Bringing your Maine Coon kitten home is exciting, but for your kitten, it is also an enormous change.

This is Shadow (left), meeting his new family for the first time. This is the day they have been waiting for. From the beginning, Shadow had a very outgoing personality which helped him to take the many changes that day brought, in stride. He was cuddling in their laps and following them around from the beginning. Nevertheless they knew that many things should be taken slowly.

Your kitten has left her mother and littermates, familiar people, familiar scents and sounds, and the only home she has known. Suddenly, everything is different.

Even for a confident, well-socialized kitten, that is a lot to take in.

Your goal during these first few days is simple: help your kitten feel safe. It is almost always better to move a little too slowly than to rush her.

Before You Bring Your Maine Coon Kitten Home

1. Prepare a Safe Room

Before your kitten arrives, prepare a quiet room just for her.

You will naturally want to spend time with your new kitten and show her the house, but resist the temptation to give her access to everything immediately. She needs time to adjust before being introduced to the entire house, all the people in it, and especially any other animals.

A spare bedroom works very well. The room should be quiet, comfortable, and easy for you to access.

Your kitten’s safe area should contain:

• Food and fresh water
• A litter box
• A comfortable bed or familiar blanket
• A hiding box
• A few safe toys
• A scratching post

If possible, a large dog crate or kitten enclosure inside the room can be especially helpful for the first few days. It should be large enough for a litter box, food and water, a bed, and a hiding box.

The idea is not simply to confine your kitten. It is to give her a small, predictable world that she can quickly learn is safe.

It also prevents her from choosing her own hiding place somewhere you cannot easily reach her.

There is always an exception. Several years ago, when a kitten was brought to us from Canada by our friend, we met at a Subway Restaurant, with an outdoor seating area beside the highway. Sky, the kitten, defied all the rules. She calmly climbed out of her carrier and jumped onto the table where she lay down. Here she is, in her harness and leash, with cars buzzing by, people coming and going. We had a “hiding place” for her which was a secure cat carrier, but she was happier just chilling on the table with my friend and me. Read your cat. Be ready to give her the quiet space and safety she requires. But sometimes the kitten will tell you that everything is fine and she would rather be with you and make this her home without separation. She may even want to curl up in the bed beside you on her very first night home. (Of course, when there are other pets in the household, appropriate quarantine precautions still take priority, regardless of how confident the new kitten appears).

But there is yet another reason for a safe room. This is true if you have any other pets. Because there is always the possibility that your new kitten is bringing something contagious home with her, by quarantining any newcomers from your pet family, you prevent any hidden parasites or contagious illnesses from spreading. Keep in mind that what may have been a healthy kitten leaving a cattery, may succumb to something during the stress of travel. By keeping the kitten isolated for at least two weeks, you are likely to be able to spot any signs of illness before it spreads.

2. Bring Familiar Scents Home With Her

At Silver Mountain, we will send your kitten home with a blanket or other item that smells like our home.

Don’t wash it yet.

Those familiar scents can be very reassuring when everything else around her is new.

Familiarity is also why we recommend initially using the same food and litter your kitten was accustomed to before coming home.

There will be plenty of time to make changes later. The first few days are about reducing unnecessary change.

3. Give Her a Hiding Box

One of the simplest things you can provide may also be one of the most helpful: a box.

A study published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science examined whether providing newly arrived shelter cats with a hiding box reduced stress. Cats provided with hiding boxes adapted to their new surroundings significantly faster than cats without them.

The cats with hiding boxes showed lower stress scores by around the third day, while the control cats took considerably longer to reach similar levels.

Your kitten’s hiding place does not need to be elaborate. A simple cardboard box turned on its side can work beautifully.

The important thing is that she has somewhere enclosed where she can retreat while still remaining in the safe environment you have created for her.

Reference: Vinke CM, Godijn LM, van der Leij WJR. Will a hiding box provide stress reduction for shelter cats? Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2014.

4. Food and Water

Have your kitten’s food ready before she arrives.

Ask us which dry and wet foods she has been eating and continue those foods initially. A sudden food change combined with the stress of moving to a new home can contribute to digestive upset.

We recommend keeping your young kitten’s familiar dry food available throughout the day.

Offer the familiar wet food approximately three times a day while she is young. As she matures, this can generally be reduced to twice daily.

Provide separate food and water dishes, wash them frequently, and replace the drinking water with fresh water every day.

