Adaptation of a new feline member in the family

When you make the decision to adopt a cat, you are not only giving it the opportunity to enter your home, but to change its life completely. For this reason, we have to take into account some details at the beginning of its arrival and adapt our home before the animal enters.

Before making the decision to adopt, consider the expense and responsibility that an animal entails, and make sure that all members of the household are in agreement with the decision.

The arrival of a new family member is always exciting, but it can be stressful for the animal. That is why we must respect their space and prepare for their stay.

Adapting our house

Before the arrival of the new feline member, we must prepare our house. How? Well, taking into account the needs of a cat, we will need basic things such as a sandbox, clumping litter, food bowl, water bowl, food according to the age of the animal, a comfortable bed and a toy, to start with.

We must make sure that the sandbox is in a place that is not too noisy and that it can be easily accessed so that it can do its needs in peace and quiet and that the odors do not bother anyone.

It is important to adapt an area where the kitten can be comfortable, where it will be most of the time, to be able to leave water and food nearby and to have its bed and toys. It is also important to have a good scratching post to prevent the kitten from scratching against a piece of furniture.

In addition, it is of great importance to adequate windows, balconies and others to prevent him from escaping, or even worse, to prevent him from hurting himself.

First days

The first hours and the first days can be exciting or complicated. We must take into account that for the animal it is a change and it can be frightened. It will depend on the animal, the past it has had and its age, that it will take more or less time to adapt to its new home and its new family, but above all we must respect its space and the adaptation procedure.

We must pay attention to the body language of a cat, since it indicates if it is scared, if it is fearful, if it is receptive or if it is on the defensive. Many times, their most common action is to hide, this can take a long time or even if they are very afraid, they can hide for days...

It is important not to overwhelm the animal with hugs, kisses or passing it from arm to arm. It is not a baby and may become uncomfortable and defend itself with scratches or bites. Cats can be very affectionate, but everything in due time and without overwhelming.

If we have another cat

If in our house there is another animal, for example a dog, we must make a calm and controlled presentation so that they get to know each other. If the other animal is one or more cats, it will also depend on the character of our pets that they take more or less time to adapt, but they need a period of adaptation.

It is important to introduce them gradually over a few days. At the beginning we can separate them, preparing a room for the new kitten so that it can feel safe, while the other residents have access to the rest of the house.

The first introduction will be by smell. Our pets recognize us by our scent and will begin to pick up the scent of the new member, and vice versa. We can exchange blankets or toys to see how they react to the smell of the other animal.

The second presentation will be that of visual contact, opening the room enough for them to see each other, using a mosquito net or screen so they can see each other and get to know each other. Depending on their reactions, we can repeat this procedure as many times as necessary or move on to a brief face-to-face presentation. Always keep an eye out for a fight, but give them time to get to know each other.

The important thing here is to be patient, for the safety of all your pets. You can keep repeating the brief encounters until you see that they get along well and are ready to live together.

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Conclusion

This process can be slow, but we must have patience, be constant and above all, respect the animal's space.

As we have already mentioned, all this will depend on the animal's situation, its character and age. There are animals that have been through a lot, that need a very slow adaptation process, but it is worth it to see how they trust humans again and become loving and adorable pets.