Mollie

You’re so excited to bring home a new kitten or cat. Your child has been asking for one forever and you finally decide to go for it. Before you do, take the time to be prepared. Being prepared will make it easier on you and your new furry friend.

Peteducation.com has a great article that can walk you through some steps to be prepared. Here is one quote from the article:

“You will be taking your cat out of a familiar environment, putting him into a noisy, moving vehicle, then expecting him to adjust to new surroundings, new people and perhaps, new animals. This is a lot to ask, and no matter how wonderful you and your home are, even the most easy-going cat is likely to be stressed and nervous.”

Pet Education Link

When I adopted my cat and brought her home, I had the litter box ready to go in the bathroom. I opened her box up in the bathroom, I let her come out, and then I picked her up and placed her in the litter box so she would be familiar with this right away. Then I just let her go and she decided to stay in the bathroom for the next few days behind the toilet. I talked to her to help comfort her whenever I went in there. I even brought her food in there. Then one night when I was in bed all of a sudden I had a visitor jump on the bed and slowly walk up to my face to sniff it over. From that point on, she slowly worked her way around the home until she was comfortable with it.

Check out the article is great and I think can be really useful if you are considering a new addition to your home. There is one part in the article where it mentions making arrangements ahead of time with the breeder or shelter and I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you to not support breeders. There are already SO MANY animals in need of a home. There are millions of animals waiting in shelters to be adopted whose lives could be lost simply because they didn’t get adopted. Let’s take care of the animals already here on earth instead of bringing more into the world. Not to mention the horrible conditions some of these poor animals are living in as “breeding machines.”

The take away…take the time to be ready for your new furry friend and don’t shop, adopt!