The New Kitty in the House

It is necessary to prepare the arrival of the new kitty. Obtaining in advance all the equipment and the necessary things. On having taken him to house, a small blanket and a familiar toy from his old home will make him feel less disoriented and insecure. Before taking him to his "portable cat basket", it is necessary to assure that doors and windows are closed, as well as the chimney and the small holes, in order for them not to escape.

Put the food bowls and the hygienic tray in a quiet place in the house (but not very near), where the kitty can use them without people could stumble over it or where he does not feel intimidated by other animals in the house. Initially, to put little food and to continue with his regular diet until habituated completely. The bed can be made out of a simple cardboard box lined with a blanket.

If you are waiting the kitty to become 8 weeks old to take him home, he already must be able to do " his own things "; the only thing that it is necessary to do is to put a hygienic tray with the type of sand to which he is accustomed. If there is a cathole in the house, it is necessary to immobilize the kitty so that it doesn't go outside until his vaccine program has been completed.

Give him time to get accustomed
A good breeder will have taken care of making the kitty a sociable pet, but it is important that we incorporate him carefully to his new environment, specially if the family is big. If there are small children or other animals in the house, the best thing is not to allow the kitty, initially, to leave the room. If we give him time to know the whole world in a relaxed and calm environment, the most probable thing is that later there will be no problems. Even a sociable kitty can become nervous when there are small and boisterous children around; monitor his contacts closely and not allow the children to squeeze or grab the cat roughly. Take him to the veterinarian - only as a visit- before programming the first revisions and vaccines. It is not bad at this age to take in short trips by car.

Give the kitty at least a few days before presenting him to other animals in the house. Don't wait for an instantaneous friendship, although a kitty is usually accepted by other cats better than- and also if he has accepted them previously- an adult cat in the new environment. The sense of the smell is the most important key to familiarize and become friends. Let's try to put the kitty inside a small yard or a portable basket in a corner of a room, allowing other animals to come in and out from it to their whim.

That way, they are protected from each other and have the time to familiarize with the others little by little. At the same time, the kitty will be able to become familiar to the habitual domestic noises that in a large family can be very large.

Q/A. Must I feed my kitty after coming home or should I accustome it have its meal before that?

Everything depends on how the kitty has tolerated the trip. If he is very nervous and controls neither the bladder nor the abdomen, do not feed him for some hours, although one must let him drink water. But if he is reasonably calm and content, leave him get used to it during an hour. Then, put some food, or something that he is already accustomed to eat.

Does my cat need to sleep very much?

Very much. Even the adult cats sleep 16 hours and the kitties sleep even more in between frantic activity.

Is it important or not for the new kitty to sleep in our bed? Do we need a bed for him?

It is better to make the kitty get accustomed to sleep in his own bed. It could be necessary to isolate it at some time: he can catch some contagious disease -as herpes- or to need taken care of in a basket after being wounded. And, what happens when you go on holidays? The cat will feel very bad if he is accustomed to wake up in your bed at night. See if the kitten's bed is big enough for him to fit when grown completely.

Our Encyclopedia
has 10,000s of Pages of Great Cat Content ...