Preparing for the adoption

Just a few basics, preparing for the house visit and adoption day. We would like to see your place in its natural state, as it would be for your cat or kitten. That would be with litterpan, food and water dishes, and scratching surfaces in place.

Remember, this is not a white-glove inspection; we are only interested in seeing the environment the cat or kitten would be going into. It is not our intention to invade your privacy. The most likely outcome of our visit is to help you further kitten-proof or cat-proof your home.

Some suggestions:

• Block off access behind your water heater, bookcase, and so forth—cats are drawn, sometimes fatally, to small vertical spaces.
• Clear your home of small items a cat or kitten could swallow (rubber bands, twist-ties, soda-bottle caps, and so on).
• Provide adequate scratching surfaces to satisfy the inner cat and save your furniture.
• Screen your windows (the old-fashioned pull-out inserts are just fine).
• Screen in or otherwise block off your balcony (falls from balconies are a common cause of death and serious injury for cats).

Preparing for a Kitten

Consider you are about to be blessed with a toddler who is capable of climbing and jumping and is prone to squeezing into incrediby small spaces as well as indulging into all the other alarming things toddlers do. Remove those tiny knick-knacks from shelves and bureau-tops; block off those inticing spaces behind and beneath furniture and heavy appliances. Keep your home free of rubber bands, plastic bags and wrapping, string, and yarn and provide only safe toys. It could mean the difference between life and death for your new baby.

Things to Buy for Adoption Day:

• Airline-style carrier (cat-sized);
• Ceramic food dish and water bowl (rabbit dishes are best);
• Flea comb and mat-comb (metal teeth—English-made are best);
• A veterinarian-approved kitten chow;
• Litter (avoid clumping litter for a very young kitten; we use Good Mews or Crown Bedding);
• Litter pan (cat-sized, preferably covered, but easily accessible);
• Safe kitten toys;
• Scratching surfaces (cardboard scratching pad and/or scratching post); and
• Squirt bottle or squirt gun—to be used sparingly.

Things Not To Waste Your Money On:

• Kitten-sized pet carrier (grown out of almost immediately);
• Cardboard pet carrier (inadequate and dangerous and not at all cost-effective);
• Grocery-store kitten chow (the good stuff is a better buy, honest!);
• Very tall or top-heavy condo or cat post (potentially lethal);
• Most store-bought cat toys (some extremely dangerous);
• Plastic flea comb (useless);
• Scented litter (stinks worse than used litter, to the poor kitten, and is possibly toxic to boot); and
• Those automated litterpan monstrosities—they’re difficult to clean and tend to break down.

Preparing for a Cat

Prepare your home pretty much as you would for a young kitten, only more so. Cats can jump and climb even better than kittens and can get into even more trouble as a consequence. Think like a cat, then move those small dangerous items (or large heavy ones that could fall) and block off access to inappropriate places such as very tall bookcases.

Things to Buy for Adoption Day:

• Airline-style carrier (cat-sized);
• Ceramic food dish and water bowl (rabbit dishes are best);
• Flea comb and matt comb (metal teeth—English-made are best);
• Any nutritionally-balanced cat chow;
• Litter (cats prefer the clumping kind, but any “dustless” litter will do);
• Litter pan (preferably covered; don’t bother with the automated monstrosity—they’re difficult to clean and tend to break down);
• Safe cat toys;
• Scratching surfaces (cardboard scratching pad and/or scratching post); and
• Squirt bottle or squirt gun—to be used very sparingly.

Things Not To Waste Your Money On:

• Small pet carrier (cramped and hot and soon outgrown);
• Cardboard pet carrier (inadequate and dangerous and not at all cost-effective);
• Grocery-store cat chow (the good stuff is a better buy; honest!);
• Very tall or top-heavy condo or cat post (potentially lethal);
• Most store-bought cat toys (some extremely dangerous);
• Plastic flea comb (useless);
• Scented litter (try Good Mews, if you want scent—it’s treated with cedar oil); and
• Those automated litterpan monstrosities—they’re difficult to clean and tend to break down.

Please don’t think we are telling you what you must provide, at least in such minute detail. (Well, maybe we are, but it’s good advice and made with the best of intentions.)