On this page
A cat arriving in a new home has lost every familiar smell, sound and hiding place in one afternoon. Some stroll out of the carrier and claim the sofa within the hour. Many more spend the first day or two under a bed. Both are normal.
The goal of the first week is not to make your cat love you right away. It is to show them that this new place is predictable and safe. Affection follows from that. This guide walks through preparing the house, the first day, the first week, and how to introduce a newcomer to the other animals and people who live with you.
Before your cat comes home
The single most useful thing you can do is prepare a safe room: one quiet, closed-off space where your cat will spend their first days. A spare bedroom, a home office or a large bathroom all work. A small space is less overwhelming than a whole house, and it lets your cat learn where their essentials are before they have to navigate anything else.
Set the room up with:
- A litter box on the opposite side of the room from food and water. See our litter box guide for size and litter choices.
- Food and water in separate bowls, ideally a little apart from each other.
- Hiding places, such as a cardboard box on its side, a covered cat bed, or a blanket draped over a chair. Hiding is how cats cope with stress. Giving them a good hiding spot means they don't have to wedge themselves somewhere you can't reach.
- Something to climb or perch on, even if it is just a cleared shelf or a sturdy chair by the window.
- A scratching post so the first thing they learn to scratch is the right thing.
- A few toys: a wand toy for interactive play and a couple of small toys they can bat around alone.
- The carrier, left open in the room. Many cats will use it as a den, which makes future vet trips easier.
Before the cat arrives, check the room, and eventually the rest of the house, for hazards. Tuck away electrical cords and phone chargers, hair ties, rubber bands, string and ribbon. Make sure window screens are secure. Check that there are no gaps behind appliances or under cabinets where a frightened cat could get stuck. Remove toxic plants entirely, especially any kind of lily. Our guide to toxic plants and household dangers has the full list.
Ask the shelter, rescue or previous owner what food and litter the cat is used to, and buy the same ones to start with. If you can, bring home a blanket or towel that smells of their old place. Familiar smells are surprisingly comforting. Our new cat checklist covers everything else to buy before day one.
The first day
Bring your cat home in a secure, hard-sided carrier, never loose in the car. Drive calmly, keep the radio low, and go straight to the safe room once you are home.
Put the carrier down, close the room door, and open the carrier door. Then let your cat decide when to come out. Don't tip them out or pull them out. Sit quietly on the floor, read a book or look at your phone, and let them explore at their own speed. Some cats come out in minutes. Some wait until the house goes quiet at night.
A few things to expect, and not to worry about, on day one:
- Hiding. This is the most common response, and it is healthy. Don't drag a cat out from under the bed. Let them watch you from safety.
- Not eating much. Many cats eat very little on the first day. Offer their usual food, and maybe a small amount of something tasty, then leave them in peace.
- Not using the litter box right away. A stressed cat may hold off for a while. If they have not urinated at all within about 24 hours, call your veterinarian. If you see them straining in the box with little or nothing coming out, treat it as an emergency (see signs that something is wrong below).
- Night activity. Cats are often braver after dark. You may hear them exploring, eating and scratching once the house is quiet.
Keep the first day calm: no welcome party, no curious neighbors. One or two quiet people is plenty.
The first week
Over the next few days, your job is to be boring and predictable. Feed at roughly the same times each day, scoop the litter box daily, and spend time in the safe room doing quiet things. Your cat learns that your arrival means food, gentle attention and nothing scary.
Signs your cat is ready to start exploring beyond the safe room include:
- Eating normally and using the litter box regularly
- Coming out of hiding when you enter, or sleeping in the open
- Approaching you, rubbing their cheeks on you or on furniture
- Walking with the tail up and showing interest in the door
- Playing with toys
When you see these, open the door and let them explore the next room or two, with the safe room still available as a retreat. Keep exterior doors closed and make sure everyone in the house knows the cat is loose. Expand their territory gradually over days rather than all at once.
How long this takes varies. A confident young cat may be ready in a day or two; a shy adult or former street cat may need several weeks. Pushing a frightened cat usually slows things down.
Building trust
Cats tend to trust people who are predictable and who let them stay in control. A few habits help enormously:
- Let your cat come to you. Sit or lie at their level and wait. When they approach, offer a relaxed hand or a single finger at nose height to sniff. If they rub against it, you have an invitation.
