Cat Houses - Making Your Second Cat Feel At Home By Jesse Akre At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

If you have one cat, you may have thought about getting another cat to make the family more complete. Before you make this decision, you need to make sure it's the right one to make and that you are ready for a time investment in the new cat.

One of the most common reasons people get a second cat is to keep their first cat company. This is a pretty good reason, especially if you are away from home for days at a time. While cats generally seem like they only want attention when they want it, they still need attention and companionship, and if you're gone all the time, you are not offering it.

Another reason many people decide to get a second cat is because their first cat is getting up in age. A new kitten often renews the life of an older cat and gets them to have a little more energy, trying to teach the new cat who's the boss.

Before making the decision to get an additional cat, pay attention to your cat's personality when it comes to additions to the family. Is your cat a more solitary animal that likes his space? If so, he may not take kindly to another cat in the house.

All things considered, let's say you have decided to get that next cat. There are some things you need to do to make this transition a little more comfortable. First, all cats need their own space. So you may want to get a few cat houses to make sure each cat has its room. In addition to adding places to scratch and perch, cat houses also often have a place for cats to hide, if they are scared. New surroundings or new animals in the house will usually send cats to the cat houses, thinking their cat houses are a safe place to sort all the new things out.

In addition to having their own special cat houses, if you don't want old cats and new cats colliding, you need to make sure they have a complete set of independent things. That will include food and water bowls as well as toys. Eventually you may be able to get them to share these things, but when you are first bringing a new cat in, they all need to know they have their own items.

When first introducing a new cat into the new surroundings of your home, you need to take care and not just let him go. If you have a large crate that the new cat will be comfortable in, you may want to leave him in that crate for a few hours, or more while he gets used to the new sounds and smells of this new home. This will also give your old cat a little bit of time to go over to the newcomer and get to know his scent. Once you let the cat out of the crate, make sure he knows where the litter box, food and water are and keep and eye on both cats to make sure they are getting along.

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