A new cat a home / Your first cat
I'm sure you are a cat lover and you will treat your cat or kitten as good as you can but there are several things you want to consider before getting a cat. Read book about cats or magazines, the internet can also be a great source for information about cats.
Just some things to consider before getting your cat or kitten:
- Cats need enough room for themselves to play, run, hide and jump?
- Cats need your time and patience? You need to play with your cat and pet it for at least 30 minutes a day.
- Cats sometimes need to be taken to a veterinarian, that might cost several bucks.
- Cats can get as old as 20 years so can you care for your cat through all these years?
- Did you know that one cat will cost you about $500 a year? This includes food, cat litter, veterinarian costs and others.
So you see there are quite a few things you need to know before choosing to get a cat or kitten. Make sure you are ready for it, nothing is worse than giving a cat away to the cat-shelter because you did not know what holding a cat means.
How to get a cat?
There are different ways to buy cats and kittens. There are private people selling cats, cat shelters, cat breeders and more. If you purchase a kitten make sure it is at least 12 months old, at this age it won't need his mother anymore. Make sure the cat is vaccinated and get the cirtificate for it. Make sure you don't buy from people who just sell the cats for a profit, mostly these people don't treat the cat right. There are of course professional cat breeders who do a good job.
Prepare yourself and your home for the new cat or kitten.
There are several things you need to have in your house when having a cat. Cat's have certain needs and these needs want to be satisfied. Cat's like to scratch, hide and climb, they need food, water and shelter. Did you think of everything? Here is a small list of things that are a must if you have a cat.
- Cat food. This must be special cat food, no dog food or other pet food. Cats need a high protein diet and dog food can't provide this.
- Water. You cat needs fresh water.
- Cat toys. If your cat can't get outside the house it will get boring. You need to entertain your cat with cat toys.
- Cat trees. You cat needs to scratch it's claws to trim them. If you don't have a cat tree your furniture will do as well for the cat.
- Litter Box. Each cat needs her own litter box with fresh litter.
- A place to sleep. Cats want calm, save and warm places to sleep.
Have you all these things considered? Then go and get your cat, have fun with it and welcome in the community of cat owners!
added 03.28.2007
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