Thinking of Getting a Cat? What to Know Before You Bring One Home

That doesn’t mean they take care of themselves.

Bring a cat home, and you may be sharing your life with that animal for well over a decade. Along the way there will be food, litter, vaccinations, vet visits, holiday plans, unexpected illnesses and changes in your own household that are hard to imagine on day one.

So before choosing the prettiest kitten in the room—or the one you instantly feel sorry for—it helps to ask a more useful question: Will this cat actually fit into your home and your life?

Start with your home, not the cat

Cats need different care from dogs, but they still need daily attention.

The litter box has to be cleaned. Cats need places to scratch, climb, sleep and hide. They need play and interaction, and long-haired cats usually need regular brushing too.

If you rent, check that pets are allowed before bringing one home. If someone in the household has a history of cat allergies, sort that out before the cat arrives rather than hoping for the best afterward.

Already have a dog or another cat? Think carefully about that too. Two animals can both be friendly and still dislike living together.

High-rise homes bring another concern: windows and balconies. Cats are agile, but they can still fall and suffer serious injuries. Screens, secure netting or other barriers should be in place before the cat moves in.

A kitten isn’t always the easiest choice

Kittens are hard to resist. They are also a lot of work.

A young kitten may race through the house at midnight, attack your ankles, climb curtains, knock things over and treat anything that moves as a toy. During those first months, there are also vaccinations to keep up with, health to watch closely and plenty of household rules still to learn.

Kittens shouldn’t leave their mothers too early. They should not be rehomed before eight weeks of age, and kittens from responsible breeders often stay with their mother until around 12 or 13 weeks.

Those early weeks matter. Kittens learn from their mother and littermates how to play, how to behave around other cats and even how hard they can bite before another kitten says, in effect, “That’s enough.”

If your schedule is already packed, an adult cat may actually be much easier.

With an adult, size and personality are more obvious. The current caregiver may already know whether the cat likes being stroked, prefers simply sitting nearby, is nervous around children, gets along with other cats or is comfortable being left alone.

For a first-time cat owner, that can remove a lot of guesswork.

One kitten or two?

You may come across the term “Single Kitten Syndrome,” used to describe kittens raised alone that grow up playing too roughly, biting hard or developing other behavior problems.

It shouldn’t be treated as a rule that every kitten must be adopted with another kitten.

Young cats do learn a great deal from playing with their mother and littermates. Two kittens that already get along can also spend a good deal of time wrestling and chasing each other instead of directing every burst of energy toward your hands, feet and furniture.

But cats differ enormously. Some enjoy feline company; others don’t particularly need it.

If you bring home just one kitten, make sure it gets daily play, plenty of toys and opportunities to climb and explore. And don’t use your hands or feet as toys. A kitten that learns fingers are fair game may keep using teeth and claws on people long after it stops being tiny.

Don’t choose by color and face alone

When you meet a cat, sit down and watch for a while before deciding.

Does the cat seem curious about new people? Does it come over, or prefer to observe from a distance? Does it relax when stroked? If there’s an unfamiliar sound, does it startle briefly and recover, or disappear and stay hidden?

You don’t have to choose the cat that climbs into your lap first. Some friendly cats are simply cautious and need time to warm up.

What matters is whether the cat’s temperament suits the household.

A busy home with young children and frequent visitors is very different from a quiet apartment with one adult. Someone who dreams of a cat curled up beside them on the sofa may be happier with a different animal from someone who prefers a more independent pet.

Breed can offer clues about size and certain common traits, but it can’t tell you exactly what an individual cat will be like.

Look at health before looks

A healthy-looking cat is usually alert, aware of its surroundings and moving comfortably.

The eyes should look clear, without heavy discharge. The nose shouldn’t have unusual discharge either. The ears should be reasonably clean; large amounts of dark debris, discharge or a bad smell deserve attention.

Look at the coat too. There shouldn’t be obvious bald patches, heavy scaling or signs of fleas. The cat shouldn’t be extremely thin, have a strangely swollen abdomen or walk with a limp.

And don’t try to judge a cat’s health by whether its nose is wet or dry. A cat’s nose can be dry at perfectly normal times, and that alone tells you very little.

If the cat seems unusually tired, has trouble breathing, has heavy eye or nasal discharge, diarrhea or anything else that looks wrong, ask questions and have a veterinarian check it.

A cat with a medical problem can still make a wonderful pet. The important thing is knowing what care it needs—and whether you are prepared to provide it.

Ask about the cat’s medical history

Whether the cat comes from a seller, a previous owner or a rescue, ask about its health before taking it home.

