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Puppy and Kitten Exams

When you bring home a new puppy or kitten, it’s essential to bring them in right away so that we can do a full exam, and get your ready for a long, healthy life together! We recommend setting up an appointment for your puppy or kitten as soon as you bring your new pet home. During your first visit, we’ll perform a complete physical exam, discuss pet nutrition, socialization, house training, and behavioral training. We will initiate disease and parasite prevention protocols as well as create a personalized vaccination schedule to meet the exact needs of your puppy or kitten. We want to partner with you to ensure your pet is in good health and starts down the fast track to a long and healthy life.

Pet Vaccinations

Vaccinations are essential to protect your pet against major infectious diseases. The vaccinations are given every 3 to 4 weeks in a series of three and usually begin around eight weeks of age and end around 16 weeks of age.

Dogs: Canine Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, Parvo Virus, Bordetella, and Rabies.

Cats: Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia, Feline Leukemia (as kittens and for outdoor cats) and Rabies.

Keeping your pet on a strict vaccination schedule will keep them protected from diseases they can commonly come in contact with in public.

Intestinal Parasites

Parasite prevention is not only crucial for the health of your pet, but it’s also vital for the health of your entire family. That is because some parasites are zoonotic, which means they can infect both animals and people. Common intestinal parasites in both dogs and cats include roundworms, tapeworms, whipworms, hookworms, coccidia, and Giardia. Most of these intestinal parasites are not overtly visible in feces. Please bring in a fresh stool sample (that is less than 6 hours old) at the time of your first visit so that we can test for intestinal parasites by microscopic analysis in our laboratory.

Fleas & Ticks

It is wise to begin flea and tick control before you have a problem! Prevention is much easier than dealing with a flea or tick infested animal, home or yard. There are many safe, effective treatments, both oral and topical, available through your veterinarian. We will help you choose the most effective treatment for your pet.

Heartworm Disease In Dogs

This deadly disease is carried by mosquitoes and is transmitted to your pet through a bite. We recommend annual Heartworm testing starting at six months of age and monthly Heartworm prevention.

Feline Leukemia and FIV Testing in Cats

We recommend a simple blood test for the Feline Leukemia Virus and Feline Immunodeficiency virus in your kitten at around 12 weeks of age.

Microchipping

Microchips are the only form of permanent pet identification. A microchip is approximately the size of a grain of rice that is injected beneath your pet’s skin. The microchip is registered to you, the owner, and will help with identification if your pet is ever lost.

Spay and Neuter

We recommend this surgery be done at six months of age, but please note that all pets are different. Visit our SSN (Simply Spay or Neuter) program of OC for further details.