To Adopt a cat or a Kitten sounds fun! I will talk about steps to adopt a cat in this article. The new pet gives company to the owner and the cat gets a loving home. There are some planning involved when you want to adopt a cat/kitten. Make preparations before bringing the new cat home. Plan before bringing the new pet home along with certain preparations to make the house cat friendly. Here you will find the crucial tips to consider before adopting a cat or a kitten.
To adopt a Cat or a Kitten?
Kittens are those cats who are under 1 year of age. They are small furry bundle of joy. Adopting a kitten is useful because the kitten is easily adaptable to the new family. Introducing them to a new environment or with the resident cat is easier. Feed the kitten food on time and give time to play with the kitten, give supplements and medicines on time. These steps are essential when adopting a kitten.
While adopting a adult cat can be fun as well. They are more matured to be with. Precaution should be taken when introducing an adult cat in a household where there are resident cats. The resident cats may feel threatened by the presence of the new cat. Territorial issues may occur. To manage the territorial issue read the article Territorial Problems.
Preparation for the New Cat/Kitten
There are preparations needs to be done before adopting a new cat or kitten into your home. Here are some of the essential preparations listed below:
- A food bowl for each cat
- A water bowl for each cat
- Litter Trays/or Litter boxes for each cat plus 1 extra
- Some cat/kitten dry food packets
- Cat beds or cat furniture
- Few toys, teaser toys or any soft toy for your cat to play with
- Cat Carrier box for each cat. Recommended to buy a bigger carrier for future use when your cat grows up in size
- Contact of a good Veterinary Doctor. Because when you adopt a cat or kitten, a visit to the vet is must for a through check up
Introducing New Cat to Multiple Cat Household
I am going to talk about adopting a cat in a multiple cat household. To adopt a new cat/kitten and bringing them to house where there are existing cats can be a challenging situation. I have H is discussed below how to prepare the new cat for a multiple household cat:
- Firstly, keep the newly adopted cat in a separate room, away from your other cats. Do not let the resident cats see the new one.
- Secondly, Give the cat at least two bowls of water. Keep the bowls in separate places. A bowl of food and two clean litter box with litters must be present in the room.
- Thirdly, Give the new cat a place to rest. It can be the cat beds which are available in the market, or for the time being you can give a nice cardboard box filled with soft clothes and towels to make it cushiony.
- Keep the adopted cat in a separate room. let the cat get accustomed to the new environment.
- Let the cat understand that this is a new place where there are other cats as well. It will understand from the scents.
- Buy nice cat toys for your cat to play with.
- Untill and unless the cat has become accustomed to the new home, it is better not to let all the family members come at once to meet the new cat /kitten. Too much crowd in front of the kitten would make the cat more anxious and stress will build up.
- Give it time to move around the room on its own.
- Sometimes light music helps the cat. There are various cat calming music available in Youtube.
- Once the cat has become friends with you and comfortable with the new environment, the next step is to Socialise the new cat with the residing house cats.
- To Socialize the new cat with the old one. Click the page 6 Secret Tips for making two cat friends.
Health and Well being
- The first thing you need to do when you adopt a new cat or kitten is to visit a good Vet. Visiting a doctor and get a check up done by the doctor is the first step towards good health and well being of the animal.
- The Vet will tell you what vaccinations the cat needs, when to give the vaccinations, deworming, any medications or Vitamins supplements which your cat need.
- When ever you see any signs and symptoms that indicate your cat is not behaving normal for example loosing appetite, feeling lethargic, vomiting, loose stools, not looking fresh even after a good long sleep, you must consult the doctor immediately. Do not give any medications or therapy without consulting a doctor.
- Routinely check up with the vet along with giving the prescribed medicine, proper food or supplements, timely vaccination and deworming of the cat are the basic do’s for the well being and good health of the cat.
Play Time
After you have completed the steps to adopt a cat, now comes another important part, which is the play time. Play time with cat is another important factor for the mental and physical well being of your cat. Since cats are hunters by nature. It is in their instinct to hunt, catch a prey. When you are playing with your cat with a teaser toy that satisfies the hunting instincts of the cat.
Buy good toys, teaser toys for your cat. Teaser toy or interactive toys are best for your cats mental and physical exercise.
Find some time of the day to play with your cat. Play time with the cat improves the bond between you and your pet.
Conclusion
Cats are amazing companions to have with you. Take care of the cat you bring home. They are like a family member and should be treated as one. Prepare your home for your cat and then you would see things would be very smooth.
Photo by : Saikat Saha
