Now you might be thinking that you are ready for a pet, and watching these purry creatures on internet and social media, you might close in on cats as your choice of pet. You might be having a gamut of questions filling your mind: “Should I get a cat or a kitty?” or “Should I get an older cat or a kitten?” or maybe “Should I go for a pure breed, or is mixed breed a better choice?” Now, I understand that this is a lot of pressure and you would want the best for you and your potential pet. So, what we can do is to enlist some criteria related information to make your more confident about this wonderful endeavour.
Well, the first thing you should ask yourself is whether you are really ready for a cat as a pet. Trust me, this is an important decision and you should take a much time you think you need to weigh the pros and cons. Do remember that pets are unlike any collectible that you buy and they require long time commitment, love, care and dedication. If you think your current lifestyle does not allow you to take care of a pet, full time, then I would advise you against adopting a pet, especially a cat.
Remember, cats are difficult to deal with unless you love them unconditionally. They are not for you; you are there for them- that is what they like to believe. So, I think you should cross some important pointers if you are serious about adopting a cat.
One of the most important things to consider while thinking about adopting a feline companion is the finance. If you already have kids, and are having trouble meeting their incessant demands for just about everything, then you must think again about getting a cat. Adopting a cat will literally mean having a new kid in the family. This entails that you should be prepared for the financial responsibility of letting a cat own you.
Another thing to mull over while getting a cat is children. If you have kids in your house who are less than five years old, I would advise you not to get a cat, or if at all you want to adopt one, get an older cat and not a kitten. Toddlers adore kittens, and actually go on to the length of loving it, literally, to death. Alternately, the kitten, shaken by such abundance of love, might inflict some rather painful scratches.
I understand that you might have been tempted into adopting a kitty by seeing someone else share such a warm bonding and, not to mention, a wonderful time. However, if you are particular about your upholstery and your beautiful designer furniture, then you are not really meant to be a cat person. Let’s face it, cats need scratching exercises, and they will, however much you try to train them, destroy your beautiful furniture. Now I guess you might have given declawing your cat a thought. Please stop right there! You need to know what declawing actually entails. It is the surgical removal of the first knuckle of each toe. It is extremely painful and dangerous for the cat. You might come across cats in shelters , which are there, more often than not, because they turned to biting after the trauma of being declawed. The other alternative would be clipping which needs to be done on a weekly basis. Now, this of course requires time and patience, and you need to be dedicated enough to care for your pet if you are getting a cat.
Time, of course, is nonpareil. As stated earlier, if you adopt a cat, it is going to be a part of your family, and by definition, family needs family time. Contrary to popular notions about cats not being social, cats are very much gregarious and they dig attention from humans. If you do not indulge in play, or just some cat-and-you time, you cat might just get depressed, and to vent out the loneliness, it might soon find all kinds of mischief to amuse itself. Even when your feline companion is being extremely roguish, remember that it is only doing so to get your attention.
Potty training is paramount. Pampering your kitty is wonderful, but you wouldn’t want a spoiled cat. As much as you adore being close to the ball of fur near you, you must endeavor to provide your cat with some training. Potty training, for cats at least, tops the charts. You need to provide your cat with a clean litter box so that it might have no problems in attending to its necessities. Now, I understand that you might want your kids to do undertake this challenge to acquaint them with responsibility, and that, of course, is fine. However, you must be around to look after them and how they are looking after the feline member of the family.
If you’ve, and I am sure you have, thought about all of these issues and found it worthwhile to adopt a cat and care for it with patience, kindness and unconditional love, then I think you are probably ready to adopt a pet cat.
So, what are you waiting for? Adopt a cat right away!