Kitten guides for families
Ask your vet about your own pet. This page is general information from the sources below.
Guides for a new kitten and the children who live with it, built from the ASPCA, VCA, the AVSAB, International Cat Care and other named sources: kind, reward-based ways of living together. Each guide has a job for the children and a line a grown-up can say.
Checked October 29, 2026.
- Your kitten's first week home
International Cat Care says to start a kitten in one quiet room with food, water, a bed, a litter tray, toys and a hiding spot. - Helping your kitten use the litter box
The ASPCA says to give every cat a clean litter box in a quiet spot, scoop it daily, and never scold a cat or drag her to the box. - Scratching: give your kitten a place that is okay
The ASPCA says the best plan is not to stop a cat from scratching, but to teach her where to scratch. - Introducing a kitten to your home and other pets
International Cat Care says to start the newcomer in a room the resident cat doesn't use, then swap scents, then let the cats see each other through a barrier, then allow short supervised visits. - Play and biting: use toys, not hands
VCA says not to let a kitten play with your hands or feet, because it teaches that body parts are prey. - Cats left home alone: the basics
The ASPCA says pets can feel anxious when left alone, and suggests keeping routines steady, practicing short absences, keeping up play, and leaving toys on.
Sources
- International Cat Care: Helping your new cat or kitten settle in (checked October 29, 2026)
- VCA Animal Hospitals: Bringing Home Your New Kitten (checked October 29, 2026)
- ASPCA: Litter Box Problems (checked October 29, 2026)
- ASPCA: Destructive Scratching (checked October 29, 2026)
- VCA Animal Hospitals: How To Train A Kitten (checked October 29, 2026)
- International Cat Care: Introducing Cats (checked October 29, 2026)