- Pet where cats usually like it. Most cats prefer gentle strokes on the cheeks, chin and the top of the head. Many dislike being touched on the belly, tail and paws, even if they roll over and show their tummy. Keep early sessions short and stop while they still want more.
- Try the slow blink. Look at your cat with soft eyes and slowly close and open them. Many cats return the gesture, and it reads as a relaxed, friendly signal. Staring hard at a nervous cat does the opposite.
- Play every day. A wand toy lets a shy cat engage with you from a comfortable distance. Short, regular play sessions build confidence fast. Our behavior and enrichment guide explains how to play in a way cats find satisfying.
- Use food. Hand-feeding a few treats, or tossing them a little closer each time, is a simple way to make you a source of good things.
- Never punish. Shouting, spraying water or swatting teaches a cat that you are unpredictable. It damages trust and doesn't stop the behavior.
Learn to read the body language that says "that's enough": skin rippling along the back, a twitching or thumping tail, ears turning sideways or flattening, a sudden stillness, or a head turn toward your hand. Stopping when you see these signals teaches your cat that they can trust you to listen.
The first vet visit
Book a check-up with a veterinarian within the first week or so, even if the shelter or breeder has already examined your cat. Bring any paperwork you received, including vaccination records, test results, microchip details and any medications. A first visit lets your vet:
- Do a baseline exam and record your cat's weight
- Plan vaccinations, parasite control and spay or neuter surgery if it has not been done
- Test for feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) if the cat's status is unknown
- Check for fleas, ear mites, intestinal parasites and signs of an upper respiratory infection, which is common after a stay in a shelter
- Scan for a microchip and make sure it is registered to you
If you already have cats, keep the newcomer completely separate until they have seen a vet and you know their health and test status. That includes separate litter boxes, bowls and bedding, and washing your hands between cats. Our health and vet care guide covers vaccines and testing in more detail.
To make future vet visits easier, leave the carrier out as furniture with a soft blanket and the occasional treat inside. A cat who only sees the carrier on vet day learns to fear it.
Introducing a new cat to resident cats
Cat-to-cat introductions go best when they are slow. Cats are territorial, and a stranger appearing suddenly in their home is a real threat from their point of view. Putting two cats together and "letting them sort it out" can cause fights, injuries and long-term tension that is very hard to undo. Plan on a gradual process over at least a week or two, and be prepared for it to take longer.
Step 1: Separate rooms and scent swapping
Keep the new cat in the safe room. The cats will hear and smell each other under the door, which is a good start. Then begin swapping scents:
- Gently rub a clean sock or soft cloth on each cat's cheeks, where they have scent glands, and leave it near the other cat's food bowl or bed.
- Swap bedding or blankets between the cats every day or two.
- Once the new cat is settled, let them explore the rest of the house while the resident cat spends some time in the safe room. Each cat gets to investigate the other's smell without meeting.
Reward calm reactions with treats. If a cat hisses at a sock, that is fine. Just go slower.
Step 2: Meals on either side of the door
Feed both cats near the closed door, starting far enough apart that they both eat comfortably. Over several days, move the bowls a little closer. Eating is a relaxed activity, so this pairs the other cat's presence with something pleasant.
Step 3: Seeing each other
When both cats are eating calmly near the door, let them see each other through a barrier. A tall baby gate (or two stacked), a screen door, or a door propped open an inch with a doorstop all work. Keep these sessions short, and pair them with food or play. Use a wand toy to keep each cat busy, ideally with one person per cat.
Step 4: Supervised time together
Once the cats can see each other without staring, growling or puffing up, let them share a room for short, supervised periods. Gradually lengthen these sessions. End each one on a calm note, before anyone gets tense. Only leave them together unsupervised once you have seen several relaxed sessions in a row.
What is normal, and when to go back a step
Some hissing and avoidance early on is normal. Signs to slow down or return to an earlier step include stalking, fixed staring, chasing, one cat blocking the other from food or the litter box, swatting with claws out, or a cat that stops eating or starts hiding all the time. If a real fight breaks out, don't reach in with your hands. Make a loud noise, or slide a cushion or piece of cardboard between them, then separate them and start again from scent swapping.
