A must-read guide for novice cat owners (Part 1)

First of all, congratulations to all novice pet owners, prepare your home to welcome a cute cat! Your life is about to change a lot, so it is normal to have expectations and nervousness!

I think that to take good care of a cat, you don’t need to prepare much and it won’t be too difficult. What is more important is the psychological preparation and adjustment of the pet owner, which is often overlooked.

For example, after starting to raise a cat, there will be one more factor to consider in future life decisions, "I want to go abroad for a week, I don’t know if the cat is suitable for my family to take care of?", "I want to find an apartment closer to the company, how can I help the cat adapt to the move?".

In addition, taking care of cats will inevitably encounter some abnormal conditions, such as diarrhea, vomiting, and not wanting to eat. Many times, these abnormalities are not caused by poor care, and it is not necessarily so simple and direct to find the cause.

At these times, it is more important for pet owners to learn how to face abnormalities and accumulate care experience than to prevent problems and blame themselves.

Although the road of raising cats is full of unknowns and challenges, it is enough to have the courage to face them and keep improving.

What cats need is never a "perfect parent" who can make them live a hundred years, but a family member who is willing to care for them and enjoy life together.

5 things new cat lovers need to know !

(I) Prepare supplies

The most basic necessities for cats are:

• Food (staple food and snacks)
• Clean water
• Suitable litter box and litter
• A safe hiding space (no need to be fancy, a simple cardboard box will do)
• A comfortable and quiet resting/sleeping place
• Toys (not too many, serious play is more important)
• Comb (essential for long-haired cats)
• Cat claw board
• Nail clippers
• Travel cage/backpack

(II) Environmental arrangement

The most important consideration for a cat's environment is safety.

Please check whether the doors and windows at home are tight, and try to avoid the risk of the cat escaping. Please also study the items that may be dangerous to the cat (such as linear items, lilies, human medicines...), and strictly store them or avoid them.

Next, you can think about how to arrange cat litter, cat beds, eating and drinking areas. Usually cats like a quieter and more relaxing space to go to the toilet and eat (do not set the litter box next to the washing machine), and the toilet and eating areas are separated.

You can think more from the perspective of the cat, and it is okay to think and adjust slowly.

(III) The importance of socialization

If you have a kitten, you must know the importance of socialization. For a kitten, the first 2-7 weeks of life is an important and sensitive golden period of socialization.

During this period, a kitten will learn what things in the environment are always there and not threatening, and learn not to have excessive fear and anxiety reactions to these sounds and people and things.

During this period, let the cat come into contact with different strangers, and there may even be a chance for it to develop a second or third caregiver. In the future, if you need to travel or go on a business trip, the cat will be more able to adapt to being cared for by others instead of being unable to adapt because of your absence.

(IV) Medical treatment required in the first year

Medical treatment required in the first year are:

• Vaccinations

Core vaccines are usually administered 3-4 times in the first year

• Neutering

In Taiwan, unless there are special reasons for neutering, it is usually performed at 5-6 months old

• Parasite prevention

It is recommended to prevent fleas and heartworms every month, and tapeworms and other intestinal parasites 1-2 times a year

(V) Understand their needs from the cat's perspective

When we only interpret cats' behavior and needs from a human perspective, it is easy to cause many misunderstandings and problems.

For example, when a cat urinates on our bed, it is easy for humans to interpret it as "the cat is taking revenge", but the real reason may be "the cat's bladder is uncomfortable so it can't hold it and doesn't have time to go to the litter box" or "the cat's toilet is too dirty or too small".

Encourage pet owners to learn to use the cat's brain to think about why the problem occurs. If you have difficulties, there are many resources to seek help.

Some cat thinking patterns that you may not have thought about:

• Cats usually don’t like to have other cat roommates because cats need to share and compete for resources
  
• Humans’ excessive disturbance of cats’ sleep, forced hugs, and petting of cats may also cause stress in the human-cat relationship
• 
  
• Cats usually don’t like any changes in the environment, and stability/fixation represents familiarity and security