A new pet will need time to get used to your home. Your household must also get used to the animal's personality and needs.
Do not overwhelm the new pet with too much attention. It is likely to be already frightened and disoriented. While baby animals especially need a lot of time to sleep and rest, full-grown ones must also be given space to check things out. You should, of course, have pet-proofed your home so nothing within reach poses a danger to it.
If you have adopted a stray or abandoned animal, take these important first steps:
- Have a vet give your pet a thorough check-up. It may have picked up illnesses during its time on the streets, or through a previous owner's mistreatment. A vet will identify the health problems and advise you how to manage them.
- Get it vaccinated against serious disease common to its species. It is always heartbreaking for any caring owner to lose a pet to an illness that could have been prevented.
- Try to learn what its regular diet was before you adopted it so that you can gradually ease it into a new one. If you just take a stray off the streets and feed it nothing buy top-grade commercial pet food, it may suffer digestive upsets. First, give meals that are three quarters of its usual food with a bit of the new, then decrease and increase the relevant quantities over a week until it is comfortably eating eh new food only.
- Toilet-training, obedience-training and understanding household rules will take time. Be very patient. Never hit, frighten or scream at the pet if it makes a mess.
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