Life with Cats

Everything Is New At the Beginning: The choice has been made and one can take the cat home, in which case, a basket will come in handy becoming its first refuge in its new home. Put the basket in its place, open the screen and give the cat the opportunity to get acquainted to its new house. Be aware that a kitten has to recover from the shock of being separated from the side of its mother and brothers. In the case of an adult cat that could have been bought in a pet shop, one needs to have even more tact yet. Actually, both need to be given time and tranquillity, so they can adapt themselves to their new habitat with all their senses. Offer them some of their favourite meal, about which one must have previously informed oneself, and from then on its a matter of patience. Soon enough, cats curiosity will be evidenced, and it will spot a new place. It will cautiously crawl on its belly close to the walls, it will hide under the sofa, the armchair, or the wardrobe, from where one should not try to pull out or push it with a broom; in other words, one should not force it out. It is much wiser to whisper to its ears and/or to repeat its name insistently.

Adapting According To Character

The Daring: It is the one that least problems has. Maybe it will do as my cat Morellino, which had called my attention from among the brood for its flashiness. It came in to my home as a conqueror and rapidly took possession of specific places. Not even the roaring of Nina, who had owned this territory for five years, could stop it.

The Bashful: It is shy and reserved by nature and avoids people for precaution. Let it get used to a room for which it has special attraction. As soon as it escapes from your hand the  curse is broken. Cats are specially dependant of "their" people, but hide away from the rest.

The Cowards: It has already had bad experiences with humans. Try to identify its fears. It could be of certain movements, noises, family's noisiness, or other domestic animals, such as dogs or parrots. Do not press them and always allow them to run to its hiding place. It needs to be calm and must not be frightened by sudden closeness. That would make them more bashful.

The Wild: This advice goes to those who pick orphan cats and do not know what kind of life they have had. Maybe they have had to deal with life on their own and therefore developed some wild cat features. To freedom lovers like them, it is difficult to adapt to people. Feed them regularly, do not try to grab them and show this same kind of attitude all day long, so that they know what to expect from one.

Cleanliness: Cats are clean animals by nature. They always go and hide when nature calls, so as to have some privacy, but just as well they always try to bury them afterwards in order not to leave any traces. All this is adequate to how people wish to keep their houses, tidy and neat. In any case, one has to comply with requirements.

Place for its needs: toilet room has to be a quiet and hidden place.

Maintenance: spread cat straw up to 4 cm. Everyday pick up excretions and wet straw with a shovel and spread new cat straw. Pick up all the straw in a bag every week and take it to the trash can. Do not ever throw it in the toilet! Clean toilet bowl and dry it. Never use detergent or disinfectants because cats cannot stand the smell and might reject using the toilet bowl they were given. After clean put dry straw again.

Note: when two cats use the same service, its digestion gets much more agitated. If such is the case one has to change straw more often or install another service.