This new cat checklist covers a small apartment on two printed pages. Page one starts with the three measurements that decide what to buy, then a shopping list with the size to look for, the first room and cat-proofing. Page two runs through the first three days, weeks and months, with a floor-plan grid for sketching where everything goes, the reasons to call a vet and a log for the first week.
The PDF runs to two pages, roughly 300 KB. Nothing to sign up for: print it and pass copies to anyone adopting. Shelters, rescues, foster groups and landlords are welcome to hand it out. The PDFs carry no ads and no affiliate links; the shopping section further down this page does.
Why each line is on the new cat checklist
- One room first. San Diego Humane Society and other shelters begin a new cat in one small room with a door, food at one end and the box at the other. The rest of the home opens once it settles; no source fixes the days.
- Two boxes, each long enough. The AAFP and ISFM size a box at one and a half times the cat, nose to tail base. AAHA and AAFP count a box per cat plus one, a rule of thumb. Kittens need low sides.
- A post it may scratch. Scratching is normal, and every cat needs somewhere it is allowed. Owners answering Wilson’s 2016 survey linked posts over 3 ft (91 cm) with less damage to furniture; that is their report, not a measurement. If the couch gets there first, the furniture scratching guide shows how to redirect it.
- A perch it can stretch out on. Page one has you measure the cat lying stretched out, back paws to front paws. The AAFP and ISFM guidelines on a cat’s environment say a perch should fit that full stretch.
- Lilies out, plants checked. The FDA warns that true lilies and daylilies can cause kidney failure in cats, even from pollen or vase water. For every other plant, look up its scientific name on the ASPCA list before it comes home.
- Windows, cords and oils. Window falls happen often enough to carry a veterinary name, high-rise syndrome. Swallowed string or ribbon can kill, and Merck advises keeping cats out of rooms where an oil diffuser runs. For a fuller walk through each room, from cords to the laundry machines, see cat-proofing an apartment.
- Three days, three weeks, three months. Page two follows the 3-3-3 rule of thumb that shelters such as Pasadena Humane and San Diego Humane Society describe. It is not a timetable, and every cat sets its own pace.
How to use it
Print it a week before adoption day and work through page one as you shop and set up. Measure the cat at the shelter if you can, or use the size on its adoption record, and run the number through the cat measuring tool before you buy a box. Pin page two on the door of the first room. The log is worth keeping: if anything worries you, a vet will want to know when the cat last ate, drank and used the box.
The 3-3-3 rule guide explains each stage on page two in full, and the litter box placement guide helps you choose a spot for the second box.
What this checklist is, and what it is not
- Not veterinary advice. It cannot tell you what your cat needs; your vet can, and the vet note below says when to call at once.
- Guidelines, not laws. The 1.5 times box length is the AAFP and ISFM measure, nose to tail base. A box per cat plus one is a rule of thumb that the same guidelines call not an absolute requirement.
- No fixed days. No source says when a new cat is ready for more rooms. The 3-3-3 stages are a shelter rule of thumb: open the next room once the cat eats, uses the box and explores.
- Written from US sources. The shelters, the FDA and both poison lines are American. The PDFs print on Letter or A4; outside the US, write your own poison line in the blank.
Version 3, October 2026: a local poison line blank, a rescue or shelter contact line, a version number in the PDF footer and the sources the PDF cites. Version 2, October 16, 2026: the measure-first worksheet, the shopping list with sizes and the floor-plan grid.
What to buy before day one
Apartment Cats earns a commission when you buy through the Amazon links on this page, at no cost to you. Picks are made on published specs, never on commission. How this works
Page one’s shopping list, with one pick for each line we have compared in a guide. Every card links that guide, where the other options and the reasons behind the pick are set out.
Litter box: IRIS USA XL Open-Top with Shield
- What it is
- An open-top litter box with a shield, 30.2 by 20 in (77 by 51 cm) by its maker.
- Why this one
- By the 1.5 times rule it takes a cat up to 20 in (51 cm) from nose to tail base, and an open top is what the AAFP and ISFM prefer.
- Skip if
- The new cat is a kitten, or a stiff older cat that needs a step you know is low.
Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Litter: Cat’s Pride Max Power Unscented
- What it is
- Unscented clumping clay in a 15 lb jug.
- Why this one
- The veterinary sources find most cats prefer unscented clumping litter, and its maker says it weighs 25% less than ordinary scoopable clay.
- Skip if
- You want the lightest bag there is; the litter guide names lighter kinds.
Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Litter mat: Drymate Original XL Cat Litter Mat
- What it is
- A thin fabric mat, 29 by 36 in (74 by 91 cm), that its maker says you can cut to size.
- Why this one
- At 0.13 in (3 mm) it is the one mat in our comparison with a published thickness, so it can lie under a bathroom door, and it goes in the washer.
- Skip if
- You would rather tip stray litter back into the box than vacuum a mat.
Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Scratching post: KONELCARE 50 in (127 cm) Tall Cat Scratching Post
- What it is
- A 50 in (127 cm) sisal-rope post on a base 21.6 in (55 cm) square, 36 lb in all.
- Why this one
- It is the tallest post in our comparison by 9 in (23 cm), and sisal is the surface the cats in Wilson’s survey used most.
- Skip if
- There is less than 22 in (56 cm) square of floor for the base, or nobody can carry a 36 lb carton up the stairs.
Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Water: PETLIBRO Dockstream 2 Smart Cordless
- What it is
- A battery water fountain with no cord, about 10 by 8 in (25 by 20 cm).
- Why this one
- The first room needs no outlet for it, no motor sits in the water, and the steel tray goes in the dishwasher.
- Skip if
- You want a fountain that runs with no phone app at all.
Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Toy: Trixie Fun Board
- What it is
- A stationary puzzle board: five games on one base with rubber feet.
- Why this one
- It stays put overnight, which matters with a neighbor below, and one 12 by 16 in (30 by 41 cm) board gives a new cat five kinds of puzzle.
- Skip if
- The only spot you can give it is under 12 in (30 cm) wide.
Details
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Vet note. Hiding and eating little in the first days is common, shelters say, but a new cat that squats in the box and produces little or no urine is an emergency, above all a male (Cornell Feline Health Center). So is a cat that may have chewed a lily. Page two prints two US poison lines, as the FDA lists them: ASPCA Animal Poison Control, 888-426-4435, and Pet Poison Helpline, 855-764-7661. Outside the US, write your own local animal poison line beside them. For anything in between, call your vet and describe what the log shows.
Related printables: the cat-sitter instruction sheet and the litter box cleaning tracker.
Next step. Sketch the first room in the space-fit planner, with the box and the bowls at opposite ends.
Sources
- San Diego Humane Society, “Adopting a cat: confinement in a new home,” sdhumane.org, read Oct 16, 2026.
- Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, “The 3-3-3 rule,” hsppr.org, read Oct 16, 2026.
- Pasadena Humane, “The 3-3-3 Rule of Adopting a Cat,” pasadenahumane.org, read Oct 16, 2026.
- AAFP and ISFM, “Guidelines for Diagnosing and Solving House-Soiling Behavior in Cats,” Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2014, journals.sagepub.com, read Oct 16, 2026.
- AAFP and ISFM, “Feline Environmental Needs Guidelines,” Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2013, journals.sagepub.com, read Oct 16, 2026.
- AAHA and AAFP, “2021 Feline Life Stage Guidelines: general litter box considerations,” aaha.org, read Oct 16, 2026.
- Wilson and others, “Owner observations regarding cat scratching behavior,” Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2016, journals.sagepub.com, read Oct 16, 2026.
- US Food and Drug Administration, “Lovely lilies and curious cats: a dangerous combination,” fda.gov, read Oct 16, 2026.
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control, “Toxic and non-toxic plants: cats,” aspca.org, read Oct 16, 2026.
- Vnuk and others, “Feline high-rise syndrome: 119 cases,” Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2004, PubMed Central, read Oct 16, 2026.
- VCA Animal Hospitals, “Linear foreign body in cats,” vcahospitals.com, read Oct 16, 2026.
- Merck Veterinary Manual, “Toxicoses from essential oils in animals,” merckvetmanual.com, read Oct 16, 2026.
- Cornell Feline Health Center, “Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease,” vet.cornell.edu, read Oct 16, 2026.
