The New-Kitten Shopping List: What to Buy First
Published 2026-07-06. Updated 2026-07-06.
Six things cover a kitten's first week: a litter box and litter, food and 2 bowls, a carrier, a scratcher, a bed or blanket, and a wand toy. Buy those before day one. Everything else can wait until you know the kitten.
Here is what each item is for, and what to leave on the shelf for now.
What do I need before my kitten comes home?
Start with the six essentials:
- A litter box and a bag of kitten-safe litter. One box for one kitten, low-sided so it can step in.
- Food and 2 bowls, one for water and one for meals. Keep whatever food the kitten already ate for the first week.
- A carrier. You need it for the ride home and every future clinic trip, so buy one you will keep.
- A scratcher. A horizontal cardboard pad is fine at this age.
- A bed or a soft blanket. A worn t-shirt that smells like you works too.
- A wand toy for play sessions with you.
That is the whole day-one list. These items fit inside a single small room, which is exactly where a new kitten spends its first days. The room build is in the safe room setup guide.
What can wait until later?
Most of the pet-store aisle. Skip these for now:
- The tall cat tree. A kitten wants floor-level hiding spots first. Add height in month 2 or 3.
- The automatic litter box and automatic feeder. Learn the kitten's habits by hand before you hand them to a machine.
- The big toy haul. Two toys tell you what the kitten likes. Ten toys clutter the room.
- A covered or high-sided litter box. Those come after the kitten is confident with an open box.
Buy the extras once you have watched the kitten for a week. You will spend better when you know its preferences.
What should I look for in each item?
A few specifics save you a second purchase:
- Litter box: low front lip, roughly the length of the grown cat plus half. A kitten needs to walk in without climbing.
- Litter: unscented and dust-light for a young kitten. Keep the texture the same for the first month.
- Carrier: hard-sided with a top that opens, so a nervous kitten lifts out from above.
- Scratcher: heavy enough that it does not slide when the kitten pulls on it.
- Bowls: shallow and wide for the food, so whiskers clear the sides.
- Wand toy: a long wand with a feather or string lure the kitten can actually catch.
Bring the carrier to the first checkup with the kitten already used to it. Prep for that visit is in the first checkup guide.
Where can I see the specific gear?
We keep a short list of the exact items, sized and picked for a first-time kitten owner, on one page.
The exact products, picked for a first-time kitten owner, are on the week-one gear list.
As an Amazon Associate, Smart Whisker earns from qualifying purchases. The gear list links to Amazon.