Welcoming a new kitten into the family is such a wonderful experience. Your small bundle of fluff will bring such joy to your family, and it’ll be a delight to see your children grow up alongside their new best friend. This may be your first pet as a family, so there’ll be a lot to learn, especially for your little ones!

Introducing a new kitten into your home can be a complicated and interesting time as you’ll need to learn to adapt to your pet’s needs, as well as ensuring that your children also know how to behave and interact with your new kitten. This Vetsure for Kids article and accompanying Pet Pack will suggest some helpful tips you can adopt when welcoming home your furry friend.

Welcoming a New Kitten – The Golden Rule

If your new kitten is the first pet in your family, then it’s important to let your children know that despite being a cat, they still need to be treated with respect and care, just as you would a friend. The Vetsure for Kids golden rule is that ‘If you should not do it to a friend at school, then you should not do it to your pet’. This can be an easy way to communicate to your children that pets have feelings too and need to be handled gently and treated with kindness.

Every Pet is Different

The usual stereotype surrounding cats that they all like to snooze and lay in the sun may be true in some cases, but every cat is different! Just like dogs, cats all have different personalities. It’s important that when you welcome your new kitten home, you must give them space and time to figure out what they like and don’t like. Whilst your kitten may like to snooze in the sun, they may also like to run around the house and play with toys!

Your new kitten may also want some alone time, as a new environment can be scary and overwhelming at first, so allow your kitten some quiet time without petting or stroking. It’s important to let your children know that sometimes your kitten may need this quiet time, and to not stroke them or pick them up when they’re resting or in their favourite hiding spot. Let your children know that this isn’t because your kitten doesn’t want to be their friend, they just might be feeling tired at the moment.

Important Things to Remember With a New Kitten

Although your kitten will need to be looked after by a grown up, it’s helpful to teach your children how to help care for their pet, so they can understand their needs and how to keep them happy and healthy. Your children may even be able to help with small tasks like giving your kitten fresh water and cat food when supervised. Kittens and older cats cannot eat human food, so it’s very important to let your little ones know that they mustn’t give your new kitten any human food as it could make them unwell!

Kittens will love to have somewhere they can go to rest and have some quiet, so it’s a good idea to tell your children when your cat is in their favourite spot to leave them be, and that they will come out to play when they’ve had a rest.

Small kittens are always growing and they’re not as strong as older cats. We must always be gentle with cats, regardless of their age, but for a new kitten we need to be extra careful to ensure they don’t accidentally get injured. Let your children know that your kitten isn’t a toy, and they mustn’t pull them around or hold them too tight.

When playing with your kitten, it’s important to remind your children that sometimes kittens may get overexcited or scared, and they may accidentally scratch you. If this does happen, let your children know that they should simply get up and walk away so the kitten can calm down, and not to shout or get angry at your pet as this is the only way they can communicate their scared or excited feelings.

Vetsure for Kids Pet Packs

Our Vetsure for Kids Pet Pack includes lots of helpful tips for introducing a new kitten into the family and explains what your children can do to help. These packs are written in a child-friendly manner and include fun activities for your children to complete. At the end of the booklet, you will find a certificate which can be awarded to your children for all their hard work caring for their furry friend!

Download your free Vetsure for Kids Pet Pack designed by our Senior Claim’s Assessor, Veterinary nurse, mum and pet owner, Amey Montgomery.

Pet Insurance

New kittens can be a joy to have, but it’s important to keep them covered if they were ever to get ill or become injured. Rest assured with Vetsure Pet Insurance, all of our policies are life long, so your kitten can be covered for their whole life with an active policy.

Get a Vetsure Pet Insurance quote, or give our friendly customer service team a call on 0800 050 2022, to find out more.