Preparing for new MC

So it's a little over a week until Chiyo gets to come home (god its flown by I'm so EXCITED) so this weekend if official "Kitten proofing weekend" so I was wondering if I could get some advise on things to look out for/ things I can do to make her comfortable and confident when she gets here and how quickly I should open up the whole house to her. I'll be doing a massive tidy up on the weekend finding a new system for the blinds cable so its tucked away, tidying up cables and checking for and small holes i may have previously missed. I'm not sure what to do about the litter box as well it was initially going to live with her in the living room until I opened up everything else but then I'm worried moving it to the bathroom would then confuse her so should I just open up the living room and bathroom straight away so that the box is always in the bathroom and is less likely to cause accidents.

If her litter tray is going to be in the bathroom full time then yep start it off there,felines are very clever & as long as you show her where it is & she can get into it then you should have no problem,our cats have their own room {where the trays are also}so normally have that room & sitting room door open all the time from the start,to begin with you will find that there are more hidey places then you could ever imagine even if it is only the one room,don't overcrowd her let her find her own paws,some are straight in & down others take a bit longer,give her a couple of beds but don't be surprised if she uses neither & a nice little box with toys in that she can have a root about to find what will become her favourite play thing. I do envy you there is nothing like having a furry babe join the family,I have been lucky enough to go through having several of them & oh boy the time wasting never alters,each one you marvel at just how wonderful they are & as their personality grows so does the love for them,enjoy....xxx

Thanks for the advice! I'll probably give her access to the living room, hallway and bathroom straight away so everything is where it is normally going to be then open up the bedroom and the side room late on. Built her Kitty City tree yesterday (pics when i get back from work). Now just need to try hide all the wires for the TV etc. but I'm not sure how successful that will be :P just have to hope she doesn't find them fascinating or this could get very complicated!

whatever you do, don't leave your really expensive wireless phone headset out in the open, those nasty monsters can chew stuff. Also they have a habit of going over the shelves and checking of things that can fall. The rule is: if it can be pushed off a shelf, it shouldn't be on it, and kitty will help making sure that rule is followed to the letter - some rules, kitty likes. Seriously, you should have seen our house after Hurricane Neevie first went through it!

It is so exciting getting a kitten! My only advice is to keep you laptop closed when not using it! Ginger has adjusted my setting several times and may have sent out a few emails :) She is always knocking things off our desks, so now we try and keep the office door closed when it is not in use! Good luck and have fun with the new kitten!

its a great feeling,but a nervous one in the early days,maxwell had our optical cable out of our tv which is on the wall :LOL:

I am so excited for you ! I am new and awaiting my baby to also trying to get things right and the replies you have had I have taken heed of to. I cant offer you advise cos this is a steep learning curve for me to but I am excited for you. Hope we see plenty of pics when Chiyo comes home. x

I'm so excited for you! My tips: Do not leave valuable rings, earrings etc on your vanity unattended - they like to claim shiny things as their own (ask me how I know!). Keep toilet seats down. Ditto about keeping laptops, iPads and desktop keyboards protected from curious paws. Keep your camera ready. Be prepared to laugh at something new everyday!

Can't wait to see pictures! Beware of leaving any food out, wrapped or unwrapped. If Chiyo can reach it, she may eat it. Our guy loves to eat 1st then decide if it's edible or not and if he likes it or not. He'll also be there in a blink eating whatever we've dropped before it hits the floor.

Check out the "Dear Cat, Some House Rules..." thread under the "Off Topic Area" of the Forum. This may also answer questions about what the little furball can get into. There are a ton of posts in the thread, which may seem overwhelming, but it's good reading and provides belly laughs.

Best wishes.

is Chiyo there yet?? :AddEmoticons00918::AddEmoticons00918::AddEmoticon s00918:

Sorry been a bit distracted for a couple of days! Tomorrow is the big day! Picking her up at 10am I can't wait I half expect to get home from work tonight and go straight to bed just so it can be tomorrow! Also thanks for all the great advise! I'm over thinking most of this and it will probably be much easier than I am anticipating :P Trying to decide if it's better to open the carrier in the bathroom 1st so she sees the litter box first or the living room so she see's food first :P think I'll go for the bathroom got an hour and a half drive home 1st so I think she would appreciate that more she can find the food later

Good luck with the most anticipated arrival! It is nice to know that others worry about the sames things I did! I made some mistakes but all in all it went well. I started with Miss Gingers box in the family room because we could gate the Beagles out. Then as she got bigger I moved it to our bathroom, I showed her the box and she never forgot! When she was spayed, I moved it back to the family room as I was concerned about her jumping the gate and then back to to the bathroom. She keeps up with the moves and thank goodness always finds the litter box! You will laugh and be so happy when you get your baby home!!! Try and relax and enjoy the new kitty.Attachment 6832

heyyyyy happy day!!! do take plenty of pictures/videos!

yup same for Neevie and all my other cats - only time they did any kind of nasty business anywhere else was when I forgot to clean up their poopoo-house or once I decided it would be a good idea to put a flap on Neevie's one - so that... you know.... she can close the door and have some privacy... Fortunately I had left her carrier box on top, with the door wide open, and with a nice comfy dry little mattress inside.... in the morning the mattress wasn't dry any more, I was surprised at the amount such a little thing (at the time she was still little) could produce.

If you like, you can just pick your baby up, put her inside the box, and help her scratch inside by holding her legs.... I did that, coz I read it helps them get the idea...

First time we brought Neevie home, she just ran and hid between the oven and the fridge, right in the most dangerous place of the kitchen... We had a really hard time getting her out of there!

Hii Chiyo's home now but has decided that hiding under the reclining couch (typically the one i forgot to sweep under :pissed: shes got dust bunnies all in her fur now!) is the best idea. She played with a ribbon etc but then goes and hides. If i stroke her shes purring away so i think shes just missing her brothers and sisters a bit. She hasn't come out for and food or water or the bathroom yet which worries me a little but i'll jsut keep an eye on her and hopefully by the end of tonight she will have. :)

Chiyo is now pretty settled. She came out from Hiding and had a good explore she's still a little timid if people walk by or someone walks down the hallway but she's quick to come out of hiding and look around. She's thankfully eating, drinking and using the litter box now :) She is very vocal with the cutest little meow it makes my heart melt! She is also a massive purr machine as soon as you start stroking her she starts purring really loudly i love it :D Was really nice waking up and seeing her curled up at the end of the bed this morning (boyfriend tried to discourage her but she was having none of it and i didn't want her to feel lonely). Even since seeing her 3 weeks ago she's bigger! i can't wait to watch her grow. Just need to get her to stop nipping and scratching our hands then he wants to play

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aww she is a real cutie