The first 30 days: what to buy for a new puppy or kitten.

A new puppy or kitten arrives, and within the first week the household acquires forty new objects. Most of them are not needed. Some of them are needed but are the wrong version. A very small number are needed and are the right version. The difference — between the list the internet will give you and the list a considered owner actually needs — is about three hundred euros and a great deal of cupboard space.

Here is the version we give friends.

It's short. It's specific. It assumes you'll buy a few more things in month two, which is fine, because by month two you'll actually know what your animal is like.

The essentials — buy before arrival

A short list of things that need to be in the house on day one. Each is non-negotiable.

Two bowls. One for food, one for water. Stainless steel or ceramic, not plastic. Plastic harbours bacteria, scratches, and can cause chin acne in some animals. Flat-bottomed so they don't tip.

A collar or harness with ID. An ID tag with your phone number, engraved before the animal arrives. A microchip appointment scheduled for the first week if the pet didn't come microchipped. For dogs, a basic flat collar is fine for the first month — harnesses can wait until you know their body.

A carrier. For the vet trip you'll make in the first fortnight, and any unplanned emergency. Hard-sided for cats and small dogs, correctly sized (nose-to-tail plus a margin, and tall enough to stand).

Food — the same brand and formula the animal was eating before. This matters more than most owners realise. Sudden food changes cause digestive issues that are easy to mistake for an underlying problem. Buy a small bag of what they were already eating, and transition slowly over seven to ten days if you want to switch.

A bed or crate. One quiet, soft, enclosed space that belongs to the animal, placed somewhere low-traffic but visible. For puppies, a crate helps with toilet training and security. For kittens, a covered bed in a corner is often enough.

That is the list. Six categories, ten or so objects. Everything else can wait.

The first-week additions

By day seven, you will know a handful of things you didn't know on day one. Add from this list based on what you've observed.

A grooming tool appropriate to the coat. You'll have handled your pet enough by now to know whether they mat, shed heavily, or have short smooth hair. Buy one tool that suits — a slicker brush for long coats, a rubber curry for short ones, a stainless-steel comb for cats with undercoats. Not all of them. One.

A lead and a second collar. For dogs, once you've seen them on lead a few times, you'll know if the first collar is rubbing or loose. A second flat collar or a well-fitted harness, plus a four- to six-foot lead, covers most daily walks.

A toy the animal actually likes. Not a toybox. One toy you've watched them engage with. Kittens often ignore everything except a single string or crinkle ball. Puppies usually settle on one rope or one stuffie and carry it everywhere. Buy that. Wait on the rest.

What to wait on

These are things most new owners buy in the first week and almost all of them are wrong on the first try.

Second beds. You don't know where the pet actually sleeps yet. Wait a month, then place beds in the observed locations.

Fancy food-dispensing toys, puzzle feeders, lick mats. These are useful later, once you know whether your pet is a gulper, a grazer, or a chewer. In month one they tend to be ignored or destroyed.

Fashion — jackets, bow-ties, seasonal outfits. Most animals hate them and the ones that tolerate them don't care about looking nice.

Training treats in bulk. Buy a small bag of one variety first. You don't yet know what the animal will work for. Some dogs love liver, others refuse it. Most cats will not work for food at all, but will work for a specific feather.

What to not buy at all

A few things have a reputation in new-owner gift lists that doesn't survive contact with reality.

Retractable leads. The mechanism encourages pulling, the cord causes friction burns, and in an emergency you cannot reel a dog in quickly. Use a fixed-length lead.

Prong or shock collars for training a new pet. There is no behavioural problem in the first month that these solve, and many that they cause.

Most "dental" chews and treats. The ones that actually reduce plaque are a short list, and vets can name them. Everything else is sugar and marketing.

A note on quality vs quantity in month one

The temptation in the first week is to overbuy — to outfit the animal entirely before they arrive, with the right versions of everything. Resist it. What you want in month one is the smallest possible kit, made of decent objects, with room to add as you learn.

A pet in a half-empty house with four good things is not deprived. A pet in a full house with forty mediocre things is not better cared-for. They are the same animal, adjusting to a new life, and they will sleep well in both — but in the first house, you will know by month two exactly what you need to add.