Plenty of resources reduce competition. Have at least one litter box per cat plus one, separate feeding stations, several water bowls, and lots of vertical space such as cat trees and shelves so cats can keep a comfortable distance from each other. If introductions are not improving after several weeks, talk to your veterinarian. They can rule out pain or illness and may refer you to a veterinary behaviorist.
Introducing a cat to a dog
Many cats and dogs live together happily, but first meetings need careful management, because a single chase can teach a cat that the dog is dangerous. A calm, well-trained adult dog is a very different prospect from an excitable young one.
- Start with scent. Use the same separate-rooms and scent-swapping approach as with cats.
- Keep the dog on a leash for the first face-to-face meetings, and ask for simple behaviors like sit or down, rewarding the dog generously for calm attention to you rather than the cat.
- Give the cat escape routes. The cat should always be able to leave, ideally upward. Cat trees, cleared shelves and baby gates the cat can jump over but the dog cannot are invaluable.
- Create dog-free zones. Put the cat's food and litter box where the dog can't reach them. Dogs often eat cat food and cat feces, and a cat that is ambushed at the litter box may stop using it.
- Watch the dog closely. Intense staring, whining, trembling, lunging or ignoring your cues are warning signs. Calmly end the session and go back to more distance.
- Never leave them alone together until you have seen consistently relaxed behavior over a good period of time, and even then keep the cat's safe spaces available.
Some dogs, particularly those with a strong chase or prey drive, may never be safe around cats. If you have any doubt, work with a qualified, reward-based dog trainer or a veterinary behaviorist before bringing the two together.
Cats and children
Growing up with a cat can be wonderful for children, and it goes best when children learn a few rules from the start. Explain them before the cat arrives, and repeat them often:
- Let the cat come to you. Children should sit quietly and let the cat approach, rather than chasing or cornering them.
- Gentle hands. Use one open hand to stroke the cat's head, cheeks or back, in the direction the fur grows. No grabbing, squeezing, tail pulling or touching the belly.
- Quiet voices and walking feet around the cat, especially in the early days.
- Leave a sleeping or eating cat alone, and never disturb a cat in the litter box.
- The safe room and hiding places are off-limits. A cat needs somewhere they can go to be left alone.
- Ask an adult before picking the cat up. Many cats dislike being carried. If older children do pick up the cat, show them how to support the chest and back legs, and keep it brief.
Young children should always be supervised with a cat, for the sake of both. Teach children to recognize when a cat wants to be left alone, such as a twitching tail, flattened ears or walking away, and to respect it. Most scratches and bites happen when a cat's signals are missed.
Everyone should wash their hands after handling the cat, and especially after any contact with the litter box. Litter box duty is best done by adults or older children. If anyone in the household is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, it is safest for someone else to scoop the litter box, because cat feces can carry the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis. If that isn't possible, wear disposable gloves and wash hands well afterward. Scooping every day also helps, because the parasite takes at least a day to become infectious after it is passed. Anyone with concerns should talk to their own doctor.
How it's going: good signs and warning signs
Every cat adjusts on their own timeline, but these are encouraging signs that your cat is settling in:
- Eating, drinking and using the litter box normally
- Grooming themselves and sleeping in relaxed positions, sometimes in the open
- Exploring, playing and showing curiosity
- Greeting you with a raised tail, rubbing on you or furniture, or slow blinking
Some changes in behavior are expected in a new home. Others are signs of a health problem that needs attention, and stress can make some illnesses appear or flare up.
A healthy cat who is still very fearful after a few weeks may simply need longer. Keep things calm and predictable, and ask your veterinarian, who can check for pain and suggest next steps.
Key takeaways
- Start your cat in one quiet safe room with a litter box, food, water, hiding places and a scratching post.
- Let your cat set the pace. Hiding and a small appetite on day one are normal.
- Expand their territory gradually once they are eating, using the litter box and approaching you.
- See a veterinarian in the first week or so, and keep a newcomer separate from resident cats until then.
- Introduce other cats slowly, through scent swapping, meals by the door and short supervised meetings.
- Keep dogs leashed for early meetings, and always give the cat escape routes and dog-free zones.
- Teach children gentle hands and quiet voices, and supervise young children with cats.
- No food for 24 hours or no urine for a day: call your vet. Straining to urinate: go now.
