Whenever you decide to bring home a new cat
or kitten, it’s important to prepare for her beforehand. But before this
decision, the following factors need to be considered:
●Is your home large enough to
provide adequate territory?
●Are your current cats suffering
from a chronic illness?
●Are your current cats suffering
from behavioural issues?
Once these factors are carefully considered
and are in place, a new cat or kitten can be considered to become your family
member. And to make this transition smooth, read on further to learn useful
tips on ensuring a cat-ready home.
Tips
For A Cat-Ready Home
●Prepare a safe space: Start off with
preparing a safe room or a safe space for the new cat or kitten. Initially, she
needs a quiet and safe space to familiarize with the new scents and sounds of
the home. Size of the room or space doesn’t matter but a secure door and strong
ceiling do.
●Safe-proof the safe space: Find out about cat safety tips and escape prevention online and
from fellow feline parents.
●A safe space to hide: When introduced to
a new environment, a new cat or kitten is often nervous and she prefers to
hide. Create a safe space to hide with cardboard boxes or sheets draped over chairs
and remove large items of furniture such as bed or dresser from the room. The
interaction with the cat or kitten can be easier if she’s hiding in a box
rather than hiding under a bed.
●Help her get to know you: Introducing
your natural scent to a new cat or kitten can help her get to know you. A
simple way of doing it is to place a piece of clothing that has your scent in
her safe room.
●Ensure water and litter: The safe room
needs to have food and water on its one side and an open litter box on the other
side. If a cat or kitten is extremely shy in nature, she may not eat during the
first 24 to 48 hours. To avoid temporary diarrhoea caused by this stress, place
a bowl full of plenty of fresh water to keep her hydrated.
●Equip the safe room with nutritious food: If a new cat or kitten has not eaten in 48 hours, place some wet
food in a saucer or bowl that has healthy homemade gravy for cats
or kittens. These are often appetizing and appealing to their senses and taste
buds and can start their body’s nutritional journey. If this doesn’t work,
consult the veterinarian for advice.
●Put a new scratch post: Scratching is a
natural behaviour in cats. Put up a new scratch post inside the safe room and
make sure it’s not used by other cats. The smell of existing cats can stress a
new cat or kitten while she is still learning to adapt to her new surroundings.
●Spend time: Once a new cat or kitten is
brought home, spend time with her. Initially, start with a short period of time
and interact indirectly in the form of petting while quietly reading a book or
playing. A nervous cat may growl or hiss and the best response is to speak
softly with her and then letting her be in solitude.
After a new cat or kitten is comfortable
with her surroundings, integration with other family members and pets should be
done. Integration is a gradual process and is dependent on the personality of
your existing pets and the new one. Sometimes it can begin in 2 - 4 days, but
it’s best to wait for a couple of weeks.
