Building Lifelong Health for Puppies and Kittens
First of all – congratulations! It is important to begin your four-legged family member’s life with health and happiness in mind. Puppies and kittens require examinations, vaccinations, and diagnostics specialized for early and critical years of life. We will also discuss services such as spay-neuter and microchipping to benefit your new loved one.
Caring for Your New Puppy or Kitten
Physical Examinations
Between 6-16 weeks of age, we recommend that your puppy or kitten have 3-4 physical exams. These exams provide a baseline of health and allow your veterinarian to assess overall wellness and administer necessary vaccinations.
Vaccinations
Puppies and kittens have immature immune systems, making them more susceptible to illness and disease. Vaccinations are administered in a properly staged series. Each puppy and kitten is different, therefore our recommendations are tailored to their lifestyle and breed.
Diagnostics
At 7 months of age, puppies should be tested for heartworm. During a kitten’s first visit, we recommend feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus testing if not previously done. All new puppies and kittens should have a stool sample checked at the first visit to ensure they are clear of intestinal parasites.
Spay/Neuter Procedure
Spay and neuter are minor procedures that will benefit you as well as your pet. (“Spay” is the term for female patients, and “Neuter” is for male patients.) This procedure allows your pet to live a longer and healthier life. Meanwhile, you will experience less troubles associated with natural sexual instinct, pregnancy, and heat periods. At Lakewood Animal Hospital, our team is highly experienced to perform spay and neuter procedures and ensure your pet is safe and comfortable from the moment they are dropped off until the moment they go home.
Spaying: a surgical removal of the ovaries and uterus
- Prevents unwanted pregnancies
- Eliminates messy, problematic bleeding and heat cycles
- Decreases the urge to roam
- Reduces the probability of mammary or uterine cancer
- Resolves the risk of pyometra (life-threatening uterine infection)
- Decreases aggressive behaviors and mood changes
- Can create a better companion for you and your family
Neutering: surgical removal of the testicles
- Decreases aggressive behaviors
- Eliminates life-threatening testicular cancer
- Reduces probability of prostate issues
- Decreases the urge to roam
- Encourages longevity
- Can create a better companion for you and your family
Microchipping
Microchipping provides a lifetime of identification if you and your pet are ever separated. With your contact information registered to the ID number embedded in the microchip, you and your pet can be reunited! While collars and ID tags are helpful and encouraged, they are not foolproof. These forms of identification commonly fall off, get lost, or removed. For the protection of your pet, we recommend using both forms of identification.
Since the needle required to place the microchip is pretty big, the best time to have a microchip placed is when your pet is anesthetized for their spay/neuter surgery or dental procedure for teeth cleaning. However, we can still place a microchip in an awake patient if needed. The microchip is about the size of a grain of rice and is implanted between the shoulder blades, much like a routine vaccination.