Which vaccinations has it had? When was it last dewormed? Has it been spayed or neutered? Has it ever needed treatment for an illness?

With a kitten, ask about the mother too, and about the environment where the litter was raised.

FeLV and FIV are two viral infections worth discussing, especially if the cat has lived outdoors, lived with many other cats or comes from an uncertain background. Depending on the circumstances, a veterinarian may recommend testing soon after adoption or repeating a test later.

It’s also sensible to arrange an initial vet visit after bringing the cat home. That gives the veterinarian a chance to examine the cat, review vaccinations and parasite control, and tell you what should happen next.

Domestic cat or pedigree cat?

A domestic cat is not automatically healthier, and a pedigree cat is not automatically sickly.

The difference is that with some pedigree breeds, certain inherited diseases and body features are well documented.

If you’re interested in a particular breed, find out which health problems occur more often in that breed. If you’re buying from a breeder, ask what health screening has been done on the parents.

The more unusual a breed’s appearance, the more important it is to ask whether the very feature people find attractive causes health problems.

Scottish Folds are a good example.

Their folded ears are caused by a genetic change that affects cartilage. The effect isn’t limited to the ears. Bones and cartilage elsewhere in the body can also be affected, leading to pain, stiffness and deformity.

For that reason, many veterinary and animal-welfare organizations oppose continued breeding of Scottish Folds.

A Scottish Fold that already needs a home still deserves good care, of course. But if you’re thinking of buying one mainly because you like the folded ears, it’s worth learning about the health consequences first.

Where the cat grew up matters

If you’re buying a kitten, try to see where it has been raised.

Ideally, you should be able to see the mother, the living environment and the health records rather than simply collecting the kitten at a meeting point.

The surroundings can tell you a great deal. Is the area clean? Are the kittens used to people? Do the other cats look healthy?

Be cautious if the seller insists on meeting in a car park, café or somewhere away from the home; refuses to show you where the kitten was raised; can’t explain the vaccination history; or keeps pushing you to pay a deposit and decide immediately.

And don’t take home a kitten under eight weeks old simply because someone says it is already eating solid food.

Being able to eat without its mother does not mean a kitten is ready to leave her.

If you already have a cat, don’t introduce them immediately

Bringing a new cat home and placing it face-to-face with the resident cat is usually not the best way to start.

Cats need time to get used to each other’s scent and to the fact that another animal is now in the home.

At first, the new cat should have its own space with food, water, a litter box, somewhere to hide and somewhere to sleep. Introductions can then happen gradually rather than forcing the cats to share space right away.

Keeping the newcomer separate at first is also useful when its health status is uncertain, since it may reduce the risk of spreading some infections or parasites.

There is no single number of days that works for every household. How long the cats should remain separate depends on where the new cat came from, its health and the animals already living in the home. If infectious disease is a concern, ask your veterinarian.

Get the house ready before the cat arrives

Before bringing a cat home, have the basics ready:

• Litter and a litter box
• Food and water bowls
• The food the cat is already used to eating
• A secure carrier
• A scratching surface
• Somewhere to sleep and somewhere to hide
• A few toys

If possible, don’t change the cat’s diet on the first day. Moving to a new home is already a major change, and switching foods at the same time can make settling in harder.

The carrier doesn’t need to live in a cupboard until the next vet visit either. Leave it open in the house with a blanket or occasional treat inside. A cat that sees the carrier as part of the furniture is less likely to panic the moment it appears.

In a multi-cat home, make sure there are enough feeding spots, water stations, resting places, scratching areas and litter boxes so the cats don’t have to compete for everything.

Think about spaying or neutering early

There is no need to wait for a female cat to have her first heat before discussing spaying.

For cats that are not intended for breeding, spaying or neutering is commonly planned before five months of age because some cats can become reproductively active at around four to five months.

That doesn’t mean every cat should have surgery on exactly the same date or at the same body weight. Your veterinarian will take age, health and physical condition into account when deciding when the procedure should be done.

Don’t decide just because you feel sorry for one

A kitten curled up nervously in a corner can make you want to take it home on the spot. So can a cat with exactly the face, markings or color you have always wanted.

Before deciding, ask the less exciting questions too.

How old is the cat? What is its personality like? Has it lived with children, dogs or other cats? What is its current health status? Has it been vaccinated and spayed or neutered? If it needs long-term treatment, can you manage it?

Then think about ordinary life after the cat comes home.

Who will clean the litter box? Who will look after the cat when you travel? Is there money available if it becomes sick? If you move in a few years, will the cat be coming with you?

You don’t need to find a perfect cat.

You do need a reasonable idea of what that cat will need—and whether your household can keep providing it for years to come.