A house truly is not a home without a cat and welcoming a new furry feline friend into your home is an exciting time for everyone. However, this transition can quickly become overwhelming and stressful, for both you and your new pet, as your cat gets used to their new environment and carers. To help you be prepared for all eventualities here are some things to expect when you get a new cat.
1. Scratched furniture
It is in a cat’s instinct to scratch things. Scratching enables them to sharpen their claws and stretch their muscles, as well as marking out their territory. As such, you may frequently catch your cat scratching your furniture as they settle in to their new home. Is there a way that you can encourage your cat to follow their natural instincts and feel secure in their environment without ruining all your furniture? Try inserting distractions for your cat around your home, such as scratching posts and cat trees, in an effort to divert their attention away from your furniture and onto tool specifically designed for cat scratching. If that does not work, you could try spraying your furniture with no-scratch spray.
2. Accidents on the floor
It might take some time for your cat to get used to their new environment and establish a routine and as such they might have a few accidents on your floors. Make sure that you provide a litter tray that your cat can easily access at any time and clean it whenever it has been used – cats are very clean animals who do not like going to the toilet in dirty environments! Also make sure that you show your cat where the litter tray is, particularly if you ever need to relocate it. If they are constantly avoiding using it, you may need to move it to somewhere they feel more secure. If your cat is an outdoors cat, they might prefer to do their business outside, so make sure that you provide outside access to avoid any accidents. Although accidents on your floors can be a pain to remove, you can learn a lot about your cat’s general health based on their urine. Here’s a great article to cat urine to enable you to tell whether there are any health problems causing any accidents.
3. Introductions to other pets
Cats
are notoriously independent creatures and as such you should expect to
experience some challenges when introducing them to other pets. Always
supervise initial introductions to ensure that tensions don’t escalate and
provide plenty of hiding places where your cat can retreat when social interactions
become too much. Introducing
multiple cats can be particularly
difficult, as cats can be very territorial. To reduce tensions, make sure that
each cat has their own separate toys and food bowls, drinking water and beds
placed at different locations. This enables your cats to avoid each other as
much as possible if there are any tensions. You should also learn to recognize
physical signs of increased tension, such as flattened ears, bushed up tails,
and hissing. If there is conflict, you can distract your cats by clapping your
hands, but don’t attempt to break up a cat fight – you are sure to get hurt.