It’s Springtime – and that means it’s time for a ton of new kitten visits. Even if you are already months into the new kitten party, it never hurts to revisit the basics because there are frequent detours on the road to success.
How Often To Take Your Kitten To the Vet
For any new kitten, even if it’s older, you should expect more than one visit to the veterinarian in the first few months. ?Anyone with a new kitten should expect to go at least every 3-4 weeks until they are somewhere between four and six months old depending on the animal and the plan you and your vet layout for the health needs of your unique new friend.
Bring a Fecal Sample
After you remember to collect that fresh fecal sample about the size of your thumb for the veterinarian to test for parasites, make a list of topics you want to address when you head out to the clinic with your cat.
Come Prepared With Questions
With any new pet, there are situations and questions that can come up at home that are special to this animal and your house. By coming to the visit prepared with questions written down you can be a great advocate for this animal and get your vet’s expert advice on the most pressing topics to keep everyone on track.
Some common questions or ideas for new kittens you might want to think about prior to heading in for a routine wellness visit are listed below. Not all of these will be appropriate to your situation or the most pressing topics that you want to cover.
Bring in a notebook and pen to jot down some answers because it is impossible to remember all the information that could flow your way.
Take the pamphlets or business cards and put them in a secure place. Your pet health care team has been thinking about this stuff for years so they likely can rattle the answers off faster than you can commit those answers to memory.
I like to use a composition notebook for each of my pets so I can keep all the information from home and the clinic synched up. I write down dates with questions or situations that come up as well as taping in vaccination records, trainer notes, medications or whatever I think maybe handy to remember in the future.
Cat and Kitten Topics
- Plan for vaccines, fleas, heartworm, parasite control, and when you should schedule your next preventative care visit.
- Insurance-Which companies do this clinic work well with and why. Any favorites?
- Recommendations on housesitter, kennel, groomer, trainer, emergency clinic.
- Basic grooming tips for nails, ears, hair management.
- Common challenges with cat proofing in the home: for example plants, poisons, electrical cords, tinsel, and more.
- Litterbox success strategies.
- How is it going with current household residents and what is the plan going forward?
- Scratching post tips and tricks.
- Behavior challenges could include scratching, biting, mouthing to name a few.
- Identification: collars tags and microchips.
- Plans for spay and neutering
- Appropriate toys.
- When and how to call or bring the pet in if you suspect a health problem.
- Planning for great future vet visits and car rides (this can be challenging for cats).
- Food and feeding strategies. How to work this out with other housemates’ nutritional plans.
These topics are meant to get you thinking about how you can use your time most effectively at the vet’s office. The ones at the top of this list are typically the more pressing issues at the first few visits for kittens, but that depends on many factors that are unique to your pet and household.
Don’t spend time on the stuff that you already have all worked out and add feel free to add in any agenda items that are pressing but might not be on the list. Most of all, try to relax and make the visit as fun for you and your animal as possible. Your vet wants you to succeed!
