Kitten Adoption – How to Extend a Warm Welcome to Your Pet
Oct
If you have decided to become a happy owner of a fluffy pet, it is high time to find out more information on kitten adoption. A small animal needs your love, care, and a friendly environment. To simplify an adoption period for all your housemates, take a closer look at the following recommendations and extend a warm welcome to your small kitten.
Where to start?
Choose a pet bowl and a toilet for a convenient pet’s everyday life. Purchase suitable accessories for your kitten like a comb for cats’ species with long hair and a soft wicker bed. Think about pet food beforehand because your pet needs well-balanced nutrition from the first day, right after you open the door of your house for a four-legged friend.
How to introduce a pet to your family and your home?
New surroundings can scare pets in the period of their transition. Start with useful preparation to organize the best environment for your lovely kitten. Be polite and show your friendliness, touch kindly, and allow your pet to explore each corner of your house. Pay attention to your children because kids can scare with their noise, loud laugh, and sudden movements. Your family should understand that a small kitten requires a mother’s love and attentiveness.
Friendly acquaintance
Demonstrate your friendly attitude and spend much time with your new family member. If you see that a kitten needs your attention, pat it, kiss, and tell some kind words. This is a living being who highly appreciates love and care. While meowing your fluffy babe can signalize that he or she is missing a mom and a cozy former home.
There is a wonderful idea that even parents use to calm down their kids. It is a secret effect of familiar scents. The mother’s aroma is a real thing for each baby. Let your kitten feel safe with the help of a towel or some bedding he used to share with his or her Mommy. Your home will not be so scary for your tiny pet if some old scents accompany the kitten to a new place. You will see that this method really works because your pet will become less nervous and sleep tightly on the beloved towel or bedding. By the way, use these things with the scent of their mother’s body on your way home with a kitten.
On the way home
You need a carrier even for small-distance trips. It is the best way to provide your pet with high-grade secure conditions during each car ride and coach trips. Moreover, public transportation requires additional safety measures to take into consideration. Remember that your pet will be afraid of such an experience. Your task to place the mother’s scented bedding inside the carriage and speak with your little fluffy baby. Who knows, maybe your beloved kitten would sleep all your way home.
Welcome to our home
When you have just come home with a small kitten, be ready to spend some time with your new fluffy friend together in a calm atmosphere. You need to bring the carrier with a cat to the surrounding free from noise to prevent any pet’s stress. It is better to place a litter box and the bedding in the room where your kitten would feel safe. Let it be your bedroom or a living room without noisy children and your relatives.
You have a lot of time to give a hug to your cat later. Now, your first task is to make the pet leave his or her carriage and explore your house. Each movement and actions your kitten should do upon his own initiative. You pick the cat up and show the environment and offer some food in the pet bowl you have prepared beforehand. There are some other recommendations to take into account:
- Get to know what litter type the previous owner used for the cat’s toilet. You may buy these filling agents to show your pet that you are going to take care of it the same way or even better.
- If you see that your kitten is curious about other rooms, do not limit his or her movements. Let your pet tour through the house, if it is ready.
Do comfortable zoning for the kitten’s environment. For instance, place a toilet next to the window, the bedding – close to your bed, and bowls with cat food and water – to another place.
Stop overprotection
It is useless to ruin all your plans because of your new fluffy family member. You need to leave home as usual and work. Of course, it will be perfect to spend several days together with your pet to show him or her your love, care, protection. But we do not speak about overprotection, you know. Do everything best to let your kitten stay at home alone.
Now you are the most native person for your domestic animal, so leave something with your scents and familiar aromas in the room where a cat is going to stay. Put your home clothing not far from the pet’s bedding. Make sure that there is enough water and food in the bowls. Change litter and close one room where everything is ready and may not cause any danger for a tiny kitten. It means that all sharp things, flower pots that can be broken, and other objects that may harm a cat should be taken away.
If the first stay at home alone was successful, you can leave the door to this room open and let your kitten explore other corners of the house. Be sure that all preparations have been already done as well. Remember that your pet is like a small curious kid. You need to be attentive to details!
Identify problems before their arising
When your pet stays at home alone, it should not be bored. Buy some toys to entertain your four-legged friend. This way you can prevent a mess caused by curiosity to other objects. Remember that your kitten will try climbing, jumping, running, and even hunting when you are not at home. Organize various indoor activities that would be safe. The active lifestyle of your kitten is a must for its strong health.
The best toys for this purpose are soft balls, scratching mats, feathers, and other exciting variants you may find in the pet shop. Encourage your kitten to explore different corners of your house in different ways. For example, you may hide some yummy treats next to the sofa or hide them inside a carton box in the kitchen. Your pet will smell the delicious aroma and would like to find his or her tasty trophy. After active games and hunting, your curious fluffy baby will be dreaming about good rest. You can place several beddings in your house:
- In your bedroom;
- In the living room;
- In the kitchen;
- In the hall.
