Key Takeaways
- Register with a vet before or immediately after bringing your pet home.
- Core vaccinations protect against serious, often fatal diseases and follow a timed schedule.
- Flea, tick, and worm prevention needs to run year-round, not just in summer.
- Life-stage appropriate food and correct portion sizes prevent many long-term health problems.
- Knowing your pet's normal behaviour is the fastest way to spot illness early.
Start here
Registering with a vet
Next
Vaccinations and preventive care
Then
Parasite control
Build on this
Nutrition basics
When you're ready
Recognising early signs of illness
Registering with a vet
Finding a veterinary practice before your pet arrives, or within days of bringing them home, removes a lot of stress later. You will want someone familiar with your animal's baseline health long before any problem appears.
At a first appointment, a vet will weigh your pet, check teeth, eyes, ears, and coat condition, listen to the heart and lungs, and discuss vaccination history. This visit also gives you a chance to ask about microchipping, which is a legal requirement for dogs in most US states and is strongly recommended for cats. A microchip is a small implant placed under the skin that carries a unique ID number linked to your contact details on a national registry.
Keeping those registry details current matters as much as the chip itself. If your pet is lost and scanned at a shelter, out-of-date contact information makes the chip useless. See our guide to annual wellness exams for a full breakdown of what happens at routine vet visits and how to prepare.
Core vaccine
A vaccination recommended for all pets of a given species, regardless of lifestyle, because the disease it targets is serious, widespread, or poses a risk to people.
Microchip
A tiny implant, about the size of a grain of rice, placed under a pet's skin. It carries a unique ID number that can be read by a scanner and linked back to the owner's contact details on a registry.
Complete and balanced
A label term meaning a pet food meets the nutrient profiles established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) for a specific life stage.
Obligate carnivore
An animal that must eat meat to survive because its body cannot make certain nutrients from plant sources. Cats are obligate carnivores; dogs are not.
Heartworm prevention
A monthly medication given to dogs (and sometimes cats) that kills heartworm larvae transmitted by mosquito bites before they mature into adult worms in the heart and lungs.
Life stage food
Pet food formulated for a specific phase of an animal's life, such as puppy, adult, or senior, because nutritional requirements change significantly as animals grow and age.
Vaccinations and preventive care
Vaccinations protect pets from diseases that spread easily and can be fatal. For dogs, core vaccines typically cover distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus, and rabies. For cats, the standard set covers feline herpesvirus, calicivirus, panleukopenia, and rabies. Rabies vaccination is required by law in most US states for both dogs and cats.
Puppies and kittens receive a series of shots starting at around six to eight weeks of age because maternal antibodies from the mother gradually fade during those early weeks. The timing of each dose in the series matters. Gaps in the schedule can leave a young animal unprotected. Your vet will give you a written record to keep.
Beyond vaccines, spaying or neutering is something most vets recommend unless you plan to breed responsibly. It reduces the risk of certain cancers and eliminates the risk of conditions like pyometra, a life-threatening uterine infection in unspayed females. Discuss the right timing with your vet, as recommendations vary by species, size, and breed.
Parasite control
Parasites split into two broad groups: external (fleas, ticks, mites) and internal (roundworms, tapeworms, heartworm). Both groups affect your pet's comfort and health, and some can also affect people in the household.
Fleas reproduce fast. A single flea can lay up to 50 eggs a day, and most of those eggs end up in your carpet, bedding, and furniture rather than on your pet. Once an infestation takes hold, eliminating it takes weeks. Regular preventive treatment is far easier than clearing an active problem.
Ticks carry diseases including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Tick risk varies by region, so your vet will guide you on local prevalence and whether tick prevention is a year-round or seasonal priority for your area.
Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes and can be life-threatening, particularly for dogs. Monthly heartworm prevention is widely recommended across the US. Internal worms are treated separately, and routine deworming is especially important for puppies and kittens. Keep a written record of all treatments given, including dates and product types, so your vet can track what has been used.
Nutrition basics
Food labelled as "complete and balanced" for your pet's life stage means it meets established nutrient profiles. A puppy or kitten food contains higher levels of protein, fat, and certain minerals than an adult formula, which reflects how much energy and tissue-building young animals need.
Portion sizes matter. Overfeeding is one of the most common mistakes new owners make, because a pet that looks slightly round can appear healthy. Obesity in pets increases the risk of joint problems, diabetes, and heart disease. Use the feeding guide on the packaging as a starting point, then adjust based on body condition rather than the amount your pet seems to want.
Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they cannot synthesise certain nutrients (including taurine) that dogs and humans can. A cat fed only dog food will develop serious nutritional deficiencies over time. For households with multiple species, keeping food separate avoids accidental cross-feeding.
Track portions by body condition, not appetite
Your pet's food guide gives a starting range, but body condition is a more accurate guide than that range alone. You should be able to feel your pet's ribs without pressing hard, but not see them prominently. If you are unsure, ask your vet to score your pet's body condition at the next visit.
This article provides general health information for educational purposes. Always consult a qualified veterinarian for advice specific to your pet's health needs.
Recognising early signs of illness
The most useful thing you can do in your pet's first weeks at home is learn what normal looks like for that individual animal. Note their usual appetite, energy level, stool consistency, water intake, and sleep patterns. Changes from that baseline are what signal a problem.
Signs worth contacting your vet about include: appetite loss lasting more than 24 hours, persistent vomiting or diarrhoea, unusual lethargy, laboured breathing, straining to urinate, or any sudden change in behaviour. Young animals and older pets decompensate faster than healthy adults, so err toward calling your vet sooner rather than waiting.
If you have a new puppy, socialisation and health are closely connected because stress and under-stimulation can suppress immune function in young animals. As your pet ages, their health needs will shift; caring for a senior pet covers what to watch for in later life stages. For emergencies, having a plan ready before anything goes wrong is far better than searching in a panic; our pet first aid checklist walks you through what to prepare.