New Kitten Checklist

Congrats on deciding to get a new kitty! Do you have everything you need?

This new kitten checklist has all you need to get ready for your new pal!

There are some things you’ll need for your kitten to help take care of them and make sure they’re fed. First, we’ll cover those essentials that you’ll want to get right away. Then we’ll also throw in a few things that go above & beyond what’s required to show your cat some extra love & care. We may even cover some things you haven’t thought of!

Things You Need for a New Kitten:

• Cat food & treats
• Litter & a litter box – a litter mat is a good idea too
• Toys for them to play with
• A bed or shelter
• A scratching post
• A collar & harness
• Grooming tools & shampoo

Cat Food & Treats

First, and most importantly in our new kitten checklist, you’re going to need to make sure your new kitten stays fed.

You’ll have the option of feeding wet or dry food. Wet food is usually easier to digest with the added moisture but messier & generally more expensive. Dry food is typically fine for younger cats and easier to store. As long as you choose a good brand, either should work fine.

For a young kitten, you’ll want to have kitten-specific food as they’re growing fast and need extra nutrition. According to CertaPet & My Pet Needs That, some good brands include Wellness, Nature’s Variety Instinct, BLUE Wilderness & Hill’s Science Diet. The Wellness Core & Wellness Kitten brands ranked at the top of kitty food lists.

Treats aren’t essential like food, but they’re great to have around for rewarding your kitty and having fun. Catnip can be helpful as a training aid. You can use it to attract kitties to the toys they should be playing with or away from scratching a couch and toward a scratching post.

Home Goods

There are a few cat home essentials to include in our new kitten checklist and a few extras you can add if you’d like. The essentials are a litter box, litter & a mat to catch stray litter (which will make cleanup more manageable).

Then you can add in items like a scratching post to give the kitty a place for approved scratching. You can also make them feel more at home with a bed or perch.

Cat Toys

Toys are a great way to encourage your cat’s playfulness. These toys are attention-grabbing and fun for you and your cat to play with.

Cat Wear

You’ll need a couple of basics to keep your cat safe and make sure they’re identified if they roam. You’ll need a collar and some identification, and if you want, you can get a leash to bring your cat outside if you don’t want it to stray too far.

Grooming Tools

Cats are great self groomers but need extra love and care to keep them in excellent health. It’s a good idea to start brushing & grooming a kitty when it’s young, so it’s used to it as it gets older.

Jessi Larson

Jessi is a marketing strategist for Fortune 50 companies who loves to research and write about pets. She enjoys finding cool new cat names, researching the best products, learning more about cat breeds and sharing tips with other pet parents.