Ready to adopt a furry master - give me your advice...

[Startingagainandagain]

I am finally moving into a house of my own with a small garden and I want to adopt a rescue cat.

I have had a cat before but it was an older indoor cat (from Battersea Cats and Dogs home, they said this cat had to be kept indoor) in a flat so the settling in process was fairly simply. The cat hid under my bed for two days then just got on with ruling the place after that.

I don't have any experience of welcoming a cat into a house and who will eventually use the garden though.

There is no cat flap at the moment.

Any advice on what to do for the first few days, whether it is best to settle the cat in one room downstairs and keep it indoor for a bit before slowly introducing it to the garden supervised?

Any advice about what to consider as well when looking at potential cats to adopt is also most welcome.

My previous cat when she was at Battersea had been putting people off by being grumpy and disinterested but she somehow perked up when she saw me (having recognised a good cat slave) so she pretty much chose me and the staff were really eager for me to take her away!

My previous cat when she was at Battersea had been putting people off by being grumpy and disinterested but she somehow perked up when she saw me (having recognised a good cat slave) so she pretty much chose me and the staff were really eager for me to take her away!

those staff were in the wrong job

Op surely you mean 2 dcats?

@Ibravedaflood

Unfortunately not. My old girl passed away two years ago after being really ill and it has taken me a bit of time to be ready to have a cat again.

So the new cat will be the only animal in the house.

The rescue will advise you, but thinking back when we adopted our two, we were told to keep them inside for three weeks, so they were used to us and familiar with their new home before they were let outside. When you do let them out, do it before they are fed - they are more likely to come back if they know food is due. It was nerve wracking when we let them out and they both disappeared over the fence...

We initially kept them both in one room, but that lasted a day. Batcat was quite happy to explore and Fluffcat followed his lead. On the first day we sat on the floor in the same room and basically ignored them until they came to us - reading outloud helps them get used to your voice.

Enjoy your new friends - I agree, get two

I see that last time it was the cat who chose you - be guided by this and remember it's the cat's choice of slave not the other way round. For the same reason, try to avoid rescues who are only interested in showing you to one cat and go somewhere there's a selection - I had a choice of around 30 each time at the rescue I went to! Sounds like a youngish adult cat will suit you best.

Find out beforehand what food/litter they are on once you've been chosen and start out with that. You can (try to) change it slowly over time, but initially it will make the cat feel more at home plus sudden changes of food can lead to tummy issues.

May be worth getting a pheromone diffuser such as Feliway at the start to help them settle in.

As pp have said, start out with a "base camp" and let them explore further as & when they start to get more confident. Don't worry too much if they vanish under/behind something for days, just make sure that food, water & litter tray are nearby so they can sneak out at night when no-one is around. It's usually recommended they stay in the house for 3-4 weeks.

Consider cat proofing your garden, if money & the set up allow. That way the cat has outdoor space, but is kept safe.

Insurance is a must these days with the cost of vet treatment especially for an outdoor cat. Research local vets carefully & get the cat registered asap when they come home. Little tip is to avoid having the cat checked over by your until after you've insured it, just in case something comes up at the vet check!

Wishing you all the luck at finding your new master or mistress, don't be in a rush & make sure they are the right one, then come back (with pics) & tell us all about them 😀

When I got my two, I had it all planned: was going to keep them in the bedroom a day or so then gradually introduce them to the rest of the flat.

They had other ideas.

In fact, I am sure one of them said "F dat s!" as they crashed out of the bedroom door and down to the kitchen.

Keep the cat in for the first 2-3 weeks. Until it likes cuddles with you and will come when you call its name. Then in the garden on lead for a week. Then get the cat flap installed.

For your cat's safety, can you get a catio? (I'm coming from the Australian perspective, where cats are required to be indoors or at least on their slaves' owners' property.)

It might also be worth asking at the rescue if they have any cats who need to be only cats. When I adopted my Daisy, she was the only cat at the very small shelter who was listed as suitable to live with other cats!

If possible go out with them in the garden and stay close while they sniff around. You might be able to train them not to wander off.

Thank you everyone for all the advice!

