NEW RAGDOLL KITTEN QUESTION!?
September 8th, 2010
I pick up my 3 month old ragdoll kitten this week. I have a room to keep him in when he arrives so the whole house won’t be overwhelming. I’m wondering if it serves his best interest for me to be around him right away for long periods of time while he adjusts to a new place. Is that ok? Also, how long does it usually take kittens to adjust to a new environment?
I had a new kitten a few months ago and he is sure a curious little guy! I love him to death! It took him about a week to adjust to his new surroundings and i was pretty much with him for the whole time! After that week we gradually started to introduce him to the whole house. There are lots of things and places for him to get into so we just kept an eye on him and let him get used to the new house. At night time since we wont be around him we put him back in the same room just for the night and let him back out in the morning. We did this for about another week and then he was ready to be trusted and we let him be more independent! Hope this helped!
I would be around him for at least a couple of hours after hes in his room, that way he can get used to you and bond. I think the amount of time for new cats/kittens to adjust is different for each cat. When I got my first kitten, it took her a couple of days to adjust, but my newest kitten it only took him about 10 min. I would just keep an eye on him, definitely keep him only in his room for that day and night. And then if you want him to explore the next day, just open the door to the rest of the house and let him explore when hes ready, just walk with him and keep an eye open just so he doesnt get into trouble. Good luck
It can take a new cat or kittens a couple of weeks or more to adjust to a new home.
It would be best if you keep him in the same room for at least 4 or 5 days. You can spend several hours a day with him as long as you do not interfere with his either hiding (natural) or sleep. If he seems confident and happy on the 5th day open the door a little and allow him to venture out and explore when he feels up to it.
Make sure that you feed him the same food he was being fed. Even if it is not the best food, don’t change it for at least a couple of weeks. Changes are tough on cats.
Use the same type of litter too. To help him get used to his new home and litter box ask his owner for a plastic bag full of used litter from the box he was using. You’ll put that in his new litter box on top of the fresh litter.
Get copies of all his veterinary records when you pick him up and bring these with you when you bring him in for his first check-up. It would be best if you could arrange to have him seen by a vet on the way home, that way he has to go on only one big adventure.
Otherwise, call and make an appointment for him within a week of when you get him.
A few days. Don’t worry if the new kitten takes a day or so to really start eating. But be sure you give the kitten bottled water for a week because the change in water can cause loose stools.
You should confine him to a room of his own for awhile, but I’m sure you cannot resist playing with the kitten once he’s in your home. Whenever we got a new kitten, we would sit quietly in the room for 1/2 hour just watching and talking to him and maybe taking a toy / feather in the room to get them to play.