I am thinking about adopting a cat from the local shelter. The cat is about 3 years old. The shelter keep him in a cage, with food, water and a litter box. He seem to make good use of the litter box as I don't see cat waste anywhere else in the cage. Since he's in a cage, I wasn't able to handle him in anyway, but he did allowed me to touch his forehead with my finger. I emailed the person who catch the cat, and here is what she said:
Since I haven't had cats before, I would like to hear from experienced owners about what to look out for when adopting a cat. Advise and comments are welcome.I found Roshi (the cat) in front of my building in Sheepshead Bay on New Year's Eve; he was standing by the vestibule entrance, asking for the attention from anyone entering the building. He was very clean and friendly; he did not appear to have been in the street very long. I gave him a can of food from one of my neighbors and went back to my apartment; I returned about an hour later to find him in the same spot. I brought down my old cat carrier (my last cat passed away last year and as I am allergic, I have been read the riot act from my doctor about having any more cats) and he stepped right into it--clearly the behavior of a cat who had previous experience with a cat carrier! I kept him in my home for about 2 or 3 days until I was able to arrange transfering him to shelter. He was well-behaved and used the litter box. He would follow me into the kitchen whenever I waved a can of food at him. I had to keep him confined to the bathroom most of the time because I wanted to contain any hair to one room due to my allergies, but I did notice that there was virtually no hair on the bathroom floor when he left--he doesn't appear to shed much. The only time I heard him "meow" was when he was about to be fed-- and on the last day when he didn't want to be locked up in the bathroom anymore and was ready to explore! His disposition is very sweet, he didn't bite or scratch, keeping in mind that I didn't try to pick him up or overwhelm him -- I didn't have him with me long enough--typically cats take a few days to get acclamated to their new surroundings and new "people".