The first week at home sets the pattern for the years after it. A new dog, cat, bird, or rabbit arrives in a place that smells wrong, with people it does not know and a routine it cannot predict. The job of the first seven days is to make one room safe, keep one routine, and introduce everything else slowly.
This guide covers day one, days two and three, the rest of the week, and the signs that mean the settling-in is not going well.
Contents
Before the pet arrives
Prepare one quiet room, not the whole house. Put the bed, the water, the food, and the tray or toilet area in it, and remove wires, plants, and anything the animal could swallow. Bring home a piece of bedding from the place the animal came from; a familiar smell in a strange room helps.[1]
Pick a day when the house is quiet and you have two free days after it. Do not bring a pet home the day before a trip or a family event.
Day one
- Carry the animal to its room in the carrier and open the door. Let it come out on its own.
- Keep the room calm. No visitors, no children chasing, no other pets at the door.
- Offer the same food it ate before, at the same times. A sudden food change adds diarrhoea to the stress.
- Show a dog its toilet spot outside and reward it there. Show a cat or rabbit the tray and leave it alone.
- Sleep nearby the first night if you can. A puppy or kitten cries; that is normal and it passes.
Days two and three
- Start the routine you intend to keep: feeding times, walk times, quiet time. Animals settle on predictability.
- Handle the animal briefly and often. Touch paws, ears, and mouth for a second and reward. This is what makes grooming and vet visits possible later.
- Take the first veterinary visit in this window. Bring every paper the seller or shelter gave you. See The first vet visit and the vaccination schedule.
- Leave the animal alone in its room for a few minutes, then longer. A pet that never learns to be alone panics the first time it is.[2]
Days four to seven
- Open one more room at a time. A cat decides its own pace; a puppy needs supervision in every new room.
- Introduce other pets by scent first: swap bedding, then meet through a door or a pen, then a short supervised meeting. Days, not minutes, and weeks for cats and rabbits.
- Introduce people one or two at a time. Let the animal approach them.
- Start house rules now. Reward the behaviour you want. Ignore or redirect the rest. Nobody hits the animal.
- Fit the collar and tag, and register the animal. See How to identify and register your pet.
What is normal and what is not
Hiding, a small appetite, soft stool for a day, whining at night, and a cat that will not leave the wardrobe are normal in week one. They should ease by the end of the week.
Not normal: no food for a full day in a puppy or kitten, no food or no droppings for twelve hours in a rabbit, vomiting more than twice, blood in stool, laboured breathing, a bird fluffed on the cage floor, or any animal that cannot stand. Those need a veterinarian the same day. See When to go to the vet now.
Species notes
- Dog. Toilet trips every two hours, after meals, and after sleep. Praise outside; never punish an accident inside. Short sessions of sit and come, several times a day.
- Cat. One room for the first days, then the house. Place the kitten in the tray after meals and naps until it goes on its own.[3]
- Bird. Keep the cage half covered for the first days and speak softly nearby. Keep a new bird away from any bird you already have until the veterinarian clears it.
- Rabbit. Sit on the floor and let it come to you. Do not lift it this week. Hay and water at all times, and watch the droppings.[4]
Common questions
My puppy cries all night. Do I ignore it?
Not in the first nights. Sleep near the bed or move the bed near you, and move it away over the following weeks. A puppy that cries has been taken from its litter; it is not misbehaving.
My new cat has not eaten in a day.
One day in a hidden, stressed cat can happen. Offer food in the hiding place and check the water. Past a day, or with any other sign, see the veterinarian.
When can the new pet meet the old one?
After the first veterinary check, and then only by scent and through a barrier for the first days. Rushing this is the most common cause of two pets that never get along.
See also
- Before you bring a pet home
- The first vet visit and the vaccination schedule
- When to go to the vet now
