From Our Home to Yours: How We Prepare a Kitten to Move

Moving a kitten isn’t just a trip from point A to point B. It’s the first psychological break in its life: new place, new smells, new people, new sounds. How it handles that depends on what we did in the weeks before and what we sent you off with for the road. Here’s how this journey unfolds — from our home to yours.

Watch Me Grow: You Know the Cat Before You Take It Home

Months of waiting — that’s a lot, if it’s silence. With us, it’s different.

Throughout the Watch Me Grow period, we send photos and videos 2–3 times a week. You watch the personality form: first ventures out of the carrier, favorite toys, sleeping styles, how the kitten reacts to new things. By the time of handover, you’re not looking at a stranger. You’re looking at a cat you know.

If the kitten is going abroad, this period takes longer — for the EU, because of the waiting periods after the rabies vaccination and the antibody test.

If the kitten is staying in Ukraine — the move is possible from ~3.5 months.

Socialization: Personality Forms Before 3 Months

Socialization at this stage doesn’t happen on its own — it’s deliberate. Kittens are handled every day. They get used to household sounds: hairdryer, dishes, TV, vacuum. They hear guests — different voices, different manners, different ages. They meet other animals at our home — calmly, through a barrier, without pressure. They live with varied routines, not one static rhythm.

The personality you’ll live with for 15+ years forms right now — before the kitten leaves our home. A properly socialized kitten arrives at your place ready for a new environment, not unsettled by it.

The “Trousseau”: Three Items That Travel with the Kitten

We put together a kit that travels with every kitten. Not symbolic — functional. Each item has a specific job in the first days at the new place.

A toy with the smell of home. Not new, not bought specially for the trip. The one the kitten has already played with. Three days before departure, we leave it open in the room — it absorbs the exact smell of this home. In the first nights at the new place, that smell will be the kitten’s safety anchor.

A blanket the kitten slept on. It carries the smell of mom and the cattery. Put it where the kitten will sleep at your place — it carries the sensory link between the old home and the new.

About a week’s supply of food — roughly 7–10 days, depending on the kitten’s appetite. Same brand, same formula, same texture. A sudden change of diet during the stress of moving makes adjustment harder. This first week is a buffer: the kitten gets used to you and the new space without rebuilding its digestion at the same time.

The carrier isn’t part of the kit. Usually the buyer chooses it, because everyone travels differently — on foot with a backpack carrier, by car, by plane. We ask about the carrier in advance, and if you don’t have a suitable one, we can help arrange one by prior agreement. When the carrier is at our home before departure, we open it up a few days in advance: the kitten goes in and out, lies inside and stops seeing it as foreign.

What You Do During the Wait

While we prepare the kitten — you prepare too. The move goes smoother if the new home is already waiting.

What to do during the wait

Here’s what comes from us and what you prepare.

From us: familiar toys, a blanket with the scent of home and about a week of the food the kitten is used to.

You prepare before the kitten arrives:

the same food the kitten eats with us, enough for the first month
bowls for food and water
a litter tray
the litter the kitten is used to
a scoop
a scratching post
a carrier
a comfortable place to sleep

Also worth picking out a “safe room” — quiet, no extra distractions, where the first adjustment happens.

Before the kitten arrives, it helps to put away cords, fragile items, and toxic plants, look at the space from “kitten level,” install window stops, and separate zones: food and water away from the litter box.

What not to do

Don’t buy a different food “just in case” or abruptly change the litter or the box. Don’t overload the space with too many toys, and avoid leaving dangerous areas exposed.

In the first days, don’t plan visitors and don’t rush introductions with other animals. Generally, the basics are enough — everything else can be added gradually after the kitten settles in.

Handover Day: From Us to You

Personal handoff is our standard. You come over, see the kitten alive, active, in its natural environment. We pick it up together. You see us, we see you. The moment a new owner first holds the kitten — that’s confirmation from both sides that both made the right call.

