Welcoming a new cat into your home can be a milestone moment in your life. The journey you and your new friend will go through can be so special.
Unfortunately, some people impulsively buy cats online, but these kinds of decisions shouldn’t be rushed. You must carefully plan your first few days with these wonderful creatures, ensuring that the first few days are spent building the best bond possible.
How you choose to welcome these creatures into your home can inform the rest of your ownership as a cat owner. It’s important to make a brilliant first impression on them.
Have Insurance Set Up
While it’s not as exciting as building a meaningful bond with your cat, admin around your new cat is still necessary. Financial instruments such as insurance are crucial. Insurers like Petsure can help cover potential medical bills you may get, should your cat become ill and require immediate treatment. It’s important to check whether the insurer will cover your cat breed. You will also need to check what their policy states about covering pre-existing conditions or if there are any limits to vet fees. Getting the right cover will make sure you aren’t under any stress should anything go wrong.
New cats can be shy initially and very sensitive to human behaviours. Knowing your cat is covered the day they move in means you might be a little calmer when you first bring the cat home and focus on bonding.
Gauge the Cat’s Personality
Every cat is unique. The type of relationship you have with it depends on many factors. For example, it’s sometimes been said that there are 5 types of relationships a cat owner can enjoy with their furry friend today; friendship, causal relationship, open relationship, remote relationship, and co-dependent relationship. None of these experiences is inherently bad, but you may eventually find that your cat leans more toward one than the other.
Therefore, it’s important to maintain an appropriate level of closeness. Try to read into the cat’s behaviour more astutely. Sit with them while they eat and play, but don’t offer too much eye contact. Supply them with toys and let them play alone and sometimes with you as well. These first few days need to be spent getting to know your cat better, and getting a better understanding of its personality.
Monitor Others’ Interactions
You may have welcomed your cat to the home calmly. However, others may not always follow your lead without your supervision. Dogs, kids, and even other cats must be introduced to the cat as safely as possible. It’s a good idea to keep them separate at the start so that the new cat can get used to their surroundings first. Over time, introduce other members of your family one at a time to help build familiarity without overwhelming the new arrival. Ensure the cat is secure and meets new creatures through a door or gate so one can’t attack the other.
It can be worth spending extra time with your kids to teach them the proper ways to interact with your cat. That way, you can be sure they won’t cause the creature any distress. Teach them the importance of their body language and how a cat might read it. There’s also the cat’s body language to consider as well; it should be left alone when the cat’s tail twitches or if its ears are back.
