To New Munchkin Parents
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To my kitten parents:
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When you pick up your kitten, please remember a few things. Kittens are individuals with different personalities. Some will jump right out of a carrier and want to explore their new home. Some will be cautious and fearful and not want to come out, they may even hide from you for a day or two. While you have been looking forward to their arrival for weeks (or months), all they have ever known is me, their mother, and their siblings, and they have NO idea what is happening. Taking a kitten to a new home is basically like someone kidnapping you, taking you away from your family and everything you have ever known and plopping you down in New York City, where you know no one and expecting you to be happy about it. Please allow them some adjustment time.
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At my home, they have been picked up and cuddled DAILY, from the day they are born to the moment they leave me. They have been around noise, my 3 dogs, my husband’s big feet, and we live across from a fire station, so they have heard sirens. That being said, they will not immediately be ready to mingle with you or your existing household pets, if you have any. Introductions to other pets should be gradual and over a space of a few days. Keeping them in separate rooms would be ideal so they can get used to the smell of another animal. You’re existing pets may not be too thrilled about a new family member, so some growling or hissing is to be expected through the acclimation process.
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When you get your baby home, please have a safe, confined quiet space set up for them. A laundry room with a door or a bathroom is perfect. Give them a bed or a box to sleep in, access to food and water and a litter box. Let them get used to this confined space first. This will allow them to figure out new smells, new animals, and new people without them being overwhelmed. Go into and out of this room many times a day. Speak softly and pet them gently. Let them know you are not a threat. DO NOT let them out in the main part of your home and expect them to be immediately in your lap. They WILL hide and you might have a hard time convincing them that they don’t need to.
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I cannot guarantee that your new baby will be a cuddle bug, especially while they are so young. Kittens are so full of energy and Munchkins in particular, will play until they drop. In my experience, they play until they are tired and them come to me when they want to settle down and get some love. The babies’ father is VERY much a lover, but as stated earlier, all cats are individuals and they will do their own thing.
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Your kitten will need age appropriate vaccinations. Depending on the age at pickup (usually 10 weeks), you kitten will need it's round of shots. One round DOES NOT make your kitten immune to viruses or to the diseases vaccinated against. They MUST HAVE BOOSTER shots to develop immunity. When you get your kitten from me, they are healthy, eating, eliminating, and virus free. I do not administer 1st shots because in my experience, it can weaken a kitten and that is something they don't need on top of the stress of going to a new home. When you take your kitten home, if you have other animals, (especially those that are allowed outside) your kitten CAN get sick from your existing animals. Even if your other animals show no symptoms, they can give a virus to a 10 week old kitten that doesn't have immunity. Moving a kitten is stressful and can weaken their immune system and it is very common for them to develop upper respiratory infection (which usually presents as sneezing and watering eyes) when they go to new homes. Please monitor then closely for the first couple weeks. I recommend making your first vet visit with them within 2 weeks after coming home.
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I am ALWAYS available for any questions you may have about the babies. If you have any concerns please call of text me or send me a message on FB. I also LOVE getting updates on the babies and would greatly appreciate it if you would send me pictures every few months of their progress. I know it’s silly, but I love EACH and EVERY one of them, even though I only get them for the first 2 months of their lives. Once you get your babies home and adjusted, please leave a review for me on my Facebook Page. Good reviews mean a lot when it’s so hard to trust people these days.
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Thanks so much for buying a Munchkin from me. I hope you have had a pleasant experience. Love my babies as much as I do!