Are you prepared to become a pet owner? Adopting a cat is a joyful event in every family. But cats bought at first glance can cause a big surprise and unfortunately sometimes a great disappointment, too. Many unwanted cats end up in the streets or animal shelters because of peoples irresponsibility or inconsistent pledge.
It is not only joy but also a great responsibility It is important to know that if you buy a pet, you will have to take responsibility for it. You should never buy a cat as a result of a sudden resolution. As a pet owner you are required to take responsibility for an adopted living creature, you must take care of it not only when it is fit as a fiddle but also when it is ill for the rest of its life. The following guide is for those who are to become cat owners for the first time in their lives.
Where should you get your kitten? It is very important where you get your cat because it does matter what experiences your future cat has gained during the very first part of its existence. If you would like a pedigree cat then it is worth the trouble to look for a breeder who will kindly show you his or her animals and can provide you with information on the advantages and disadvantages of the different varieties.
You can buy cats in pet shops, too. You can buy healthy, well-bred, well-kept kittens in some of the better pet shops. Kittens are catered for their special needs in these specialised shops, for example, they are provided with runways, toilet boxes, and things to climb on and to play with.
But it is more common to adopt a cat from our friends or to pick up a stray cat from the street. It is also worth visiting the nearest animal shelter for kittens, but enthusiastic animal rights activists can pick up an abandoned kitten from the street. In this latter case you should also take into account the different parasites such as vermin, flees, ticks or the appearance of latent diseases.
How old the cat should be that we intend to adopt? It is not simple to place an animal in a humans habitat and it is also true for cats. Kittens should stay with their mother and siblings until they are 7 or 8 weeks old, because it is essential for their sense of safety and it is essential for their healthy development. During this time they can learn what things can be dangerous for them such as dogs, strangers, cars, etc. The fact that they have accustomed way too much to their original surroundings can cause problems for those cats that are older than 9 or 10 weeks. They can have hard time getting used to their new environment, they often wander off or run away.
Would you prefer a female cat or a tomcat? You should make a decision about your cats sex well in advance because a she-cat and a male cat can cause totally different problems.
Keeping of a mature male cat involves many unpleasant things because by the time a tomcat becomes sexually mature he gets into the habit of spraying. You can prevent this if you have your cat neutered in time. Due to their instincts, tomcats often wander off, fight with the other male cats of the neighbourhood and by doing this they get wounds, bruises and parasites easily. They can acquire or pass on incurable diseases such as FIV or leucosis. If you forbid him to go out, he will meow desperately. Female cats are smaller, gentler, they like petting and cuddling much better than male cats but they can also cause a lot of problems when they become sexually mature. Around the time when they become 5 or 6 months old, they become sexually active, which recurs in 14-week periods. During this time, they run away and look for a partner if they have a chance to do so. They give birth to 2 or 3 litters of kittens a year. To prevent the inconveniences that are due to this frequent labour and to avoid certain diseases it is recommended to neuter female cats, as well. Animal protection associations also suggest that you should have both girl and boy cats neutered. Nowadays these operations are considered routine procedures and they are absolutely painless.
Would you like to adopt a pedigree or an ordinary domestic cat? Rare, registered pedigree cats are sold for hundred or thousands of dollars while you can put your hands on mixed cats for free. There can also be significant differences among the different varieties concerning intelligence. For instance, there can often be deaf cats among the white ones and there are the so-called over-bred silly varieties and those types that require special treatment. You are not recommended to keep such cats even if they are award winning and you can afford them. Although crossbreeds are wilder and harder to domesticate than pedigree cats, they are better to keep as hobby pets since they are tougher and more resistant to diseases. And last but not least their character is more similar to real cats.
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Hair length of your cat is an important part of your decision. Although long fur cats may look nicer, they need more care and attention than their short fur counterparts. It is especially true for the period when they cast off their fur because you have to brush them every day and in the mean time once in 2 or three days. Taking care of short hair cats is much easier in this respect because they can keep their hair tidy by cleaning themselves and taking care of their falling fur with their rugged tongues. It is also recommended to brush this variety every 4 or 5 days. It is important to make them get used to being brushed when they are kittens.
How many cats should you adopt?
You can keep two or more cats if you live in a big flat or in a detached house, but the cats you adopt should be from the same litter. They already know each other well; they play with each other and get out of each other's way, too, when they want to. If you keep kittens of mixed gender it is important to neuter them when they are about 8 months old. Each cat requires a separate resting area. As far as the number of toilet boxes are concerned, there should always be at least more than one than the number of cats you keep with the help of this method you can easily make your cat house-trained. Toilet boxes should be placed in different parts of the house so that the cats can reach them according to their needs in the shortest possible time. It is not recommended to keep more than one cat in a small flat because they will fight for their own territory.
Cats and other pets around the house
It can happen quite often that you have to keep under one roof two or more pets belonging to different species. There are a great number of households where cats and dogs can get on well with each other, moreover they become even friends. Although it has to be emphasised that pets should not share in the food or the sleeping area with each other, in other words they should have their own designated territories.
It is highly important that you start to make them become accustomed to each other at an early age because it is much harder for older pets to become friends. It is a well-tried tactics to use the same shampoo the first time you bathe them, because they get used to each other better if they have the same smell. You should not treat them differently. To make them become accustomed to each other successfully, you need to give the same amount of love, care, patience and attention to both pets in the house. Cats cannot get used to certain animals because of their genetically coded hunting instinct no matter how hard you try. These are the following: fish, mice, guinea pigs, squirrels, and birds.
Before you choose your kitten you should check the following things carefully, if you want to bring home a healthy pet:
- Healthy kittens are full of vitality; they play a lot and frisk about. - A healthy pet should not be visibly skinny to the naked eye. - An ill kitten is indifferent, apathetic, and has a lack of appetite. - A healthy kitten's fur is never ruffled; it must be thick and soft. - A kitten's eye should never be in tears and should not be full of mucus. - A healthy kitten's nose should be warm and dry but it must not be hot. - The inner part of its ears should always be clean and its gum should be pink. - It is a sign of diarrhoea if the area of the anus is jammed and tainted with faeces. - A cat's stomach should never be swollen; it can only be big and swollen directly after eating. - White pedigree cats are often deaf. You can test their deafness if you call them or make noises behind their backs.
After you have selected your pet, there is one thing left. You should find a suitable name for your pet. Experienced pet owners already know that it can be a hard task to find a good pet name. www.cat-dog-names.com can help to find the perfect name for your pet.
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