5. Set Up the Litter Box

Start with the same type of litter your kitten has already been using.

This is another area where familiarity is helpful. Your kitten is dealing with enough changes already, so the first days in her new home are generally not the best time to introduce an unfamiliar litter.

For a young kitten in a small safe area, a simple low-sided litter box is fine. It should be easy for her to enter and exit.

As your Maine Coon grows, however, size becomes important. Maine Coons need considerably more room than the average cat.

We like large stainless-steel litter boxes designed for big cats because they are durable and easy to clean.

What About Automatic Litter Boxes?

We are also big fans of automatic self-cleaning litter boxes.

Our favorite is the Litter-Robot 4. Automatic boxes certainly aren’t necessary, and litter-box preferences vary from household to household, but we appreciate how easy they make it to keep the litter consistently clean. Note: manufacturer recommendation is that the kitten must be over 3 lbs before using the automatic mode.

For a newly arrived kitten, however, we recommend beginning with the litter-box setup she already knows and making changes gradually.

6. When Should You Call Your Veterinarian?

Sometimes a new kitten does not want to eat right away when you bring her home. This is normal. But what is not normal is vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, or breathing difficulties. In this case, call your breeder and veterinarian right away. If your kitten has been eating well during her meals and then suddenly stops eating, this may also be a medical emergency.

To give you peace of mind, most catteries offer a 72 hour window health guarantee where you have the option to take your kitten to the vet for a wellness visit. Do it.

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The First 72 Hours

Once your kitten arrives, give her time.

Some kittens, like Sky, will walk out of the carrier ready to investigate. Others may hide, sleep, or seem unusually quiet. Some of our most loving cats started as kittens which took a little more time to adapt. Bellissima was one. After traveling all the way from Italy with a kind Flight Nanny, though she was willing to sit in my lap on the way home, she definitely was not ready to meet the other cats and dogs once here. By guarding her those first few days, we were able to give the security she needed, such that by moving slowly over three weeks, she is now one of our most affectionate cats.

Don’t judge your kitten’s eventual personality by those first few hours.

It is common for a kitten to eat less during the most stressful part of the transition. As she begins eating normally, using her litter box, exploring, playing, and willingly approaching you when you enter the room, you will know that she is beginning to settle in.

As a general guideline, we recommend giving a new kitten about 72 hours of protective isolation before beginning more direct introductions to the rest of the household. If you have other pets, extend that timeline to a minimum of two weeks. This quarantine is important in case she picked up any parasites or illnesses during transport.

This period isn’t only about emotional adjustment. It also gives you an opportunity to observe your kitten carefully.

Before introducing her to your other pets, make sure:

• She is eating and drinking well.
• She is urinating and having normal, firm stools.
• Her eyes and nose are clear of discharge.
• She is alert and behaving normally.
• You see no signs of illness.

Stress can make kittens more vulnerable to illness. If your kitten stops eating, develops diarrhea, has eye or nasal discharge, becomes unusually lethargic, or shows other signs that concern you, contact your breeder and veterinarian promptly. Young kittens can become ill quickly.

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Introducing Your Maine Coon Kitten to Other Pets

Introductions should happen gradually, not all at once.

Start With Plenty of Separation

If you already have dogs or cats, begin with two barriers between them and your new kitten whenever practical.

For example, your kitten might have a secure enclosure inside a closed spare bedroom. In the picture below, our other curious cats are outside the spare bedroom where we put Bellissima. But not only was she safe behind the door, we also had her in a smaller catio style enclosure where she could snuggle up in her box, and also have access to food, water, and a small litter box, but not access to the larger bedroom where she might escape to her own hiding place. With a fearless welcoming committee like that, no wonder she needed a little extra time.

Your other pets will know something interesting is happening. Expect plenty of sniffing around the door.

The extra separation gives your kitten an additional sense of security and reduces the possibility of another animal unexpectedly entering her safe space.

Introduce Their Scents First

Before introducing the animals face-to-face, let them become familiar with one another through scent.

Take a small blanket or towel carrying your kitten’s scent and allow your resident pets to investigate it.

Likewise, bring an item carrying the scent of your other animals into your kitten’s room.

You can also allow your kitten to explore part of the house while your other pets are securely elsewhere. Then return the kitten to her safe room and let your other animals investigate the area she explored.

They are meeting one another through scent before they ever meet face-to-face.

