Remove poisonous plants. Some common houseplants are poisonous to kittens and cats. Research the plants you have in your home and get rid of any that could harm your kitten. See POISONOUS PLANTS post on our BLOG page.

Remove any essential oils from your home. Many are toxic to cats.

Secure windows. Cats enjoy looking outside. To reduce the risk of a fall, keep windows closed when you can’t supervise your kitten. If you do plan to open windows in your home, make sure all screens are tightly secured and limit your kitten’s access to sills and ledges.

Secure cabinets. Cats have a way of sneaking into places they aren’t supposed to be, and this includes unsecured cabinets. Make sure any cabinets that contain toxic or harmful cleaning products are properly closed and locked if possible.
Get rid of any bug or rodent killer. Just as easily as it can kill a mouse it can kill your cat, or secondary poisoning by cat ingesting a poisoned mouse.

Clean up wires and cables. Dangling objects, including electrical wires and cables, look like toys to a kitten. Use wire protectors and keep cords tucked away and out of reach.

Prepare a safe space. Your new kitten will likely feel overwhelmed and a little bit nervous when they first come home. You can alleviate some of this by creating a safe space in a bedroom or bathroom and letting them explore and get used to that area first. If you have other pets in your home, make sure introductions happen slowly.

Find a veterinarian. Before you bring your kitten home, find a vet where you can take your new feline companion for regular checkups. Your kitten has seen the vet already, but will need a follow up with your local vet within 3 business days of transfer. You have agreed to this in your PURCHASE CONTRACT, and it is important to get your kitten familiar with a new vet and to establish a health and wellness baseline. Your vet can also help you establish a pest / parasite control regime.

After you’ve decided that you will be bringing home a Maine Coon kitten, the first question often soon becomes, “What do Maine Coon kittens need?” If you’re not sure where to start, the below is a great starting point of kitty essentials you should have at home when your kitten arrives.

Cat litter and litter box: All Maine Coon Country kittens come with potty training started with the FUZZYMILKY toilet training method. (See details on TRAINING page of our site.) Adopter can order this training kit on AMAZON to finish this method in their home. Adopter will need to buy the proper kitty litter for their sewer system type as well. If you the adopter prefer to only use a traditional litter box: The litter box should be easy for your Maine Coon kitten to get in and out of, so it needs to be a larger size to accommodate a 20+ lb cat one day, if your kitten is a bigger one. The litter box should be placed in a location that is not too noisy or out of the way. You may need to experiment with litter types to see which one your Maine Coon kitten likes best. A litter scoop will also come in handy when it’s time to clean the box. You should have one litter box per cat. You can also potty train your Maine Coon to potty in your toilet if you want to get rid of litter boxes all together. Look on TOILET TRAINING post on the TRAINING page for instructions on this potty method. I have trained this way and if you have the patience, it does work most the time. I feel its much easier to flush a toilet a few times a day than it is to cleaning a litter box mess every day.

Cat food: Your new kitten needs to eat! Your pet has been eating Life’s Abundance kitten/cat food. Please keep your pet on this food to stay on our 5 year guarantee for health. Nuvet supplements should also be ordered and have on hand waiting at your home for when you get your kitten. Kitten will come with some food and supplements. Diet changes needs to be approved by breeder before the change to make sure the new feed is of a good quality. Any change needs to be made gradually to avoid an upset stomach. Below is feeding schedule:
Morning time feed dry kibble, put down for 30 minutes and then pick up. At mid day feed Life’s Abundance canned food. In evening feed dry food again, put down for 30 minutes and then pick up. Have water available 24/7. Do not let more than 12 hrs go between feedings or stomach may get upset. If you notice your cat is gaining too much weight you will need to feed less, or only give a 2 tablespoon amount of wet feed. Please go to NUTRITION PAGE for links to order the Food and supplements.

Cat treats: To encourage bonding and help with training, purchase cat treats to reward your kitten for good behavior. But keep in mind that overdoing it can lead to weight gain. Look for meat only options, and use treats sparingly as they should only make up about 10% of your cat’s overall diet. Chicken breast is a good treat option.

