Bringing Him Home

Dear Diary,

Before I’d known the big day had arrived. Getting everything prepped for Jamie’s arrival made the time fly.

The thought of being a cat mum still felt somewhat unreal. Even though, over the past weeks, the flat had slowly filled with kitten stuff and the only bit missing was the actual kitten itself.

And despite all the prep I had done and countless numbers of Excel sheets later, there were so many questions left.

What if …

… he was totally scared and would hide underneath the bed and not come out for 3 days? Yep, this can happen.

… he and I simply wouldn’t go on together? Cats can be picky.

… I simply wasn’t ready after all? You never know.

The Day Before

There’s a lot of advice on the Internet about your kitten’s first day.

Such as having a designated, quiet room for them to settle in first. Ideally, they would stay there for a couple of days before they were eventually allowed to explore the rest of their new home.

It can be scary, being departed from mum and siblings, a new environment, new people. A lot to take in for such a little kitten.

But is this really necessary? Thinking about it now, it might make sense if you live in a house. It might also depend on the character of your cat. But in Jamie’s case deciding against this one-room-only idea was the right decision.

Welcome Home Little Jamie

One big question still remained till the moment I brought him home.

Will he be an adventurer or will he be shy?

What will happen when I open his box?

Well, he came straight out! Curious to see what’s out there waiting for him. One of the first things he discovered was of course his food. Yep, he’s a greedy cat!

After the food came playtime and a first cuddle. So far so good. Much better than expected.

First Night, First Poo

I have to admit, the first night was tough though.

He was crying almost the whole time. Walking up and down, restless. I guess none of us got much sleep that night …

However, the next morning he was absolutely fine. As if this had been his home ever since. Eager to explore every corner. He soon became more and more attached and turned into my wee shadow. The beginning of a true love story (cheeeeeeesy …).

There was only one thing.

And probably one of my biggest fears.

What if … he didn’t know how to use the litter box?

He was litter trained, but you never know. New box, new surroundings. They tell you to show your kitten where the box is by putting him in. Ideally, after they had food or after a nap. So I did. A couple of times. Nothing.

I started googling how long they can go without using the toilet. Trying to keep calm.

And then, finally, I could hear the noise of wood pellets being tossed around. Never ever have I been happier before. There it was, his first poo.

All’s well that ends well.