I will plan to keep the cat indoors for the first couple of weeks and then introduce it slowly to the small garden with me close by.

I was indeed thinking of adopting a cat that has on its 'bio' that it needs to be an only cat.

All new cats really need to stay indoors for at least three weeks so they can adjust. Whether they stay in one room or not tends to be up to them rather than you!

Personally I would cat-proof the garden or install a catio rather than allowing the cat to roam.

I support getting a cat that has 'needs to be an only cat' on its bio - it's what you want and more importantly, those tend to be the cats who are difficult to rehome.

One tip: when you decide to let them out, first sprinkle some used litter in various spots around your garden. They can smell it from a long distance away and it will stop them getting lost.

I think being clear about what your personal limits are in regard to the cats behaviour are important. Our last 4 cats we were clear that we were happy to have difficult ones who had been hard to rehome - for one of them that meant she was basically feral for 14 years till she decided that humans might be trustworthy. Another had obviously been kicked and would launch himself at your leg if you walked by him. The last pair, well, they offered me leather gauntlets to put them in their box when I picked them up... Anyway, I love (or loved) them all, but we were prepared for this and some people want an affectionate cat rather sooner, so you need some lines in the sand.

It’s easy. Pick a friendly cat (not one you hope will become friendly 😬). Keep it in one room for 1-3 days and spend as much time in there as possible, maybe sleep there if you can stand the litter tray smell. Every time you enter the cat’s room, make that a fun exciting thing for the cat (play and stroke if the cat is ready, or otherwise just take v nice food in with you (eg tuna) so the cat decides quickly that you’re awesome. Give it noisy toys eg balls with bells inside - Petsathome have some good ones - and play together lots.

Most cats hide for the first day. If cat is still hiding by day 3, remove all hiding places to force socialisation.

Once cat is letting you stroke it, introduce it to rest of house. If you have windows that lock into 1 inch open position, do that sometimes so cat gets used to sounds and smells outdoors. If you have wider open windows the cat will jump out even if several floors up so remember not to leave them open. If you have a chimney tape it up for first few weeks.

After 2-3 weeks, when cat has had a good look/smell out of windows and knows where it is, open the backdoor and sit just outside, and allow cat out with you for a very short time, perhaps in your arms, and feed it in the doorway. It may run off but should come back 😬. If it runs off do not chase it, but call and rattle the noisy toys, this beloved sound will hopefully bring the cat back.

Once cat has been outside and returned to the house a few times, you can get a catflap and attempt to persuade the cat to use it.

Ignore people trying to guilt-trip you into getting a catio. Cats were born to roam, sure they’d be safer staying indoors all the time, but that’s no way to live for anyone. Might as well cage all the wild birds to keep insects safe.

My advice is to think really careful about anything you do or don’t want in a cat (be really honest with yourself) and stick to your list … make sure it’s a full match during the phone conversation you usually have first, before going to visit, as it can be impossible to say no when you see them. It may sound hard nosed, but given time a really positive match for you will come up, and the cat with a trait you’re not really looking for will go to a better matched home. For example we look for a ‘settled’ type who is less likely to roam and hunt, and more likely to become a close companion, so we wait for a middle aged or older cat with a known history (has been handed over by owner or someone close). We also think about practical things such as whether it’s using the litter tray well, length of hair if you’re worried about excessive shedding, whether the cat tolerates grooming if it’s long haired (we once declined to visit a lovely cat as they were very clear she had to be taken to a vet to be groomed … wouldn’t tolerate it at all). We also once turned down a lovely cat because he drooled extremely excessively when being petted (not a teeth problem), it turned out this issue was on his notes but they hadn’t mentioned so we had the awful experience of having to say no to an otherwise wonderful cat (would have had to cover furniture with blankets and accept need for lots of hand washing). However we’ve always found a perfect match eventually (we focus on personality/behaviour rather than looks). It may be that you don’t have any particular requirements and will be naturally drawn to the right cat, but it can still be useful having a quick think about anything that could possibly add stress for you, and how you could work round this. Good luck, hope you find a wonderful companion soon 🤞

How exciting! We adopted a young adult cat, who is perfect for us. We could tell she was affectionate, which is what we wanted. We gave her full run of the house straight away, except at night, when she slept in the utility room. We let her outside after 3 weeks and timed it so we knew she was hungry and would come in for food.
Enjoy your new furry housemate!

