Bringing Home a Puppy or Kitten: A Veterinarian’s Complete First-Year Guide

By Dr. Jivitesh Singh, B.V.Sc & A.H.

The first year of a puppy’s or kitten’s life is the most important. What happens in these early months shapes their health, behaviour, and wellbeing for years to come. It is also the period when new pet owners feel the most overwhelmed and the most uncertain.

This guide covers everything you need to know — from the day you bring them home to their first birthday.

Before They Arrive: Set Up for Success

Before your new pet comes home, prepare the space:

• A safe, quiet area to decompress in — a crate or pen for puppies, a separate room for kittens. New environments are overwhelming for young animals.
• Food and water bowls — stainless steel or ceramic are easiest to clean and do not harbour bacteria the way plastic does.
• Age-appropriate food — buy a complete food labelled for puppies or kittens before they arrive. Do not switch food suddenly in the first week; ask what they were eating before and transition gradually.
• A vet appointment booked within the first week — even if they seem healthy. This establishes a baseline and gets vaccines and deworming on schedule immediately.

The First Vet Visit: What to Expect

Your vet will do a full physical examination — checking weight, heart, lungs, eyes, ears, skin, and abdomen. They will also:

• Check for parasites — intestinal worms are extremely common in young animals, often passed from the mother
• Start or continue the vaccine series
• Discuss deworming and flea prevention
• Talk about microchipping — ideally done at this visit
• Discuss spaying or neutering — the right age depends on species, breed, and sex

Bring a fresh stool sample if you can — it allows your vet to check for intestinal parasites immediately.

Feeding Your Puppy or Kitten

Young animals have very different nutritional needs from adults. They are growing rapidly and need more calories, more protein, and specific nutrient ratios to support bone and organ development.

Always feed a food labelled specifically for puppies or kittens — or labelled for all life stages. Adult food does not meet their growth requirements.

Feeding schedule:

• 8–12 weeks: 4 meals per day
• 3–6 months: 3 meals per day
• 6 months onwards: 2 meals per day

Measure portions according to the feeding guide on the packaging and adjust based on your vet’s advice and your pet’s body condition. Puppies and kittens should feel solid and rounded but you should still be able to feel their ribs with light pressure.

Vaccination Schedule in the First Year

Vaccines are essential and time-sensitive in the first year. Young animals receive some immunity from their mother’s milk, but this fades between 6 and 16 weeks — leaving a window of vulnerability.

Puppy schedule:

• 6–8 weeks: DHPPi (distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, parainfluenza)
• 10–12 weeks: DHPPi booster + Leptospirosis
• 14–16 weeks: Final puppy DHPPi + Rabies
• 12–16 months: First adult booster

Kitten schedule:

• 6–8 weeks: FVRCP (herpesvirus, calicivirus, panleukopenia)
• 10–12 weeks: FVRCP booster + FeLV if recommended
• 14–16 weeks: Final kitten FVRCP + Rabies
• 12–16 months: First adult booster

Important: Your puppy or kitten is not fully protected until two weeks after their final vaccine in the series. Until then, avoid dog parks, contact with unknown animals, and areas with high animal traffic.

Socialisation: The Window You Cannot Miss

Between 3 and 14 weeks in puppies (and 2 to 7 weeks in kittens), the brain is in a critical period for learning what is safe in the world. Positive exposure during this window shapes temperament for life. Missing it can lead to fear and anxiety that is very difficult to reverse later.

For puppies, safely expose them to:

• Different people — men, women, children, people with hats or uniforms
• Different sounds — traffic, thunder recordings, household appliances
• Different surfaces — grass, gravel, stairs, tiles
• Gentle handling of paws, ears, and mouth (essential for future vet visits and grooming)
• Other vaccinated, friendly dogs

For kittens:

• Handling by different people from the first weeks of life
• Different rooms and textures in the home
• Gentle play with toys — not hands, which teaches biting
• The carrier — leave it out as a resting place so it is not associated only with vet trips

Socialisation does not mean overwhelming your pet. It means calm, positive, short exposures with plenty of reassurance.

Deworming and Parasite Prevention

Intestinal worms — roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms — are almost universal in young animals. Many are passed from mother to offspring before or after birth. Some are transmissible to humans, including children.

Standard deworming schedule:

• Every 2 weeks from 2 weeks of age until 12 weeks
• Monthly from 12 weeks to 6 months
• Every 3 months for life after that (more frequently for animals with outdoor access)

Start flea prevention early — fleas can cause anaemia in small kittens and puppies, and they carry tapeworm larvae. Ask your vet for a product appropriate for your pet’s age and weight — many products are not safe for very young animals.

Teething, Chewing, and Scratching

Puppies start losing their baby teeth at around 3–4 months. During this time they need to chew — it is not bad behaviour, it is biology. Provide appropriate chew toys and redirect immediately when they chew furniture or hands. Never punish — just redirect calmly and consistently.

Kittens scratch instinctively to sharpen claws, stretch muscles, and mark territory. Provide scratching posts from day one, placed near where they sleep and next to furniture they are drawn to. Reward use of the post with treats. Declawing is painful, causes long-term complications, and is banned or discouraged in most countries — it is never necessary with proper environmental setup.

Spaying and Neutering: The Facts

This is one of the most common topics in a first-year vet consultation. Here is an honest overview:

Benefits of spaying females:

• Eliminates risk of uterine infections (pyometra) — a life-threatening emergency in intact females
• Dramatically reduces risk of mammary tumours if done before the first heat
• Prevents unwanted pregnancies

Benefits of neutering males:

• Reduces roaming, aggression, and urine marking
• Eliminates risk of testicular cancer
• Reduces risk of prostate disease

Timing: Generally recommended at 5–6 months for cats, and 6–12 months for dogs depending on breed and size. Large breed dogs benefit from waiting until skeletal maturity. Discuss the right timing for your individual pet with your vet.

Common First-Year Health Issues

Diarrhoea — very common during diet transitions, stress, or after deworming. Usually resolves within 24–48 hours. If it contains blood, persists beyond 48 hours, or your pet seems lethargic — call your vet.

Upper respiratory infections in kittens — sneezing, eye discharge, and nasal congestion are common, especially in kittens from shelters or multi-cat environments. Usually viral and managed supportively, but needs veterinary assessment.

Parvovirus in puppies — sudden onset of severe vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, and collapse in unvaccinated puppies. A genuine emergency. If you see this, go to a vet immediately — do not wait.

Ear mites — common in kittens, causing dark crumbly discharge and head shaking. Easily treated once diagnosed.

The Bottom Line

The first year goes fast. Invest time in vet visits, proper nutrition, socialisation, and parasite prevention now — and you lay the foundation for a healthy, confident, well-adjusted animal for the next decade or more.

When in doubt, call your vet. There is no such thing as a silly question when it comes to a new puppy or kitten.

Dr. Jivitesh Singh, B.V.Sc & A.H. is a qualified veterinarian dedicated to helping pet owners give their animals the best possible start in life. Follow for more practical, evidence-based pet health content.