Bringing Your New Kitten Home

Picking Up Your Kitten

When picking up your kitten, all you'll need is a secure carrier lined with a small towel or blanket. Your kitten will be fine without food, water, or a litter box during the trip home if it's only a few hours of travel.

Settling In

Before your kitten arrives, prepare a small, quiet room or area with food, water, a litter box, toys, and a comfortable place to rest. This will give your kitten a safe space to adjust to their new surroundings.

For the first few nights, your kitten may miss their mother and littermates, so we recommend keeping them in a room close to you or where you sleep.

When you first arrive home, place the carrier in the designated room, open the door, and allow your kitten to come out and explore at their own pace. Sit quietly and let them investigate their new environment. Once they seem comfortable, gentle play with a toy can be a wonderful way to begin building trust and bonding.

After a day or two, as your kitten gains confidence, you can gradually allow them access to more areas of your home.

A Note for Allergy Sufferers

If you have cat allergies, it's important to know that your kitten's Fel d 1 levels may be temporarily elevated during the first few days due to the stress of transitioning to a new home. As your kitten settles in, those levels typically decrease. Wiping your kitten daily with a damp cloth may help during this adjustment period, and Fel d 1 levels often decrease further after spaying or neutering.

Bonding Through Play

Playtime is one of the best ways to help your kitten become comfortable with family members, especially children. Encourage children to interact using toys rather than their hands, allowing both the child and kitten to become comfortable with one another while discouraging unwanted scratching or rough play habits.

Scratching and Climbing

Provide several scratching posts with different textures and heights throughout your home to help prevent scratching of furniture.

Cat trees are also highly recommended. Cats naturally enjoy climbing and observing their surroundings from elevated spaces, and providing appropriate climbing opportunities can help discourage climbing on curtains and other household items.

Feeding Recommendations

Fresh food and water should always be available. We recommend free-feeding kittens for at least the first year of life, as Siberians are a slow-maturing breed. Most Siberians do not reach full maturity until around two years of age and may continue developing until four or five years old. Many adult Siberians also do well with free-feeding.

Your kitten will be eating Life's Abundance All Life Stage dry food (orange bag) when they come home, and we highly recommend continuing this food during the first year.

While many cats enjoy wet food, we suggest waiting approximately two weeks before introducing canned food. The transition to a new home can sometimes cause digestive upset, and adding new foods too soon may contribute to loose stools. After the adjustment period, wet food can be a beneficial addition to your kitten's diet.

You can order Life's Abundance food here:
www.lifesabundance.com/soulmatesiberians

Grooming and Nail Care

Kittens typically need their nails trimmed every three weeks. Nail trims are often easiest when your kitten is sleepy or gently wrapped in a towel.

Daily brushing is not necessary, but it can be a wonderful bonding activity and helps your kitten become comfortable with grooming. Once your Siberian develops their full adult coat at around one year of age, weekly brushing is recommended. During seasonal shedding, particularly in the spring when they lose their winter coat, more frequent brushing may be needed.

Litter Recommendations

We recommend using a premium, fragrance-free clumping clay litter, as most kittens adjust well to this type of litter and it is gentle on sensitive noses.

Enjoy Your New Family Member!

Most importantly, enjoy your new kitten! The first few weeks are an exciting time as your kitten settles in and becomes part of your family. Be patient, give them plenty of love and playtime, and enjoy watching their unique personality emerge.