Bringing home a new kitten (or a mature rescue cat) might be the most exciting day for your family! It’s also nerve-wracking! Both you and the cat will need to get used to each other, feel out each other’s boundaries and gain trust before you can relax. You can help with this process by making sure your house is ready for its new resident: you’ll feel more prepared and more confident, and your cat will feel more secure.
By making sure your house is safe for your cat, you can avoid the risk of it hurting itself. This makes it easier for you to enjoy having a pet, rather than having to ask ‘why does my cat have diarrhea?’
A Cleaning Kit
However well trained and neat your cat matures to be, in the early days, before you’ve established a routine and good litter tray or outdoor practice, you’ll have to clean up some anxious messes. This is a problem that will never go away fully - illness, stress and simple mistakes can all lead to the occasional surprise being discovered.
Paper towel, soap, wet sponges or cloths and an enzyme-based cleaner are the essentials you need. The enzyme based cleaner breaks down the compounds that create the distinct smell of cat urine and faeces, so you can rid your house of the smell, and stop your cat establishing that spot as an alternative litter tray!
A Safe Space
One of the most important things you can do in the early days for your cat is ensure it has its own safe space. Ideally, if you have a spare room, you will turn it over for the cat’s use in the first weeks it lives with you - if you don’t, designating part of the largest room you haves being the cat’s will be good enough. Keep quiet in this space, keep all dogs and children out of it - the aim is to help your cat feel safe and secure in this home-within-a-home.
Cats like to climb and explore, so if you’re able to provide different levels, this creates a better environment for your new pet. A bed or box for them to sleep or hide in is also essential: make sure it’s soft and warm, and provide some toys for stimulation.
When your cat has this safe space to retreat to, they’ll have the confidence to come out and explore, and quickly become a treasured part of your household!