PawloNew Kitten Checklist: Everything You Need for the First 30 Days
Bringing home a kitten? The complete checklist: supplies worth buying, safe-room setup, the first vet visit, feeding schedule by age, and the household rules that prevent chaos.
Kittens are 90% chaos and 10% sleep, in alternating bursts. The good news: preparing for one is mostly a shopping list and a few household agreements. Here's the whole thing, in order.
The supply list (before pickup day)
- Litter box + one spare — the rule is one per cat, plus one. Kittens need low sides.
- Unscented litter — scented litters put some kittens off the box entirely
- Kitten food — start with whatever they're eating now, even if you plan to switch; a food change on top of a home change is a stomach upset waiting to happen
- Shallow bowls — ceramic or stainless; whisker-deep is deep enough
- Carrier — hard-sided, and leave it out as furniture so it never becomes the scary vet box
- Scratching post — buy it before they choose your couch; you don't get a revote
- Toys — a wand toy and a few solo toys; skip the 40-piece bundle, they'll pick a bottle cap anyway
- A quiet room — more on this next
Days 1–3: the safe room
Don't give a kitten the whole house on day one — a single quiet room with the litter box, food and water (kept well apart from the box), bed, and hiding spots is far less overwhelming. Let them decompress and come to you. When they're eating confidently and playing, open the door and let them expand their territory at their own pace — usually a few days.
Kitten-proof while you wait: cords tucked away, breakables shelved, toilet lids down, houseplants checked (lilies especially are seriously toxic to cats — if you have them, rehome the plants, not the kitten).
Week 1: the vet visit
Book a checkup within the first week. Expect: a general health check, a fecal test for parasites, and the start of the vaccination series — kittens get several rounds spaced a few weeks apart, plus deworming and flea prevention on their own schedules.
That's suddenly a lot of dates. Write them down somewhere shared, not in one person's head — a missed booster means restarting part of the series, and "I thought you took her" is not a schedule.
Feeding: small and often
| Age | Meals per day |
|---|---|
| 8–12 weeks | ~4 small meals |
| 3–6 months | 3 meals |
| 6+ months | 2 meals (most cats) |
Kittens are terrible at portion control and excellent at convincing each member of the household, separately, that they have never been fed. Agree on who owns which meal from day one.
The household agreements (the part everyone skips)
Most kitten problems in shared homes aren't kitten problems — they're coordination problems. Settle these in the first week:
- Who feeds which meal — four meals a day across two or three people is a double-feed factory without a system
- Who scoops — daily, and cats will stage a protest you won't enjoy if it slides
- Who tracks the vet series — boosters, deworming rounds, flea prevention dates
- House rules — counters or no counters, bedroom doors open or shut; kittens learn whatever the most permissive person teaches
A shared checklist beats memory for all of it. (Households use Pawlo for exactly this — every feeding, scoop, and med is a task everyone can see, checked off with a name and time, so the kitten's four-meal schedule survives contact with three humans.)
The first month, roughly
- Week 1: safe room, vet visit, routine established
- Week 2: full-house access, play schedule (two or three wand sessions a day burns the 2 a.m. zoomies down to manageable)
- Weeks 3–4: vaccine boosters begin, handling practice (paws, ears, mouth — future-you at nail-trim time says thanks), carrier naps
General guidance, not veterinary advice. Your vet is the authority on your kitten's vaccine schedule and health.
Related pet care guides
Frequently asked questions
What supplies do I need before bringing a kitten home?
The essentials: litter box (one per cat plus one spare), unscented litter, kitten food (matched to what they're already eating), shallow food and water bowls, a carrier, a scratching post, a few toys, and a cozy sleeping spot in a quiet room.
How often should a kitten eat?
Kittens 8–12 weeks old generally eat about four small meals a day; from 3–6 months, three meals; from around 6 months, most transition to two. Consistency matters — in shared households, agree on who feeds which meal or the kitten will happily eat everyone's version of breakfast.
When should a new kitten see the vet?
Book a checkup within the first week. The vet will check overall health and set up the vaccination series and parasite treatment schedule — kittens need several rounds a few weeks apart, which is exactly the kind of multi-date schedule worth writing down somewhere the whole household can see.
Ready to stop wondering who fed the pet?
Try Pawlo free for 7 days. Get your whole household in sync today.
Download on the App Store →
