Our San Diego vets provide guidance, advice, and the highest quality of veterinary care during your puppy or kitten's critical first year of life.

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Caring for Puppies & Kittens

It's exciting to welcome a new kitten or puppy into your home! As your loving, playful new companion, your newest family member is sure to add something special to your household.

Whether this is your first time or not, it's important to make sure that your puppy or kitten receives supportive and preventive veterinary care during their first year of life.

Your vet will develop a custom health care plan to meet your pet's specific needs during their first year, and provide you with plenty of support and guidance along the way!

Puppies & Kittens, San Diego Veterinarians

Your Pet’s First Appointment

Ideally, puppies should have their first veterinary appointment around six weeks of age, and kittens around eight weeks.

During this initial visit, your pet will be thoroughly examined by the veterinarian to assess their overall health, look for signs of any congenital defects, and check for external parasites.

More About Physical Exams

We will also administer the first round of kitten or puppy vaccinations, as well as deworming medications for roundworms and hookworms.

More About Vaccines & Prevention

For kittens, we will perform a blood test to check for feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus.

Follow-up Appointments

Puppies and kittens should attend 3 to 4 veterinary appointments between the ages of 6 and 16 weeks. These visits allow our vets to assess your pet's overall health and to administer vaccines on schedule.

Puppy & Kitten Information Packs

Introducing a new puppy or kitten into your home comes with a lot of new responsibilities.

To help you navigate your puppy or kitten's first year, our team provides plenty of guidance, support, and helpful information.

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
  • Information on common medical problems (e.g. heartworm disease, feline leukemia, zoonosis)
  • Tips socializing your puppy or kitten with animals and people
  • Basic puppy training guidelines
  • Nutrition information

Our vets are happy to answer any questions you may have. We want to make sure that you and your puppy or kitten have everything you need to begin a wonderful life together!

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