Are you thinking about getting your sweetheart a new pet for Valentine's Day? Have they been discussing getting a new cat or dog and you think that this would make the perfect gift? Pets can be great companions and friends to their owners as long as they are taken care of properly. If you or your sweetheart are new to pets, you might not realize yet what needs to be done before your pet even gets home in order to prepare the new cat or dog for a happy and healthy life. A few things that need to be done now or as soon as possible include the following.
Don't surprise your partner: As much fun as it can be to give a surprise gift, a cat or a dog should not be a complete surprise. You may want to keep it a bit of a surprise by talking as if the cat or dog will maybe arrive in a few months when you're planning to get it in the next week or two, but you shouldn't simply bring a pet into a completely unprepared household. You could wind up having to take the pet to the veterinarian after it gets sick because the cat or dog was fed the wrong food. To prevent tummy troubles, you need to find out what food the cat or dog has been eating already and feed that to them for at least the first week in the new home.
Make a wellness appointment: You don't have to let your sweetheart know that you're getting them a new pet to make an appointment with the veterinarian for a wellness check and possibly for a spay/neuter as well. A pet that isn't up-to-date on all of its vaccinations could catch a potentially lethal illness from other animals that could've been prevented with vaccination. Without spaying or neutering, a pet is more likely to try to escape outside to find a mate, potentially getting lost or injuring themselves in the process.
Get toys and bedding: If you and your sweetheart are living in the same home, it can be difficult to hide a growing mound of pet supplies when you're trying to keep everything a surprise and a secret. Ask a friend, relative, or even a well-known next-door neighbor if you can keep these supplies with them until the big day. While it can be fun to take a pet to the pet store and allow them to pick out new toys, this is not something that should be done until after the proper vaccinations have been administered and you know how the pet will act in public. Otherwise, it's a good idea to have at least a few toys on hand for the new pet to play with when it arrives at its new home.
To learn more, contact a veterinarian.
