The Journey Home
No matter how you transport your new kitten home; by car, by plane, in a crate, or in a box. Please remember the kitten may be frightened. To help make the kitten comfortable be sure to line the crate or box with a soft box. Be careful not to place the crate or box in front of a heat vent or air conditioner vent. The kitten should not be in a draft. He should be left in the crate or box during the trip and not be taken out or handled while traveling. If the kitten cries, talk to him or put your hand near the opening of the crate so that he may see and smell you, assuring him that he is not alone. Keep talking and reassuring him. He may be frightened, which is normal.

Arrival At Home
When you arrive home with your new kitten, open the crate and allow the kitten to come out on its own. Remember that the journey will have been a strange experience for him. Once the kitten comes out, show him where the litter pan is by placing him in the pan. Allow him to come out of the litter pan on his own. Show him where his food and water will be kept. Keep the food, water, and litter in the same place until he gets used to their whereabouts. Be prepared that when he first comes out of the crate he may run and hide. But once he realizes he has nothing to be afraid of he will come out on his own.

If you already have a cat or a dog, they may react differently to the new kitten. Your older cat may arch his back and hiss at the kitten. This type of behavior might last a few hours or a few days. You will simply need to monitor them. Your dog may growl or display a stricken look but a more common reaction for a dog is to be friendly, but clumsy and curious about the kitten. Your new kitten may not appreciate the dog's attention. If your dog is nervous or aggressive, try to keep him separated from the kitten for the first few days and allow them monitored short periods of time together until they get used to each other. You may want to confine your kitten to a small part of the house at first, possibly the first floor. Let him wander around and get familiar with it all. Several times during the first day, pick him up and bring him to the litter. Let him walk back on his own. This will help him to know where the litter is. You can slowly allow him to explore the rest of the house. A kitten is small and a large home may require a litter in two locations at first so that the kitten will not have difficulty finding a litter box. Once he is older, one box per cat is enough. He will soon feel comfortable and relaxed and will be running about as if he owns the place! Please do not be tempted to change your kitten's diet too soon, as changing homes is stressful and continuity of feeding is very important at this time. If you do want to change it, wait until the kitten has settled in and is eating well, then introduce the new food gradually over 6 or 7 days. Expect the adjustment period to be several days to a week or - if you have another cat, dog or children - it could be a couple of weeks.

Making Friends With Your Kitten
Cats are very sensitive and if they have been badly frightened can take a time to revert to their old selves. With this in mind, always be quiet and gentle when dealing with your kitten. Here are some guidelines to remember and share with children when making friends with your new kitten:

*Do not allow children to handle a new kitten too much during the first few days.
*Never play roughly with your kitten. *Never chase him or sneak up on him from behind.
*Never pull his tail or ears
*Never lift him by the scruff of the neck. This could cause him serious damage.
*Never raise your voice to him except to say "No" sternly for training purposes.
*Always approach him carefully, talking to him quietly, using his name.

Keep in mind that a cat likes to feel secure when you pick him up. Hold him against your body and with one hand gently hold his front legs while supporting his bottom with your other hand. He might try to wiggle away, so please be very careful not to drop him as a fall could hurt him badly. Children, if you do not feel confident in picking him up and holding him, ask Mom or Dad to help. It is a good idea to sit on the floor with him until you have more confidence. Children often do not understand how to play gently with kittens and are often scratched by a frightened kitten. Encourage children to be gentle and that the new kitten needs to get used to it's new home and new family so please give him a chance to adjust.

Understanding Your Kitten

Purring	Kittens can purr as early as one week old and it is a sign of pleasure, usually when they are being petted or are totally contented and relaxed.
Cooing	Devons make a cooing sound like that of a dove or a pigeon. This wonderful sound is one of happiness and contentedness.
Meowing	This sound is made when the cat wants attention, for example, when he is hungry.
Hissing	If your kitten hisses softly at you, this is a warning to leave him alone. If you ignore this, he will hiss more loudly, and swing his tail from side to side aggressively. Pay attention to this, otherwise you may get scratched and bitten!
Kneading	Your kitten may stand on your lap or a soft surface and gently knead with his front paws. His claws may be out. This is a sign of contentment and goes back to the days when he was feeding from his mother.

Kitten Proofing
Kittens will try to eat everything and anything they can but their favorite items usually are; strings, tinsel, rubber bands, shoe laces, and yarn. A good general rule for kitten proofing your home is put everything away that is small enough to swallow.

Kittens love to explore and will go places you can not even imagine. Be careful when closing your washer, dryer, dishwasher, or refrigerator. And make certain that a kitten has not hurried in while your head was turned. Crawling up into a recliner while it is reclined or crawling up into a box spring that has just a tiny tear in it, can be extremely dangerous for a young kitten.

A new owner should also check window screens to be sure they are securely fastened. If not, a kitten could fall out of the window and become injured or lost.

Electrical cords can be of interest to kittens. The cords should be hidden, tied-up, or placed in rubber tubing to keep kittens safe. Be sure to also tie up all window blind cords and never leave cat toys or teasers with ropes out when you are away. A kitten or even an adult can very easily get tied up or ingured.

