A common mistake new cat owners make is not taking their new cat or kitten to the vet. As soon as you can, take your new cat or kitten to the vet for a complete exam and its first vaccinations.
You may or may not need to organize for spaying or neutering.
This is also a good time to discuss getting the cat microchipped for identification purposes if it ever goes missing.
Common Mistakes new cat owners Make
1. Is Your Home Ready For A New Cat?
2. Not Taking The Adoption Of A Cat Seriously
3. Not Considering The Cost Of Properly Caring For A Cat
5. Feeding Your Cat Cheap Food VS Nutritious Balanced Diets
6. Cats Can Take Care Of Themselves – NO! Not With Everything
9. Using Harsh Discipline Or Yelling At Your Cat
10. Allowing Your Cat To Become Obese/Feeding The Cat Table Scraps
11. Not Controlling Parasites And Fleas
13. Adopting A Cat When Children Are Too Young
14. Not Allowing A Period Of Supervised Introduction Between Resident Pets And New Pets
15. Deciding Against Pet Insurance
16. Not Being Aware Of Things You Use That Are Toxic To Cats
1. Is Your Home Ready For A new Cat?
Not having your home ready to accept a new kitty is a common mistake that many first time cat owners make.
Be sure you have the following essentials at a minimum. These items make your new kitty’s life enjoyably easier. See below:
- I.D. tag
- An easy release collar
- Blanket
- Toys
- A scratching board
- Cat bed
- Cat tree (big, small, or a window, it makes no difference)
- Cat litter box and cat litter
- Food bowl
Over time, you will add to this list. This is the bare minimum to have your home ready for a new cat.
You will quite likely change the type of litter and litter box, but have these at home in readiness.
You probably saw a cute cat collar with the bling. Just hold off buying the bling and the ‘over the top’ cat stuff until your cat is settled in to its new home.
By that time, you may have changed your mind about what you really need and saved money in the process.
Plus, how do you know what color your cat really likes?
2. Not Taking The Adoption Of a Cat seriously
The most significant mistake I have seen with new cat owners, over the years, is the failure of a life long commitment by cat parents when deciding to adopt a cat.
Your cat may be with you for a long time. Think in terms of 16 or 17 years, although this is an estimate.
Adopting a cat should not be based on a passing thought, fad, phase, or convenience.
Thank you to the Humane Society’s hard work in cities across America and the no-kill shelters.
This article encourages you to think about the things you are looking for in a cat, before making a choice that may turn out being the wrong choice.
3. Not Considering the Cost of Properly Caring for a Cat
Cats do not have to be an expensive pet, however there are costs to consider and many of these are ongoing. See below:
- Spaying/Neutering
- Pet Insurance – Not essential but like any insurance a wise choice
- Annual dental cleaning and emergency dental care
- Annual wellness visits and essential vaccinations. For example, some states require rabies shots yearly, every three, or every five years. Rabies vaccinations are fast becoming the law in many states. Vets will not care for an animal that has not had its rabies shot.
- Food
- Litter
- Supplies such as litter pan, food dishes, toys, cat bed, blankets, and grooming materials
4.Never Declaw Your Cat
My vet once told me that declawing your cat equals having all your fingers amputated!
The cat will not survive outside, be able to hang on when jumping, cannot save its life if being chased by a person or animal, and cannot defend itself.
Furthermore, veterinarians believe that cats will experience phantom pain in their toes for the rest of their lives.
How very cruel!
5. Feeding Your Cat Cheap Food VS Nutritious Balanced Diets
Feeding my cats cheap cat food, is the same as me eating fatty fast food, every day of my life.
This thread is not current, however the information is not dated. It has some interesting points from cat owners and is worth a quick read.
Cheaper cat foods have an array of grains, and many brands have no meat.
Cats are natural meat eaters and thrive on high-protein diets. Cats with a medical condition may require a special low protein diet, as in the case of kidney disease. You are best guided by your vet in this case.
Just like with human food, become adept at reading the ingredients in your cat’s food. If chicken is listed as the first ingredient, that brand uses mostly chicken.
If the first ingredient is a grain, your cat will be mainly eating grain or grain meal. This is simplified. This article gives more detail if you are interested.
Buy a few different types of food, such as turkey, fish, beef, chicken, duck, etc. Cats are like people, they like variety.
Buy one of each to see which food your cat likes best. Otherwise, you may be wasting your money.
Some pet stores will give you samples of dry food if you ask.
I found that our cats eat small kibble more readily than larger kibble.
6. Cats Can Take Care of Themselves – Not With Everything
A common mistake the new cat owners make is that the cat will look after itself. Cats are highly independent, however, they also need a bit of help along the way.
