Puppy and Kitten Care

There is nothing more exciting than bringing a new puppy or kitten into your home. They add energy and fun and are a source of unceasing affection as they bond with you and your family.

However, they also require a little extra attention to ensure they get a good, healthy start at life. This means that comprehensive physical exams at key developmental stages are important as well as time- and veterinarian-tested advice on housebreaking and training.

Perhaps your very first visit to your veterinarian with your new puppy or kitten is the most important. These initial visits are where client, doctor and animal first meet and begin to form the relationship that will last for the life of your pet. Therefore, we like to take our time with these visits to give your puppy or kitten a thorough exam, talk with you about concerns you may have, offer health care and training advice, and more.

Your puppy's first visit will last about 40 minutes and will include:

• Diet discussion, including types of food to feed, balancing the diet for clients opting to feed raw or home-prepared diets, and guidelines on feeding intervals and quantities
• Housetraining discussion
• Behavior discussion
• Spaying and neutering—Is this best for my dog? What are the consequences of spaying/neutering too early and what should I expect if I don't want to spay or neuter my dog? If I decide to spay/neuter, when is the best time to have this done?
• Formulation of a minimal, individualized vaccine protocol. (Additional fees apply to each vaccine. Typically, no more than one vaccine is given per puppy visit.)
• Discussion on pet health insurance. Should I get pet health insurance? What should I look for in a company?
• Microchipping. Should I get this done? When is the best time to do this? (An additional fee applies for microchip placement. This fee is reduced if the patient is under anesthesia for another procedure.)
• Heartworm preventive—A free sample is provided at the first puppy visit for all puppies 25lb and under.
• Fecal exam for worms and other intestinal parasites (An additional fee applies.)
• Complete physical exam which includes detection of potential congenital problems.
• Anything else you want to discuss! This is your new puppy and we know you have many questions! This is why we set aside 40 minutes for you to meet with the doctor.

Your kitten's first visit will last about 30 minutes and include:

• Diet discussion, including types of food that are best for cats' unique requirements.
• Litter and litter boxes
• Behavioral issues
• Spaying and neutering—When is the best time?
• Declawing—Should I or shouldn't I?
• Formulation of a minimal, individualized vaccine protocol. (Additional fees apply to each vaccine. Typically, no more than one vaccine is given per kitten visit.)
• Discussion of pet health insurance. Should I get pet health insurance? What should I look for in a company?
• Microchipping for cats going outdoors. Should I get this done? When is the best time to do this? (An additional fee applies for microchip placement. This fee is reduced if the patient is under anesthesia for another procedure.)
• Fecal exam for worms and other intestinal parasites (An additional fee applies.)
• Testing for Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) (An additional fee applies.)
• Complete physical exam which includes detection of potential congenital problems.