Seven Streams
How To Welcome a New
Family Member
into Your Home
The day you finally get
to bring your new cat or
kitten home can be a
very happy day, or a
very frustrating day,
depending on how you go
about it.
There are many different
techniques that can be
used to introduce your
new pet
into your houshold, but
the one common
denominator for them all
I would say,
is that too slow is better than too fast, particularly if there are other
pets
already residing in your
home.
Most Norwegian Forest Cats adapt easily to their new homes,
especially when they are
still kittens.
Sometimes older cats
take a little more time,
but adjust easily once
they feel comfortable in
their new surroundings.
For purposes of
clarification, we have
named your new pet
"Olaf":
Here is our
recommendation for the
quickest and safest way
to bring Olaf home:
Before Olaf arrives
home, have a special
place prepared for him,
possibly your bedroom.
Make a space in a
secluded corner for his
carrier to be placed.
Make sure the carrier
has a nice, fluffy,
comfortable bed in it.
Next to his carrier, put
his food and water dish
(full),
and not too far away in plain sight, a litter box. (This is only
temporary, until he
becomes familiar with
his new surroundings).
In
my experience with cats,
they seem to be first of
all territorial.
They want to know what
their boundaries are.
This can be
disappointing to some
people at first, because
in their minds they have
visions of their new
little kitten running
into their open arms and
snuggling up. This
sometimes happens, but
not very often.
Usually, the kitten
wants to first find out
about their new living
conditions. After this
is established in their
minds, they will show an
interest in you.
There are exceptions to
this rule, but not very
many I don't think.
When you arrive home
with Olaf, carry him in
his carrier into the
special room you
have prepared for him,
closing the door behind
you. Set him down in the
secluded corner,
and open the door of the
carrier. Allow him
to come out when he is
ready,
resisting the temptation
to drag him out to see
what he looks like.
Please keep in mind
that Olaf has not been
eagerly awaiting this
day for months, like you
have. Pictures of
you
and your family have not
been tacked up on the
wall around his bed, for
him to
gaze at longingly, like
the pictures you have
framed and hanging all
over your home of him.
At this point you can
either leave the room
entirely, or go sit in a
chair
or lay on the bed
quietly, while he
explores the new area.
The reason it is best
to confine him to one
room at first, is
basically to get a good
idea of what his
reaction
is going to be to his
new home. (When
Jadon Raine, one of my
older boys, went to his
new home,
the new Mom set him down
in the kitchen and then
didn't see him again for
24 hours.
She found him hiding
behind a box in the
closet the next
afternoon.
This surprised me,
because he was one of
the sweetest, most
fearless and friendliest
cats
we've ever had. It only took him a few days to settle in after that first
initial trauma.
Had she put him in one
room at first,
he might not have felt
so overwhelmed and lost,
and it would have been
easier for her
to locate him, especially if she kept the closet doors closed.
If Olaf chooses to hide
under the bed for a
while, this is because
he feels safe there.
If he has a whole big
house to deal with, and
other pets as well, it
can be too much for him
all at once. Allow
him to camp out under
the bed if he so
chooses. With his
carrier in the corner,
he might not feel that
is necessary. The
point here is, give Olaf
all the time he needs to
make the adjustment to
his new home
comfortably, avoiding
any type of stress that
might
cause him to be afraid.
When you are sure that
Olaf is comfortable with
his new territory, and
is getting to know you,
it is safe to allow him
to come out into the
rest of the house. This
could take 5 minutes or
it could take 2 days.
If you have other pets,
you can bring him in his
carrier out into the
Living Room,
set him down, and let
the other pets come and
check him out.
There might be a bit of
growling
and hissing, this is
perfectly normal.
When things have calmed
down, you might want to
carry Olaf
back to his secluded
corner, set him down and
open the door.
This time, open the door
to your bedroom, and let
the pets come in or go
out as they please.
It's best if you oversee
this part of the
adjustment carefully,
just to make sure
everybody is going to
get along.
Not all cats require
this much care when
bringing them home, but
it is wise to follow
this type
of procedure just in
case. Our first
experience bringing a
new pet into our house
was not a good
one, because we did it
unwisely. We all
paid the price,
permanently. Our
beloved Phoebe, who was
an indoor rescue, became
an outdoor rescue,
because she didn't take
to the new kittens.
(To put it mildly).
In fact, to this day,
she despises them.
Oh
the other hand, When we
first brought Alasse
home,
I had a big cage set up
for her in the middle of
the Living Room.
I set her in the cage, with food and water and litter box, and just let
the other
cats come up and sniff
her and check her out.
They all seemed very
interested, nobody
seemed angry or
threatened by the new
girl. Oakley (who
was a young indoor cat
at that time), took one
look at her and said
"Wow, she's beautiful!
Can we keep her?"
Alasse took one look
around her cage, and
said "Get me out of
here, NOW". So for
her, there was no
adjustment period
necessary.
She fit right in
seamlessly with the
whole household. I
think this is generally
the way it happens with
Norwegian Forest Cats,
they are very adaptable
to their new homes.
But it never hurts to
give each one the
opportunity to start off
slowly.
Cats are curious by
nature, they like to
investigate everything
in their environment,
and love to play.
It is helpful to have a
variety of safe cat toys
for them to play with,
such as small
furry mice (natural
fabrics are best), wands
with feathers and
teasers, (to be put away
after every use), and
ping pong balls for them
to bat and chase after.
Wal Mart has
a pet section where you
can find cat toys, and
any pet store carries
them. Just because
the
pet store offers cat
toys for sale does not
necessarily mean the
toys are safe.
Use your good judgment,
don't buy them toys with
small parts that are
likely to
fall off, or that can be
chewed off easily.
Cats love small,
enclosed spaces.
Offer them a box to play
in, and they can be
occupied for hours with
it.
Be sure to keep all
string, thread and yarn
away from them though.
They can easily swallow
these, which can cause
serious problems.
If you find a string
hanging out of your
kittens mouth, or coming
out the other side,
please do not pull
on it. Take
him into the vets, to
have it safely removed.
It could be tangled up
inside of him, and
pulling on it could be
very dangerous.
Norwegian Forest Cats...bet you can't
have just one!