Before You Adopt a Stray Cat, Do These 5 Things
If you find a friendly stray cat then before thinking that it would become a great pet, you should start looking for her previous home. You should look if they are wearing a collar, if they are well-nourished and clean, visually it is not very difficult to tell the difference between stray and pet cats. Fostering is exciting and rewarding at the same time, cats adapt themselves quickly to their new surroundings.
There are approximately 3.2 million cats in the United States who need forever homes, which means there’s no shortage of four-legged friends to love.
If you think you are not able to adopt the cat yourself, you can always help it get adopted by printing colored flyers of the cat with all the details and post them in coffee shops, veterinary offices, pet supply stores, and other places where people will notice it. You can contact local rescues, if the cat’s breed is known and distinguishable then rescue groups will be able to place the cat right away.
Taking the cat to local shelters is not recommended sometimes because of their long list of adoption, posting flyers and publicizing through the internet are better options for spreading the word. Shelters and rescue groups have a lot of animals to focus on they will not put as much effort into the adoption of one cat as you will.
Feral cats are also stray cats only they are less friendly and terrified of people. They are difficult to handle as they hide quickly, as much as we would want to give a home to such cats it’s best that we just put bowls of food and water for them outside instead of taking them in. If you don’t have any experience with a cat before then you should adopt from a shelter rather than a street. Adopting a stray cat is more than just opening your door and let them stay inside, it’s a very thoughtful process.
Adopting a cat can result in a lot of health benefits like improving your heart health and lowering stress levels. They also prevent allergies and reduce feelings of loneliness.
Here you can find out about everything that you need to know before adopting a stray kitten.
1. Place litter box and water bowl far from one another to avoid contamination and consult the vet for a balanced diet, overfeeding can cause obesity in cats. Cats love to scratch curtains, furniture, and everything else, buying a scratch pole can help you save a lot of money.
2. Cat grooming tools are easily available in most pet stores, if you want to protect your house from turning into a big ball of fur then you need to buy these tools and weekly cleaning is usually enough. Bathing your cat reduces dander and it also helps in keeping your cat clean.
3. Taking the cat to the vet and have it neutered and vaccinated is very important. In most stray cats you are unaware of the medical history and other health issues. Such cats have often parasites including mites and fleas, the vet can check the cat for possible infections. You should ask the vet about the healthy weight, the right nutrition, sleeping schedule, and health insurance of the cat.
4. If you already have pets, then prepare them before bringing in other pets to your home. If your pets are easily scared by new ones, then arrange play dates to make sure the new pet is good with the new one. After you are sure that your pets get along with each other you can bring in a second one permanently.
5. The whole transition phase can be a little scary for the cat, even if you provide them with all the necessities and you must be patient during this challenging time. Allow the cat to get close to you on its terms and provide them with lots of love.
The experience of adopting a cat will change your life, it helps people with anxious minds and takes all the stress away. It opens another chapter in your lives and before you know it, you won’t remember what life was like before adopting your cat.
