Welcoming a pet into your home is exciting but needs good planning to guarantee a smooth transition for everyone involved. The PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report states that 51 per cent of UK adults own a pet of any type, which highlights how important animal companions are in British family life.
1. Preparing your home for a new pet
Before your new pet arrives, you need to prepare a welcoming environment with dedicated spaces. Animals need safe areas where they can retreat and feel secure while they are adjusting to their new surroundings. For cats, this often means establishing vertical territory through cat trees with multiple platforms and hideaways that allow them to observe their environment from a safe height. These structures give them security and satisfy their natural climbing instincts. For dogs, setting up a quiet corner with a comfortable bed and some toys is the approach to take. Consider using baby gates initially to limit access to certain areas of your home, and little by little increase their territory as they become more comfortable and trustworthy.
2. Gradual introduction to family members
When introducing your pet to family members, you have to be patient. This is especially true if you already have other pets. There are some steps that you should follow when introducing your pet to family members, and especially to children. Here, you have to establish “rules” about respectful interactions. For example, they should speak softly and move slowly around the new pet, allow the animal to approach first, and avoid hugging or kissing the pet, especially during initial meetings.
3. Introducing the new pet to existing pets
Integrating a new pet with existing animals needs a different approach. Start with scent exchange to allow animals to smell items that carry each other’s scent before face-to-face meetings. This familiarisation lowers the “stranger danger” response when they eventually meet. When it’s time for initial visual contact, use barriers like baby gates or create controlled situations where both animals feel secure. For dog-to-dog introductions, it’s recommended you get expert advice early on to guide you through this change and make sure all the dog’s vaccinations are up-to-date, as they could pass infections to one another. For cat introductions, proceed with particular caution because cats usually need more time to adjust to new feline housemates.
4. Creating a harmonious living environment
Long-term harmony depends on establishing household routines and boundaries that acknowledge each pet’s needs. For this, you need to make sure that each animal has their own feeding station to prevent resource guarding, they have separate resting areas where they can retreat undisturbed, and they have access to multiple water resources throughout the home. Maintain consistent rules and boundaries because if you allow one pet to have special privileges, this can create resentment and confusion.
Integration takes time and can sometimes take weeks or months for complete acceptance, but if you follow these processes and create an environment that respects each animal’s needs, this integration will create lasting bonds.
