A new home

Adopting is quite a tough stage, both for the home owners and the new resident. It takes time to get used to new surroundings and new people.
 

Imagine the world through your brand new pet's eyes. All the new smells and the strange places and most importantly, those big people you haven't known from your pack.

If you're a brave little one, you'll sniff and paw at every nook and cranny, and maybe try to make it a little more like home... With a little sprinkle here and there, if you're "the man of the house". You will try to make friends with the people and animals around you, because you kind of feel that they will be the ones giving you shelter and food from now on.

But you can also be shy and maybe even a little ill and all of those things will frighten you into a corner. Yes, it takes time to gain one another's trust.

Now back to the human world... How do you welcome a new pet into your home? Don't frighten it with a lot of excitement and noise. Food is always a good peace offering, especially if your new friend has been living on the streets. And of course, water is very important too. Give your little companion a home within your home: a small bed in a corner.

You probably don't think about it at first, but your new pet will be like a baby at first. It will want to get in every corner and investigate, it might start chewing on your expensive sofa or the wiring. We've all heard of baby-proofing your house. Pets need a similar amount of protection, with some differences: they usually already know how to walk and jump and most likely already have teeth that can cause a lot of damage.

It would be easy to restrict their access to a small area at first. Many will recommend baby gates or large boxes. Minimise the number of things on the floor and the access to dangerous or valuable items, including wires. Also, it would be good if the floor were easy to clean or hard to stain... Nobody is born potty-trained and accidents can happen a lot at first. You need quite a bit of patience and creativity. And hope that they will learn with time.

All in all, that is what a new pet owner can do to welcome their new family member. Oh, yes, another thing... Lots of caring and discipline. And an infinite amount of patience.

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