Cats need help with nail trimming, ear cleaning, dental care, brushing, flea control, and maybe an occasional bath.
If you don’t feel comfortable trimming nails, consider using a cat groomer for these tasks. Many cat groomers offer mobile services.
7.Cat Litter – Which One?
There is no need to go for the most expensive litter thinking that it will be the best. This is a common mistake new cat owners make. Begin with a litter like this one. Over time you will find what litter suits your cat and your household.
I love the scoopable, no scent, no odor, multi-cat litter. And it must be at least 99.9% dust-free.
All you do with scoopable litter is clean the waste and top up the litter.
We wash our litter pans as needed. Dirty litter pans contribute to urinary tract and behavior problems in cats.
Vets say you should have one extra litter pan for every cat in the house. We have six cats who share two small litter pans and two additional large pans and do fine.
We clean them two to three times a day. This means the litter boxes are clean, and we can keep the area tidy.
Try to replace your litter pans at least every year.
8. Your cat has no ID
A common mistake that new cat owners make is not to have the ID tag sorted before the cat comes home.
How will your cat find its way home if it runs free in the neighborhood and becomes injured?
ID can mean a simple tag that is attached to the collar of the cat. Usually, a mobile phone number is sufficient.
Another method of cat identification is having your cat microchipped.
This gives peace of mind should your cat ever go missing. The information is listed on a national database.
9. Using Harsh Discipline or Yelling at Your Cat
Cats do not respond well to punishment.
Cats are not responsive to punishment, and yelling at them will only serve to frighten or stress them out.
10. Allowing Your Cat To become Obese/Feeding The Cat Table Scraps
it is not being kind to your cat to overfeed your cat. It is a common mistake to feed cats with scraps from your plate. Human food is not meant for cats.
The cat will become overweight and will have an increased risk of developing diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and respiratory problems.
11. not Controlling parasites And Fleas
A common mistake it not being prepared for fleas until it is too late and your cat already has fleas. Be prepared with a flea treatment before your new cat comes home. If our cat is coming from a breeder, the breeder will advise of any flea treatments given.
Uncontrolled fleas can cause a variety of problems for cats. Some potential dangers include
anemia, allergic reactions, tapeworms and flea-bite dermatitis.
Committing to a flea treatment and regularly administering the treatment is the best way to keep fleas at bay.
12.not Keeping Nails Trimmed
Reasons for getting the cat’s nail trimmed are as below:
- If a cat’s nails are allowed to grow too long, they can become overgrown and curved. This can be painful for the cat and make it difficult for them to walk.
- Cats’ claws are sharp, and they can use them to scratch furniture, curtains, and other household items. By keeping your cat’s claws trimmed, you can help protect your possessions.
- If your cat’s claws are too long, they may get caught on things and result in injuries. Claw trimming can help avoid these kinds of mishaps.
- Cats use their claws for a variety of activities, such as stretching, climbing, and hunting. If nails are too long, it can be painful or uncomfortable for them to use their nails, so trimming your cat’s claws can help increase their overall comfort.
13. Adopting A Cat When Children Are Too Young
Children under the age of 5 may not have the necessary skills to care for a cat.
They may not understand the concept of responsibility and may not be able to handle the cat gently.
Children over the age of 10 are usually capable of understanding the responsibilities of pet ownership.
They can typically handle a cat with more care and consideration.
14. Not allowing a Period Of Supervised introduction Between resident pets And new Pets
If you already have a cat or cats and are thinking about getting another one, this post explains how to do that in a safe manner for all cats.
15. Deciding Against Pet insurance
Pet insurance is a safeguard for those times when your cat may become ill and require ongoing veterinary treatment.
Similarly, many medical procedures could mean a big expense.
Many people do not have pet insurance. This is something for you to consider.
16. Not Being Aware Of everyday Things You use That May be Toxic To cats
Keep this information at hand if you are not sure about the toxicity or otherwise appropriateness of feeding your cat certain foods. This article outlines food that is not okay for cats to eat.
Owning a cat means that you will become more familiar with what may be toxic to cats in the home and in the garden.
17.Tugging Or Pulling Your Cat’s Tail Or Allowing Children To Do This
Unfortunately this could result in the child being scratched and then there are tears.
If choosing a cat and you have children, this article about child friendly cat breeds may be helpful
There are many other common mistakes that cat owners make. However, I believe these mistakes are the most serious and should be avoided at all costs.
This one kitty we fell in love with put us on a pathway of feline rescue and a lifetime of learning about cats.
We did make mistakes, but nothing that couldn’t be rectified or altered over time.
