What To Know Before Taking In A Stray Cat

If you regularly leave out food and water for the local stray cats in your neighborhood, you might be considering taking one of those feline friends in as a full-time pet. I'm not a cat person at all, but Bustle, and veterinarian Dr. Amanda Landis-Hana, DVM, explains that there are some things you should do before bringing your new friend inside.

• Have them looked at by a vet to make sure they are healthy and to get their shots all up-to-date. While you're at it, make sure that your new cat is spayed or neutered to avoid taking in more than you can handle if your feline friend ends up with kittens.
• Buy all of the supplies that you will need before bringing the new cat inside, such as a litter box, a collar, cat food, toys and treats. Make sure the litter box and food and water are located where the cat will have easy access to them in order to help them feel at home right away.
• Be patient with them as they may not be used to being inside, and may not take to the indoors very well right away. The new surroundings might be very scary for them, so let them get used to be indoors and try not to overwhelm them.

Before you bring in a cat from the outdoors, it's best to make sure that they don't belong to someone else and that they merely just got lost, but once you can determine that no one is looking for them, give them all the love that you can once they are ready to receive that love from you.

(via Bustle)