The whole family may find it intriguing to welcome a new cat into the house. However, you may feel a bit nervous if you’re unfamiliar with becoming a cat parent. Fostering a new feline can be exhilarating and overwhelming, even if it’s not your first. As a cat lover, you must prepare your home for the new feline family member without leaving any stone unturned.
Particularly in the initial days and weeks of her stay with you, it can be simple to forget an item you or your cat might require to keep her life more pleasant.
How can you make your cat feel content, protected, and healthy? By heeding these suggestions, you can ensure that you and your new kitty companion have all you need to make your living together a thing of joy filled with happy memories.
Remove Potential Harms
Ensuring your cat is safe starts with taking this crucial step. Inspect high and low for items that pose a hazard, including domestic cleaning products and other chemicals, as cats can jump, climb, and squeeze into tight spaces.
Remember to prevent access to houseplants. Unfortunately, felines love to eat plants, and several common plants (like the begonias, lilies, and lucky bamboo) are harmful to them if consumed.
You may find a detailed list of plants harmful to cats online or through a pet care agency. To ensure the welfare of the new feline friend and your plants, move all your flowers and plants from accessible areas so they can’t nibble on them.
Furthermore, cats enjoy chewing on string and cords. It could harm your possessions in addition to providing a risk of electrocution and choking to your cat.
Ensure you secure all electrical cords, draw cords on shutters and curtains, textiles, needles and sewing thread, tassels for decoration, and anything else that resembles a string.
Inspect your home and ensure that all openings that could allow her to get trapped are covered, especially if they lead to crawl spaces, lofts, or chimney work. Also, you must ensure they can’t utilize your dog door as an escape route.
Get the Needed Supplies
Food and water bowls, a box for feces, and kitty litter will only meet a cat’s basic requirements. Naturally, a responsible cat owner would also want their new feline friend to be content and at ease.
As a result, you’ll need several types of cat toys, a feline bed, and grooming items like a toothbrush, shampoo, and nail clippers. You’ll probably need a cat bed in each room if you desire them to keep off the furniture.
Consider giving her a kitty tree to satisfy their need to hang on high places instead of having her leap on cupboards or tables. Your new cat will have an alternative to honing her nails on floors or furniture by providing them with scratching posts or padding.
Slowly Introduce Your New Cat to the Other Family Members
If you live with other people or pets, ensure that everyone is in favor of acquiring a new cat and decide beforehand who will take the duty of caring for it and cleaning the kitty litter box. If you have children, set ground rules and discuss safe play practices with them concerning the cat.
Furthermore, once you bring the new feline home, gradually acclimate it to your other pets, including your dog. Feed the other animal companions on either side of the locked door and keep the new cat in a different room.
To help the four-legged friends get used to each other’s scents, place each pet’s bedding in the other pet’s chamber and occasionally switch rooms. Gradually move on to feeding them on the opposite sides of a locked gate before attempting visits under supervision. Pay attention to their body language at every stage so that you can separate them if necessary.
Understand that Bonding Takes Time
Understand that you probably won’t bond with your cat like a movie star the first moment you see them. Cats require time to develop relationships and get familiar with their new pet parents, just like people do (you’ll presumably feel the same way).
If your cat is noticeably uncomfortable, don’t force them to engage with you or snuggle. Check online for a guide on interpreting cat body language if you don’t understand how to determine whether your cat enjoys stroking.
Compared to adults or rescues, kittens often connect with people much more quickly. But you’ll have a long-time companion in no time if you have a little patience and many snacks.
Implement Hygiene from the Start
If you refuse to care for cats’ teeth, they can have gum infections and tooth decay like people do. Maintaining your cat’s beautiful smile and preventing pain requires frequent brushing and dental cleanings. However, you begin this daily routine right away.
Most cats, as you may expect, detest having their teeth cleaned. However, starting your cat on a dental hygiene regimen early on will help reduce their anxiety about this process as they get older. If you want a detailed tutorial on teaching your cat to allow you to clean their teeth, look it up online.
Supplies: a bigger plastic brush with bristles for adults and a silicone finger toothbrush for kittens. Never forget to use toothpaste designed especially for cats.
Schedule a Health Check
Ensure that your cat is up-to-date on its vaccinations and has a checkup as soon as possible from your veterinarian. Your veterinarian can also assist you in deciding whether or not it needs neutering for any safety and medical reasons.
If you have not established a working relationship with a veterinarian, speak with local friends and relatives who have had positive experiences at the vet. Recall that your veterinarian is the most significant individual in your cat’s well-being and pleasure, aside from you and your family.
Raising a Healthy and Happy Cat
Cats are funny, lively, independent, affectionate, curious, intelligent, and frequently highly amusing. Bringing a new cat into the household is a momentous occasion.
Cats are easily bored, and when bored, they tend to be mischievous. Playing with cat toys will help them stay active and entertained while stimulating their brains.
All a new cat parent wants is for their furry friend to feel safe and cherished at the end of the day. You can focus on developing a closer relationship with your new friend and feel at ease knowing that it has all the basic needs when you follow the tips in this article.
