Tips for Caring for an Adopted Cat

I'm an avid cat lover, and I currently own three lovely (but sometimes nutty) cats whom are all strays that I've adopted over time. Through experience, I've come to learn several crucial things that can help fellow cat lovers like me take good care of them and make sure they live a good, long, healthy life.

My first tip for cat adoption is to always adopt a cat from a pound and/or animal shelter. There are millions of poor, abandoned felines that are deserving of some love and a good home, and it saddens me to know that so many people give up the opportunity to adopt an adult cat in a pound to get a kitten. Kittens are adorable without a doubt, but let's face it, they won't last that way forever. Kittens are good to get when the kids are young for a pet to grow up alongside them, but adult cats are great additions if the kids are older or already moved out. All three of my cats are strays that were roaming around our development that we took in, and all three of them are sweet in their own way. I guarantee you won't regret adopting an adult cat if you take the chance. They are usually very affectionate and just content in finally having a home. (I'm sure there are different cases, but all three of my cats are males and though they have tiffs with one another they are all very sweet to us. I believe that male cats have a tendency to be more affectionate as opposed to female cats, who can be a bit moody even after they're fixed.)

A word of caution to those who may be like me and adopt cats off the street, however: sometimes the cats that roam around are very much feral. One of my three cats, little Toby, is a feral cat who was very obviously born in the wild and was never owned by anyone before us. Feral cats have a tendency to be very wild and rebellious; Toby at first was highly aggressive and somewhat anti-social, running away whenever we attempted to pet him or touch him. But now that he's settled into our household he's very sweet and affectionate. About the only problem he still has is he plays a little rough, and since he's still feral he has very sharp teeth and claws. If you decide to take a feral cat into your home, just be very careful of these factors. Eventually these cats do calm down and become more domesticated, but they may never out-grow their feral tendencies.

Remember to always keep your cats groomed; cats can sometimes get a little lax in caring for themselves, especially when they begin to get on in years. You can usually tell the age of a stray cat depending upon his or her coat; if it's matted and shabby, chances are it's an older cat who's not as able to take care of themselves. Brushing your older cats daily is a good way to keep their coats in better shape; my family actually uses a brush that was designed for dogs on them. Using an older brush also works; the bristles on it work very well in getting out the fur they're currently shedding.

One problem that multi-cat owners may face is cat-fights. Regardless of your pampered princes' and princesses' temperaments towards you, they may not get along too well with their housemates and this could pose a problem. Females and males have the largest tendencies of fighting with one another of their same gender over territorial issues. Usually if the fight is rather non-aggressive, I simply push the two apart with gloves on to separate them and then keep them away from one another. If, however, the fight escalates into a serious confrontation between the two where serious injury is possible, quickly fill a bucket or other large container with water and dump it on them both. This disables them temporarily so that you can get them both apart. Water is also a good tool to keep cats from doing naughty things; whenever we catch our cats clawing at the screen, a quick spray of water to the face (usually out of a spray bottle) will send them running. It's a good tool for reinforcing what is and isn't allowed, and my cats rarely do that anymore because they know what's coming if they do.

It may surprise you that cats are actually (usually) not too bad with getting a bath; all three of my boys don't like the water, but recently I gave them all a bath to get the grime off of them and really their only misbehavior was wanting to jump out of the bathtub continuously. Though it might seem unusual, giving your cats a bath every now and then is a great way to keep their fur clean and smelling nice; my cats most the time roam outdoors and can come back rather dirty and reeking of goodness knows what. You can find certain shampoos and conditioners for cats at your vets, but there are several homemade ones that are just as good. I used one that I bought from a local farmer's market recently that was just a combination of different soaps mixed with cedar vinegar that left all three of my cats with soft fur and pleasant smell about them. It worked really well, and I'm sure there are plenty of other remedies to be found if you take the time to browse the Internet a bit.

Also, if you decide to take in a stray, you may have to deal with some of their 'bad habits' that they have developed from surviving on their own for so long. One of my cats, when we took him in, was very skinny so we fed him lots of food to try and get his weight back. But since then, he hasn't gotten out of eating constantly and this has made him relatively heavy. We've tried to hide the food from him at times when we feed the others, but his instincts make him search out for food even when he's not hungry. This is simply a habit he's formed from when he was living on his own and didn't know when his next meal would be, so he simply ate everything he could just in case. If you take in a stray, this might be a problem you face if they're relatively starved and afraid of not being fed constantly. Try and regulate how much they eat and designate a time of the day when they're fed so they know when they can expect it. It might not take their cravings away entirely but at least they'll have the security of knowing when they'll be getting their next meal.

I hope these tips have helped you with caring for your adopted cat, or if you haven't gotten one yet that you consider it. I don't regret at all taking in my three cats; they've all been a great joy in my life and all have such vivid personalities. Please take into consideration the millions of cats that could use a good home, and I hope these helpful hints help you if you decide to take on in yourself!