A few hours before departure: we give one last calm feeding and check the trousseau. If the carrier has been with us beforehand, we open it with the familiar smell — the kitten walks in on its own, because it has known this carrier for days.

On the road: carrier somewhere warm and quiet — a blanket or towel over the top reduces the visual flow. No sudden stops, no loud music, no passing the kitten to strangers. If the trip is long (over 3–4 hours) — we discuss with you in advance whether a mild sedative might be needed; this is an individual call based on the specific kitten’s temperament (more in the FAQ below).

First hour at home: bring the carrier into the safe room. Open the door and step back. Don’t reach inside, don’t pull the kitten out, don’t carry it into the living room. Sit nearby, quietly, wait. It’ll come out on its own — in 10 minutes, an hour, three hours. That moment is the first act of trust at the new place.

First Week: What’s Normal, What’s Not

A few signals from the first days — so you don’t think something’s going wrong when actually everything is on track.

Normal

The kitten hides in the carrier or under furniture for the first hours, up to a day. It’s not fear — it’s decompression. Leave the carrier open as a hideout, don’t take it away.

The kitten doesn’t eat a full meal on day one. If it tried water and a bite of food — that’s enough.

The kitten doesn’t respond to its name. It hears you, it’s just listening to the space, not ready to answer back yet.

Warning signs — call the vet the same day

24 hours of complete refusal of food and water. This isn’t “settling in” — it’s an emergency.

Straining in the litter box without result, or blood in the urine. Urinary obstruction in cats is life-threatening and requires help within hours.

Lethargy, refusing to move, sneezing and coughing — any of these signals on its own, much less together.

The first month is a topic of its own. The 3-3-3 rule (3 days of decompression, 3 weeks of adjustment, 3 months to fully feel at home), feeding schedule, first play sessions, introductions to other animals — all of it is laid out in detail in Article #17 — First 30 Days with a Floriente Kitten. Read it before the kitten arrives — that way you’ll be ready.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Watch Me Grow so important?

Because by the time of handover, you should know the kitten’s personality not from photos but from daily observation. 2–3 updates a week over 4–6 months — that’s enough to see how temperament, preferences, and habits form. The first meeting becomes natural: you’re not meeting a stranger, you’re meeting a cat you know.

What’s in the “trousseau”?

A toy with the smell of our home (three days in the room before departure), a blanket with the smell of mom and the cattery, and about a week’s supply of familiar food (roughly 7–10 days, depending on appetite). The carrier isn’t part of the kit: usually the buyer chooses it, and we ask about it in advance and can help arrange one by prior agreement. Together, the kit gives the kitten a sensory bridge between the old home and the new.

Can I switch to a different food brand right away?

We recommend keeping the food the kitten is used to for the first month — that’s our settling-in recommendation, not a medical rule. Moving is already a big change, and a familiar diet means one less change at a time. If you then want to switch, do it gradually, mixing new with old over 7–10 days and slowly increasing the share of the new food.

Is sedation used for long trips?

It depends on the specific kitten — the breeder decides individually. After several months of observation, the breeder knows how each kitten behaves on trips to the vet: who lies down calmly and falls asleep, and who panics, screams, and can’t settle.

At the same time, it’s important to understand the official position: routine sedation for transport isn’t recommended. Most veterinary organizations and carriers (especially airlines) don’t support the use of sedatives without medical indication, since they can affect breathing, thermoregulation, and the animal’s overall condition during travel.

So the standard approach is to minimize stress without medication: a prepared carrier, familiar smells, calm company. Sedation is considered only as an exception and only on a vet’s recommendation, when it’s genuinely necessary for the kitten’s safety.

Ready to Meet?

Every kitten has its own preparation story. If you’re thinking about a specific kitten from Floriente or want to see our kittens — our kittens page. The reservation process and what happens from first contact through handover is laid out in Article #9 — Price Breakdown and What’s Included and on the How to Buy page. It’s also worth knowing how to verify a cattery before you buy.

And if you’d like to read what it was like for families who’ve already done this — Article #16 — Owner Stories.