Transitioning Your New Kitten
A minimum two-week period in a private transition room complete with litter box, food, water, bed and toys is strongly encouraged by most breeders and is done for several reasons:
- First reason to keep them in a small room such as a small bedroom, office or similar space with a working door and no hiding places is because a young kitten can get overwhelmed in a new home and the smaller space makes them feel more secure. It also limits how far away they are from their food, water and litter boxes. Kittens get so focused on playing they can forget they need to go until it's too late. And you don't want to start off your new relationship with litter box accidents. Then as they gain confidence you can slowly increase their space one room at a time.
- Another reason to keep them separate from the rest of the household is because you want them to bond with you first, instead of any other animals. That will come in time, but if they have four legged playmates right from the beginning, they may be less likely to bond strongly with you.
- Lastly is for health reasons. Re-homing a kitten can be very stressful on them, which further weakens their immune system that isn't fully developed yet. This can allow an illness to manifest that would normally be fought off by their immune system. Even though your resident animals might appear perfectly healthy, they can still be disease carriers. Some illnesses can take up to two weeks to become evident. So the protection isn't just for the new kitten coming in, it's also to protect any resident cats.
Ensure the transition room is a very secure comfortable area for your kitten/cat, as well as for you so that you can spend lots of time in their room with them. Bathrooms are not always ideal as many people don't want to spend lots of time in a bathroom since its typically a harder, colder, echoey sounding space. However they can work - if you can make it more cozy space. Make sure the transition room has no escape routes and remove any large hiding spots such as under beds or couches, behind/under dressers, or similar type spaces. Secure any objects that could fall and injure the kitten/cat, remembering that Savannahs can typically jump much higher than you might expect for their size! Having a TV or radio on when you are not in with them also can help them feel more secure.
Look at this transition time as a special bonding time for the two of you!! I practice this transition process when I get new cats as well, and I really enjoy that time getting to know each other one on one.
You can read a little more at the link below. Courtesy of Deborah Frierson, Savannah Cat Chat
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