The concept of Shelter Sheets was born out of a Cats Forum discussion about the sorry tendency of many adopters of cats to treat them as disposable objects, as demonstrated by the number of cats returned to adoption agencies as "not working out." We all agreed that if cats came with "instructions," people might be better prepared to handle their responsibilities as caregivers, and less inclined to give them up.
Shelter Sheets were designed to fulfill that need, and are offered freely to humane societies, animal shelters, rescuers and other non-profit animal organizations, as well as to veterinarians, for free distribution to new adopters of cats. Individuals are also most welcome to read and print them out for their own personal use. (They are in a Word Doc Format.) We feel that education is a powerful tool to help people who have the right intentions, but have no clue as to where to start as a loving caregiver and companion to a cat.
The articles listed below are all in the HTML version of the actual Shelter Sheets, so you can preview the content of each Shelter Sheet. If you don't want to mess with the Word Doc version, each article has a printable version linked from the sidebar to the right.
- How to Cat-Proof Your Home
- How to Introduce Your New Cat to the Rest of the Tribe
- How to Introduce Your New Dog to Your Resident Cats
- How to Make Your House a Home for Your Cats
- How to Make Your Cat a Lifetime Family Member
- How to Manage Your Cat's Claws
- How to Play with Your Cat
- How to Prevent Litter Box Problems
More topics will be added in the future, so keep this URL bookmarked. Thank you for using our Shelter Sheets!
You may find that after you and your new cat get to know each other better, new situations may arise that aren't covered in this list, i.e. questions about health or behavior. Or, you may just want to discuss your cat's little idiosyncrosies and other loveable traits with other cat lovers. Or just show off pictures of him or her. The Cats Forum hosted by this site is a wonderful way of sharing, asking questions, or just enjoying the company of others who have found themselves slaves to their cats. If you're finding yourself a slave to your furball, and loving every minute of it, you'll be in good company. Just click on the sidebar link to a discussion. When you click "reply" to any message, you'll be taken to a new sign-up page, and you'll be on your way to a whole new experience.
Welcome the the World of Cat Lovers!
