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Hello - I had a real anxiety dream about our new kitten last night. I'm wondering how to handle the first few nights. Do I shut her in a room on her own??? Or let her decide where to sleep? Does she need to sleep near a litter tray?
i will give her the freedom of the house eventually but I don't know what to do at first. Any advice would be appreciated!
Hi - I know some people advise that you shut the kitten in a room on her own for the first few nights. Obviously if you did that she'd need food & a litter tray. Personally, I've never gone for that approach with a kitten (and neither did our breeder recommend it either). When we brought Dixie home, we only had to show her once where the food and litter tray was . We got her home around lunch time, and by tea time she was following us round the house and could find her own way around fine. We put her bed where we intended her to sleep long term (bedroom next to ours) and showed her where it was - however we never shut her in & left her with the run of the house. When I woke up in the morning, she was curled up next to our bed and she'd been downstairs in the night to finish her food & use her tray! Please don't worry - she'll be fine whatever you decide!
Thank you! My little girl is desperate for our kitten to sleep with her! I'm sure that's where bluebell will end up, no matter what I plan!
Our four furkids sleep wherever they like. Eventually your kitten will settle on his or her favorite place, or they might do a "rotation" with family members. I think kitties feel punished if you separate them from the rest of the house, and there's nothing sweeter than a fuzzy, purring bundle to keep your feet warm!!
first night with my Charlotte, RIP, she slept with me, under my tee-shirt. (I'm an extremely light sleeper so I knew there was no way I could hurt her)
-> we went on to have the most fantastic bond ever.
first night with Neevie, she slept out of the bedroom because HO wanted her to get used to it from the start -> now she's rather independant (for a house cat) and quite honestly we have a less strong bond.
I don't know if it's related. It may absolutely not be. Next cat, though, I know where she's sleeping that first night.
My cats have quite delicate dispositions and get anxious easily, so I couldn't bear letting them spend the first night by themselves. Everything had changed for them, and after leaving their families I didn't want them to feel completely alone. Even having access to our bedroom and bathroom where the litter box was, though, my little boy got scared and spent the first night crying by the window (talk about melodramatic!). They get over it. :)
I shut mine in the kitchen for the first few nights, partly so she could get use to a new place, plus she knew where her food and water was and more importantly her littler tray.
When I was at home would leave the door open, and she would soon start to explore