Website design By BotEap.comThe cage was small, but the people were nice and Tiger felt safe. He was regularly fed, petted and groomed. Still, he wasn’t home. Tiger had been ‘home’ and still had vague memories of the woman who had cared for him and the other cats that lived with her.

Website design By BotEap.comThen he had been brought to this place, and he had been here so long that he had almost forgotten ‘home’ and the woman.

Website design By BotEap.comStill, there was unease here, and Tiger felt it. Something was about to happen. Something bad.

Website design By BotEap.comThen two humans entered. They put him in a cage with them. He jumped into the woman’s lap. They put him in a dark place that beat him and pushed him. He heard strange and frightening noises. He howled, and a male voice responded with noises he couldn’t understand.

Website design By BotEap.comThen there was light. AND HORRIBLE!

Website design By BotEap.comA small hand reached out and tried to grab it. There were people he didn’t know; they all approached him. There was another cat that arched and spat.

Website design By BotEap.comSo, horror of horrors…

Website design By BotEap.comThere was a dog!

Website design By BotEap.comTiger fled. He fled down a long hallway and bolted out the first open door he found. He hid in the darkest place he could find…between soft and hard things he didn’t recognize. He heard voices. He heard the dog bark and shivered. He heard the high-pitched voice of the boy and the voice of a woman…which were easier to bear.

Website design By BotEap.comHe crouched down and remained as invisible and silent as he could.

Website design By BotEap.comrush adoption

Website design By BotEap.comAnimal shelter staff greet people looking for new pets with joy and suspicion. People walk between the cages, looking at each cat, and the staff hopes to select a cat that has been there for a long time.

Website design By BotEap.comBut they know what people are looking for; looking for kittens, not adult cats.

Website design By BotEap.comIf there are no kittens, clients sometimes reluctantly choose an adult cat as a “consolation prize”, pay the adoption fees and take it away…

Website design By BotEap.comOnly to return the cat two or three days later.

Website design By BotEap.com“I’m sorry, but this cat just didn’t work out. We couldn’t fit him into the family.”

Website design By BotEap.comGold…

Website design By BotEap.com“This cat is too wild. We need something more tame, something that fits.”

Website design By BotEap.com“What happened?” The staff member asks.

Website design By BotEap.com“The cat ran away and hid. It took us three days to find it, and when we finally did, we had to chase it all over the house before we caught it. We need something more tame, something that fits better.”

Website design By BotEap.comSo go the sad stories of revenants… but wait, it may be worse for cats adopted in other ways.

Website design By BotEap.com“The landlord won’t let me stay with her, could you take her in?”

Website design By BotEap.comPeople who adopt stray dogs, or a friend’s cat, often don’t realize the full scope of things they must do for their new cat:

Website design By BotEap.como Prepare your home to receive your cat

Website design By BotEap.como Address your cat’s medical needs.

Website design By BotEap.como Make sure your other cats are protected from diseases

Website design By BotEap.como Take care of your cat’s physical needs.

Website design By BotEap.como Properly introduce your cat to fellow residents, children, and other pets.

Website design By BotEap.comAnd perhaps most importantly:

Website design By BotEap.como Prepare for a good relationship with your new cat.

Website design By BotEap.comPeople who have never owned cats before don’t really realize what a cat is: a highly intelligent and independent animal that needs love and affection every day, but it’s not a dog.

Website design By BotEap.comCats bond with people, just like dogs, but they don’t always bond with the person who has adopted them. They will choose who they like, much to the dismay of the person who “picked them up” in hopes of having acquired a new friend.

Website design By BotEap.comThis is a very good reason why the first 24 hours are so important. It is during this period that your cat will decide who he wants to bond with.

Website design By BotEap.comUnless you know what you’re doing, it may not be with you.

Website design By BotEap.comHour

Website design By BotEap.comA cat needs to spend time with her. One of the big mistakes busy people make is not realizing that they have busy schedules that don’t allow them to spend enough time with their newly adopted cat.

