Acclimatising your cat: how to make your four-legged friend feel at home
If you have decided to acquire a cat, you can probably hardly wait for your four-legged friend to finally move in with you. For the cat, however, this is associated with considerable stress. It is therefore very likely that it will need some time to get used to its new home.
In the following, we will explain how you can best support your cat during the acclimatisation process and ensure that the four-legged friend quickly feels comfortable with you.
Preparations for the cat to move in
Before your new cat can move in with you, make sure that you have everything at home your four-legged friend needs. Of course, you can still get less important items later. In any case, the essentials should already be in place so that the cat can get used to you as quickly as possible.
The following items should definitely not be missing in your cat's new home:
- A litter box with cat litter
- Food and drink bowl
- Cat food for the first few days
- A scratching post
- Cat toys
- A cosy place to sleep
Do not pressurise the animal
Even the transport is very stressful for the four-legged friend. After all, it hardly knows you and does not know what to expect. For this reason, you can assume that your new cat will be scared at first and will most likely not want to be petted easily.
This is completely normal and you should absolutely accept it. When you arrive at home, open the door of the carrier, step back a little and wait for your cat to come out of the carrier on its own.
Ideally, you have set up a quiet room for your four-legged friend in advance, in which it has everything it needs for the first time, from the food bowl and the litter box to its sleeping place. In this way, the cat has the opportunity to get used to it in peace and to decide for itself when it would like to explore the rest of the house.
Give your cat time to acclimatise
Every cat has its own character. While some cats adapt to changes very quickly and curiously go on a discovery tour after a short time, others need a little longer before they venture out of the carrier for the first time.
It is by no means unusual for your four-legged friend to stay in the box for several hours. In this case, it may make sense to leave the room temporarily. Usually it doesn't take too long until the fearful cat carefully takes the first steps.
Regardless of this, it is usually advisable that you wait with trying to touch it until the four-legged friend is looking for you on its own initiative. Avoid pushing it by getting too close or even trying to pick it up. The time for extensive cuddles will come soon enough, when your cat has really settled in and has gained confidence.
The first days in the new environment
After your four-legged friend has settled, it will first go on a discovery tour and explore its new territory extensively. You can be sure that your cat will inspect every little corner of your home.
That is, of course, fine. However, you should also set limits to the four-legged friend. For example, if you don't want your cat to run over the kitchen counter, it's easier to teach it from the start rather than trying to break the habit later.
Take a few days off
Getting used to its new home also means that your cat has to get used to you as their new room-mate. To make this easier for your four-legged friend, it is advisable that you take at least a week off work after moving in.
This gives your cat a chance to get to know you. Be patient. It is only a matter of time before the four-legged friend becomes more and more trusting, so that you can stroke it on your lap soon.
Do not change your cat's food until it has got used to you
Moving is stressful enough for your cat and in the first few days it can often mean that it hardly eats anything. A simultaneous change of food would therefore probably only hit your four-legged friend additionally on the stomach.
To avoid this, we recommend that during the acclimatisation phase you use the food that the previous owner or breeder used to give. Once your cat is used to the new environment, you can slowly start changing to a different cat food, such as our high-quality, grain-free products, if necessary.
Our tip for anxious cats
It is not uncommon for cats to be very anxious at first when they have to adjust to a new home. To support your four-legged friend in this process, a diet supplement with Shiimun Calm can be helpful.
Shiimun Calm is a completely natural preparation made from carefully selected ingredients such as shiitake and green tea. It goes without saying that this is not a miracle cure that immediately relieves your four-legged friend of their fear. However, giving it as a food supplement can at least help your cat to relax and calm down better in an unfamiliar environment.
Accustom the cat - our conclusion
As you can see, cats usually take a while to get used to their new home. The better you are prepared for it moving in and the more sensitive you are to your insecure four-legged friend, the easier it will be.
Even if it doesn't look like it at first, you can usually be confident that you will soon have a trusting and cuddly room-mate who will give you a lot of pleasure in the years to come.
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