This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Skout’s Honor. All opinions are 100% mine.
Right before Christmas, we added a new member to our crazy little family. Meet Bailey:
I still can’t believe we have a cat! I’ve never owned a cat before in my life. My husband grew up with a cat and a dog in his house, so this is pretty normal to him. I was allergic to cats when I was younger (thankfully I grew out of that allergy) so I wasn’t even around them too much.
I’ve shared Bailey in my Instagram stories, and one of my friends wrote me a message and said, “You’re turning into a crazy cat lady before our eyes!” I couldn’t stop laughing – but it may be true!
But guys? We seriously hit the cat jackpot with this little guy. He is the sweetest. Ever since we adopted Buckley, I knew we wouldn’t shop for our future pets, but we were going to adopt. One of the best things about adopting a cat instead of a kitten is that their personality is already set. I’ve heard of a lot of friendly little kittens turning into grumpy cats. Not that you can’t love a grumpy cat, but I really wanted a cat that wanted to be around our family.
When I took Isaac to the shelter, him and Bailey bonded immediately. It was the cutest thing. Bailey just followed him all around the little room and wanted to play. Isaac was thrilled, and they continue to do this now that he lives in our house. Not only do they play together, but both of my kids just love to snuggle with Bailey – and Bailey snuggles right back. It’s the most adorable thing!
And for anyone wondering – Bailey and Buckley share a house so well together. There was a crazy few days of adjustment, but now that they’ve gotten past the novelty of eachother, they coexist wonderfully. Bailey has tried to snuggle with Buckley a few times and he’s been denied, but maybe someday Buckley will be a little more willing 🙂
The cat world is SO new to me. Here’s my list of a few simple things you need to know before adopting a cat:
- It will take some time to adjust
- It took a few days before things settled down and everyone got adjusted to eachother. We spent a whole day with Bailey in the playroom with the door cracked and Buckley sniffing through the door. Then, we held Buckley on his leash every time they were together for another day. They sniffed eachother, but Bailey finally realized he could get up to high place that Buckley couldn’t reach.
- They will climb on everything
- It was so weird for me to see Bailey climbing on everything! Bookcases, kitchen counters, window sills…every surface has been explored!
- They’re so easy to train
- Make sure you ask the shelter which kind of litter they had been using, and use that litter at your house. We got a litterbox with a top on it and a little “door” so it keeps Buckley out of it (another surprise – dogs will go crazy for cat litter. So gross)
- Their litterbox will SMELL
- I wasn’t prepared for how badly the litterbox was going to smell! This is seriously the only downside to having a cat for me. I’m pretty sensitive to smells, and it was really hard for me to get used to this.
I immediately started looking for ways to help this smell to stay out of our house. I was finding a lot of products that may have worked, but had lots of added chemicals I didn’t want in the air. Then I found a company that I seriously fell in love with:
The company is called Skout’s Honor – and I can honestly tell you they’re one of my favorite new companies I’ve heard about in a long time. All of these above products have worked really well in our house – my personal favorite is the litter box deodorizer. I LOVE that it’s not a scent that just tries to mask the litter box smell. It doesn’t add a smell, just takes the stink away:
It honestly gets rid of the smell – it’s awesome. But it’s also a green product that’s plant-derived and friendly to spray around the kids and pets. I’m so thankful to have found this! Not only is it an awesome product, but for every product sold, they donate a day’s worth of food to a shelter! That’s a company I can truly stand behind.
Added note – not that we ever need it – but the products don’t just work for cat smells/messes, but work equally well on toddler messes/smells. But of course, my toddlers don’t ever make me deal with that 😉
Find out where to buy the Skout’s Honor products here – I know you’ll love them as much as I do!
Awww. So sweet. We used to have a cat, and I do sometimes miss the snuggles she used to give. Someday we’ll get another pet. It just may have to wait until we get into a new house, though. Thanks for sharing your story and bringing back so many memories.
Awww, Bailey is so cute! Aren’t cats great? We also adopted a cat recently. She was a stray that my daughter found at a friend’s house, and she has fit in our family so well too! I’ve figured out that you should always look for a cat that doesn’t ever put their claws out during normal petting or playing. We lucked out with our cat, especially since I don’t believe in declawing. BTW, I love your blog – keep up the good work and thanks for the heads up about Skout because I need it:).
That’s wonderful advice, Jeanine! So glad you found a cat that fits in with your family so well too <3 And thank you so much for your kind words - so appreciated!
Congratulations on the new member to your family! I wanted to comment on the smelly litter….after your cat has adjusted a bit better (say 2 months) you can experiment with different litters. Also scooping daily will help. You can add a sprinkle of baking soda to help reduce odor. There are also lids for litter boxes which may help contain the smell and offer the kitty some privacy. Be warned some cats do not care for lids. I avoid fabreeze as I was told it kills canaries…which seems to indicate it is not a healthy substance. Good luck! Oh and I love your blog, too!
So so cute. I love Bailey and so happy you adopted a cat. We recently adopted another kitty too. I haven’t even introduced her on the blog yet.
Adorable! I adopted a cat once and my then-pre-schooler was deathly afraid. I guess it helps when you raise children with animals from a very young age.
Hope you’re still enjoying Bailey!
Thanks so much, Quanda! We LOVE Bailey – he’s the cutest little cat and he’s so loveable!