Getting Ready for a Cat
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Before you get a pet cat, make sure that your house is safe for the cat. Get rid of toxic plants (including rhododendrons, azaleas, poinsettias and oleander), hide rubbish bins, put barrier on your cooker and in front of your fireplace, shut cupboard doors, lock doors to high balconies, manoeuvre electrical cords out of the cat’s reach, and put away ornaments, decorations, sharp or small objects, plastic bags, irons, or other items that could injure the cat. (Also, make sure that other animals and infants are safe from the cat. Wire mesh can be placed over fish bowls and cots until you are sure your cat considers these beings part of the family.)
You’ll need to buy some essentials, including a cat bed, a litter box and dishes for food and water. Beds come in anything from cardboard (which cannot be cleaned), to wicker (which may be draughty), to plastic (which is easy to clean), to quilted cotton (which is comfortable and washable). Place the bed in a sec-laded, warm place free from draughts, maybe near the boiler if it is a fairly safe, clean area. Position the food and water bowls near the bed and make the litter box accessible but not too close to the other areas and not in the lane of household traffic. Keep these items clean; wash them separately from other dish ware.
Some of the extras you might also like to obtain are grooming tools, a carrying container, a collar withal name tag (if your cat will be allowed outside), scratching post or pad, a cat flap for the outside door, and cat toys. An adult cat may feel more comfortable with a toy of its own, and a young or ill cat may like heating pad or hot water bottle under part of its bed. When you first bring kitty home, keep children another pets away from it until it has had time to explore its new area, one room at a time, without interference. Then confine it to its own room until it becomes accustomed to it. Introduce the cat to other member’s of the household individually. With other animals, give both affection; don’t neglect the old pet for the new. The animals will eventually work out their territories and relationships, so it’s not advisable to rush them. Feed the cat at regular times, change its litter daily, play with it and talk to it, groom it regularly, and schedule it for neutering, regular checkups and booster vaccinations.
As soon as the cat becomes familiar, begin training into accept your established routines. During your cat’s first week in the new home, handle and fuss over it as much as possible before you let it out. When you allow it outdoors, accompany it a few times. Don’t allow tout in inclement weather and don’t let it roam at night.