Adopting a cat is an emotional, exciting experience. And, no matter how surprising, in the case of an adult cat, the feelings associated with receiving a new member of the family are more intense and thoughtful. Unlike kittens, adult cats have clearly defined personalities, making it much easier to assess their compatibility with your lifestyle and preferences.
Adult cats are less prone to destructive behavior and this age-related feature allows you to spend time building an emotional bond with them instead of exercising and socializing. However, this is nothing compared to the chance of a happy life that you give your companion animal into adulthood and thus completely change its future.
It doesn’t matter if you have years of experience living with a cat or if it’s your first time getting a companion animal, proper preparation is essential to ensure the best possible experience.
7 Essential Steps to Ensure the Best Experience of Adopting an Adult cat
1. Lifestyle Assessment
Before adopting an adult cat, take a few minutes to assess your lifestyle and living condition. Consider factors such as your work schedule, living space, and existing pets. Adult cats differ in their activity level and social preferences. Therefore, choose a cat whose personality and needs best suit your lifestyle.
2. Creating a Comfortable Environment for the Cat
To ensure a comfortable living environment, it is advisable to purchase the essentials before adopting a cat. It will enable the new member of the family to satisfy its physical needs and smoothly adapt to the new environment.
A cozy bed for a fine night’s sleep, travel bag, toys, high quality pet food, and water bowls are the list of personal items that are essential for a companion animal. For the harmonious integration in the new home, make sure that the environment is safe and that potentially dangerous objects for cats are not stored in easily accessible places.
3. Building Trust
Comprehending the traits and requirements of an adult cat is a prerequisite for competent care. Unlike kittens, adult cats have clearly defined personalities and habits, making it much easier to estimate whether their temperament is compatible with your lifestyle.
An adult cat’s behavior and attitude towards people are shaped by past experiences. Therefore, time and patience are important to develop a deep emotional connection. It may take days or even weeks to build trust with an adult cat.
The primary thing in this process is patience and respect for the personal boundaries of the companion animal. Using positive reinforcement techniques and rewarding furry friends to create positive associations are two thoughtful considerations during the habituation process. Whether it’s playing, grooming or just relaxing, try to spend time accomplishing activities that your cat enjoys.
4. Adaptation to Other Companion Animals Living in the Family
Getting used to other companion animals can be a stressful experience. To avoid this, slowly introduce the new family member to the environment and at first, get used to only one specific room. During the first few days, try to personally observe the coexistence process between the companion animals and separate them from each other as soon as any form of aggression is detected.
To avoid feeling vulnerable, the cat requires to be able to hide and seek in equal measure. Therefore, allow them to decide at their own pace when and how much it wants to interact with another companion animal living in the house.
5. A Visit to a Veterinary Clinic
A visit to the veterinary clinic aids to solve medical concerns related to the health of an important family member and to develop a preventive care plan tailored to the cat’s needs. Immunization is a crucial part of the process and a key component of caring for our furry friend. With an annual vaccination scheduled by a veterinarian, you will protect companion animal from such dangerous diseases as the herpes virus and leukemia.
6. Establishing a Consistent Feeding Schedule
A consistent feeding schedule will significantly improve the process of adaptation to the new environment. The cat’s sense of security will improve and its anxiety will decrease significantly. At best, we recommend providing a balanced diet that includes high-quality cat food and is appropriate for your furry friend’s age, weight, and activity level. Consult a nutritionist for recommendations on cat nutrition.
7. Planning Physical Activities
Playing is a favorite activity and an integral part of daily life of cats and their human companions and that’s exactly why we should carefully arrange the playing space and the area free from small, sharp objects.
Scratching boards specially designed for adult cats will enable our four-legged friends to release energy and reduce stress. Cat trees of different shapes and sizes will effectively prevent boredom. Cats love to use their innate hunting instincts to find food, therefore, another way to amuse them is to arrange puzzle mazes.
By following these tips, you will make adopting an adult cat an experience full of the best sensations and precious moments.
Advantages of Adopting an Adult Cat
Compared to kittens, the numerical rate of abandonment of adult and elderly cats is much higher. Therefore, by adopting an adult cat, you are first of all deciding to save a vulnerable creature, which, unquestionably, is a truly worthy act. Moreover, adult cats have a strong immune system and rarely get sick compared to kittens. Like their immunity, their digestive system is much stronger, which in turn means less time spent in the veterinary clinic.
The previous experience of living at home is often associated with having the skills needed for indoor life. Kittens don’t have a common sense of intelligence, but adult cats know perfectly well what is safe and what is not. That’s why the risk of accidental self-harm is unlikely on their part.
Some people mistakenly consider that adopting an adult cat means less time with a companion animal. Nevertheless, we are delighted to dispel this thought and let you know that cats live quite a long time, on average 13-17 years. So, what could be better than that