Learn All You Can and Set Up Your Residence
Buy a picture-heavy cat-care guide and read the parts about choosing and moving in a new cat. Buy all the stuff it recommends you buy before you take home a cat. Take as long as you need to do this. I have Cats from The Little Guides series. I have read parts of it so many times that I have whole pages memorized. Jackson Galaxy’s YouTube channel is also a good resource, but not comprehensive.Pick a Robust Adult Cat at the Shelter
Kittens are unpredictable and high-maintenance. Choose an adult cat that looks close to overweight or actually overweight. Congratulations, you now have a food-motivated cat.Go to the Vet
My cat came from the shelter with a voucher for a free vet visit within the first week. That short deadline motivated me to actually go. Even if you have to pay for the visit, take your new cat to be checked out as soon as you can. If a good feline-exclusive veterinary practice is available in your area, go there. While you want to make sure your cat is healthy in general, remind yourself (in whatever way works for you) to ask the vet how much and what kind of food you should feed your cat. Write it down!Feed Your Cat Meals
Feed your cat two or three meals a day, following the vet’s advice. Set an alarm to remind you when to do this. However, since you have a food-motivated cat who is probably now on a diet, your cat will also be sure to remind you when feeding time is coming! (Don’t feed the cat at other times. This eventually reduces begging at inconvenient moments, like 2:45 a.m.)Buy Lots of Canned Food Whenever It’s on Sale
This saves you money and helps you avoid running out of food one morning when a hangry cat is nipping your knees. I try not to pay more that 40¢ per can of Friskies, which is low for my area. Dry food actually goes bad pretty fast, so this strategy doesn’t work as well for it.Use Unscented Litter
Cats hate perfumed litter, and, if you are neuroatypical, perfumed litter is more likely to bother you as well. The advantage of unscented litter is that the threat of old-urine smell will motivate you to scoop out the litter box daily, before it starts to smell. Set an alarm and scoop out the litter box at the same time every day. This will prevent the majority of inappropriate-elimination problems.Use Advantage Flea Treatment
It seems expensive, but each dose lasts three months, and it works. You won’t have to fuss with any other flea treatments.Don’t Declaw
It’s just awful, and often leads to behavior problems. Don’t do it. Your house is probably a mess anyway. Why do you care if the furniture is a little scratched?Enjoy the Fluffiness!
Even though I am very disorganized and stressed out all the time, I feel like my cat brought some balance and routine to my life. He also just makes me so happy.
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