Bringing a pet home is a life-altering experience as nothing remains the same once your furry friend arrives. If you have decided to adopt a pet instead of buying one, you have already made the right choice.

You need to be extremely sure that you are ready to bring your furry BFF home. Avoid adopting a pet and leaving them alone, because whether it’s a cat or a dog, it needs your company.

There are certain important things you will have to consider when you are willing to get a pet. Irrespective of whether your new friend has fur, feather, scales, or hooves, there are some basic things to acknowledge before you adopt one.

A pet is a big commitment
One of the first things you need to understand while contemplating pet adoption is that bringing a pet home is a big commitment. The pet becomes a part of your family. You need to dedicate time for it and care for it when it is unwell. You need to carefully think through the decision as the pet might take some time adjusting to a new surrounding, and you cannot afford to be impatient about it. Returning it to the shelter you adopted it from can be traumatizing for the animal and defeats the purpose of adoption.

Your financial stability is essential
You need to gauge whether you are financially stable enough to take care of your pet. Whether it is a dog or a cat or even an iguana, they need food, grooming, toys, veterinarian visits, annual pet licensing, a litter box, and so on. These items will be an additional cost to your monthly expenditure and you need to decide whether you’ll be able to provide them for your pet. It would be wrong to adopt a pet and deprive it of the essentials.

Make your home pet-friendly
Just like you baby-proof the house before a baby arrives, you need to make certain preparations for your new pet as well. Things like chewing gum, which we consider harmless, can be deadly for dogs, or ibuprofen is toxic for cats. Before you bring a pet, you need to do a thorough clean up and eliminate hazards or items that can endanger your pet’s life.

“Love at first sight” won’t always work
When visiting an animal shelter, many people often have a hard time deciding which fur baby to bring home. Mostly, people opt for the pet that stole their hearts the instant they looked at them. However, there’s more to consider when it comes to adopting a pet. You need to take the animal’s personality into account as well; for instance, you need to understand the difference between a dog who loves to run around and play and one that loves to cuddle up in your lap and lie on the couch with you. This makes a lot of difference in the way you devise a care plan for the pet.

Adopted pets need training as well
Whether you adopt a 3-month old kitten or a 10-year old senior dog, you will still have to train them. This training is essential to help the pet transition from its life in the shelter to the one in your home. You will have to teach them which areas are off-limits and where the litter box is. You will also have to start training them the day they come home. In case you are planning on adopting a rescue animal, you should let the pet socialize with kids and other animals as it helps them to adjust to their new life.

Consider tags and microchipping
Whether you are planning on adopting a dog or a cat, you need to understand that tags and microchipping are a must. Usually, cats have a tendency to waltz around the neighborhood and at times, they lose their way. Dogs can also run away when they see the front door open. In such cases, microchips and the pet’s name tag with your address will be instrumental in bringing them home.

You need to make time for them
When you bring a pet home, it needs your attention. This means that you have to take them for walks, play with them, give them a bath, take them to the vet, and so on. You need to understand that you have to give them time, and there’s no other way it would work. You have to keep in mind that your flexibility is a must.

All in all, pet adoption requires serious thinking, but once the pet comes home, you’ll feel loved as long the furry one (or scaly one in certain cases) stays with you.