How to accustom a cat to a new home: preparation, what not to do

In order for the cat’s adaptation to the new home to be as comfortable and stress-free as possible, it is important for the owner to familiarize himself with certain rules, which will help the pet quickly adapt to the family. While your cat gets used to its new home, it may behave uncharacteristically for a while. The owner should be prepared for such a turn of events and try to be loyal to the pet’s behavior.

Preparation

For each individual animal, adaptation to another place of residence can occur in different ways. In any case, if the cat is already an adult and was suddenly transported to someone else’s house with new owners, it will experience stress, which will negatively affect its physical condition. Therefore, if an adult cat moves into a new home, everything must be done to ensure that the animal experiences a minimum of discomfort. First, the owner is recommended to create conditions for the pet that are as close as possible to those where he lived before. To do this, it is better to ask the old owners about what house the cat lived in, what she liked to play with, what to eat, etc. Afterwards, recreate a similar environment in your home, giving the animal a secluded corner where it could retire and calm down.

If the cat is hiding and does not come out of the shelter for a long time, you need to place a bowl of food and water nearby. To calm your pet, it is recommended to talk to it calmly and affectionately. While the cat is adapting, there are times when he doesn’t eat or drink for several days. There is no need to worry about this. As soon as the animal understands that the owner is friendly towards him, he will stop being afraid.

Traveling to a new home with minimal stress

To ensure that the trip brings as little stress as possible to the kitten, it is advisable to familiarize it with the carrier in advance. Ask the breeder to supply your carrier a few days before you plan to pick up your baby. Let the kitten explore the carrier and get used to it.

Choose the shortest route to your home so that the journey does not take much time. Do not let the kitten out of the carrier; he should not walk around the car while it is moving. Many carriers have a special window so you can stick your hand through. Use this opportunity to calm your baby.

Stages of training

To a new home

In order not to cause hostility towards the new place, you should not bring your pet to a house with unfinished repairs.
Moving a cat to a home with which it is still unfamiliar is, in terms of emotions and sensations, akin to an animal finding itself in a foreign environment, where there are dangers and surprises at every step. Veterinarians do not advise transporting a pet to a room with unfinished repairs or debris, because cats are clean creatures and if they see that their new place of residence is in disarray, this will immediately cause a negative response from them. As a result, an unfamiliar room provokes hostility, which is then more difficult to overcome.

In order for an adult cat to adapt as smoothly as possible when moving, experts advise taking old dishes, a house, and a tray with you to the new home. Familiar things and smells calm the animal and make it possible to more gently cope with stress. As soon as the cat begins to feel comfortable, the items can be safely replaced with new ones.

It is much more difficult for an outdoor cat to get used to it. Animals that are not used to living with their families take a long time to adapt. Some cats never manage to get used to this life, they often run away and return to their previous lifestyle.

To the new owner

Adaptation of a kitten in a new home and in someone else’s family also does not always go smoothly. In the first weeks, the baby will miss his mother a lot, because of this it may seem that the kitten is not very inclined to communicate and get to know the owner and other household members. However, it is important for a person to remember that a small pet is afraid of everything new, he misses his mother’s affection and finds it difficult to calm down. Therefore, during this period you need to treat the kitten with attention, show affection, care, and play more often. Over time, the kitten gets used to the new environment, communicates more willingly with people, and forgets about its previous environment.

An adult street cat has difficulty adapting to life in the house, so it often hides in a quiet place.

But training a wild street cat to live in comfortable conditions with a new owner is more problematic. It is more difficult for such animals to take root because they have already formed habits and views on life. In the first days, the pet should be given the opportunity to look around, sniff, and explore objects of interest. If an animal is scared, it will most likely hide in a secluded place. The owner should not disturb the cat; it is better to leave it alone, placing a tray and bowls of food nearby.

Cats that previously lived outside will not immediately be able to understand what the tray is for. If your pet relieves itself in the wrong place, you need to soak a piece of paper or cloth in urine and place it in the tray. Using this method, it will be possible to attract a one-year-old cat to the toilet, then the animal will figure out what’s what on its own. To adapt a cat to a new home and owner faster, in addition to providing comfortable conditions, it is important to communicate with the pet in a friendly and respectful manner. If the animal understands that it will not be offended or hurt, it will be more willing to make contact.

Let the kitten explore space

When the kitten gets comfortable in the room and gets used to you, you can begin to introduce it to the rest of the space. Start with another room and let your pet explore it. When he gets used to the new room, the space can be expanded: let the kitten into the kitchen or bathroom.

How quickly a kitten gets used to each new room depends on its temperament. Some kittens adapt quite quickly, others will take longer. If your kitten is a timid one, don't rush him. Use treats to reward your pet.

What not to do?

For a kitten, adaptation to a new home or owner is much easier than for an adult pet, whose adaptation sometimes lasts more than one week. This is a very difficult period for a cat, which in stressful situations reacts even to minor details. Common mistakes that prevent your pet from being accustomed to new conditions are:

The adaptation period for an animal is difficult and it is important to support it with affection and patience.

