Post-delivery instructions

Kitten Care Guide After Delivery: Feeding, Kitten-Proofing & Grooming

A complete kitten post-delivery care guide covering the first 24 hours, safe travel and carrying, bonding tips, kitten-proofing your home, a 3-meal feeding schedule with allowed and unsafe foods, safe food transition rules, grooming, best toys, and the 5-day deworming and vaccination window.

Bringing a new kitten home is exciting, but the first few days matter the most. What you feed your kitten, how you kitten-proof your home, and how you handle the first 24 hours, grooming, and rest in this window sets the foundation for a strong, healthy adult cat. Here is the complete post-delivery care routine we share with every Royal Kitten family.

The First 24 Hours At Home

In the first 24 hours, keep your kitten in one quiet room, limit new introductions, and let it rest, this is what helps a kitten settle in fastest after a stressful journey away from its mother.

• Set up a quiet room for your kitten on day one, not the whole house at once.
• Don't introduce your kitten to too many people, kids, or other pets immediately, let it adjust first.
• Let your kitten rest after travel, avoid excessive handling or play on the first day.
• Keep food, water, and the litter box in the same corner of the room, close to each other but away from where the kitten sleeps, so your kitten learns the layout quickly and doesn't feel lost.

Bringing Your Kitten Home: Travel Tips

Use a covered carrier, keep the ride short and calm, and avoid feeding a large meal right before travel, this keeps a kitten's first journey as stress-free as possible.

• Always use a proper, covered carrier for travel, never carry a kitten loose in your arms in a car or bike.
• Line the carrier with a soft cloth or towel, a familiar-smelling blanket from the breeder helps a lot.
• Avoid a heavy meal right before travel, a light feed a couple of hours earlier is safer and reduces the chance of travel sickness.
• Keep the carrier steady and away from direct sun, loud music, or blasting AC vents.
• Keep the journey as short and direct as possible, avoid long stops or errands on the way home.
• Speak in a calm, low voice during the ride, a kitten picks up on tone and stays calmer when you stay calm.

How To Bond With Your Kitten Quickly

Let your kitten approach you first, use slow blinks and gentle play, and stick to a consistent routine, trust builds faster than most people expect when you don't force it.

• Let your kitten come to you first, sit on the floor at its level instead of reaching in or picking it up right away.
• Use slow blinks when your kitten looks at you, this is how cats signal trust to each other.
• Offer a finger for your kitten to sniff before you try to pet it.
• Hand-feed a few small bites of its food, this is one of the fastest ways to build trust.
• Gently massage your kitten's neck with your fingertips, light circular strokes near the neck and under the chin feel like grooming from its mother and help a kitten warm up to you faster.
• Use short, gentle play sessions with a wand toy rather than your hands, so your kitten learns not to bite or scratch skin.
• Keep feeding times, sleeping spots, and handling consistent, kittens bond faster with routine and predictability than with constant attention.

How To Carry Your Kitten The Right Way

Always support your kitten's chest and back legs together, never pick it up by the scruff, legs, or tail.

• Place one hand under the chest, just behind the front legs, and the other hand supporting the back legs and hindquarters.
• Hold your kitten close to your body, this makes it feel secure instead of like it's about to fall.
• Never pick up a kitten by the scruff of the neck alone, this is only natural for a mother cat, not for human handling.
• Never lift or pull a kitten by its legs or tail, this can cause serious injury.
• Let children sit down while holding a kitten, rather than standing and walking around, to avoid accidental drops.
• If your kitten starts wriggling or seems uncomfortable, lower it gently to the ground instead of gripping tighter.

Kitten-Proof Your Home Before Delivery

Kitten-proofing means securing balconies and windows, covering wires, checking appliances, removing small objects, and limiting kitchen access, five checks that prevent most household accidents before they happen.

• Secure balconies and windows, kittens can slip through narrow gaps or jump from heights without judging the risk.
• Cover exposed wires, kittens love chewing on cables, which can cause shocks or injury.
• Check washing machines and dryers before every use, kittens are known to climb into these looking for a warm, cosy spot.
• Remove small objects like buttons, rubber bands, coins, and thread from the floor, these are common choking and swallowing hazards.
• Limit kitchen access, hot surfaces, open flames, and spilled food or oil are all risks a kitten won't recognise on its own.

Daily Feeding Schedule

Feed your kitten three times a day, at 8 AM, 1 PM, and 8 PM, keeping the timing consistent every day for steady digestion.

What You Can & Cannot Feed Your Kitten

Kittens can safely eat well-boiled, mashed potato, carrot, and pumpkin, plus boiled boneless chicken, fish, egg, and soft rice, all completely plain, with no salt, oil, butter, or spices, each one gives your kitten a different nutritional benefit.

