Bringing Home Your First Pet? Here's What You Need to Prepare

You might have recently decided to adopt a new friend. Or maybe you’ve gone out with the family after talking it over, and decided to find a breed for a pet to add a new addition for your family. Either way, you aren’t quite sure the next few steps to take when you bring home your pet. There are a few key points to take into consideration when you first bring home your new family member. Different pets handle differently so the steps you take when owning and bringing home a dog may vary from what you would do when preparing you and your home to take in a new feline friend. There are some common steps you can take for most pets that we’ll try to focus on but may have a little more information tailored to owning a cat.

Basics

Ensure your pet has all the necessities they need to survive, these include food, water and for cats, litter boxes. Make sure they have food and water in an easily accessible location on one side of the room. You may have their bed on the other side. For cats, you’re going to need a litter box. Some litter boxes come with more features than others so you might want to read more here regarding them. You’ll want to keep their litter box away from either area, in maybe the opposite side of the room. Cats are very clean animals and you want to ensure you seperate the areas they are feeding from the areas they are going to be using their litter.

Safe Space

Before your pet even arrives, it is important to prepare a safe space for the pet to familiarize itself with its new surroundings. Starting out small, in a separate room will help both you and your pet. A small area can act as a sanctuary for your pet to help acclimate your pet to their new home. This will show them where they should feel comfortable being. For cats, an enclosed room with a roof and door should be required as they may be more inclined to escape or hide. Dogs on the other hand may be fine with a gated off space where they can see you. Regardless of the size, you want to slowly introduce your pet to their new home and by doing so, ensure they don’t run rampant throughout the home, get lost, or feel overwhelmed by their surroundings. Make sure to always keep the area safe for your pet, keeping it clean and free of items that they may unknowingly harm themselves with such as plastic bags, garbage containers, certain plants, etc.

Personalized Space

Tailor this space to the specifications of your pet, and as far as animals go, those pets may have different personalities as well. For cats, it is a good idea to have places to hide or elevated areas for them to climb. Have toys for your pets to play with. Doing this will ensure your pets understand what they can play and interact with, teaching them in a positive manner.

Outside the Safe Area

Once you have established a strong relationship with your pet, and have gotten them comfortable in an area they understand to be a safe space, you can begin to introduce them to the rest of your home. You should be home for this process and not just allow them to roam freely while you are gone. Ensure all doors and windows and any other access points are closed and locked. Close other doors to other rooms to start. This will allow them to familiarize with their immediate surroundings and not get too flustered and stressed with too many rooms to explore.

Get Them to Know You

Spend time with your pet and allow them to get to know you. This can range from a variety of ways from playing with and petting your pet to simply spending time in the same area with them. Cats may be more nervous and hesitant, but being in the same space and speaking softly will help the transition. Ensure you do give your pet some time alone to allow them to be comfortable with being independent and alone at times. You may leave pieces of your clothing around the room for them to get comfortable with you and your scent.  

Once you’ve let your pet outside the safe area and allowed them into the rest of your home, they’ll be able to feel comfortable with everything and be able to call this their home as well. Different pets will adjust to their surroundings at their own pace, and some may take longer than others. It is important to have patience with your pet and ensure they feel safe and at home.