Care & Guidance for Your Pet's First Year
When you decide to bring a puppy or kitten into your family, it can be very rewarding. Your new fluffy family member is sure to bring joy to everyone that meets them.
It is important to remember that as fun as it may be you will need to provide your new pet with the care that will help support their lifelong health.
Your vet will develop a custom health care plan for your pet's unique needs during their first year, and provide you with the guidance you may need as your new pet grows!
Your Pet’s First Appointment
Puppies and kittens should have their first veterinary appointment between six and eight weeks of age.
Our vets will use this initial visit to complete a physical examination assessing their overall health while looking for signs of any congenital defects and checking for external parasites.
We will also review your new pet’s vaccination requirements as well as prescribe deworming medication for intestinal parasites. Other preventive medications will also be discussed at this visit.
We may perform routine blood work on kittens during this first visit to check for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus.
Follow-Up Appointments
Your puppy or kitten will require additional appointments at three to four-week intervals until they reach approximately 16 weeks of age.
Puppy & Kitten Information Packs
While the experience of raising a puppy or kitten is exciting, it is also a large responsibility.
To help you navigate your puppy or kitten's first year of life our vets are here to provide any information that you may need.
Our Kitten and Puppy information packs contain everything you'll need to know about your pet’s early development, including:
- A vaccination and medical care schedule
- Information on spaying and neutering your pet
- Information on common medical problems such as heartworm disease and feline leukemia
- Tips for how to socialize your puppy or kitten with animals and people, including pets already living in your home
- Basic puppy training guidelines
- Nutrition information
Our veterinary team is here to answer any questions or address any concerns that you may have about the care of your new pet.