Importance Of A Sanctuary Room

 sanctuary room is a cat safe heaven, filled with climbing spots, hiding spots, cat scratches, litter, water bowls and etc. A sanctuary room is mainly use to introduce a cat into a new environment. Let it be either a cat moving from a old home into a new home or introducing a new cat into the family, including meeting the resident cats. This is the first place that every cat will have to go through before any form of introduction. It makes the new comer feel safe and secure and allow the cat to get his/her bearings grounded before exploring the house.
So what does the sanctuary room do?

•  A sanctuary room creates a control environment for the cat to explore before adventuring out to the other parts of the house. As a cat guardian, we need to understand that a home no matter how small it is, is a big place for a cat to explore.
• Allows the newcomer to get familiar with the scents of the environment around it before going any further. 
• Allows the newcomer to know where to return for safety and resources like water and litter box while adventuring around the house
• Allows the newcomer to mark the area up with scent and scratch, to let the resident cats know this place belongs to her (may it be temporary or permanent) and that she is not intruding in anyone space/territory.
•  Keep the newcomer and resident cats safe from each other. Preventing any long term conflict

The issue of not having a sanctuary room:

• A Stressful cat will spend months if not days hiding behind furniture if he/she feel threaten or  unsecure.
• There might be unwanted urine or defecate around the house
• Cats in the household might develop long term conflict. Furthering injuries which could be fatal for both humans and cats in the house,

On a future article we will be looking into how to setup a cat sanctuary room.