You want to adopt that beautiful kitten from the shelter, but they tell you you need a "house check". You either start to scrub your floors, or you become angry and tell them they have no right to come to your house to "check" it. But you don't need to do either!

Every rescue group and animal shelter has a different policy and different questions that they ask, but here are some of the good reasons to agree to a house check:

• An outside professional person will be able to instantly spot potential trouble spots - loose cables that could be chewed, steep stairs where a younger animal could fall, holes in the fence, etc.
• The house checker should talk with you about how to help your new animal adapt to his new environment.
• If this is your first time adopting this kind of animal, the house checker can provide you with invaluable advice about nutrition, exercise, litter boxes, bedding, introduction to the family, and overall socialization of the animal.
• The house checker is ideally available for you to call after the adoption in case you have questions or problems.