Adopting a Cat

By Sops

Cats are fun little animals to have as pets. They enjoy playing, attacking your toes at night and snuggling on your lap in the winter. They make awesome companions and I highly recommend adopting a cat.

A few years ago my mum promised me we would adopt a cat. During the first lock down mum and I were very anxious. Living through a pandemic is very scary! And I was feeling very lonely as I could not see my friends. As the restrictions were slowly easing mum decided to adopt a cat from the Cat Protection League.

Normally when you adopt a cat you have to go to the sanctuary and see the cats. They check you out as the cat chooses their owner. It’s like how a wand chooses the wizard or witch in Harry Potter. However, during the pandemic we couldn’t go to the sanctuary. We had to look at the cat profiles online. Mum said it was like a cat dating site! We chose a beautiful black male moggy who was only a year old. The workers at the sanctuary made the relevant checks to make sure we would look after the cat properly. When they were happy that we would make good owners, they dropped the cat off at our front door. I named our cat Oreo Super Sonic Trifle. I was so excited and nervous before the cat was delivered, but Oreo was very affectionate as soon as he arrived. My aunt bought me this book before the cat arrived, so I would know how to welcome him into the home and how to care for him. I found this book really useful and easy to read and understand. It would suit younger children too.

Getting to know your Cat

Some times we just don’t know what to do when we are adopting a cat. We are not sure how they will react in their new home. When I got Oreo he was very anxious, but also very affectionate, and a 100% scaredy cat. So here are some fun easy ways to get your new cat comfortable in their new home.

Saying, ‘hi’ to your new cat

After saying “hi”, let your cat explore. But DON’T let you cat explore upstairs or the garden yet. Keep you little fury friend in one room so it isn’t overwhelming for them.

Let your cat settle in just one room for a few days. Leave his/her litter tray in a private spot (we used the cupboard under the stairs). Oreo was already litter tray trained, which was useful. Keep his food and water in the room as well.

Set up a dark quiet space for your cat to hide in if he/she finds things too overwhelming. Before we adopted Oreo we bought him a cosy enclosed cat bed, but he chose to set up his own little ‘nest’ behind the TV. He would take rolls of toliet roll and shred them over the floor and sleep there. It was his ‘safe’ space and he would go there if he wanted quiet time.

@linlou82
This is my sisters cat she keeps sending me these TikTok gold videos 😂 #catsoftiktok #toiletroll #pinkpanther #theif #funny #fyp
♬ Pink Panther Intro – Henry Mancini

My aunt made a Tik Tok video out of Oreo’s antics.

Buying Toys for your Cat

After letting your cat go on his/her journey to explore your home and introducing the little kitty to the family, you should do a shop for toys. It might seem silly to do a shop now, but it is good to buy just a few toys first and see what your cat likes to play with. Then buy more toys that your cat prefers. For example, Oreo really liked playing with a feathered stick, so we bought more craft feathers and made our own toys for him with ribbons and feathers. He also likes chasing little balls of foil around the house. Also, you can buy little pots of cat nip in a pet store and stuff homemade cat toys with it. Your cat will go crazy over it.

Bedtime

So you have had a full day playing with the pussie cat. You’re exhausted. The cat is exhausted. So you go upstairs to bed leaving your feline friend curled up in his nest of toliet rolls. No drama at all!

OK maybe you wake up at 5 in the morning because your cat wants food. FINE you get 5 hours of sleep after adopting a cat, if you are lucky. Be warned, young cats like to attack feet very early in the morning. Cats are nocturnal creatures, which means they are naturally more awake in the night time. It’s when they most want to hunt and play. When I first adopted Oreo he would wake me up every morning by attacking my feet. Now he likes to curl up and sleep on my bed, so they do grow out of the feet fighting stage.

Cats are for Life, not just lockdown

A lot of people adotped cats and other animals over the past year to be companions during lock down. But it is important to remember that cats can live for around 20 years. It’s really important to think carefully before adopting a cat. It is a very expensive venture as you have to pay for the food, flea and worming treatments and vet bills. Cats are also very independent creatures. They will soon let you know if they want to be left alone, so be sure to give them space and let them be if they show signs of being irritable. Also, remember that cats clean themselves. They don’t like water, so they wouldn’t appreciate a bath from you. There are some specialised cat wipes you can use to give your cat a little wipe over if he/she is a bit smelly, but don’t use soap or any other cleaning chemicals on your cat as it could make them sick.