Poisonous plants such as; philodendrons, lilies, and hydrangeas, to name a few, should be kept out of reach. Kittens will not hesitate to make a meal of a house plant. Some adults will not both plants, but it is best to keep plants out of reach. Chocolate, onions, tomatoes, and all medicine should be put away and not left on counter tops as they are poisonous to cats.

Let's not forget the bathroom. A flush with the lid up, is to a kitten what a swimming pool is to a two year child. Little kittens CAN fall in and be unable to get out. At the same time, a lid up on the flush provides unclean drinking water to an older cat that can easily stand on the seat dropping his head in to drink. Those kitten and adult cat kisses are too nice to do without, so for your health and for your kitten/cat's health, please be sure to keep those lids down.

The best rule to follow is to use common sense when kitten proofing your home. And if in doubt, put it away and make it safe.

Feline Meets Canine
An adult female dog will sometimes feel maternal towards a young animal and may adopt a new kitten as one of its own. Male dogs also get along with kittens, but often have a problem adjusting to an adult cat. But that doesn't mean that a truce or even a loving friendship can't be formed between the adult animals. Start off slow. Take the towel that was in the cat's carrier or the empty carrier and allow the dog to sniff it. Then with the cat secure on your lap, allow a partner to come over with the dog. While the grip on the dog's collar or leash should be secure, it should not be a chokehold or in any way painful to the dog.

Next, in an affirming voice, talk to both the cat and the dog. Allow them to sniff and touch each other. Praise them for their tolerance with comforting strokes. Then you might want to allow the cat on the floor with the dog; first holding the dog firmly then letting up as situation dictates. Use common sense. Don't leave pets unsupervised. When introducing a new puppy to an adult cat, remember that it is the puppy that needs to be protected. As puppies tend to be rambunctious and curious, and even the most mild-tempered cat may be provoked to take a swipe or two. It's easier to introduce a kitten to a dog household than a dog or puppy to a cat household. Cats are very territorial and a cat will usually have a longer period of adjustment if he is an established resident.

Don't let your cat and dog share meals from the same bowl, as their foods are not readily inter-changeable. Cats, for instance, require up to 44 percent more protein than dogs and their nutritional needs may not be fulfilled with dog food. Feed your pets in different places, thereby insuring adequate nutrition and less bloodshed. Cats and dogs can be brought up in the same home and form a loving bond. Before you know it they may end up not only sleeping and playing together, but also washing and grooming each other.

Feline Meets Feline
Most people will agree that it is risky to add an adult cat to a household with existing adult felines. While some people do manage to do this with little problem, it is extremely difficult to achieve successfully and impossible to predict the outcome of an introduction. An older cat may become depressed, stressed and feel replaced by a kitten.

Kittens, however, are usually accepted by an existing adult cat eventually, even if it is reluctant to start with - the process just might take a couple of weeks. Particularly if the existing cat has been used to being a single pet for years, it may have become more "people-orientated" than "cat-orientated" and unlikely to welcome a new feline arrival. However, with extra care and attention, it is usually possible to induce the existing cat to accept the presence of a kitten and with any luck, the two might even become "friends".

Try to allow the existing cat to get used to the kitten's scent before a direct introduction. This can be achieved by letting your cat sniff a blanket the kitten was sleeping on or even letting them sniff each other through the gap underneath a closed door.

Let the adult cat approach the kitten and supervise the interaction. Most adults will hiss and spit and may even swipe a paw at the inquisitive little intruder, who they regard as a pest. However, most adults will not seriously attack a kitten.

Make a fuss of the existing cat, particularly if the kitten is around, to try and prevent jealousy in the older cat. This assures the older cat that it is still loved.

Ignore the kitten (no matter how hard it is!) as much as possible whenever your older cat is around, to reassure the older cat that their position in the household is unchallenged by the arrival of the kitten.

Make sure there are adequate litter trays for all the cats (usually one per cat and often, one extra); a choice of beds and resting spaces, and also several feeding stations, to prevent fighting over resources.

Don't leave the kitten alone with your older cat initially. While it is rare for an adult cat to attack a kitten outright, it is safer to always supervise the interactions at first. Not only can you prevent your older cat from hurting your kitten, you can also prevent a kitten that is too boisterous and playful making a serious nuisance of itself with a sedate older cat.

At the same time, don't be over-protective of the kitten - aside from making sure that it is not under serious threat, it is best to let the cats sort things out between themselves. It is important for the kitten to learn to respect the older cat and an occasional spat is nothing to be concerned about.

Don't try to force the cats together, no matter how cute you think it would look for them to be "snuggled together". While some cats may become inseparable friends and eat, sleep and play together, more often than not, cats living in the same household simply learn to tolerate each other's presence and go about their own business, effectively ignoring the other cats.

In the wild, cats are solitary creatures and except during courtship and motherhood, they do not usually spend time with other cats. Although multi-cat households are not what nature intended, if managed properly, all members can live in peace and harmony.