{"id":2621,"date":"2020-01-09T08:03:07","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T08:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/?page_id=2621"},"modified":"2024-01-08T07:26:54","modified_gmt":"2024-01-08T07:26:54","slug":"the-first-five-nights-with-your-new-cat","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/caring-for-your-pet\/your-new-pet\/the-first-five-nights-with-your-new-cat\/","title":{"rendered":"The first five nights with your new cat"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"category\">\n<p class=\"txt\">\n<strong>Setting up a safe room<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\">First things first, cats are very different from dogs, which means that the methods you use to introduce the cat into your household will be quite different. If you currently have no other pets, it is best to set up a \u201csafe room\u201d for the cat during its first few days in your home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"655\" height=\"434\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2623\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/001-13-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/001-13-1.jpg 655w, https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/001-13-1-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 655px) 100vw, 655px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\">Unlike with new dogs, it is best to confine your new cat into a single room in the house so it can take its sweet time adjusting to the new environment and feel safe. Make sure that the cat\u2019s safe room has the following provisions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>plenty of food and water<\/li>\n<li>a litter box (make sure that the litter box is placed away from the food and water dishes to allow the cat to distinguish between eating and bathroom spots)<\/li>\n<li>toys to keep it stimulated and occupied<\/li>\n<li>a scratching post (to allow the cat to mark its territory)<\/li>\n<li>an item from its previous home so it can feel more comfortable in its new home.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"txt\">If you are bringing the cat home in a carrier, you can set the carrier into the safe room and wait for the animal to step out on its own. Most of the time, a cat needs a week or so to feel safe and familiar with its surrounding before it goes on to explore the rest of the house.<\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\"><strong>Potty training your cat<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\">Believe it or not cats can be a bit of a drama queen about their \u201cbathroom\u201d. A cat will show dislike for the litter in their litter box by batting at it, pushing it outside the box, or circling outside the litter box. Most cats prefer litter with small granules that do not have an overwhelming scent, however every cat is unique so you might find your meowing for lavender-scented litter from Gucci.<\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"655\" height=\"434\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2624\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/002-13-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/002-13-1.jpg 655w, https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/002-13-1-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 655px) 100vw, 655px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\">Cats, unlike dogs, do not need to be housetraining as they naturally prefer using a litter box for their bathroom needs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\"><strong>Showing your affection<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\">Making your cat feel loved is quite easy. You just need to spend a lot of time in the cat\u2019s safe room. Allow the cat to come to you, brush its body up against you, and climb on your lap or shoulders. This is the cat\u2019s way of getting to know you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\">If you pick the animal up and immediately start cuddling it, this can be quite alarming for your new cat. You don\u2019t have to constantly pet the animal. In fact some cats are completely against PDA (public displays of affection) and will only come to their owners for a cuddle when they feel like it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"655\" height=\"434\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2625\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/003-14-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/003-14-1.jpg 655w, https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/003-14-1-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 655px) 100vw, 655px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\"><strong>If you have other pets<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you have other pets or cats in the house, make sure to isolate the new cat first. This will allow the new cat to adapt to its surroundings and companions better.<\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\">To introduce the new cat to the other cats in the house, you can use the same brush or toys with the newcomer to allow it to get used to the smell of the other animals in the house.<\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\">After the first five days or so, the other cats or pets can enter the safe room of the new cat. If the older cats get aggressive don\u2019t be discouraged, this is part of the process and after separating the squabbling felines, you can always try again the next day.<\/p>\n<p class=\"txt\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"655\" height=\"434\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2626\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/004-15-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/004-15-1.jpg 655w, https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/004-15-1-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 655px) 100vw, 655px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Setting up a safe room First things first, cats are very different from dogs, which means that the methods you use to introduce the cat into your household will be quite different. If you currently have no other pets, it is best to set up a \u201csafe room\u201d for the cat during its first few &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/caring-for-your-pet\/your-new-pet\/the-first-five-nights-with-your-new-cat\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The first five nights with your new cat&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2622,"parent":1984,"menu_order":456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"sub-sub-details-page.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2621"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2621"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4440,"href":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2621\/revisions\/4440"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1984"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zookie.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}