is a catty comedy genius.

Whatever your kitten’s strength is, be sure to post well-lit, high-resolution photos and consider tagging other catfluencers who inspire you.

Finally: don’t post *too* often, cats are experts at leaving their fans wanting more.