When you first bring kitty home, there will need to be a transition period for both the kitten and the members of your household. A kitten is tiny, and itโs curious about everything and so no matter where you are, at any time the kitten could be right behind you, in front of you, or trying to climb up your leg! In order to get through the transition period without becoming a bundle of nerves, the best thing you can do for the kitten and yourself is to create a safe zone. This is a place where you can put kitty so you know heโs safe and not going to get trod on, and where kitty also knows heโll be safe from getting stood on!
Find a large cardboard box, approximately 3 feet square, plus at least 3 feet high. Organize the inside of the box so that there are specific areas for specific things, such as a sleeping corner, some paper to go potty on (if thereโs room for a temporary litter tray in there all the better!), and a supply of fresh water thatโs not easily knocked over. Also give the kitten a couple of small toys to play with so he doesnโt get bored. This becomes like a toddlers playpen. Itโs somewhere you know heโs safe.
As with a toddler however, heโs going to try and get out once the novelty of the box is gone and itโs been completely explored. Heโll take a jump for the top of the box, so make sure that you use a box thatโs quite heavy and wonโt fall over if he manages to hang over the top of it โ you also donโt want to make it so high that if he does manage to get to the top, and fall out, heโs not going to hurt himself โ you could place a cushion at the base of the side most likely to be the โescape routeโ just in case. You also should place the box in a shady area, away from sunlight, and out of the way of drapes because if he can, heโll make a jump for the drapes and escape that way!
Despite the escape possibility, the safe zone will give you peace of mind, especially in the early days when youโre still adjusting to having him around, and it will give him somewhere of his own to retreat to when heโs had enough of the โbigโ world inside your home. Although he may want to escape the box, thereโll be other times when it all gets a bit much and he actual sits beside his safe zone โ or attempts to jump in!