These foods can seriously harm your kitten's digestion and overall health, even in small amounts. When in doubt about a food, it's always safer to skip it and check with your vet first.

Water Guidelines

Fresh, clean drinking water should be available to your kitten at all times, with the bowl washed daily.

• Fresh, clean drinking water should be available at all times, not just around mealtimes.
• Clean and refill the water bowl daily, standing water can attract bacteria quickly.
• Wash both food and water bowls regularly, a dirty bowl is one of the easiest ways for a kitten to fall sick.

Grooming & Hygiene

Comb your kitten once a day, check the eyes and ears every few days, trim nails every 2-3 weeks, and bathe only once every 4-6 weeks with a mild kitten-safe shampoo.

• Combing: once a day, using a soft, kitten-friendly comb. Avoid excessive combing, it can irritate a kitten's sensitive skin.
• Eye cleaning: gently wipe away any discharge with a soft, damp cloth, wiping outward from the corner of the eye. Never use cotton buds near the eye.
• Ear checking: peek inside the ears every few days for excess wax, dirt, or odour. If the ears look dark or smell off, get it checked by a vet rather than cleaning deep yourself.
• Nail trimming: trim the very tips every 2-3 weeks with a kitten-safe nail clipper, avoiding the pink area (the quick), which can bleed if cut.
• Bathing: kittens rarely need baths, once every 4-6 weeks is enough, and only with a mild kitten-safe shampoo. Over-bathing dries out their skin.
• Persian kittens need extra attention around the face, their flat features tend to cause more tear staining and dirt build-up near the eyes, so wipe this area daily with a soft, damp cloth to prevent staining and irritation.

Sleeping & Rest

Kittens sleep 16-20 hours a day, give them a warm, quiet, undisturbed spot with a soft bed to rest in.

• Give your kitten a warm, comfortable sleeping spot, away from direct fans, AC vents, or draughts.
• Kittens sleep 16-20 hours a day, this is completely normal. Never wake a sleeping kitten to play or cuddle.
• Use a soft, washable bed or blanket, and keep it in the same spot so your kitten has a consistent place to retreat to.

Best Toys For Your Kitten

Wand toys, small balls, crinkle toys, and puzzle feeders work best for kittens, they encourage safe play and build the bond between you and your kitten without your hands becoming the toy.

• Wand or fishing-rod toys, keep your hands out of biting range and mimic prey movement, great for supervised play sessions.
• Small lightweight balls, easy for a kitten to bat around and chase alone when you're busy.
• Crinkle balls or crinkle tunnels, the sound and texture keep kittens engaged and satisfy their instinct to pounce.
• Soft plush toys (kitten-sized), good for kicking and biting, this lets your kitten redirect play-biting away from your hands.
• Puzzle or treat-dispensing toys, keep a kitten mentally engaged and are useful once it's eating solid food confidently.
• Cat trees or scratching posts, satisfy natural scratching and climbing instincts and help protect your furniture.
• Cardboard boxes and paper bags (handles removed), free, safe, and almost every kitten loves them for hiding and pouncing.

Avoid toys with small detachable parts, loose strings, ribbons, or rubber bands left unsupervised, these are common swallowing hazards for curious kittens.

Health Care: Deworming & Vaccination

Deworming and the first round of vaccination should be completed within 5 days of your kitten coming home, this early window is what actually builds your kitten's immunity, not just a formality to tick off.

Things To Keep Away From Your Kitten

Keep medicines, cleaning chemicals, small objects, electrical wires, open windows, and toxic plants completely out of your kitten's reach, kittens explore with their mouths as much as their paws.

• Medicines, including your own tablets left on tables or nightstands.
• Cleaning chemicals and detergents, store them in closed cabinets, not under an open sink.
• Small objects such as buttons, rubber bands, thread, and coins, all choking hazards.
• Electrical wires, cover or tuck them away wherever possible.
• Open windows and balconies without proper netting or grills.

Common Household Plants Toxic To Kittens

Many plants found in Indian homes and gardens are toxic if a kitten chews on them, some can cause serious organ damage even in small amounts. Keep the following out of reach or avoid them entirely while your kitten is young:

If your kitten chews on any plant and shows vomiting, drooling, or unusual behaviour, contact a vet right away, don't wait to see if it passes on its own.

A Few More Things To Keep In Mind

• Keep your kitten in a warm, clean, and stress-free environment, especially in the first week.
• If you notice vomiting, loose motion, loss of appetite, or any unusual behaviour, consult a vet immediately, don't wait it out.

Kitten Post-Delivery Care – FAQs