My dear friend,
I want to share with you some tips and experiences that will help a little kitten adapt to a new home. For a Maine Coon kitten, moving is a joyful and very exciting event. Of course, every kitten experiences stress when moving, and this is completely normal. Try to put yourself in the kitten’s place: he breaks up with his mother, brothers and sisters, leaves his usual home, then he is taken somewhere forever, and now he finds himself in a completely unfamiliar room with new smells and new people. How can you not be scared?
The task of an attentive owner is to minimize this stress and help the kitten smoothly adapt to new conditions. Here are 9 steps to successfully adapt a kitten to a new home:
Step 1. Purchase everything you need for a kitten in advance. This is the food that the kitten ate at the breeder, two bowls (for water and food), a bed with high sides, a tray with wood filler, a carrier, several toys, a cat scratching post, a first aid kit, care products and grooming tools. When the baby arrives at your house, you will not have time to choose certain products, so it is advisable to prepare in advance.
Step 2. Prepare the house in advance for the arrival of the kitten. Isolate the electrical wires, remove small and potentially dangerous objects from the kitten’s access area. Make sure that the trash can, household chemicals, medicines and sharp objects are inaccessible to the baby. Be sure to install anti-lock screens on the windows and put protection on the inner doors so as not to accidentally pinch the little schoolboy. It is better to prepare a safe space in advance so that nothing distracts you from building a kind, trusting relationship with your pet.
Step 3. Take a few days off. Leaving a small Maine Coon kitten alone in an unfamiliar room is not recommended on the first or second day. You must definitely help him get used to a new place and teach him the rules of behavior. From the very first day in the new house, the baby needs to get used to the tray, to his nickname, to his bed. Besides, the baby will just be scared. He needs his loving, caring person more than ever.
Step 4. Ask the breeder to give the baby a box with filler, a diaper or a toy that smells like the kitten’s mother or the house where the baby used to live. Put it in the kitten’s crib. A familiar smell will lift his mood and help him get used to a new place.
Step 5. Introduce your baby to your new home unobtrusively. Let him look around. If at first the kitten hides in a secluded corner and does not want to come out, this is normal. Go about your business quietly, watching the kitten out of the corner of your eye. Very soon, curiosity will win out, and the kitten will go to inspect its new possessions.
Step 6. Be attentive to the kitten’s need to go to the toilet. If the kitten starts walking nervously, looking for a secluded place, even starts digging holes, immediately transfer it to a tray with filler. If you haven’t had time, and the baby has already done his job not in the tray, soak toilet paper or a clean cloth with his urine and put it in the tray. The place where the kitten has relieved its need should be thoroughly rinsed and treated with a remedy for repeated blunders of the baby. At first, it is better to use the same filler that was in the breeder’s tray. You can take the filler from the tray of the kitten’s mother. This will help the baby figure out everything in a new place.
Step 7. Don’t create unnecessary stress. If possible, postpone bathing, visiting the veterinarian and other procedures for several days. If you wanted to invite relatives and friends to introduce them to a kitten, it’s better to do it in a couple of weeks, when the kitten gets more or less used to it. If you already have other cats or a dog, the acquaintance of a new adult with them should also be postponed.
Step 8. The diet should remain the same. Even if you don’t really like the food that the previous owner gave the kitten, you should give it to the kitten first. The little Maine Coon is already experiencing stress, and changing the diet is a serious burden on his body. If you want to change the food, it’s better to do it after the adaptation period. Don’t forget that the transition to a new feed should be smooth, in about 10 days.
Step 9. Decide in advance where the kitten will sleep. If you don’t mind that he sleeps on your pillow and is ready for possible inconveniences, calmly take him to your bed. If this is not your case, get a crib with high sides for a kitten. High sides will create additional comfort and a sense of protection for the baby. It would be great if you put a sheet in the crib that smells like a kitten’s mom. In the first days in the new house, the kitten will probably squeak loudly and ask
I hope that these tips will be useful for you and will help ensure the successful adaptation of the kitten to a new home. Be a caring owner and you will see how your new furry friend will blossom and become the happiest kitten in the world.
With best wishes.
Andrew Sinakin
Maine Coon Cattery “Fire Stone”