Getting your home ready for your first pet can eliminate future headaches and heartbreaks. Aside from setting ground rules about your new pet with the rest of your family, you’ll need to do a few things, too, to make sure your pet feels safe and loved inside your home. Getting your first pet soon? Make sure your home is pet-ready when the little bugger comes with these tips.
1. Designate a personal space for your pet - similar to how you would prepare a nursery for a baby on the way, you’d need to prepare a designated space that your pet can call its personal space. It doesn’t have to be a full room. It can be a corner somewhere in your home where its bed, toys, and other things go. Make sure this space is fully set up before you bring your pet home.
2. Buy tons of toys - if you’re getting a dog, get tons of chew toys. For cats, a scratch post is a must. These aren’t just to spoil your pet; they’re to keep them from damaging your furniture and other things around the house as well. Moving to a new home and getting comfortable around new people can induce anxiety in pets which can make them want to do what feels natural and most comfortable to them (chewing and scratching) and those toys can help out greatly with that.
3. Secure all entrance and exit points - having a pet is just like having a kid. You’re going to want to secure the entrance and exit points in your home if you want to make sure that they stay where they’re supposed to stay and don’t wander off in areas where they’re not meant to go. Doors and windows leading to the outside of your home are especially important so they don’t accidentally run away and get lost.
4. Secure all breakables - again, just like with kids, you’re going to want to keep all the breakable stuff out of your pet’s reach, especially if you’re planning on leaving them home alone during the day.
5. Stock up on essentials - dog food is not the only thing you need to stock up on if you’re planning on getting your first pet. You’re going to want to go shopping for things like pet pads, poop bags (for dogs), cat litter (for cats), and cleaning supplies in bulk as well.
6. Get your floors ready - your pet is going to spend most of its time on the floor so it’s the number one thing in your home that you have to prep and pet-proof. Get rid of rugs until your pet is fully potty-trained to avoid accidents and make sure you don’t have loose stuff like cords and coins lying around that your pet could chew on and choke from. If you have hardwood floors, you might want to put on a layer of scratch-resistant and water-resistant coating on your floors.
Living harmoniously with a new pet doesn’t have to be hard at all. Remember that you’re not the only one making adjustments so be a little more patient with your sweet furbaby!