You may be surprised when your kitten would find some other place to sleep. It is normal because some cats prefer having a rest on your kitchen chairs only or the sofa pillows. Respect the choice of your pet! Additionally, purchase scratching mats or posts to avoid damage to your furniture. If your kitten cannot find anything to sharpen its claws, it will use your favorite armchairs and sofa for this purpose.
When you come back home, try to spend some time with your pet. Your cat requires your attention and care. If you have children, let them feed a kitten and play with it. Your new family member should not feel lonely – it is the main task of all the careful pet owners.
How to unite pets in friendship?
If you have decided to enlarge your family, and your kitten will be the second or even the third or fourth pet, you need to think about how to bring your fluffy family members together. It is not a surprise that a small cat will be scared of your dog or other cats. Your task to show adult domestic animals that you will always protect your new four-legged friend. Try to prevent any kind of aggression, having shown your care and love to each of your pets.
Your main aim is to introduce your kitten to other pets kindly. You may avoid dangerous and aggressive behavior of your adult cat or dog, having given some strict commands and dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s. Use zoning for the starting point. Let your kitten spend time in one room when you are not at home when other pets will be in the other part of the house. When you come back home, outwatch and allow pets to make friends.
To sum up, spend time qualitatively both with your newcomer and a resident cat or dog. Pay attention to demands on food, care, and love of your pets. The transition period may last about one-three weeks. Show borders of sleeping and eating zones to your adult and young cats if necessary. This way they will not battle for food and their bedding. Do not be afraid of some quarrels between your pets, because it is normal for interrelationship formation.
Touching pleasure
Small kittens may be fearful of new surroundings. That is why warm hugs and games together with your pet are only the enquiry of time. Do not speed up this process. Let your young domestic animal feel comfortable with you in your house. If the kitten is ready for any interactions with you, find the most favorite type of handling. Some pets prefer tender ruffling, others – scratching behind their ears.
Do not use physical punishment if you do not want to become an oppressor for your pets. It is better to demonstrate your kindhearted attitude and provoke a strong association of love and care when it comes to physical contacts with your cats. But if your kitten dislikes your petting and any kind of touching, you may try to use delicious treats. After each session of tender handling, set up something tasty. This way your fluffy friend may easily get used to touches, ruffling, and other activities with you (including hygiene routine).
More tips for cat lovers
Sometimes problems can go with your pet transition in the family. Do not worry about any unpleasant situations because they are temporary. For example, some masters do not know how to teach their cats to accept the carrier. You should remember that your pet will feel comfortable when you offer this experience regularly.
Visit your vet once a month and use a carrier for this short trip. Organize a weekend outside and take a carrier with a small kitten in the carrier to the park. Let your cat stay inside the transportation box for a short time first. Then you may make your trips longer and longer. We recommend using spacious carriers with enough ventilation. The excellent conditions are half the battle.
Traveling with cats
If we continue the topic of traveling with pets, it is worth noting that you should create the best conditions for long-distance trips. First of all, prepare cat food, toys, and plan several stops to make your kitten leave the carrier for a while. Speak with your fluffy friend, explain that everything is OK, and your trip soon will come to an end. Use some training techniques beforehand to make the traveling process less nervous for your domestic animals.
What to do with misbehavior?
You should understand that your pets have their own fears and get stressed as human beings. It’s normal if you face the kitten’s bad behavior. Sometimes cats swat and bite their masters when the game is one step too far. Show that these manners are not appropriate for you. Stop playing with your kitty or leave the room where the accident of aggression or loud vocalization took place.
Try to find some signal that your kitty could understand. For example, say: “Stop it!” or clap your hands and look at your cat strictly. Remember that physical punishments cannot be the only solution for a good result. Your training and logical actions in various situations are the most efficient methods.
Few words about socialization
Your cat will become well-socialized only in a month or even several months. Sometimes this process comes to an end faster. Nevertheless, be ready that socialization would take some time. Experienced vets specify the first 12 weeks of the kitten life as the most important phase of social engagement.
Try to engage all the interactions of your pet with other animals and family members. Do not provoke stressful situations that are related to the socialization aspects. Tell your children that your kitten needs love and care but not some strict words, physical punishments, and aggressive attitude. Your pet would be well-socialized if you are going to undertake only positive reinforcement.
Extend a warm welcome to your pet with our tips! Everything will be alright. Our congratulations to you – your family became bigger! This is the best addition you have ever dreamt of!