Bringing Home a New Puppy or Kitten: A Complete First-Time Pet Parent Guide

Your pet has just left everything familiar (their mother, littermates, smells, sounds). Expect a bit of hiding, some crying at night, and less interest in food than you might hope.

Keep the first day quiet. Skip visitors, keep the TV low, and give your pet a small, safe part of the house to explore. Let them come to you.

Offer water often. Offer food in small amounts. Watch, but do not hover. Most puppies and kittens sleep a lot in the first 48 hours, and that is exactly what they should do.

For the first two weeks, keep feeding the exact food your breeder or shelter used. Sudden changes cause digestive upsets, which can look alarming in a small pet.

Puppies under three months usually eat four small meals a day. Kittens the same age often prefer three to four meals. Portion sizes vary with breed, size and activity level, so treat the bag guidance as a starting point rather than a rule.

Fresh water at all times. Avoid cow’s milk, kitchen scraps, bones and human snacks. Ask your vet before adding treats or supplements.

Puppies: Take them out (or to a pee pad) after every meal, every nap and every play session. Reward the second they finish in the right spot. Never scold accidents. Clean up with an enzyme cleaner so they do not return to the same spot.

Kittens: Most learn the litter tray on their own within a few days if the tray is easy to reach, unscented and cleaned once a day. If accidents happen, check the location, the litter type and whether one tray is enough. Older kittens often prefer two.

Expect 4 to 8 weeks of ongoing training. Consistency matters more than any single trick.

The first 4 months shape a lot of a pet’s adult personality. Calm, positive exposure to different sounds, surfaces, people, and (once safely vaccinated) other pets, builds a confident, easy-to-live-with adult.

What good socialisation looks like:

• Short sessions, not long ones. Five minutes of a new experience is often enough.
• Every new thing paired with a treat or a favourite toy.
• You watching your pet’s body language and stopping before they get overwhelmed.
• Never forcing a pet into an interaction. Let them approach, retreat and approach again.

A single vaccine is rarely enough. Puppies and kittens receive a series of vaccines that build immunity gradually, then a booster around a year later, then ongoing yearly boosters as needed.

Rather than duplicate the full schedules here, we have written dedicated, up-to-date guides:

• Puppy Vaccination, the full puppy series, week by week
• Kitten Vaccination, a calm, kitten-friendly approach
• Pet Vaccination, the general overview for adult pets and boosters

The earlier a puppy or kitten learns to tolerate handling, the easier their whole life becomes. From week one, do short daily sessions of touching paws, opening the mouth briefly, checking ears and brushing. Pair each with treats and gentle praise.

Bathing usually waits until after the first set of vaccines, and even then it should be occasional. Professional grooming can start once vaccinations allow. Read more about our approach to gentle, breed-appropriate grooming on the Pet Grooming page.

You do not need boarding from day one. Most families begin thinking about it around the 4 to 6 month mark, once the pet is fully vaccinated and used to being alone for short stretches.

A short daytime stay before an overnight one is the gentlest way to introduce boarding. See how we handle stays for anxious first-timers on our Pet Boarding page.