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A kitten takes up little room and calls for a lot of decisions. Most of them land in the first seven days.
1. One room beats the whole home
A kitten let loose across a flat spends the week hiding. The same kitten in one room with the door shut tends to come out within a couple of days.
That room holds everything: water, food, tray, bed, a low hiding spot and somewhere high. You go in, you sit down, you do not go looking for it.
The rest of the home opens up afterwards, one room at a time, with the first room still available. It stays its base when everything else feels too big.
2. The tray goes in before the kitten does
Three settings explain most of the first week's accidents: distance from the bowls, the height of the rim, and the hood.
Put the tray well away from where it eats, never beside it. The rim should stay under 5 cm so a kitten can step over without hauling itself up: measure it, plenty of trays sold for kittens are taller. The hood waits until it uses the tray without hesitating.
A kitten that gets it wrong is not disobeying. It is telling you one of those three settings does not suit it.
3. Play comes before stroking
You want to pick a kitten up. It wants to know first whether you are predictable.
A wand toy, a shoelace dragged along the floor, two minutes several times a day: play builds the bond without forcing contact. The kitten sets the distance, and that is what settles it.
Stroking comes later, and it comes from the kitten. One that rubs against your hand has answered the question.
4. A kitten that bites hands has learned that hands get bitten
Playing with your fingers is fun for a fortnight and a problem for fifteen years. An adult cat that ambushes ankles often started this way.
Hands feed, stroke and carry. They are never prey. Anything meant to be bitten sits at the end of an object.
When it grabs your hand, do not snatch it away and do not tell it off: stop the game and leave the room. The interruption is the message.
5. Height matters more than floor space
A small home is not a problem for a kitten. A flat one is.
A clear shelf, the back of an armchair, a unit it can reach in two jumps: high spots work as lookouts and as escape routes. They cut down the number of moments it feels cornered.
Check what is up there before it does: plants, cables, heavy objects near the edge. It will climb either way.
6. The first vet appointment does not get postponed
Even a kitten that seems well needs a first examination, a plan for worming and a vaccination schedule. Identification is usually settled at the same visit.
Book the appointment before the kitten arrives, not after. Slots are not always free within the week.
Bring whatever the breeder or the shelter handed over, even if it is incomplete. An imperfect document beats a memory.