Cats can be both cute fluffy sweethearts and ominous Dracula’s pets at the same time. Regardless of their temperament and particular characteristics, they all are lovable and need warmth, care, and company!
If you decided to adopt a cat — maybe for the first time in your life? — you must know that there are a couple of aspects to keep in mind and rethink before your purring friend appears in the apartment.
- Keeping the Apartment Clean
If you’ve been living in a pet-free area for your whole life, you might get surprised once you get a pet yourself. Your friends and family weren’t overreacting to the cat’s hair all over the house, on their clothes, and in food. Not to mention cat litter crackling under shoes and rolling in the bedsheets — somehow these litter crumbles get everywhere!
You can look for the best automatic litter boxes and provide your wardrobe with lint rollers, but it won’t change the fact that you’ll need to get used to the constant fight against these tiny kitty-components in order to stay sane.
Once you’re ready to choose the love and omnipresence of your pet over living in the perfect tidiness and order, you’re on the right way to becoming a good cat parent.
- Scheduling Quality Time
People often decide on getting a cat when they really want to have a pet but don’t have enough time to take care of a dog. It’s true that cats are much less demanding than dogs, but assuming that cats can be left by themselves for the entire day on a regular basis is a prejudicial misconception.
Cats need our care and attention, as well. Especially, if they’re indoor cats.
After hours of your absence every day, cats are like time bombs of energy. The accumulated energy just blows up one second and your cat becomes a real ball lighting. If you don’t spend enough time playing with your cat before and after work, you can also expect your apartment to look like a mess when you come back. Cat’s boredom is just as dangerous as a hyperactive child’s.
- Securing the Apartment
Animals can really be unpredictable — very often to their own detriment. Hyperactive cats left all by themselves usually have tendencies to extremely risky, even potentially deadly behaviours. That’s why it’s so important to provide them with toys, scratching posts, and playing together but also to prepare your apartment!
The potential dangers lurking at a cat at your home are windows, balcony, electricity, narrow spaces, dishwasher, washing machine, and fire.
Securing windows and balcony should be the first step. Start with installing a window screen and safety net for the balcony to protect your pet from falling out. Another danger for cats are crack opened windows. It’s a deadly trap — it happens that cats are hanging themselves on crack opened windows! To avoid this horrible accident, install special window grills on the gap between the window casements and frames.
Hiding wires from your cat can be a challenge — cats will notice and play with everything they’re not supposed to be interested in. You can put cable bundles together in PVC tubes or use zip ties to fix the cables, e.g., table legs or keep them in special boxes that are often already installed in new type desks. Besides, always turn off extensions and unplug chargers!
Dishwashers and washing machines are incredibly fascinating especially to hyperactive kittens and young nosy cats. They love sneaking to the machines, sticking their paws into cracks, and hiding in the untypical, unknown spots. Believe it or not, but we know a couple of people who nearly washed their cats with the dishes and clothes. There’s never too much cautiousness around cats. Always check the machine twice before switching it on!
Fire is quite an underestimated hazard to cats. We often assume that cats won’t risk touching something that’s too hot or that they’ll touch it just once, burn their paws a little, and never do that again. Ha, good one! As we said before — animals are scarily unpredictable! Our cats’ whiskers are constantly curled from candles even though we watch them as carefully as possible. Not to mention cooking. The kitchen door has to be closed any time we’re cooking something. Otherwise, cats are trying to jump onto the stove all the time, even if the fire is on!
- Frequent Travelling
If you travel a lot or going on regular business trips and are planning to bring your cat along with you, there are a couple of things to take into account.
Cats are rather homebodies, creatures of one place. Usually, they don’t like changes — changes are a huge stressor in a cat’s life. However, there’re cats that actually enjoy trips with their owners. How is that possible?
Cats that don’t mind travelling and changing places usually are brought up that way. That means, they’ve been with their owners since an early kitten-age. It’s possible to raise a cat for a patient traveller. If you’re getting a cat and know that you’re going to move a lot, you might want to consider getting a small kitten.
Although, it is possible to adopt an older cat that will enjoy going on trips with you, as well. Just get as much information from the shelter on a particular cat as possible. Don’t be afraid to ask the most ridiculous questions! It’s better to ask than stay unsure — especially when it comes to such an important event as cat adoption!
- Every Cat Is Different
Choosing a cat you have to keep in mind that each one is different — just like people! Cats may have common generic features, but they sure have different personalities, likes, dislikes, and different levels of stress sensitivity.
As we’ve mentioned above, ask as many questions as possible. Don’t look at a cat’s appearance, but actually try to get to know it. Before finalising the adoption, spend some time with the cat, play with it, and see if you two are getting along well.
It might sound ridiculous — come on, it’s just a cat! And yet, many people are returning their pets to the shelters because they didn’t fulfil their expectations. Give yourself some time and don’t make hasty decisions. You’re not getting a toy, but a living and sentient being!