Food and water bowls: Look for small bowls initially to make it simple and easy for your small kitten to eat. You can replace kitten-sized bowls with adult-sized bowls as your kitten grows. To encourage drinking, consider a cat water fountain. It’s a good idea to keep your cat’s food and water dishes a distance from each other as cats often will not like to drink water that is kept close to their food source. Just a few feet away is fine.

Cat bed: Kittens need a space where they can curl up and take a nap. While they may choose to do this on your couch or your bed, it’s still a good idea to purchase a cat bed and encourage your kitten to use it. Look for a bed that is easy to wash and consider ones that offer your kitten a place to burrow or hide.

Cat scratchers: Kittens and cats instinctively need to scratch. It’s a natural behavior that relieves stress and helps cats file their claws and mark their territory. If you don’t want your kitten scratching your furniture or curtains, place scratching posts and scratching toys throughout your home and reward your kitten with attention and an occasional treat when they use them. If you have a kitten that likes to use his claws too much, you can get plastic nail covers and glue them on. I clip my cats’ nails once weekly to bi-weekly as needed, and that seems to work for me.

Cat toys: Your kitten will have a lot of energy, and toys can help keep your new feline family member occupied, entertained and enriched. Cats are hunters by nature, so playing with toys helps them practice those innate behaviors. Look for interactive toys like wands, so you can play together and bond. Catnip toys are also a good option for playful kittens. There are little plastic spring cat toys you can buy in bulk on Amazon that are my cats’ favorite toys.

Cat trees and perches: Cats like to observe the world from on high, and they enjoy climbing and jumping. Cat trees and window perches provide enrichment for kittens and cats and give them a place to retreat and feel safe.

Cat carrier: Whether or not you plan to travel with your cat, you still need a safe cat carrier for transporting your cat to veterinary appointments and in case of emergency. Gradually introduce the carrier to your kitten and encourage them to explore it using treats and positive reinforcement. If your kitten ships by plane to you, it will come with a crate you can keep using until he/she out grows it.

Collar and I.D. tag: In the event your kitten gets lost or dashes out of the house, a collar and ID tag will increase your chances of a happy reunion. Make sure the collar fits your kitten appropriately and is not too tight or too loose. Breakaway collars are an ideal option! The I.D. tag should include your contact information and your kitten’s name. Microchips are a good option but if your cat gets out and is found, a microchip has to be scanned to reunite you together, wear as a ID tag can make a reunion much quicker. Having both are a very good idea. Make sure to register your microchip. It is blank until you register it online. BUDDY ID online is a good place to register it for the life of your pet. I have seen some people get gps trackers for their pets off Amazon. If you do that please just make sure the battery is good. Eventually it will need to be replaced, possibly yearly, but at $35 each, that might be worth it to you. That is Amazon cost as of 2023.

Cleaning supplies: Kittens usually pick up on using a litter box quickly, but you should have urine cleaners and odor eliminators on hand in the event of an accident. Look for pet safe cleaning supplies that are free of harsh chemicals. If your kitten is eliminating outside of the litter box, try switching litters or schedule a veterinary visit to rule out a medical problem. Many factors can cause this, but usually its stress, having to share a box, or not liking the litter, or location of the litter box.

Get your new kitten vet checked within 3 business days and make sure to take the kitten’s shot record with you to that vet visit. Call us immediately, while still at vet office, if anything wrong is found at this first vet visit. Make sure vet tells you when to bring kitten back in for it’s next shots in it’s vaccine schedule. Talk about parasite prevention with your vet. I personally would never put a flea collar or flea treatment on a cat unless fleas are an issue. Then I look for natural remedies before I would use an over the counter or prescription medication that is a toxin. Flea collars and topicals are toxins in small amounts meant to kill the fleas… I prefer to have as little toxins as possible in my pets life. Your INSIDE house cat should have very little chance of ever contracting fleas. Everyday toxins can build up free radicals that can cause issues later on such as kidney disease or cancers. You should weigh your options and all possible outcomes before you decide to give any medication to your pet. Any reactions would not be covered by us. You can see recommended vaccine schedule on your kitten’s shot record as well as the MAINE COON HEALTH page of our website.