Our kitten wellness program sets the stage for a healthy life, addressing everything from screening for birth defects to potty training. As with all phases of our preventive medicine program, we tailor our recommendations to your kitten’s individual needs.

Your kitten should have his (her) first visit with us at around 6 weeks of age for a thorough physical exam, and end his (her) kitten visits at around 6 months with neuter (or spay) surgery. During that time we will cover:

• Normal growth and development
• Nutrition
• Vaccination
• Deworming and parasite prevention
• Flea control
• House training and general training techniques

At your kitten’s exam we will check for normal growth and development. We will discuss their nutritional needs.

Our vaccine protocol centers on the distemper combination vaccine, and rabies vaccination. The distemper vaccine protects against distemper, a deadly diarrhea disease in kittens, and 3 causes of the common respiratory infections that plague felines. We will discuss testing for two serious viruses unique to cats, the feline leukemia virus, and the feline AIDS virus. As long as they test negative, we are able to vaccinate against the leukemia virus, which is the more common (and more deadly) of the two. Rabies is a deadly viral nervous system infection that people can catch. Simple, easy, inexpensive vaccination protects against what could otherwise be a disaster!

Deworming starts at your kitten’s first visit with us. The most common intestinal parasites, (roundworms and hookworms) can survive for up to 10 years in soil. Roundworms and hookworms have baby stages that are infectious to people! For all these reasons, we recommend deworming your kitten at each vaccine booster appointment. We will then discuss their level of exposure, and appropriate follow-up deworming base on their individual needs. This deworming can often be done in conjunction with flea prevention if needed.

Finally, we will talk about litter training, and generally teaching your kitten to be an enjoyable member of your household. We want to help you set the stage for having a good companion for many years to come.