Kitten Guides

Bringing Your British Shorthair Kitten Home: The Checklist

Collection day is the moment every waiting family looks forward to, and a little preparation is what makes it calm rather than chaotic. This guide walks through what to buy before your kitten arrives, how to manage the first forty-eight hours, what week one should look like, and the settling signs to expect — along with what your Muggles Mittens kitten pack already covers, so you do not buy anything twice.

Before Collection Day: The Shopping List

Have everything in place before you set off, so your kitten walks into a home that is ready rather than one still being arranged around them.

• A secure carrier. A hard-shell carrier with a top opening is easiest for a young cat, lined with a soft blanket and secured with a seatbelt for the drive home from Bushey.
• A litter tray in a quiet corner. Choose a low-traffic spot well away from food and water — cats are fastidious and will not eat beside their tray. Start with the same litter your kitten already knows; we will tell you exactly what we use.
• Sturdy scratching posts. At least one tall, stable vertical post plus a flat scratcher. British Shorthairs grow into substantial, heavy-set cats, so buy sturdier than seems necessary for a kitten.
• A safe room. Prepare one quiet room as home base: tray in one corner, food and water in another, a warm bed and somewhere to hide, such as a covered bed or a box on its side.
• Shallow, wide bowls. Ceramic or stainless steel for food and water, kept apart from each other and from the tray.
• The food they know. Our kittens are raw fed from day one, and continuity of diet matters enormously in the first weeks. Our raw feeding guide explains what to buy and how to keep the routine going at home.

Finally, kitten-proof the space: tuck cables away, check windows close securely, and remove toxic houseplants — lilies in particular are dangerous to cats. Our own cats live indoors with a protected, enriched garden, and your kitten will expect the same indoor life, so window and balcony safety deserves real attention.

The First Forty-Eight Hours

Keep the homecoming quiet. Carry your kitten straight to the safe room, open the carrier, and let them emerge in their own time. One room first is the golden rule: a whole house is overwhelming, while a single room with everything they need lets confidence build quickly. Sit on the floor, speak softly, and let the kitten come to you rather than reaching in after them. Keep their feeding times and food exactly as they were with us, resist the temptation to invite friends round, and do not be alarmed if the first evening involves more hiding than playing — some caution is entirely normal at twelve weeks.

Week One: Vets, Insurance and Introductions

Register with a local veterinary practice in the first few days and book an introductory check-up, taking the vaccination record from your kitten pack with you. Your kitten leaves us with five weeks of free Agria pet insurance, so arrange your ongoing policy well before that window closes — a gap in cover is the one mistake that is expensive to undo. Introduce children calmly and at floor level, in short supervised sessions, teaching them to let the kitten approach first. Existing pets need a slower path: swap bedding so each animal learns the other’s scent, feed them on opposite sides of a closed door, and only move to brief supervised meetings once both are relaxed. A week of patience here buys years of harmony.

Signs Your Kitten Is Settling

Because our kittens are raised underfoot in a bright kitten room alongside our queens, household noise and human company are already familiar, and most settle remarkably fast. Look for a healthy appetite, confident play, tail-up greetings, kneading, unhurried grooming, curiosity beyond the safe room and — the surest sign of all — a kitten who sleeps stretched out in the open rather than tucked away in a corner.

When to Worry

Ring your vet the same day if your kitten refuses food for twenty-four hours, is not drinking, seems limp or lethargic, has diarrhoea that persists beyond a day, or shows any laboured breathing. Hiding that continues well past the first week is also worth a conversation. And do ring us too — a responsible breeder remains available for the life of the cat, which is one of the things we encourage buyers to look for in our guide to choosing an ethical breeder. No question is too small.

What Your Muggles Mittens Kitten Pack Includes

Every kitten leaves our Hertfordshire home at twelve weeks vaccinated, microchipped and vet-checked, with five weeks of free Agria pet insurance already in place. The pack contains the vaccination record, microchip transfer details, registration paperwork from our GCCF and TICA registered lines, and clear feeding guidance for the raw diet your kitten has been weaned onto. In other words, the paperwork, health essentials and dietary continuity are covered — your shopping list is simply the home comforts above. You can read more about how we raise our kittens on our about page.