(Editor’s Note: FYI, please read “Adoption
Day: The Ride Home Part One” if you haven’t had the chance to do so
already. You can also check out Pixie and her sister’s adoption story here
and note that we have a free checklist
that covers Adoption Day: Part One & Two here.)
Pixie here and I’d love to discuss with you the items and
things you need for the first night home with your adorable fur-baby after
adoption. To continue my furry story from where we left off in “Adoption
Day: The Ride Home Part One,” once we finally got home and our cage
doors were opened, I immediately got out seeking to be settled and cozy. Our
fur-ever family made sure to have quite a few key items available to get us
comfortable. Our fur-ever family made it super easy, and I had no problems bonding
with my human family. Meanwhile Leah being a special case and very shy and
reluctant around humans, she hid under any piece of furniture she could find and
fit under. She kept on hiding during the daytime but at night when she thought
our human family was asleep, she’d come out and play with me in this amazingly
spacious home that felt like a huge mansion to small little pouncing and
bouncing kittens. We’d jump, bounce, tumble, and Leah would climb as high as
she could. Then in the morning at the first sign of a human awake and roaming
around. She’d hide under the furniture once again (wishing that they would go
away). That lasted for months before she was able to walk proudly around the
house as she does now in a real sleek and confident cat strut day or night. Although
it took a while for her to get comfortable, things could have been far worst and
took longer for her to adjust if we didn’t have the little creature comforts
put in place to ease the process along. So, it can go a long way to build the
foundation of trust by preparing not only for the car
ride home but also for the first night
home too. First impressions are everything to a lot of human-person things, but
this also includes cats. Try to take these actions and/or purchase these items
a day or two BEFORE you bring home for your fur-baby!
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ACTION AND ITEMS LIST FOR THE FIRST NIGHT HOME |
|
|
A Quiet Room |
Cat Bed |
|
Litter Box and Kitty Litter |
Cat Toys |
|
Food and Water |
Scratching Post |
|
Cat Bowls |
Blankets |
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Cat Proof Your Home |
Love |
A Quiet Room
Did you know that a cat has highly keen senses particularly
the sense of smell? A cat knows a place more by smell than by sight. That is
why it takes time for us to adjust to a new environment. We have to get use to
the smells and sounds of our new environment and we need time marking our
territory with our scent thereby increasing our familiarity. That is why when
we first get home, we need a small bedroom or bathroom to stay in until we are
ready to explore! Give us two to three weeks to decompress. Don’t be alarmed if
some of us take longer (like Leah).
Litter Box & Kitty Litter
So, you have us inside this small but comfy room and we are
hiding somewhere so well that you don’t even see us! We will still need stuff
like our litter box and kitty litter when we need to go. Afterall, we are still
living beings with a working system. And usually, we are litter box trained
when we leave the shelter. At 9 months old, Leah and I knew where to go
provided that our litter boxes were easy to find. Don’t know if your new
fur-baby is litter trained? Please make sure to ask. If you have to litter box
train, there are great resources online that can help you with the matter if
the people at the shelter are unable to assist you.
Water & Food
Have some food and water on hand so that we can be nourished.
Keeping a kitten hungry and malnourished will never make a great impression on
anyone: furry or not. Purified water would be great but check with the shelter
or Vet if you are unsure. As for food, again ask your Vet or the shelter
attendant. There is dry food for cats and kittens as well as wet food. Star
happens to the expert on good wet food. She loves Fancy Fest the best and won’t
eat anything else. Food and water will definitely go inside the small quiet
room too.
Cat Bowls
Cat bowls happen to come in a variety of shapes and sizes
and for a few very good reasons too! Our faces are quite sensitive due to our whiskers,
and we have paws, not hands! Although it isn’t impossible to function with
paws, eating primarily with a cat face can be a little challenging. By the way
some bowls are shaped, it can aid with better positioning of our furry bodies
for our digestive system and posture too. At the very least, the bowl should be
wide, with low sides and a flat bottom (think saucer) so we can eat
comfortably. If it is ergonomically designed, slightly tilted to accommodate
our faces and weighty so it doesn’t shift around, even better!
Cat Proof Your Home
Before we arrive at your home, put anything away that you
don’t want us getting into. Lock up and/or close cabinets, closet doors, rooms
that we shouldn’t have access to. Valuable items such as fragile family
heirlooms should be put away or placed on display in a way that we won’t be
able to reach them. Also, think about all the places where we could climb and
start installing safe barriers for preventative measures. There is no avoiding
it with our hunting instincts, we don’t play nicely all the time. They say that
us cats have the intelligence level of a toddler so cat proof your home with
this in mind. You’ll be glad that you did.
Cat Bed
A little cat bed so that we can rest our furry head down on
would be grrreat! They range in cost from the most expensive to ones that are
highly affordable. Our human-person things got us from a discount 5-dollar
store a really nice donut shaped cat bed for you guessed it only 5 dollars!
Pick one that is durable, soft, and comfy that seems it can withstand for a while
cat kneading for comfort (aka the biscuits).
Cat Toys
A few small felt-like cat toys are all us cats need for the
first night home. Other kinds of toys you can get for us at your leisure. By
the time you go through the adoption process, secure us for the ride home and
then get us settled at your home inside the quiet room, we will probably be too
overstimulated for much else. You can find simple little stuffed toys at any
local store or supermarket selling pet supplies. Or, if you are crafty and have
the time, you can make a few yourself. What a great family DIY project to do in
anticipation for welcoming your new furry family member home! Also, the one’s
with catnip inside them is preferred and shall we say the total cat’s meow to
mellow our mood. Another great toy to have once they fully decompress is the retractable
cat wand toy for high energy and exuberant playtime sessions.
Scratching Post
Cats are territorial and one of the ways we mark our
territory is by scratching certain items and areas of significance around the
house. A part of cat proofing is to be aware and prepared for this natural
instinct! There are furniture guards you can get but make sure you also get a
few scratching posts to help them with this as well. I would say at least one
per room. Also, some scratching posts are made to look decorative like a piece
of furniture in your home.
Blankets
At least one comfy blanket for our bed so we can cuddle and
snuggle. And they come in handy for swaddling us cats so you can handle them
better for administering medication or getting us safely inside our carriers
for transportation. And who could resist a photo opportunity with a cuddly
kitten inside a cozy blanket?
Love
The best thing you can give your fur-baby on his or hers
first night home is love! Cuddle them, play with them, and talk with them with
love in your heart. Even if he or she can’t say, they will know and appreciate
it so much!
So that was the first night home with your new fur-baby! If
you need more information, you are more than welcome to check out the online
resources indicated below in the Blog Article Resource section. However, before
you go, I got a grrreat PDF checklist
that covers both the ride home and the first night home! You can find it here
and it is for free!
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Blog Article
Resources: |
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https://www.ipettie.com/blogs/news/why-elevated-food-bowls-is-good-for-your-pet
|
Got a question, comment, or a
cat-astrophe on your furless paws?
You can always
reach me at pixiespetcorner@gmail.com.
And remember that no problem is ever too big or too small for this little black
kitten!
Hugs & cat
kisses from the luckiest black cat you know!
Until next time…
Make Every day the Best Cat-urday!
Pixie
Pixie’s Pet
Corner™
The Luckiest Black
Cat… Truly Beloved!™
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