The first two days with an eight-week-old are best understood as her adjusting to losing her mother, littermates, and every familiar smell at once. Almost everything new owners worry about in that window — hiding, a tiny appetite, night-time crying — is a normal part of that adjustment, provided it is steadily improving.
The first evening: one room, few demands
Start her in one quiet room rather than the whole home, furnished with her tray, water, the food she was already eating, a scratching post, and a covered bed she can retreat into. Sit on the floor, read or talk softly, and let her approach you; a kitten carried from lap to lap by excited visitors learns only that hiding is safer. Offer a small meal and show her the tray by placing her in it gently after eating. Many kittens eat little or nothing that first evening and spend it asleep or concealed, which is expected rather than a failure of your welcome.
Set expectations for children in the house before she arrives: quiet voices near her room, no reaching into her hiding bed, and visits that end when she retreats. A kitten who can withdraw safely learns faster that approaching people is her choice, and chosen greetings build confidence far better than being retrieved for cuddles. Keep doors to the rest of the home closed during these two days even if she seems bold, because a sudden dash into a large, unfamiliar space can reset the hiding behaviour you have just watched fade.
The first night and following morning
Night is when homesickness peaks. She may cry, wander, and call for her littermates, then sleep in exhausted bursts. A warm, safe heat source in her bed, a ticking-like rhythmic sound, and a brief calm check from you settle most kittens better than bringing her into a busy bed with rolling sleepers and a long fall to the floor. By morning, look for the encouraging pattern: she has used the tray, taken some food and water, and shows curiosity about toys or your hands, even if she still startles and retreats between explorations.
The second day: appetite, play, and first routines
Across day two, meals should become more enthusiastic, play sessions appear, and she will begin choosing favourite spots. Start the routines her life will keep — regular mealtimes, gentle paw and ear handling, short play before bedtime to encourage sleep — but postpone baths, visitors in numbers, and meetings with resident pets beyond scent swapping through the door. Watch that she is urinating and passing stools, and that any soft stool from the stress and food change begins to firm up rather than worsening.
When the adjustment is not going to plan
Contact your veterinarian if she has eaten nothing at all across the full forty-eight hours, shows repeated vomiting or watery diarrhoea, is limp or unresponsive, breathes with effort, or cries continuously without settling. Registering her with a vet and booking a first health check in these early days is sensible even when she thrives. Writing down who fed her, what she ate, and where she slept, and sharing that through KinsLe Family Sharing, means the whole household gives this eight-week-old one consistent first routine.