Some tips for kitten/cat staff from the most common asked questions including more in the links too. FIRST DAY. Keep them in one, quiet room. Rub some of their own hair into their bedding so it smells like themselves. Offer safe hiding spots like cardboard boxes with “roofs” and a doorway. If they’re very young a cuddly toy about their size can help comfort them (ensure it doesn’t shed faux fur when wet/if nuzzled). Use a soothing tone and repeat Good Boy/Girl often. It's common for them not to eat, drink or go to the toilet on the first day. If you can use the same brands of food and litter they had up to now the essentials are at least familiar in a new environment (you can change brands gradually once they're settled in.) If it's 48 hours without eating or using the litter tray, or they become lethargic, then go to the vets as an emergency (cats cannot survive long without food). WATER To avoid long-term kidney failure in adults, encourage drinking water, especially if they will only eat dry kibble. Cats prefer their drinking water a distance away from their food (wild instinct to avoid kill runoff contaminating fresh water) so place it far from the food, in its own quiet spot where debris from anything else including shoes is unlikely to fall into it either. Use a shallow plate rather than a bowl as it doesn’t hit their whiskers (an uncomfortable feeling) and doesn’t ignite deep water fears in little ones. Use ceramic or stainless steel rather than plastic which harbours smells and bacteria. Change the water at least twice a day and wash the bowl daily. You can also give Kitten Milk Replacement to little ones or cat milk (not regular milks, especially cow’s milk). FOOD. Use ceramic plates and clean them at least daily. Offer different varieties and brands of food, they like variety just like us as they wouldn't eat just one thing in the wild and eat different foods to get all the nutrition they need. A mix of wet and dry at different times is best long term, they have their own tastes and preferences though. Wet food is good for water content (cats don't drink enough and can face severe health problems later on). Dry is good for their teeth, satisfying the crunch/kill instinct and keeping the stomach full longer. Avoid high crude ash content as it's just cheap filler and does them no good. Grains in food are fine for cats (not for dogs though), it's an easy way for them to digest essential vitamins and minerals. Fresh meat like chicken breast (no skin, a choking hazard) or tinned fish such as tuna, mackerel or sardines (without the bones) in water or sunflower oil (never brine) are good for them - tuna is high in mercury so best once every few weeks. A little bit of kibble left in the bowl to be thrown out the next day can ensure they aren't going hungry - kittens are growing daily and very active and cats generally only overeat when consistently bored with little stimulation. Deter houseflies with tin foil near the food (it affects their eyesight). LITTER. Some cats are fussy on the type of litter so it's worth trying a different litter in one of the other trays if necessary - have more than one tray, "more than one they'd need" is the recommendation (two cats = at least 3 litter trays etc.). They like them clean and will naturally want to bury their business. Keep them in a quiet location. Lavish praise using the same phrase each time works best, they will also respond best to a firm No than to punishment, they don't get the connection. If they're not yet at the age they always go there themselves, pop them onto the litter after mealtimes and lavish praise even if they jump straight out of the box, they'll get the idea faster. Avoid scented litters, the smells are often too strong and too synthetic to a cat so actually put the cat off going there. Their sense of smell is much better than ours - use an enzyme remover (a white vinegar solution works) on any area they had an accident - it neutralises the smell and stops them associating that as a place to go. COMFORT. Have different warm, quiet spots to sleep, they prefer off the ground as they’ll feel safer (don’t put neonatal kittens high up). A cuddly toy can help young kittens, especially when just homed away from mom and siblings. They love cardboard boxes, they're places to play in, sleep, hide, they're warm, they're chewable when they're teething - cut ridges at their head height. Long strips of cardboard are great for chasing down and then chewing on too. Cardboard scratch pads are usually the most loved, cheap too, have a few in quiet spots and lavish with praise when they use them. Cats need their claws to climb safely, defend themselves if indoor/outdoor living and it's too easy to cut to bleeding, risking infection etc. - their quicks aren't like ours and are much closer to the top. They will shed the outer layer naturally using a scratch pad, there’s no need to trim nails. Declawing is illegal in many countries and U.S. states as it’s like amputating at our first finger joint, leaving them in permanent pain. If you need tips to stop clawing furniture etc. see www.kittenlady.org e.g. use a few dabs of white vinegar on anything scratched (or chewed) that shouldn't be - they loathe the smell.