Cat Care 101: Your Essential Checklist Before Bringing a Cat Home

Have you recently adopted or added a feline friend to your family? Congratulations! There’s nothing more exciting than being a first-time cat owner — you have now officially opened your home to a life full of soft purrs, gentle kneads, and adorable meows. 

We’re sure you’re super excited for the beginning of this new and wonderful companionship but before bringing your new kitty home, there are a few things that you must prepare to make sure that your home is purr-fect and completely cat-ready! 

Here at Maxime, we’ve put together a comprehensive checklist of the essentials you need to have to make sure that your new feline friend will feel safe and comfortable in their forever home.

1. Food & water bowl

A separate food and water bowl are essential before bringing your new cat home. Choose stainless steel, ceramic, or glass for your kitty’s feeding bowls. When choosing a water bowl, remember to go for wide ones as cats usually don’t like it when their whiskers touch the bowl while drinking. 

2. Cat food

If your new kitty had a previous owner, ask what brand of cat food they were feeding them, purchase the same brand, and stick to it for a while. Cats have sensitive stomachs, and switching to an entirely new diet could upset their digestion.

No matter their age, It’s important to feed your cat a complete and minerally-balanced meal to help them meet their daily nutritional needs. Try the new Maxime Cat Food, formulated for both kittens and adult cats. Maxime Cat Food is enriched with taurine and other minerals to help your feline buddy stay in good shape!

3. Litterbox & litter

Before bringing a cat home, a litter box should be on your priority list of must-have essentials. A litter box should be large enough for a cat to move around in because they need enough space to turn around and dig. Whether you’re choosing an uncovered or an enclosed litter box, always place this in a quiet but easily accessible location, away from their feeding area. If you have a multi-level home, we also recommend having one per floor.

There’s a wide selection of cat litter sand in the market that you can choose from. Go for a clumping one for easy scooping. 

Make it a habit to clean your cat’s litter box at least twice a day. Cats can be easily litter-trained due to their instinct to cover their body waste in dirt and sand, but even the cleanest of cats may refuse to use their litter box if they notice that it’s already full and dirty.

4. Cat Furniture

Scratching Posts

Cats have an instinctive need to scratch. They do it to express excitement or stress, to mark objects with their scents, to remove their skin from their claws, and to simply stretch. In the wild, cats use trees as their scratching posts.

To help your feline friend satisfy this need (and steer them away from your beloved furniture at home!), get them their own scratching posts. A good scratching post should be sturdy enough and at least be 3-feet high and covered in sisal fabric or burlap. Scratching boards are also highly recommended.

Cat bed

While cats tend to sleep just about anywhere they see fit, procuring a designated space where they can safely tuck themselves in also wouldn’t hurt. When choosing a cat bed, go for a hooded, cave-style bed. You can also try repurposing an old cardboard box and place a warm and washable pad inside — cats are known for loving the security and comfort of enclosed spaces!

5. Toys

Playtime is essential for cats of all ages! To keep them mentally stimulated and help them burn their energy, engage in playtime by using a variety of toys. Feather wands are a usual favorite; they help cats activate their hunter instincts because cats love having something to chase and pounce on. 

6. Grooming

Cats are excellent groomers. Most of the time, they can stay clean on their own and rarely need a bath, but as responsible fur parents, they sometimes need our help too! Brush your cat regularly to help keep their coat clean, reduce shedding, and prevent hairballs.

Now that you have all these essentials ready, we believe you’re now well on your way to becoming a great cat purrent! Congratulations once again on gaining a new best furriend and enjoy a lifetime of happiness and wonderful meow-ments with your cat!

References: 
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Be Chewy
Comfort Zone
Cats Protection

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What are the six essential categories of items a new cat owner should prepare before bringing their cat home?
Six preparation categories are covered. Food and water bowls – in stainless steel, ceramic, or glass, with wide water bowls to avoid whisker contact. Cat food – matched to the cat’s previous diet where possible, complete and minerally balanced. A litter box – large enough to move and dig in, placed in a quiet but accessible location away from the feeding area, with clumping litter for easy cleaning. Cat furniture – scratching posts and a cat bed or enclosed resting space. Toys for mental stimulation and energy release. Grooming tools – particularly a brush for coat maintenance and hairball prevention.

Q2. Why is it important to maintain a cat’s previous diet initially, and what should the food itself provide nutritionally?
Cats have sensitive digestive systems, and switching to a completely different food too quickly can upset their digestion and cause gastrointestinal discomfort. If a newly adopted cat was already eating a particular brand, continuing with that same food during the initial settling-in period allows the cat to adjust to its new home without the additional stress of a dietary change. Whatever food is ultimately chosen for the long term, it should be complete and minerally balanced to meet a cat’s daily nutritional needs at their specific life stage – whether kitten or adult – since requirements differ meaningfully between the two.

Q3. What are the specific requirements for a litter box, and how should it be maintained?
A litter box must be large enough for a cat to turn around and dig comfortably inside it – insufficient space is one of the most common reasons cats avoid using their box. It should be placed in a quiet but accessible location and kept entirely separate from the feeding area. In multi-level homes, one litter box per floor is recommended. Clumping litter is advised for practical scooping. The box should be cleaned at least twice daily – even well-trained cats will refuse to use a dirty or overfull litter box, making consistent cleaning essential to preventing litter avoidance.

Q4. Why do cats need scratching posts, and what specifications make a scratching post effective?
Scratching is not destructive behavior – it is an instinctive biological need. Cats scratch to express excitement or stress, to mark objects with their scent glands located in their paws, to remove dead layers of skin from their claws, and to stretch their muscles. Providing a dedicated scratching post redirects this need away from household furniture. An effective scratching post must be sturdy enough to resist being knocked over during use, at least 3 feet high to allow full-body stretching, and covered in sisal fabric or burlap, which provides the texture and resistance cats prefer. Scratching boards are also recommended as a complementary option.

Q5. What are the key takeaways for first-time cat owners preparing to bring a cat home?
Three principles stand out. First, preparation before arrival matters more than most new owners anticipate – a cat introduced to a home without the necessary essentials in place will experience unnecessary stress during an already vulnerable transition period, which can affect litter training, feeding behavior, and temperament. Second, cat needs are species-specific – bowl shape, litter box size, scratching post material, and food composition each reflect particular feline biology and instinct, meaning generic or improvised solutions often fall short of what cats actually require. Third, consistency is the foundation of good early care – consistent diet, a reliably clean litter box, and regular grooming establish the stable routines that help cats thrive.