Move to One Barrier

When your kitten appears comfortable and everyone is responding calmly, you can reduce the separation to a single closed door.

Allow them to sniff one another beneath or around the door.

Some hissing from a resident cat isn’t necessarily a reason for alarm. Hissing is communication and can simply mean, “I’m not comfortable with this yet.”

If the reaction becomes intense or persistent, however, increase the distance again and give everyone more time.

Your goal is a peaceful long-term relationship, not a quick first meeting.

The First Face-to-Face Meeting

When everyone seems ready, allow a brief, controlled introduction.

With a calm, well-behaved dog, use a leash so that you remain in control. Ask the dog to give the kitten space rather than allowing excited chasing, crowding, or overly enthusiastic sniffing.

If the dog becomes too rambunctious, end the interaction and try again later.

When introducing cats, some hissing, growling, or cautious behavior can be normal. Give both cats room to retreat and don’t force interaction. This photo shows our slow progression in introducing Bellissima to our other pets. Even after a few weeks, there was some hissing, so by providing Bellissima with her safe catio enclosure, she is able to rest easily even with another cat sleeping just above her. Shortly after this photo was taken, we were able to let Bellissima loose where she could explore.

Never allow an introduction to escalate to the point where the resident cat attacks or corners the kitten. By watching carefully, as soon as introductions started to intensify, we were able to quickly place Bellissima back in her secure location–nearby, but safe.

Several short, successful meetings are much better than one long meeting that becomes frightening.

Before long, Bellissima was intermingled with the other cats, even sharing the same food dish.

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Before Giving Your Kitten Free Roam of the House

Once your kitten is comfortable and introductions are progressing well, you can gradually expand her world.

Before you do, look at your home from a kitten’s point of view.

Check Your Houseplants

Some common houseplants are toxic to cats, and some can be extremely dangerous.

Lilies are particularly dangerous to cats and should not be accessible to them.

Young kittens are notorious for investigating things with their mouths. A plant an adult cat ignores may be irresistible to a curious kitten.

Check every plant in your home before allowing your kitten access to it.

Kitten-Proof Your Rooms

Remove fragile objects from shelves, tables, and other places your kitten may eventually reach.

Maine Coons are athletic, curious cats, and kittens don’t always understand their own capabilities.

Many of us have learned the hard way that the treasured vase we thought was safely out of reach wasn’t quite as safe as we imagined.

Also look for objects that could tip or fall onto your kitten, cords she could become tangled in, tiny objects she might swallow, and spaces where she could become trapped.

Be Careful Around Windows

Cats love windows, but don’t assume a young kitten understands heights or danger.

Check screens and make sure windows are secure before giving your kitten access to them. Realize that an elevated balcony may not be the safe place you think it is as your kitten does not yet have the sense to respect the heights.

Your kitten will learn a tremendous amount as she grows. During these early months, think of her much as you would a toddler: curiosity is unlimited, but judgment is still developing.

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Don’t Forget a Scratching Post

Your kitten also needs an appropriate place to scratch.

Almost any sturdy scratching post can work while she is very small, but remember that your Maine Coon isn’t going to stay small for long.

Cats like to stretch their bodies fully when scratching. For an adult Maine Coon, a tall, heavy, extremely stable scratching post is well worth having.

Choose the largest sturdy post you reasonably have room for. It should be stable enough that it doesn’t wobble or tip when a large cat stretches against it.

You can see in the picture, left, that Rutherford needs a rather large scratching post. This one is 42 inches high. https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Craft-Scratching-Reticulate-Replaceable/dp/B0FQM3S6GY/ref=sr_1_3?nsdOptOutParam=true&s=pet-supplies&sr=1-3

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Take Your Time

The first few days aren’t about showing your kitten everything her wonderful new home has to offer.

They are about showing her that

Keep her world small at first. Give her familiar food and scents. Let her hide when she wants to hide. Spend quiet time with her. Watch her health carefully. Introduce people, animals, rooms, and new experiences gradually.

Soon enough, that cautious little newcomer will realize that this strange new place is hers.

And then you’ll probably wonder how she managed to take over the entire house so quickly, like Tasha, one of our kittens in her new home with her best bud, the Griffon Dog.

Next Week: Grooming Your Maine Coon

A Maine Coon’s beautiful coat needs the right kind of care—and starting good grooming habits while your kitten is young makes life much easier later.

Learn what you need to groom your Maine Coon →