New kittens - where should they sleep?

[MissIndecisive2023]

Picked up 2 kittens today - 9 week brothers. They came from a rescue where they had only ever been together in 1 room - people would go in and feed/stroke them etc but not used to being cuddled on laps etc.

They suggested that when bringing them home I should keep them in 1 room to start with, which is fine, they have been in the lounge and happy enough scooting around, hiding behind the sofa and then coming up onto the sofa for cuddles and a nap.

Am I ok to shut them in here overnight too? They have a bed, litter tray, food, water etc so everything they need in here. Or should I bring them to my bedroom when I go to bed? Of course back in the rescue place they would have been in their little room, so I think I am overthinking this, but it's been a while since I've had kittens and feel like I've forgotten everything!

Photo coming when I am on my phone!

They are beautiful.

I always had mine in my bedroom and they settled fine, didn't disturb my sleep. But thats the room l kept them in from the start, no not to overwhelm them. If you bring them up now they will be wanting to explore, maybe keep the in same room for a few days first.
It's good that you got two.

I have a black and white identical to yours and tiny (still) and all black - pretended to be grey when I went to choose 🙄)

In bed next to me in a crate until house trained. Then ... in bed of course.. DH attempted tough love... pathetically... they are 10 now and wear him as a hat. Which brings joy to all but him as the biggest one dribbles with joy 🥺

😻OMG they are gorgeous!

Seen a couple of comments about the kittens being in a crate? Is this now a thing? Is the crate shut?

id say def keep them in one room to start with, they'll be fine. I've always kept them out of bedrooms but that’s just my preference

Mine sleeps IN my bed
He pats my arm until I lift the duvet, then shoves himself against me with a big OOF and that's him for the night. Giant furry hot water bottle
I worried he couldn't breathe under the duvet then I remembered cats will very much tell you they are not happy

Sorry - but crating kittens is completely unnecessary and just wrong.
OP - Just keep them in one room for a few days (including overnight) as suggested by the place you got them from. Once they are comfortable with you and their new environment give them access to the rest of the house. They'll find favourite spots to sleep (your bed if you let them).
And yes - your kittens are gorgeous 😁.

Mine went in a crate because my big cat didn't like him much to start and kept swatting him! He's also not terribly bright and kept getting stuck in daft places so having him in a safe place was a good thing!

They get on fine now but he's still good at getting stuck in daft places!

When I went to collect Dkitten I was told that she and her siblings were in a crate although I believe they mostly had the run of the room. I bought a crate/playpen from Amazon for her to sleep overnight as we have other, bigger pets. We roll the front up during the day so she can please herself but shut her in overnight and when we are eating as she likes to sit in our plates. I have heard that cats don’t like being shut in but she seems quite happy about it.

I think I will leave them in the lounge tonight and see how they go. Fingers crossed! They conked out earlier but are up and wired again now - is this normal?! Do I need to tire them out during the day for them to sleep at night or not be so Gina Ford about it and let them do their own thing?

They will have a mad half hour zooming around and then crash out again at intervals through the day. They’re still babies so it’ll change as they get older. We kept our kittens in the front room for a couple of weeks (partly to slow introduce them to the older cats) but also so they were contained overnight. Now they still sleep in the front room mostly (sometimes with us, sometimes on the landing. One of the older ones sleeps with us most nights.

They may well hide for a couple of days until they get used to you. Just sit in the room with them, occasionally play with one of their toys and let them come to you. Don’t panic if it takes a while for them to trust you.

They tend to hide behind the sofa when I first go in the room. If I sit on the sofa they don’t come out, but if I sit on the floor they come running up to say hello. They both had a nap on me and DS2 this evening - very cute. I’ll leave them to their own devices then if this is normal. Of course will take a while for them to settle in to a new place too so I can’t expect too much!

i used a child gate with cling film round the bars as they got older and weren’t happy with the shut doors to keep them contained for a while until they discovered their climbing skills

I put mine in a crate at night, with food water litter tray and bed. They’re a pair of feral kittens and sweet as they are they cannot be trusted to poo in the correct places or to not destroy things.

Have a look at Jackson Galaxy's advice on last feeding/tiring out kittens.

The lady few we've had have comfortably slept through the night ...much better than DS2

All tucked in, as many wires removed from the room as possible. Fingers crossed!

When I got my kitten she was a little older, 12 weeks, and alone. She was in my bedroom. I didn’t get much sleep for the first few days but after a week she settled down.

We let ours into our room first couple of nights as they kept crying. Never again! They tore around all night, jumped about attacking our feet, one jumped on my head! Now they have the run of the house and enjoy it, they reliably sleep together on the bed of old soft clothes I left out for them downstairs.

I'd let them in my room/on my bed but I'm a total soft touch.
My three cats all sleep wherever they want, including on my head ffs!

When we got out 2 kittens (now 5 year old cats) they slept in kitchen in baskets with blankets and under floor heating left on for them. Once I knew they could go all night without needing the toilet they are shut in the sitting room with baskets but they tend to sleep on their cat trees. They have two cat trees. They go out to the toilet at 7am before breakfast.

So beautiful.😻😻

So cute, OP!!! 😻

We kept our kittens in the kitchen as the floor was lino and they were too small to jump up on anything. Yes they will wake up at times you are asleep and run round like maniacs which is why you don't want to encourage the sleeping on your bed habit. In summer particularly they will be up at 3 a.m. jumping on you.

Cats are creatures of habit. Make their sleeping place a permanent thing and they will take themselves there when they want to sleep at night.

Beautiful 😍

We got our cat at 12 weeks and he stayed in the lounge on his own for a good week overnight - with access to food, water and litter tray. He seemed very happy in there, ready to greet us in the morning and set him up nicely to explore the rest of the house. He sleeps all over the place now, wherever he fancies 😊

Didn’t hear a peep in the night and they seemed happy to see me this morning. And hungry! They seem very curious to leave the room but I think I’ll keep them in the lounge over the weekend and let them explore a bit more next week.

Loving all the cat pics btw!