Yet another question about Sanctuary rooms...

Hey everyone, I'm new here and I might be getting a cat soon...so here's my question.

What would make the best sanctuary room?

- The laundry room: has a high window, attatched bathroom....but is it unsafe? Plus it has a door leading to the garage....

-My bedroom: self explanatory...I live there

-My basement: I don't even like being there, so I wouldn't really want to put the cat there

-The kitchen: ...where my parents live

-Computer room: nice and sunny

- Dining room: we don't use, nice window seat, but no door

any other suggestions? comments? etc...Thank you so much in advance

I would say the computer room as long as it does not get exceedingly hot and the cat can get out of the sun of course. That is where I kept Buddy while he got used to being here and since I spend all my time here on the computer.. he became nice and attached to me. Of course.. feeding him surely had a bit to do with that, grin.

That's what I was thinking, but I was just worried about the wires...I'm pretty paranoid about that...the same thing with the washer and dryer with the tubes and stuff. Is it a really big deal or is it something thats just good to look out for?

The wires CAN be a big deal if the cat starts chewing on them. They make products to cover the wires so that the cat can't get at them... if you think this might happen or if you can, you might want to purchase them.

yes...watch the wires. when we first let ChumChum roam around the house she promptly discovered the speaker wires and proceeded to chomp clean through them. i realized it only because i wasn't hearing any "surround" in my sound. upon discovering the severed wires (thin gauge mind you) i had a laugh and then got concerned about other hazardous wiring. i went around the house and buried wires were i could or protected them otherwise. also did my best to discourage her from playing with them...but sometimes they're just too tempting.

your bedroom - so you can bond with the cat and btw, your parents live in the kitchen?

Stand and lie down in each room and look at it from a cat's point of view -especially since that cat will be frightened and confused in a new place. It will want somewhere to hide first - so is there somewhere safe to retreat to? Then it will want to explore - is there anything dangerous - wiring has been mentioned, but are there shelves with breakables? Can the cat climb to survey the surroundings safely? Can it safely look out of the window? Is there through traffic of humans/other animals which might frighten it or cause/enable it to run and get out? Is the temperature cold or hot? Is there somewhere safe to sleep? (For your and your parents' sake if the cat has an accident before it learns where the litter box is is it likely to happen on the best rug in the house?) If you answer these questions you will soon decide which room is best.

My first pick would be the computer room and my second choice would be the basement. I would carefully review which is easier to cat-proof and which makes the cat less of an obstruction to others. If you are inexperienced with pets, I would also pick which option is easier to control in case the cat tries to escape and get outdoors.

If other people in your household are ambivalent about getting a cat, the basement sounds like a safe place to start so I wouldn't immediately dismiss that option. When I was a kid, my new pets would start out in the basement and wouldn't emerge until they had become established with everyone. I had to get it where each family member was able to pick up the pet without much fuss. If I couldn't establish that, then they had to be outdoor pets. We lived in a rural area and I built a series of rudimentary runs and hutches, so outside was acceptable option. My pets also had to pass an allergy test -- that they didn't bother a certain sibling's allergies. If there was a problem, then that pet also had to go outside. But I was allowed to use the entire basement as a sanctuary for new or sick pets, or a temporary safe house if we were expecting a particularly hard freeze.