◆ New Kitten Guide ◆
Bringing Your Kitten Home:
The First 30 Days
What to have ready, what to expect, and how to set your kitten up for a good start.
Before Go-Home: What to Have Ready
Food
I feed Royal Canin Maine Coon kitten formula. Have a supply on hand before your kitten arrives. Switching food abruptly can cause digestive upset — if you want to transition to something else, do it gradually over 7–10 days.
Litter box
Maine Coons get large. Get a bigger box than you think you need — a standard small litter box will be outgrown quickly. I use Fresh Step unscented. Unscented is generally better for kittens.
A quiet room to start in
Don't let the kitten have the run of the whole house on day one. A single room with food, water, litter, and a hiding spot lets it decompress and get its bearings before exploring.
Scratching post
Have one ready before the kitten arrives. Maine Coons are active and they will scratch — give them something appropriate to scratch on from the start.
Carrier
You'll need it for the vet visit. Leave it out in the room so the kitten can explore it and get comfortable with it before you need to use it.
Days 1–3: Let It Settle
The first few days are about decompression, not bonding. Your kitten just left everything familiar — its mother, its littermates, the smells it's known since birth. Give it space. Keep the household quieter than usual if you can. Let it come out of hiding on its own terms.
Don't be alarmed if it hides under the bed for the first day or two. That's normal. It's not a sign of a bad temperament — it's a sign of a kitten doing exactly what kittens do when they're in a new place.
Week 1: Vet Visit
Schedule a vet visit within the first week. Your kitten comes with documentation of its pre-go-home vet check, but your own vet should establish a baseline and confirm everything looks good. Bring the paperwork I give you — it has the vaccine history and any notes from the go-home exam.
Weeks 2–4: Expanding Territory
Once the kitten is comfortable in its starting room — eating well, using the litter box, coming out to interact — you can start letting it explore more of the house. Do it gradually. Open one door at a time rather than giving it access to everything at once.
By the end of the first month, most kittens are fully settled and acting like they've always lived there. Maine Coons tend to adapt well once they've had time to adjust on their own terms.
Questions during the first month?
Text me. I give every family my cell at go-home and I'm happy to answer questions as they come up — not just in the first week, but for the life of your cat.
Text Samuel: (618) 973-6926Interested in a future kitten?
Get on the waitlist and I'll reach out when a litter is planned that fits what you're looking for.
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