A Puppy or Kitten Comes Home – Tips for a Smooth Arrival!

Is a new family member about to join your home? Are you already looking forward to the long-awaited day of arrival and have everything prepared at home? Here are some tips to ensure a worry-free arrival at home.

The Journey to the New Home

Make sure to pick up your young pet with two people! This way, one person can concentrate on driving, while the accompanying person can observe the kitten or puppy and calm it down if necessary. For a safe journey home, a mobile kennel is essential! Lined with a soft blanket and a toy that, if possible, still smells of its old home, the box offers the young pet security and protection. Even if it meows or whimpers, it should never be taken out. The risk of an accident is too high!

The Arrival

Once you arrive home, first show a puppy the spot where it should relieve itself. After the car ride, there's a good chance it urgently needs to go and will "inaugurate" the spot right away. Now you can give it enthusiastic praise for the first time!

For kittens, only open the mobile kennel inside the house and let it come out on its own. Depending on its temperament, it will either happily hop out immediately or cautiously poke its head out first. Give it time! Depending on its origin, it can even take several hours for a kitten to take its first steps out of the safe box.

Then it's time for the house tour: Don't carry your young pet around, but motivate it to follow you and show it the entire house, its food and water bowls, its sleeping place, and for kittens, where the litter box is located.

If your young pet doesn't want to follow you right away, don't force it. Place it on its blanket, speak calmly to it, and wait until it starts exploring the area on its own.

The First Night

For small kittens, the first night in their new home usually isn't a problem. Anxious kittens often only dare to truly explore the new apartment in the darkness and quiet of the night. Make sure that food, water, and the litter box are within reach of your little one, and leave your bedroom door open so the kitten can find you if it wishes.

For small puppies, the first night is usually difficult. Place the basket or, even better, a Crate next to your bed. If it starts to whimper, remain calm, reach your hand into the box, and speak softly to the puppy so it knows it's not alone. It might take a moment for the little one to calm down. If it doesn't calm down or starts whimpering in the middle of the night, it's possible it needs to go outside again.

The Right Feeding

Ideally, your protégé should receive the same food as from the breeder, at least for the first few days. The food should meet the individual requirements according to age, breed, and anticipated size. Especially small kittens should be offered both dry and wet food. If a high-quality food for growing animals is fed, then additions of vitamins or minerals are not necessary or can even be harmful.

Find the optimal food for your kitten or puppy at www.futterwahl.ch!

Here you will find accessories for kittens and accessories for puppies.

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