Firstly, you want a kitten or an adult cat. Only a kitten from a young age watching
her grow from a mischievous ball of fluff into an adult cat is a wonderful experience but
it’s not your only option. There are thousands of adult cats languishing in rescue centers
across the country. And giving one of these poor creatures a new home and a new life can
be just as rewarding as bringing up a kitten.

It’s also a great option if you’re elderly as there are a lot of older cats in rescue
centers. And by giving one of these animals a home, you get all the pleasure of looking
after a cat without the worry of only a pet who might outlive you.

There’s one other way in which you might find yourself owning a cat and that’s if
a stray decides to wander up to your doorstep and become part of the family. There’s a
few things to think about before you consider making this new arrival a permanent family
member.

Firstly, you need to check that the cat really is astray and not unless someone’s
desperately searching for it while you’re feeding it 00:57 and cream on the doorstep. To
do this, firstly, stop by asking around the neighbors if anyone’s lost a cat in the area. If
not, have a look at the cat’s collar and see if there’s a tag there with a telephone number
on it. If there is, make that call because you’re just going to think about how you’d feel if
it was your cat that had gone missing. If there’s no obvious identification there, then take
the cat down to your local vet and they can scan them for a microchip. These tiny little
chips are implanted under the skin just across the neck and they contain a unique number
and if your vet scans the chip, they’ll be out to reunite the cat with their real owner.

If there isn’t any identification and the cat really is astray, there’s one more thing
to check before you invite them into your home. That’s to check for two diseases called
feline leukemia and feline AIDS. These are really unpleasant killer diseases of cats which
can be carried by stray cats who can often look healthy despite having the viruses. Get
your vets do a blood test and if the results come up clear, that’s great news and you could
take the cat. And there’s no reason why a stray can’t become a wonderful family pet.