How to Introduce a New Pet to Your Home: SG Guide
You finally bring the carrier through the HDB lift, set it down on the living room tiles, and there is a tiny shape inside making the smallest noise you have ever heard. Your resident cat is glaring from the top of the bookshelf. Your partner is asking if we should open the door now or later. The flat suddenly feels both too small and too big.
That first hour matters more than most pet parents realise. Singapore living comes with its own quirks (tight HDB layouts, neighbours sharing walls, tropical humidity, a vet visit you need to plan in advance), and getting the intro right in week one saves you months of behaviour and tummy issues later.
Here is the playbook we share with new pawrents who order our trial packs for puppies and kittens.
Before the new furkid arrives: set up one safe room
Do not try to introduce a new pet to the entire flat at once. Pick one room, ideally with a door that closes, and make it the new pet's base camp for the first 3 to 5 days.
For an HDB 3-room or 4-room flat, the second bedroom or service yard (if covered and cool) works well. For condos, a study or guest room. The room needs:
- A crate or carrier with the door left open, lined with a towel that smells like the breeder or shelter
- Water bowl (ceramic or stainless, not plastic, in our humidity plastic gets funky fast)
- Food bowl placed away from the water
- Litter tray for kittens, or pee pads for puppies, kept far from the food
- One soft toy and one chew or scratch item
- Air-con or a fan on low: SG humidity stresses new pets fast, especially flat-faced breeds like Persians, Pugs and French Bulldogs
The first 48 hours: let them choose you
Resist the urge to cuddle non-stop. Sit on the floor in the safe room, read a book, scroll your phone, let the new furkid come to you. Most kittens will emerge within 2 to 6 hours. Puppies, especially rescue puppies, can take a full day.
What to watch for:
- ✅ Eating something within 12 to 24 hours (even a few bites)
- ✅ Using the litter or pee pad
- ✅ Sleeping deeply at some point
- 🚩 No food, no water and no toilet for 24 hours: call a vet
- 🚩 Loose stools that do not firm up by day 3: likely stress or a food switch issue, not always parasites
Introducing a new puppy or kitten to existing pets
This is where most Singapore households go wrong. The resident cat or dog has lived in this flat as the only furkid, sometimes for years. Dropping a new animal in front of them on day one is a recipe for hissing, resource guarding, and a stressed-out senior pet.
Use the four-stage protocol:
Stage 1: Scent swap (Days 1 to 2)
Keep both pets completely separated. Rub a soft cloth on the new pet's cheeks and bedding, then place it where the resident pet eats. Do the reverse with a cloth from the resident. They get to know each other through smell first, which is how cats and dogs actually process new family members.
Stage 2: Door crack and feeding (Days 2 to 3)
Feed both pets on either side of the closed safe-room door at the same time. Start far from the door and move bowls closer over a couple of meals. Eating near each other's smell builds positive association. If either pet refuses to eat, you moved too fast: back up a step.
Stage 3: Visual contact (Days 3 to 5)
A baby gate or a cracked door with your foot blocking it. Five minutes max. Both pets get treats while they can see each other. End on a calm note, before any growling or hissing starts.
Stage 4: Supervised same-room time (Day 5 onwards)
Leashes on dogs. Cats free to retreat to a high perch. Keep sessions to 10 to 15 minutes for the first week. Never leave them alone together until you have had a full week of relaxed, boring co-existence.
For cat-to-cat intros in particular, plan for 2 to 4 weeks of slow rotation. Cats are not dogs. Rushing this is why so many SG households end up with a litter box war that lasts months.
Settling a new pet in an HDB flat
HDB living has specific considerations the global puppy guides skip.
Noise: lifts ding, neighbours slam doors, the rubbish chute clangs. Play these sounds at low volume on YouTube during the first week so your new furkid habituates instead of getting startled on day 10 when a delivery driver knocks.
Floor surfaces: polished tiles are slippery and rough on developing puppy joints. Lay down a few cheap rugs or yoga mats in the play zone for the first 2 to 3 months.
Heat: even with the fan on, a closed bedroom can hit 30 degrees in the afternoon. Cool tiles, a damp towel for them to lie on, or air-con during peak heat. Brachycephalic breeds (Pugs, Frenchies, Persians, Scottish Folds) overheat fast in our climate.
HDB approved breeds: if you are in HDB, double check the approved dog breed list before bringing a dog home. Condos usually have their own MCST rules. This is not optional, fines are real.
Microchip and licence: all dogs in Singapore must be licensed with AVS by 3 months of age. Most vets will sort the microchip and licence in one visit.
