New Kitten Checklist: The First Week

A new kitten checklist for the first week comes down to a few things: one quiet room, food and water kept away from the litter tray, a vet booked, and a shared note of how each day went. Everything else can wait until your kitten has settled.

This guide is about organising the week, not about food, amounts or health decisions. Your vet is the person for those. For more guides like this, see our new pet guides.

What should you set up before your kitten arrives?

Set up one small, quiet room with everything your kitten needs, and cat-proof it before the carrier comes through the door. Cats Protection recommends a quiet, escape-proof sanctuary room away from busy or noisy parts of the home, and VCA Animal Hospitals says to remove items that can injure or be swallowed, such as string, cords and rubber bands. Walk through the room 1 day before you collect your kitten, at kitten height, and fix anything within reach.

Ask the breeder or shelter what your kitten has been eating and which litter they use. Cats Protection suggests keeping the food and litter your kitten already knows and changing them gradually. If you want to change anything, ask your vet first.

What happens on arrival day?

Take your kitten straight to the quiet room, open the carrier and let them come out in their own time. Cats Protection is blunt about it: don't pull them out or force them to interact.

If your kitten stays hidden for about 30 minutes, VCA suggests gently lifting the top of the carrier and showing them where the food, water and litter tray are. After that, keep things calm and predictable:

• Let the kitten approach you, rather than picking them up straight away.
• Keep handling brief and gentle.
• Keep visitors and noise low for the first few days.
• Give the kitten lots of time in this room before a tour of the house.

Some kittens settle in days and some need a few weeks, so a shy first week is normal. It isn't a sign you're doing it wrong. If you share the house with family or roommates, agree who looks after the kitten at which times, so the kitten sees the same few calm faces and the same routine each day.

How do you set up the litter tray?

Put the tray in a quiet, private spot away from the food and water, and keep it clean. Cats Protection suggests one tray per cat plus one extra, a large tray, and at least 3 cm of litter. VCA adds that a low-sided box may be easier for a very small kitten at first, and that using the same litter as the previous home helps.

Empty the tray at least once a day, and wash it each week with water and a cat-safe disinfectant. Cats Protection warns against phenol-based disinfectants, which are toxic to cats.

If your kitten seems to struggle with the tray, note what you see and tell your vet.

How do you use the checklist across the week?

Give each part of the week one job. Then nobody has to remember it all at once.

1. Day 1: Quiet room, carrier open, tray shown, no pressure.
2. Days 2 and 3: Keep the routine the same. Same room, same bowls, same quiet.
3. Days 4 and 5: Short, gentle handling sessions. Ask your vet when to expect the first check.
4. Days 6 and 7: Read through your notes and write down your questions for the vet.

Already have a dog or cat at home? VCA suggests keeping resident pets leashed or held during first meetings, giving the kitten somewhere to retreat, and keeping feeding and sleeping areas separate for a while. It says introductions can take about one to two weeks. If a puppy is also joining the house, our new puppy first week checklist works the same way.

What should you write down and ask the vet?

Write down what you see, and leave the judging to your vet. Cats Protection says to register with a local vet as soon as possible and arrange a health check soon after your kitten arrives. It also notes that kittens can decline quickly, so contact your vet straight away if your kitten seems unwell.

A short note each day is enough:

• Eating and drinking: when, and how much they took.
• Litter tray: used or not, and anything that looked different.
• Hiding or exploring, and where.
• Handling: what they tolerated and what they did not.
• Questions for the vet.

Bring any records from the breeder or shelter to the appointment. Our first vet visit checklist lists what else to take. Ask your vet about vaccinations, parasite prevention and microchipping. Cats Protection advises keeping a kitten indoors in the first week, and says outdoor time should wait until your vet agrees the kitten is ready.

Keep track of it

The first week goes best when everyone in the house writes things down in the same place. Paw Crew, coming soon to iPhone, keeps a Day Ledger where you log feeding, litter tray visits and notes in a few taps, with reminders that mark done once someone has done the job. With household sharing, everyone sees what has already been done, so nobody feeds twice and nobody forgets the vet question. When it is time for the appointment, you have the notes ready to show.

Bottom line

Keep the first week small: one quiet room, bowls apart from the tray, a vet registered and a short note each day. Let your kitten set the pace, and take your questions to your vet.