Website design By BotEap.comUltimately, this could cause your cat to run away. If you don’t have time to spend with your cat, he won’t choose your house as “his den.” He’ll be out looking for another one, and soon you could be reporting a “missing cat.”

Website design By BotEap.comOr, to your dismay, you’ll discover that the cat you thought would make a loving companion has joined another member of your household…someone you had time to waste.

Website design By BotEap.comMoney

Website design By BotEap.comMany people don’t count the cost of having a pet. In their enthusiasm to adopt a cat, they forget that they don’t have the budget to support it. Belatedly, they find they don’t have the cash on hand to buy their new feline’s basic necessities or provide him with the medical care he’s sure to need.

Website design By BotEap.comMany people avoid pet health insurance, not realizing that the same things that happen to people happen to cats, and can cost large sums of money to cure. This may result in the loss of your beloved pet because the price to save it is “too high.”

Website design By BotEap.comMedical Needs

Website design By BotEap.comSome people who adopt stray cats or cats from friends don’t realize the full scope of medical care their new cat needs:

Website design By BotEap.como A complete physical exam

Website design By BotEap.como A complete vaccination regimen

Website design By BotEap.como Spay or neuter

Website design By BotEap.comIn particular, that cute kitty you brought home from a friend’s litter will need a long series of vaccinations (along with boosters) spread over a period of a couple of years. You can’t do it all in one day.

Website design By BotEap.comFailure to do this will almost certainly mean tragedy in the future. I know. I didn’t get one of my kittens vaccinated. I made him an outdoor cat and he died of feline leukemia. The story definitely had a very sad ending…

Website design By BotEap.comYour cat’s physical needs

Website design By BotEap.comWhen your cat steps out of the carrier for the first time, will it be equipped with the essentials?

Website design By BotEap.comOr will you find you need these things later…and bring them one at a time, after your cat has pooped in the corner, started scratching the furniture, or started some other unauthorized behavior that you’re not supposed to? prepared? (And keep in mind that a cat is a very obsessed animal…once he starts doing something, it’s very hard to change him.)

Website design By BotEap.comMaking sure you have what you need to welcome your new cat is vital…and you should have the basics on hand before you bring him home.

Website design By BotEap.comfirst presentations

Website design By BotEap.comSo when your cat first steps out of her carrier, will everyone in your household attack her at once? And when she does, will she run away in terror, trying to find the safest, darkest corner she can find?

Website design By BotEap.comOr will you introduce her gradually… to try to reduce the trauma as much as possible so that she can adjust and feel at home in her new situation?

Website design By BotEap.comYour technique for doing that can be a deciding factor in whether or not your cat adjusts to your home right away, the next day or month, or if she leaves the house altogether.

Website design By BotEap.comthe days to follow

Website design By BotEap.comDo you know how to care for your new cat in the next few days, assuming you’ve handled your first few introductions well? Do you know about allergies, special foods, baths, grooming, hairballs, urination, training and teaching without scaring or alienating a cat, and a host of other situations cat owners struggle with on a daily basis? Do you know the dangers of letting it become an outdoor cat?

Website design By BotEap.comTo be prepared

Website design By BotEap.comAs you’ve often heard, “preparation is the key to success,” and nowhere is that applied more appropriately than in cat ownership. If you are prepared, your adoption will probably go smoothly.

Website design By BotEap.comI say probably because every cat is different. Even with the best preparation by a well-informed owner, a cat may want to hide for a while. And if you find that to be the case…

Website design By BotEap.comYou need to know what to do.

Website design By BotEap.comThe key

Website design By BotEap.comThat’s why I wrote my book, “Your New Cat’s First 24 Hours,” http://www.yourcatsecrets.com, to give you everything you need to know and have, not just to prepare for and introduce your new cat to her. to your house, but to understand it and take care of it in the following days.

Website design By BotEap.comI have to say it again: preparation…and knowledge…is the key. When you decide to adopt, I hope you don’t do it in a hurry.

Website design By BotEap.comI hope you do it with knowledge and understanding.