The first week with a new dog or cat
The first week with a new pet sets the pattern for the months that follow. Most of the work is giving them a quiet, predictable place to land, and letting them take the rest at their own pace. Here is what to have ready before they arrive, and what to expect once they do.
What to have ready
For a dog or a cat:
- The food they already eat. Ask the shelter, rescue or breeder what they have been fed and start with that. If you want to change it, mix in the new food gradually over about a week.
- Bowls for food and water.
- A bed, in a quiet corner rather than a busy hallway.
- An ID tag with your phone number, and the microchip registered to you. Ask for the chip number when you collect your pet and update the details that day.
- A few toys, and an enzyme cleaner for accidents. Ordinary cleaners leave a smell your pet can still find.
- A first vet visit, booked for some time in the first week.
For a dog, add a collar or harness, a lead, chews, and a crate or baby gate if you plan to use one. For a cat, add a carrier, a scratching post, and a litter box with the same litter they are used to. The usual guide is one litter box per cat, plus one.
Make the house safe
Walk through each room at your pet’s height. Put away cables, cleaning products, medicines, small objects and anything chewable you care about. Check for plants that are toxic, especially lilies if you have a cat; our list of human foods that are dangerous for dogs and cats covers the common ones. For a cat, close windows without screens and keep the washing machine and dryer doors shut.
Start with one room
A whole house is a lot to take in. Set up one quiet room first with water, a bed and somewhere to hide, plus the litter box for a cat. Cats do best spending the first few days there and exploring the rest of the house once they come out on their own. For a dog, a calm corner with their bed or open crate, and a baby gate across the door if needed, does the same job.
The first day
- Go straight home. Keep the car calm and quiet, with a cat in a carrier.
- Take a dog to their toilet spot first, on the lead, before you go inside. Praise them when they go.
- Keep the house quiet. It is tempting to have friends round to meet them. Wait a week.
- Let them explore, or hide. A cat under the bed is getting their bearings. Leave food and water nearby and let them come out when they are ready.
The first few days
Expect a new pet to eat little, sleep a lot, hide, have the odd accident, or cry at night. All of it is normal. Many shelters use a rule of thumb called 3-3-3: about three days to get over the move, three weeks to learn the routine, and three months to feel at home. Some pets are faster, some slower.
- Keep a routine. Meals, walks, toilet trips and bedtime at the same times each day. A predictable day is the quickest way for a pet to feel safe.
- Toilet training. Take a puppy out after they wake, after they eat, after play, and every hour or two in between, and reward them the moment they go. Show a cat the litter box after meals.
- Keep walks short and quiet for a new dog. Busy parks and other dogs can wait until they know you.
- Practise short absences. Leave the room, then the house, for a few minutes at a time, and come back calmly. It makes the first full day alone much easier. If you work away from home, our guide to missing your pet during the workday has ideas for your side of it.
Other pets
Introduce them slowly. Dogs do best meeting on neutral ground, both on leads, walking side by side before they meet face to face. Cats do best meeting by smell first: swap their bedding for a few days, then let them see each other through a gate or a door open a crack, then have short meetings with you watching. This can take days or weeks. Give each pet their own bowl, bed and, for cats, litter box.
Children
Before the pet arrives, agree a few rules: let the pet come to them, no picking up, and leave the pet alone while they eat or sleep. Short, calm visits work better than a crowd.
The first vet visit
Take any papers from the shelter or breeder with you. The vet checks your pet over, sorts out vaccinations and treatment for fleas and worms, checks the microchip, and talks about neutering if it has not been done. It is also the time to ask how much to feed and what is normal for your pet’s age.
If they are not settling
It is normal for a new pet to take weeks to relax. If you are worried, call the shelter or rescue you adopted from, since many give advice after adoption. Call your vet if a dog has not eaten for two days, or a cat for one; cats who stop eating can become ill quickly. Otherwise, keep the days quiet and the routine steady, and give them time.