CATS
STARTING OUT RIGHT
Before bringing home your cat.
Must-have supplies/shopping list.
Food: wet and dry food; treats like salmon pieces or other small treats
Equipment: collar and tags
In-home management: water bowl; litter boxes; litter; litter attractant; baby gates; cat trees; scratching post;
bed; boxes for hiding
Toys: lure toys; fake mice; jingle balls; catnip
Cat care tools: brush or comb; Feliway;
Training equipment: harness for walking on leash outside; leash; treat pouch; clicker
Transport: cat carrier
Home setup.
Before bringing your cat home, set up a confinement area. This should be a sanctuary for your new
cat/kitten to feel safe and secure while they adjust to the sights, sounds and scents of their new home. A
sanctuary room should have their food, water, litter box, scratching post, vertical space such as a cat tree,
shelves or tall furniture, hiding space; a box or paper shopping bag will do, and a cozy bed to sleep on.
Ideally this room would have at least one window to provide your new family member with visual
stimulation.
For the first few days sit with your new cat/kitten several times a day and speak softly to her/him, you can
read a book out loud or even your email. You can toss a few tasty treats around you to encourage your new
companion animal to approach you. Once she/he feels comfortable to approach, hold your finger out for
them to sniff, then you can begin to stroke her/his cheeks and head. The important thing is to let your cat
adjust at their pace with no social pressure.
Once you feel that your new cat/kitten feel confident in their new home, open the door of their sanctuary
room. Remember, no pressure, let your cat/kitten explore at their own pace. You may consider spraying a
mist of synthetic pheromone (Feliway) about 4-8 inches off the ground on corners and furniture. This will
encourage your cat/kitten to rub these surfaces with her/his cheeks, thus putting their scent on these
surfaces and making them feel more at home. Don't forget to keep the door to their sanctuary room open,
if your cat/kitten gets startled they can easily retreat to a room that they feel comfortable in.
For the first week or two, put your new cat/kitten back in their sanctuary room when you can't supervise
them constantly.
Exercise.
Cats and kittens of all ages need plenty of exercise. Your newly adopted cat still has the same predatory
instinct of their big cat cousins. Without the appropriate exercise your cat may resort to climbing your
curtains, attacking your feet or even scratching your skin when they get too excited. The average cat needs
15 minutes of exercise twice a day, that may need to be adjusted depending on your individual cat's energy
level. Balls with bells and catnip toys are fine to keep them occupied while you are away, but nothing beats
exercise with an interactive toy like "Da Bird", for example. Interactive play right before a meal is best, your
cat will then be able to complete their predatory sequence; hunt, stalk, pounce and eat. After that you cat
will groom then sleep. A well exercised cat is a calm and relaxed cat!
Toys
Cats are natural predators and playtime for them is 'practice hunting". Provide your cat with a variety of
toy, some that they can play with by themselves and some interactive so you can join in on the fun! Mylar
or jingle bell balls, toys stuffed with cat nip are fun toys that your new cat can entertain themselves with.
Interactive toys like feather wands, cat dancers or other lure type toys are great ways for you and your cat
to play together.
We do not recommend laser toys, they can be very frustrating for your cat. Your cats runs all over hunting
and chasing this elusive red, glowing bug, and when they finally catch it, there is nothing there to reward
their hard work.
Training Your Cat
Yes, you can train your cat! Purchase a treat pouch, clicker, high value treats (i.e. chicken or salmon) then
you can train them to use the scratching post or even how to "sit", "come" and all kinds of fun tricks, even
agility. Training is fun for cats, it burns energy and keeps their mind and body active.
Scratching Post
A good scratching post should be tall enough and strong enough to allow your cat to stand on their hind
legs, lean in and get a good stretch and scratch on it without it falling over. When introducing your cat to a
new scratching post sprinkle a little catnip or place a few treats on it to entice your cat to use it. When they
do use it, give your cat lots of praise and even a treat. Some cats have a preference to scratching materials
so give them a couple options; carpet, sisal and cardboard are very popular. Scratching posts should be
located in areas that your cat frequently spends their time and beside a window or door that your cat may
see or smell other cats that are outside.
Scratching is essential to your cat. Not only does it allow them to groom and maintain their claws, it lets
them stretch their shoulder muscles, they use it to mark their territory with scent from their paw pads as
well as visually, they even use it as an outlet for energy when they get really excited.
Vertical Space
Provide your cat with a couple of options for vertical space. This can be a large cat tree (minimum of 5 feet
tall is recommended), cat shelves on the wall, it can even be a tall piece of furniture that your cat can access.
Most cat trees are covered in carpet or sisal, this provide your cat with a scratching surface as well.
It's vital that your cat has vertical space. Vertical space provides her/him with a safe place to escape to if
they feel threatened, it provides them with a bird’s eye view of their territory where they can survey that
land and everyone that enters. For a multi-cat household, vertical space helps to set up social hierarchy
where physical height really matters.
Nutrition and Feeding
Keep in mind that your cat is an obligate carnivore when choosing the right food. An obligate carnivore is
an animal that necessarily subsists on a diet consisting mainly of meat, because it doesn’t possess the
physiology to digest vegetable matter. Make sure to read the label before choosing a food for your cat, the
first 5 ingredients should be meat and 10% or less carbohydrates. Also, consider feeding your cat a mix of
70% wet and 30% dry. Dry food is full of carbohydrates that your cat, a carnivore, isn't able to digest.
Carbohydrates lead to obesity and recent studies have shown that carbohydrates can lead to diabetes and
other ailments in your cat.
A low bowl or saucer is recommend as a vessel for your cat's food. A cat's whiskers are very sensitive and
having to put their face in too deep on a bowl can make your cat uncomfortable. If the bowl is too deep you
may end up with a cat that isn't eating or is making a mess when eating because they move the food to the
floor to eat.
Make snack time fun for your cat by using a puzzle feeder to dispense dry food. Many food dispensing
puzzles are available today, the Slimcat food dispensing ball by PetSafe is one. You can easily make one
yourself by making holes in an empty yogurt container large enough for kibble to fall through or dropping
kibble in an ice cube tray for your cat to fish out. You cat will have to figure out how to nudge and paw a
food dispensing toy to get the food out. This burns up energy and increases your cat's problem solving
skills!
Follow these guidelines and you and your new cat/kitten are well on your way to a lifetime of happiness
together. If you ever have any questions or concerns about your cat's behavior contact the WARL behavior
and training department at 202-375-7744 or email us at training@warl.org