Getting rid of old things when moving to another house. An unfamiliar environment and foreign smells make the cat confused. Until the animal gets used to these conditions, it is not recommended to change the bedding, tray and bowls to new ones.
Ignoring. An adult cat or kitten feels uncomfortable in a new home and experiences severe stress. Therefore, some behave inappropriately, constantly meow, refuse to eat, and relieve themselves past the tray. During this period, the owner must constantly be nearby, support the animal, and in no case ignore it.
Punishment for wrong behavior. Because of stress, even a person will behave unusually, let alone animals whose lives and safety are in the wrong hands. If the cat is worried and gets lost in a new place, the owner needs to be patient and remind the cat where the toilet and scratching post is located. Under no circumstances should you punish your pet, hit or shout at it, otherwise the situation will worsen many times over.
The presence of strangers in the house. The company of strangers, even for a sociable pet, is undesirable, as it causes unnecessary stress and nervous tension. Therefore, in the first 2-3 weeks it is important to provide the animal with a calm environment until it gets used to it and begins to feel calm.

At first, limit the space to one room.

For the first few days, keep your baby in one of the rooms. It should contain bowls and a tray. If the tray is far away, the kitten may not reach it or may even forget where the toilet is. There should also be toys and a scratching post in the room.

Place the carrier in the room and let the kitten decide when to go out. Let him get used to the new smells. Some kittens are more curious than others and will come out of hiding faster. Don't rush your pet. When the kitten comes out and gets used to it a little, show him where the tray is and where the bowls are.

Kitten and possible dangers

To ensure that the introduction of a new four-legged tenant to the outside world does not cause any incident, all dangerous situations that the animal may find itself in while exploring the apartment should be excluded. For example, a kitten loves to move the wires of various household and office equipment. While playing with them, he can bite through the protective insulation. As a result, the baby will receive an electric shock. To avoid such consequences, you need to hide easily accessible wires.

To do this, they are placed in a protective casing, in a corrugated pipe sold in a hardware store. A longitudinal cut is made on the pipe through which the wires are removed into the product. With such protection, the kitten will be safe. Sometimes kittens crawl under furniture, into washing machines, into drawers and closets. By guessing and after removing the kitten, covering the location of the prankster, you can prevent a possible accident.

When a small kitten appears in the house, the washing machine door must be kept closed. And before each load of laundry, additionally check to see if there is a small animal in the washing machine. In addition, you need to keep the windows and balcony door closed if the apartment is located above the first floor. To be on the safe side, you should put a net over the windows to prevent the kitten from falling out.

To avoid stepping on your new pet, you should always watch your step. Under no circumstances should you run around the apartment or walk quickly! It is also worth removing all small objects from the kitten: threads, needles, pins, bottles of medicine. And besides, it is necessary to hide toxic drugs and other harmful substances. The baby should not have access to rooms where flowers that are dangerous to animals are placed. Such as: azalea, geranium, croton, ficus, hydrangea, clematis.

How to make your baby's home safe

During the moments of his games, a small kitten may not deliberately break or throw off some thing, you cannot shout at him or punish him for this. It is necessary to make sure that dangerous things are not accessible to the baby. And if the kitten doesn’t like something on the first day at home, he will let you know about it

First of all, you need to pay attention to:

on pots of flowers that stand on the windows, because a pet can easily throw them off;
for long curtains that need to be raised slightly so that the cat does not get caught on them and tear them;
on unclosed windows, from which the baby may accidentally fall out while playing;
for garbage that has interesting odors for the kitten (fish, meat, sausages);
some plants in the house are dangerous for your pet, for example, violet or cactus;
The wires should be hidden, because kids love to play with them, and if they bite them hard, they can get an electric shock.

How to make your baby's home safe

First of all, you need to pay attention to:

on pots of flowers that stand on the windows, because a pet can easily throw them off;
for long curtains that need to be raised slightly so that the cat does not get caught on them and tear them;
on unclosed windows, from which the baby may accidentally fall out while playing;
for garbage that has interesting odors for the kitten (fish, meat, sausages);
some plants in the house are dangerous for your pet, for example, violet or cactus;
The wires should be hidden, because kids love to play with them, and if they bite them hard, they can get an electric shock.

How to distinguish a boy's kitten from a girl's?

It often happens that Pushinka turns into Pushka by the age of one year, when the characteristic external signs of a boy begin to appear.
In order not to make a mistake from the very beginning, you need to pay attention to the following points:

A cat's genitals are shaped like a small dot; a cat's genitals are a short vertical line.
The distance between the anus and genitals of a cat is slightly greater than that of a cat
By the age of three months, you can feel small balls on the cat - these are the testicles beginning to develop

Experienced cat lovers distinguish gender even by the shape of the face. But this method is not available to everyone, and is often deceptive. If in doubt, show the baby to the veterinarian, he will determine exactly who you got.

There is an opinion that only cats are tricolor, but there are exceptions.

Do not believe that the cat gets used to the house, and not to the owner. The environment is important to her, but much more important is a loving and caring family. Having bought a kitten, we take on a huge responsibility for many years, so this step must be balanced and deliberate. Will you have enough strength, patience, and most importantly love? But all doubts will go away when you fall asleep and wake up to the measured purring of a wonderful, cheerful and intelligent creature - a cat.