Puppy & Kitten Care First steps to the best life. Request Appointment

What love deserves The first year of your puppy or kitten's life is so exciting for both you and your pet. It's important to be prepared for all the changes a new animal brings into the house! With this in mind, Covina Animal Hospital provides you with the veterinary care and first-year advice you need to ensure a safe and happy home for you and your new family member.

Ensuring the best life Longer, Happier Lives Nurturing a better future In general, puppies and kittens should be examined, dewormed, and vaccinated several times before they reach adulthood.

During your first puppy or kitten exam, your veterinarian will examine health status, vaccinate as needed, deworm as needed, and answer any training or behavioral questions you may have. Your technician will also be going over lots of valuable information, including parasite prevention, recommended toys, pet insurance, emergency hospital contact information, and much more. Before we give any vaccines, we will create a vaccine schedule tailored specifically for your pet. Our schedules are based on your pet's age and weight and follow the vaccination guidelines of the American Animal Hospital Association.

Vaccine Schedules Vaccinations are extremely important to protect your pet from harmful and potentially deadly diseases.

Puppies and kittens are born with a limited amount of immunity that they received from mom, and most of the time it wears off in just a few weeks. For this reason, we strongly recommend keeping your puppy within your own home and yard until all booster vaccines have been given. For kitties, we recommend keeping them indoors at all times.

Recommended Vaccines

The following core vaccines are included in all vaccine schedules at Covina Animal Hospital. Depending on your pet’s age at their first visit, the full schedule can take up to three months to complete.

Puppy Vaccines:

  • Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza
  • Parvovirus
  • Leptospirosis
  • Bordetella
  • Rabies

Kitten Vaccines:

  • Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, and Panleukopenia
  • Feline Leukemia
  • Rabies

Prior to starting kitten vaccines, we recommend viral testing for Feline Leukemia and Aids. It is important to know whether or not your kitten has been exposed to these virus before we begin vaccinating.

Medical Benefits Spay and neuter care for dogs and cats.
 Live long. Live well. The kind choice. At Covina Animal Hospital, our doctors always recommend spaying and neutering your pet when they have reached an appropriate age. By spaying or neutering your pet, you’ll help control the pet homelessness crisis, which results in millions of healthy dogs and cats being euthanized in the United States each year simply because there aren’t enough homes to go around. There are also medical and behavioral benefits to spaying (female) and neutering (male) dogs and cats.
  • Pets that have been spayed or neutered will statistically live a longer, healthier life.

    • Read More

Behavioral Benefits
  • Spayed and neutered pets are generally much more affectionate companions and are less likely to bite.
  • Neutered males are less likely to run away and get a hit by a car. Males will do just about anything to find a mate, which makes them more creative when trying to escape. They are also less likely to get into fights with other dogs/cats due to aggression and territorial issues.

    • Read More

"My pet will gain weight "- While there are hormonal changes that occur after removing the reproductive organs, the reason some pets gain weight after getting spayed or neutered is simply because they are being fed too many calories in a day. Just like with people, your pet's metabolism will slow with age and it's important to keep track of calories from food and any additional calories from treats, bones, or rawhides.

Read More

Common myths and misconceptions