Bringing a new pet home is an exciting day, and the way you can best enjoy that excitement without worry or anxiety is to make sure you’ve set up properly. If you know you’ve prepared for your new pet’s needs, then you can relax and enjoy their company, so today we’re looking at how you can set up for a new pet.
Getting Them Registered
Doing a search for “local vet near me” should be one of your first steps when you’re thinking about getting a new pet. You’ll need to register your pet at the vet soon after you bring them home. As well simply being the right thing to do, it’s part of your responsibility under the UK’s 2006 Animal Welfare Act to protect them from pain, harm, suffering and disease.
Use web searches, recommendations from fellow owners and even official bodies for pet owners and breeders to find a good vet near you!
Understanding Your Pet
It’s a good idea to do some research before you bring your pet home so you can understand what they like, what they don’t like and how to build a good relationship with them. It’s also important to relay this information to young children in the family in a form they will understand.
If you’re getting a pet cat and looking forward to stroking them, cuddling them and keeping them close, for example, you’ll need to understand you’ll have to respect your cat and build some trust to allow that to happen. You can’t reach out and grab it as soon as it emerges from the carrier, or you’ll start your relationship off badly and may not recover!
Creating the Right Environment
For all pets, it’s important to create the right environment. This might mean furnishing a terrarium with sunlamp, pool and greenery, getting the pH level right in an aquarium or converting your office into a cat room, with climbing areas, feeding station, litter tray and bedding.
Specificity is the key. Look for what your pet needs not just to be healthy, but to feel happy and secure. Cats will want opportunities to climb and explore, as well private areas to retreat to when they need rest and privacy. Dogs benefit from having a clear area of the house that’s theirs, with bed, toys and food all nearby, as well as access to a hygienic place to go the toilet. Snakes and lizards benefit from larger habits with varied places to explore. If you can create the right environment for your pet, they’ll settle in quickly and start to think of it as home!