Book the first vet visit within 7 days
Even if your puppy or kitten came with a vet record from the breeder or rescue, get your own vet to do a baseline check within the first week. This achieves three things:
1. Catches anything the previous owner missed (ear mites, ringworm, parasites)
2. Establishes a relationship with a vet who knows your pet's baseline weight, gum colour and temperament
3. Sets up the next vaccine or deworming schedule on your calendar
We wrote a separate guide on choosing the right vet in Singapore if you have not picked one yet. The short version: pick one within 15 minutes of your flat (you will thank yourself during an emergency), and ask if they have experience with your specific breed.
Food transitions: the silent cause of week-one diarrhoea
Nine times out of ten, when a new pet parent WhatsApps us in a panic about loose stools on day 3, the cause is not the new home. It is the food.
Breeders, pet shops and shelters all feed different brands. Switching cold turkey, even to a higher quality food, will upset a puppy or kitten's gut. The fix is a 5-day gradual transition:
- Days 1 to 2: 25% new food, 75% old food
- Days 3 to 4: 50% new, 50% old
- Day 5: 100% new
- Watch stool consistency every meal
For pawrents moving their new furkid onto gently cooked food from the start, our transition guide for fresh pet food walks through it step by step. A trial pack is the easiest way to do this: 4 proteins for cats, 5 for dogs, so you can find what their gut likes without committing to a full subscription on day one.
One customer summed it up well:
> "Milo was the pickiest kibble eater. First bowl of Bon Pet chicken and he actually finished it. 3 weeks in, his coat is glossier and his poops are textbook." Sarah L., pawrent to Milo (Beagle, 4y)
Feeding amounts for new puppies and kittens
Kittens (2 to 12 months): 3 meals a day. With our 200g gently cooked cat packs, around 65g per meal works as a starting point for an average kitten. Adjust up if they are still growing fast or look ribby, down if they are leaving food behind. Kittens self-regulate better than adult cats.
Puppies: portion by weight and breed size, split into 3 to 4 meals a day until 6 months, then 2 meals. Toy breeds eat a surprisingly small amount; large breeds eat what feels like a shocking amount. Our feeding calculator gives you a starting number based on adult target weight, not current puppy weight.
All our recipes are AAFCO All Life Stages, formulated by a PhD nutritionist, so the same food works for the puppy or kitten now and the adult dog or cat later. No need to switch "life stage" formulas every year, which is one less thing to think about during a chaotic first month.
Week one checklist
- ✅ Safe room set up with crate, water, litter or pee pads, soft bedding
- ✅ Existing pets kept separate, scent swap started
- ✅ Vet appointment booked within 7 days
- ✅ HDB licence and microchip sorted (for dogs)
- ✅ Same food as the breeder for the first few days, then start a 5-day transition
- ✅ One designated handler for the first 48 hours, no big gatherings
- ✅ Air-con or fan running, humidity managed
- ✅ Slip-proof rugs down for puppies on tiles
- ✅ Noise habituation in the background
When to call the vet (not WhatsApp)
- No food and no water for 24 hours
- Vomiting more than twice in 12 hours
- Bloody or black stools (not just loose)
- Lethargy where they will not lift their head
- Pale or grey gums
- Persistent crying that does not settle
If you are starting fresh food with your new furkid, our trial pack for puppies or trial pack for kittens lets you sample every protein we make in one go. Intro savings apply at checkout, and the trial packs arrive frozen via Ninja Van cold chain to your door.
Welcome to the chaos. It gets easier by week three.
❤️ The Bon Pet team
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take a new pet to settle into a Singapore HDB flat?
Most kittens and puppies settle within 7 to 10 days if you keep them in one safe room for the first 3 to 5 days, then expand access slowly. Cats introduced to a resident cat can take 2 to 4 weeks of gradual scent and visual intros before they fully relax.
How do I introduce a new kitten or puppy to my existing pet?
Use a four-stage protocol: total separation with scent swap on days 1 to 2, feeding on either side of a closed door on days 2 to 3, brief visual contact through a baby gate on days 3 to 5, then supervised same-room time from day 5. Never leave them unsupervised together in week one.
When should I take my new puppy or kitten to the vet in Singapore?
Book a baseline vet check within the first 7 days, even if the breeder or shelter provided records. All dogs in Singapore must be licensed with AVS and microchipped by 3 months of age, which the vet can sort in the same visit.
Should I change my new pet's food on the first day?
No. Keep them on the breeder or shelter's food for the first few days while they adjust to the new home, then transition over 5 days (25 percent new for 2 days, 50 percent for 2 days, 100 percent on day 5). Changing food and home at the same time is the most common cause of week-one diarrhoea.
