Kitten

The well-fed house cat is an unmotivated and clumsy hunter. However, your cat still has the skills and instincts of a born predator. This shows up as play – stalking, pouncing, chasing anything that moves, and ambushing you or other companion animals are all feline ways of having a good time.

The well-fed house cat is an unmotivated and clumsy hunter. However, your cat still has the skills and instincts of a born predator. This shows up as play – stalking, pouncing, chasing anything that moves, and ambushing you or other companion animals are all feline ways of having a good time.

Before taking your new adoptee home and risking exposing her to any infectious disease, take her to a veterinarian for a thorough health check-up, including a test for feline leukemia, de-worming, inoculations and, if appropriate, neutering. Plan on staying home with your new kitty for several days, helping her get over the stress of the visit to the veterinarian and the move from her previous home.

You must first decide whether or not you want a kitten or a cat. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. A kitten will adjust more easily to your lifestyle than will an adult cat. But, an adult cat will already have gone through that rambunctious, crazy period. It is easier to recognize the personality type, e.g., shy or outgoing, if the cat is half-grown or older. The most important consideration is whether or not the cat is healthy and psychologically undamaged.

If you are already the guardian of a cat and want to adopt another, it is best to adopt one that is younger, smaller, and the opposite sex of the one you now have. Your older, larger cat will be more accepting of a younger, smaller cat. To avoid inter/male, inter/female rivalry, it is best to adopt the opposite sex.

Cats are like people. They are all different. Like people, it is difficult to tell how they will turn out as adults. There are, however, some important factors influencing whether or not a cat will extend that basic shyness into fear.

In the best of all possible worlds, a cat would be happiest having access to both the indoors and outdoors. Cats love the security and warmth of being inside. They also love the sights, smells, and excitement of the outside. Today's outside world, however, can be dangerous for a cat.

In the best of all possible worlds, a cat would be happiest having access to both the indoors and outdoors. Cats love the security and warmth of being inside. They also love the sights, smells, and excitement of the outside. Today's outside world, however, can be dangerous for a cat.