Puppy & Kitten Care

Caring For Your New Puppy or Kitten

Bringing a new puppy or kitten into the family can be a joyous and happy occasion. In between gushing over the cuteness, the best thing you can do as a new pet parent is to ensure your new pet receives the timely care he or she needs to grow to be a healthy and happy adult pet.

Establishing a routine veterinary regime right away will support your pet in having a happy and healthy start to life. Just like human children, puppies and kittens need extra care for their growth and development during the first year. They will require frequent, scheduled visits to the veterinarian to ensure they are receiving all necessary services.

If you recently added a puppy or kitten to your family, consider the list of recommended veterinary services:

Spay/Neuter Surgery: Recommended for all companion animals that are not to be intentionally bred, the best time to spay or neuter your pet is before they reach sexual maturity due to behavioral and health reasons.

Microchipping: A quick and easy procedure, microchipping entails a small rice-sized chip implanted in between your pet’s shoulder blades and holds information that could return your pet if he or she is lost.

Vaccinations: Recommended by your veterinarian, vaccinations can protect pets from life-threatening diseases. Typically, vaccinations are spaced out in a series of separate appointments.

Spay/Neuter Procedure

Spaying involves the removal of the reproductive organs of a female pet, and neutering refers to the removal of the reproductive organs of a male pet. The main goal of a spay/neuter surgery is to prevent reproduction, but there are several other significant benefits associated with the procedure.

At Three Trails Animal Hospital, our highly-experienced veterinary surgeons are expertly trained to perform safe and effective spay and neuter surgeries. We recommend this procedure for all pets under our care that will not be purposefully and responsibly bred. Generally, we recommend pets be spayed or neutered between 5-12 months of age, or before they reach sexual maturity.

As with both spay and neuter surgeries, we will perform an extensive preoperative examination and blood panel to ensure your pet’s safety and health for anesthesia and surgery. Recovery typically simple and involves minimal aftercare.

Did you know pets that are spayed or neutered tend to be healthier, live longer, and behave better than pets that are not? Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of spay/neuter surgery:

• Spayed female pets have longer life expectancies. By removing the ovaries and uterus, there is a reduced risk for uterine infections, breast cancer, and other potentially life-threatening conditions. In fact, a female dog’s risk for breast cancer is reduced by 90% if she is spayed prior to her first heat period.
• Prevents testicular cancer in male pets. Testicular cancer can be fatal, and can also be easily prevented with a neuter procedure.
• Prevents females from going into heat. Cats and dogs can be extremely difficult to care for and manage during their first heat periods. Problem behaviors such as inappropriate urination and increased vocalization are common. (You may also notice male pets coming to your door.)
• Less frequent roaming in males. Unneutered male pets have a natural urge to seek out a female mate. As a result, they are more likely to run away from home or travel further distances. Neutered male pets will be less likely to wander and better, more loyal companion animals to you and your family.
• You save time and money. Unplanned litters are stressful and time-consuming to properly care for. It is also costly to provide appropriate veterinary care, resources, and attention to a litter of puppies or kittens, in addition to finding them good homes.

Microchipping

One in three pets in their lifetime will become lost. Sadly, the lost pets who are brought to animal shelters, animal hospitals, and police departments are oftentimes never reunited with their original families. No matter how careful you are, accidents can happen. Give your pet the best chance of finding you if they are ever lost by getting them microchipped.

Microchipped pets stand higher chances of being reunited with their families. When done by a skilled technician, the implantation of a microchip is a simple, quick, and relatively pain-free procedure, and is compared to a routine vaccination in terms of discomfort. The procedure takes mere seconds as a grain-of-rice sized chip is implanted between your pet’s shoulder blades.

The microchip will stay with your pet for life. Be sure to register your pet’s microchip in the national pet-finding database, HomeAgain, so that animal care professionals know where to find you. If you ever move or change phone numbers, it is vital you update your pet’s microchip information.

In the event of separating from your pet, all methods of identification are beneficial. For this reason, we highly recommend using collars and ID tags in addition to microchip identification.