kitten adoption

Bringing Home a New Cat or Kitten

Adopting a cat or kitten is a very exciting time. Most people cannot wait to introduce their new family member to friends and family and they immediately begin fantasizing about years of happy companionship. However, how you introduce your new cat or kitten to your household can have a huge impact on how well your new friend makes the adjustment. It is extremely important that you learn the basics before bringing home a new cat or kitten.

Cats are creatures of habit that like things to remain predictable day after day. When you adopt a cat or kitten you take them from a familiar environment and put them into a noisy moving vehicle and expect them to adjust to a completely new environment with new people and sometimes other pets. In order to make the transition as smooth as possible for your new friend you must take things slowly and give your cat plenty of time to adjust to its new surroundings.

Before bringing your cat or kitten home

Make an appointment with your veterinarian to have your new pet examined. Ideally you should schedule this appointment for immediately after you pick them up.
Make sure that you have a sturdy travel crate for your new cat to ride in.
If possible, arrange with the rescue group to take something familiar home with the cat or kitten. This might be a blanket or towel. Place it with them in the carrier on the ride home.
Before adopting, find out what type of food and litter the cat has been using. Purchasing the same brands will help to eliminate a lot of stress and upset stomach for your new pet.
Before bringing your new cat home, place its food, water and litter pan in a quiet room that can be closed off.

Introducing your new cat or kitten to your home

Place your new cat or kitten in the room that you have prepared. Keep the room closed off and allow your new pet to explore undisturbed.
Allow the cat to come out of the carrier on its own and approach you when it is ready.
Leave the carrier open in the room so that your new friend can go back inside if it feels nervous.
Introduce other family members slowly. Have children sit down and show them how to gently stroke the cat’s fur.
Children must be taught never to chase the cat or bother it when it is eating or using its litter box.
If there are no other pets in your home, allow the cat to explore the rest of the house after two or three days.

Introducing your new cat or kitten to other cats in the home

Before introducing your new cat, make sure that it has been tested for parasites and diseases and that it has received all of its vaccinations.
Keeping the new cat in a quiet, separate room is extremely important if you have other cats. They will usually sniff each other under the door. Do not be alarmed if there is some initial hissing.
Rub a towel over each cat in turn to get them used to each other’s scent.
Feed them on opposite sides of the door to your new cat’s room.
After a few days, take the new cat out of its room and put your other cat in the room with the door closed. Allow your new cat to explore the rest of the house for a few hours each day.
Allow your cats to meet slowly by propping open the door only enough that they can see each other and put a paw through.
After a few days, try to feed the cats in the same room but at opposite ends of the room. Monitor them closely and separate them after mealtime.
Every day move their dishes closer together until the cats are eating side by side.
Once the cats seem comfortable with each other open the door all the way.
To avoid litter box issues, provide one more litter box than the total number of cats in your home.

Claws N Paws Day Spa has many wonderful cats and kittens looking for a forever home! For more information, please call 714-962-1005.

Mention our blog to receive a free teeth brushing for your pet!!!

Why People Give Up Their Cats

Although many people believe that pets end up at shelters and rescue facilities due to behavior problems, this simply isn’t the case. Most pets are actually given up because of changes in the lives of the people that own them, not because of anything that they have done. Let’s take a look at the top ten reasons why people give up their cats:

Too many living in one house
Cats can multiply quickly and people often give them up when there are too many cats living in one house.
Allergies
Frequently, cats are given up because someone in the home develops allergies. Sometimes, in the case of small children, the allergy is food related and not actually caused by the cat.
Moving
Cats don’t like change, but they can adjust to a new home if they are allowed to. Unfortunately many people feel that it is too much hassle to find a new home that allows cats.
Cost of ownership
Cats are not cheap to care for. You must pay for food, litter, toys, vaccinations and annual net visits. Sometimes cats become sick, injured, require special diets or need medication.
Problems with the landlord
When you rent, you must get approval from your landlord in order to have a cat. Sometimes people lie about their cat in order to get into their home. When the landlord discovers it, tenants often decide to get rid of their cat rather than move.
Unable to find a home for litters
A lot of people refuse spay or neuter their cats and end up with a couple of litters each year. Often, the cat’s owner will find homes for one or two of the kittens from each litter and surrender the rest to a shelter or rescue facility.
Not using the litterbox
When cats become stressed they sometimes forget to use the litter box. There are several reasons that a cat might not use its box including the type of litter used, the placement of the box, how often you clean it, how many cats use the box and the type of cleaner used on the box. Unfortunately, most people don’t take the time to figure out what is causing the problem, and surrender their cat instead. The good news is that most cats move on to their new homes without any litter box problems at all.
Personal Issues
People give up their cats for a variety of personal reasons such as divorce, job loss, major injury or home foreclosure.
Inadequate facilities
Renting a home that doesn’t allow pets or a change of situation where an outdoor cat must live inside are both reasons that people give for giving up their cats. Although many people believe that cats can’t adjust to new situations, they can. It just takes a little longer than it does with dogs.
Cat doesn’t get along with other pets
Cats can be taught to get along with other pets in a household, however they must be introduced slowly.

Claws N Paws Day Spa has many wonderful cats and kittens looking for a second chance. For more information, please click here.

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