Take a healthy adult dog or cat to the vet at least once a year for a full exam. Senior pets should go twice a year. Puppies and kittens need a visit every few weeks until their vaccine series is done, usually around 16 weeks old. Any chronic condition or long-term medication means your vet will set a tighter schedule.
The yearly minimum comes from the AAHA and AVMA canine preventive healthcare guidelines: all dogs should have a veterinary exam at least annually, and many benefit from more. For cats, the 2021 AAHA/AAFP feline life stage guidelines recommend a minimum of annual exams and at least every six months for seniors. AAHA's senior care guidelines also call for a medical workup, usually bloodwork and a urine test, once or twice a year for older dogs and cats.
How often to go to the vet, by life stage#
| Pet |
How often |
What the visits cover |
| Puppy or kitten |
Every 2 to 4 weeks until the vaccine series ends, around 16 weeks |
Vaccine series, deworming, parasite prevention, growth, microchip, spay or neuter planning |
| Healthy adult |
Once a year |
Full exam, booster vaccines, parasite plan, dental check, weight |
| Senior |
Every 6 months |
The above, plus screening bloodwork and urine tests, mobility, behavior changes |
| Chronic illness or long-term medication |
As your vet sets, sometimes every few months |
Monitoring and repeat lab work |
| Newly adopted, any age |
Within the first week or two |
Baseline exam, records check, catch-up vaccines, microchip scan |
When is a dog or cat a senior?#
There isn't one birthday for dogs. AAHA defines a senior dog as one in the last 25% of its estimated lifespan, and lifespan depends heavily on breed and size, so a giant breed gets there years before a Chihuahua. Cats are simpler: the feline guidelines count them as seniors once they're over 10. Even so, plenty of 12-year-old cats are in better shape than some 8-year-olds. Ask your vet to tell you when your pet moves into the senior stage, and switch to twice-yearly visits then.
Why every six months? Dogs and cats age much faster than we do, so a year between exams in an older pet covers a lot of change. Kidney disease, thyroid problems, diabetes, arthritis and dental disease all get more common with age, and most of them are easier to manage when they're caught early. Six-monthly bloodwork lets the vet compare trends instead of a single snapshot.
Why cats get missed#
Cats are easy to fall behind with, partly because the carrier is a fight and partly because they hide illness well. The early signs are easy to write off as "just getting older": sleeping more, jumping less, a scruffier coat because grooming hurts, drinking more water, or peeing outside the box. Bigger urine clumps in the litter are worth noticing too (our litter box guide covers what to watch for). A quiet cat isn't necessarily a fine cat.
Dogs hide pain too, just differently. Slowing on walks, hesitating at stairs or the car, and stiffness getting up are all worth mentioning.
What happens at a wellness exam#
The vet weighs your pet and checks body condition, then goes nose to tail: eyes, ears, mouth and teeth, skin and coat, lymph nodes, heart and lungs, belly, joints. They'll ask about appetite, thirst, toileting, behavior and exercise. Then they decide what's due: vaccines, parasite prevention, any blood, urine, stool or heartworm tests.
The teeth deserve a mention. A dental assessment is part of the full exam in the AAHA and AVMA preventive guidelines, and that matters because periodontal disease is active below the gumline, where you can't see it at home. If the vet recommends a dental cleaning under anesthesia, ask what they saw and what happens if you wait.
Getting the most out of the visit#
- Write down your questions before you go. It's easy to forget them in the exam room.
- Note anything that's changed: appetite, water intake, weight, energy, toilet habits, coughing, limping, lumps.
- Take a video of anything odd that happens at home (a cough, a limp, a strange episode). It rarely happens on cue at the clinic.
- Bring a list of everything your pet takes, including supplements and the name of their food.
- Bring the flea and tick product box, or a photo of the label.
- Ask whether they want a stool or urine sample, and how to collect it.
For a pet who hates the vet, leave the carrier out at home with a blanket in it so it isn't a signal that something bad is coming. Short practice car trips help. Ask the clinic about quieter appointment times, waiting in the car, or whether your vet would prescribe something to calm a very anxious pet before visits. Don't use anything they haven't prescribed.
Regular handling at home makes exams easier too. A dog used to having its feet, ears and mouth touched during grooming copes much better on the exam table.
Symptoms that shouldn't wait for the next checkup#
Go to a vet or emergency clinic straight away for:
- trouble breathing, or breathing with the mouth open (in a cat, always an emergency)
- collapse, seizures or sudden weakness
- a cat straining in the litter box with little or nothing coming out
- a swollen, tight belly, especially with unproductive retching in a dog
- suspected poisoning (bring the packaging)
- heavy bleeding or a major injury
- repeated vomiting or diarrhea, especially in a young, small or old animal
Call on the way so the clinic can prepare.
Book an appointment within a few days for less urgent changes: eating less, weight loss you didn't plan, drinking or peeing more, a new lump, a cough that doesn't settle, limping, red or cloudy eyes, ear discharge or head shaking, or a change in behavior.
Never give human medicine without your vet's say-so. Several common painkillers are toxic to pets, and cats are especially sensitive.
Keeping track#
At the end of each visit, ask what's due next and when: the next exam, vaccine boosters, any recheck, and when prescriptions run out. Your vet's reminder system is useful, but it's tied to one clinic. If you move or switch vets, your own record is the one that follows your pet.
Putting the annual or six-monthly exam into ChoreLists.com as a recurring task, with booster dates and refills alongside, keeps the whole household on the same schedule. Review the flea and tick plan at the same visit so a lapsed product doesn't slip through.