Hello, two-legged readers! Greetings from Lucinda the literate cat, the heroine of this website. Today we will address a very important subject. As it becomes more and more common for a family to be comprised of both two-legged and four-legged members, it is important to have some ideas that will make these different species comfortable when living together. You two-legged homeowners may feel that, because you own the property, you get to make all the rules. Wrong! You are not welcoming a four-legged creature into your house so you can start a prison and make the newcomer feel like an inmate. You are sharing your space with one whom you wish to add to your family as a welcome member. If you don’t feel this way, perhaps you should not even bring the newcomer home!
Therefore, let’s take a look at some basic issues that you need to think about in advance of the newcomer’s arrival. Let’s see if we can find a way to resolve these issues so that both of you gain happiness and understanding.
The Cat Walks Alone
We cats have always been more solitary than likely to live in groups, or packs, such as dogs. We like to feel self-sufficient and in charge. Therefore, remember this fact when you bring us to your house to live. Find a spot in your home that is quiet and away from high-traffic areas and loud noises. We will find it much easier to relax in such a setting. We will also feel more secure, which as an independent entity, becomes very important.
Provide Necessary Supplies
Remember that the equipment we need to keep us comfortable is not the same as yours. Though it would be nice if we enjoyed using your toilet, we need something more basic. We need to have some dirt in a nice litter box so we can bury our business. It’s a behavior that’s part of our instinctual behavior. It’s a security measure, as it helps us hide all signs of our existence. We like our box in a private space, as it’s our nature not to advertise our presence.
Be sure to provide a good scratching post if you want to protect your important furniture. We simply do not understand why you want to deny us the use of some of it for sharpening our all-important claws — our weapons of defense and substitute for a ladder when climbing. Our claws must be honed regularly, as with any good cutting tool you own. Don’t deny us that need but supply a proper spot where we can do our necessary sharpening.
How We Become Domesticated
So, how did we end up living with you two-leggeds in the first place? Originally, we were all wild creatures, depending only on ourselves to survive. However, early in our history many of us exchanged this solitary existence to live with two-leggeds because they provided food and security. It’s something you call “domestication.” For many of these early cats, we earned our places in your homes in exchange for services rendered, in the form of ridding food supplies of varmints.
These days, things are different. Some of us choose to remain wild, or what you two-leggeds call “feral.” Some of us are captured and put in a little cell, or cage, in a prison called an “animal shelter.” Here, we aren’t mistreated but are fed and cared for until a two-legged decides to take us home. Some of us are born in captivity, and for them, the adaptation to a two-legged environment is much easier. For the rest of us, we have a lot of adjusting to do.
How To Help A Cat Adjust
Once we are adopted and taken out of that shelter, we have no idea if our situation will improve or not. It all depends on your two-leggeds and how much you understand things from our point of view. We must learn to trust you, and that may take a while.
It’s helpful if you start us in a single room, where we can explore, mark it with our scent, and begin to feel at ease in there. Then, if there are other animals or two-leggeds in the house, we need to be introduced gradually, so we aren’t overcome with fear or launched into a situation that makes us immediate enemies. Once we have been through those experiences, you can let us explore the rest of the house.
Because we love to look down on the world from a high place, help us find such a spot in your home. There, we can feel better about living in a world inhabited by creatures much larger than us. If you two-leggeds can’t reach the spot, all the better. Here, we can retreat and look down on your activities, knowing that we are in a safe spot.
Give Affection, Not Punishment
Remember, we are small creatures and you two-leggeds are very large. In itself, size can intimidate. Do not punish us, as you will undo any good you may have done in helping us adjust. Such action can become overwhelming. We are newcomers and do not know your rules. Perhaps we will never follow them as you’d wish, ideally. Encourage us with treats and kind words when we do something that pleases you. Eventually we will learn what is most important to you.
To gain our trust, it becomes very important that you offer affection. Learn all the places we like best for scratching and fur-smoothing. Often when you pet us, it reminds us of our mother bathing us. However, do not overdo things. If we indicate that we’ve had enough, give us space and offer affection later.
Remember that we value our alone time and learn when we wish to have some solitude. After all, we do not travel in packs but often lead a solitary existence. We have our reasons for this choice. We feel strong and self-sufficient when we can establish our own priorities.
The Importance Of Play
Play with us. Interaction through play is especially important if we must stay inside. You can become adept at creating the illusion of a creature your cat might like to hunt. The cat can stalk, pounce, engage in mock battle, and in general imagine this play hunt is the real thing.
Also, furnish a variety of toys that we can play with. We tire of the same old thing. Like you, we like variety, so life doesn’t become stagnant and boring.
Diet Is Important
Make sure to provide a healthy diet. Remember that we are obligate carnivores, a phrase you use to mean we like (and must have) meat. Also, though we groom ourselves, our little tongue has to cover the larger cat, so if you help by brushing us regularly, we will come to appreciate the assistance.
Interspecies Communication
Talk to us. Yes, we have different ways of communicating. You use your voice, your body posture, and your tone to indicate your feelings. We use our bodies more to get our message across, possibly because in the wild it was important to keep our presence hidden, so we spoke with our bodies. It’s become an ongoing tradition, and you two-leggeds would do well to learn what our bodies are saying. We only meow for you or for kittens. In both instances, your ability to translate nonverbal messages is not fully developed.
We Value Routine
Establish a routine. We cats are heavily into a daily order or things, and you will help us to adjust if we learn we can count on certain things happening at certain times of the day. Once we settle in, we do not like changes, as then we have to cope with a new situation yet again. Such events do not make it easier for us to adjust to your different lifestyle.
Visiting The Vet
You two-leggeds offer the benefits of special doctors who know our ailments. We have become used to self-treatment and often do not take well to your interference. However, much as we dislike what you call “visiting the vet”, afterwards we might become surprised that our affliction has gone away. Sometimes we have to make the grudging admission that you have provided us with a solution that we couldn’t supply ourselves.
In Conclusion
If you show us love and affection, treat us well, and offer the necessities to make us comfortable — good food; great places to sleep; a private spot for what you call a bathroom; play and affection; we may come to feel fondness or even love for you. It is up to you two-leggeds to encourage a bond between us. Then we can become a true member of your family, regardless of our differences.
Remember, the greatest gift of all is love. Give it freely and rejoice when it is returned.
References I used for this post:
https://cats.com/how-to-make-a-new-cat-feel-at-home
https://furrybums.com/behavior/how-to-make-a-new-cat-feel-at-home/