Independent rescue. Talk to them about your situation and listen to them. One of the kittens we looked at was so shy the rescue decided to keep him for longer until he was more settled- he went to a house as an only cat and immediately came out of his shell- was just overwhelmed in a rescue with lots of other cats.

Ours arrived as kittens so were inside for a long time before they went out. Started in one room for a day or two then gradually opened up to the whole house (second time took longer as introductions to older cats involved). Took them out in the garden on harnesses to start with just for a few minutes. Then longer. Then loose supervised. Now up to loose unsupervised for the newest ones. They haven’t worked out the cat flap yet so are still set to “in only” on the microchip reader (so we have to let them out and back in- hopefully they’ll work out how to come in through the flap soon).

We are currently in the process of introducing a new cat to our house! The lovely Velvet. But we have lots of experience of adoptees before her. The advice you’ll get is to introduce your new furry friend to a single room and keep them there for a couple of weeks, then give them the run of the house. In the past we’ve gone much quicker than that with the whole house, but been really cautious with the outside - it depends on the cat. If you’ve got a free family member to shadow the cat when they first go outside, that helps. I’m off work atm so I can supervise Velvet while she’s exploring new rooms in the house, but really the most important thing is that they know where their food and safety is so once let out, they’ll come back. Adopting a rescue is in some ways easier because you can get a good idea of their personality and how well they’ll fit in and vice versa. Good luck!

Also re the PPs who are rigidly adhering to the guidelines - they are a good baseline but if you can make it safe and the cat is really inquisitive or restless you can take it a bit quicker, or they might want to just live under the bed/sofa for months. Both are OK. We’ve gone very quickly with ours but that still looks like us letting her into one room every two days with me supervising. We had a previous (very independent) farm cat who would hide under the bed for exactly three days when moved and then emerge and continue life as normal as if nothing had happened!

We were offered leather gloves when we picked up our last one as well . She is 17 and has chronic illnesses and we were pretty much her last chance. She'd already been returned once.

She came into our house. Spent about a week downstairs then climbed the stairs, climbed into my 13 year old's bed with him and basically never left. She follows him around the house and waits by the door when he goes to school. We still don't dare try to carry her, but my heavens she is the most adorable little monster. ❤

Good luck OP. How exciting!

Just something we did - when we first went outside (after three weeks inside) we walked round the garden for about five minutes several times a day with him in our arms. He got used to the outdoor smells and sounds before I let him free. I don't know if that's rubbish or not but It's a big garden in a new area and I wanted him to recognise it before he went off wandering.

We had our old cat from 2yo-17yo , she was one who sit beside us or on our newspaper ot magazines

The two we have now were 1yo , we wanted two young adults . They hadn't used a catdoor before so this was all new to them. We waited about 8 weeks till they went out (longer than most because of the cats that they are ) , DH and DD sat quietly on the patio and we secured the french door open (it was a while till they used the catdoor) . They;d been very interested in Outside so keen to go out . Oddly enough , he is the shy one but loves being out , she;s meh .

They are not cuddly cats , they will happily sit in the same room as us and our house has the ahhh feeling that comes when a cat lives there .

FemaleCat loves DH and my DS bedroom
MaleCat loves DD and has claimed our bedroom

I did notice there were lots of cats on Rescue sites that needed to be lone cats .
Your cat is out there waiting for you

This what we did.
Kept cat in a quiet room so that she could acclimatise for a few days.
Let her have the run of the house for a few (3) weeks.
Then thought she was ready to be let out in the garden. She was of another opinion and has gone from former semi feral cat to indoors cat of her own volition. She might stroll out with me when I hang out the washing but has shown no inclination of leaving the house for the past 12 years.

Train your cat at mealtimes by banging a spoon on a plate to call them to food - then if they go out and further than you would like, it's easy to call them back in.