Hi
Me and my boyfriend are about to adopt our first cat, hopefully one we saw at the cat shelter in broomhall. Neither of us have ever had cats before and were just wondering if anyone had any tips for us.. Like we're not sure when to let them first go outside, where is best to place their bed?? Any suggestions would be lovely
Thanks Annie

Hello!
first off, im no expert, and there are people with much more knowledge than me on here.
the link below contains alot of usefull information,
http://cats.about.com/cs/yourfirstcat/a/firstcatindex.htm
Hope this helps.

Hi

I hope you get the cat that you're hoping for- we've seen lots of smiling people taking cats to their new homes this week (including a pair gone to a friend today who is over the moon with her new furry family members).

Don't fret too much about the 'after' part until you've got the cat you're in love with. The wardens at the Shelter will be happy to answer any questions that you have at the time- they'd rather you asked questions than just hoping not to look uninformed by asking them all.

We usually recommend at least 3 weeks indoors, but that varies with the individual cat or kitten (kittens should be 6 months and neutered before they are allowed out).

All you really need to think about before you get the cat are a litter tray, some litter, some food and water bowls and some food (and maybe a scratching post and a couple of toys).

You can buy expensive beds if you choose, but to cats they are unimportant- most cats are just as happy with a cardboard box lined with a warm blanket (or your bed, of course!).

We place their bed between the tv and the fire - best of both worlds, they watch tv and get the warmth of the fire. In reality we have a 3 second rule in our house - if either of us get up and move there is a cat where we were sitting :suspect:

Oh and cat litter wise we prefer the Tesco Premium brown stuff (or the wilkos pink litter equivalent). Very good stuff :)
I guess the only thing that I can suggest otherwise is patience!

V important for when they just move in! (as we didn't realise!)... choose a "safe room" for your new kittie, put everything they need in it, food, water, litter and a cosy and warm place to hide. Leave them in there at least for a couple of days, and gradually over a couple of weeks open up the other rooms of your home. We didn't do this and ended up with one baby refusing to come out from under the bed and the other one wedging herself under a shelf in the bathroom...! Oh the stress! We only did do this after a day of breaking aforementioned shelf and crawling under beds to get them back. They are still really happy in our dining room "safe room" if they're a little upset. :)