The first-week health check does two jobs at once. It gives a veterinary professional an early look at a kitten who has just changed homes, diet, and routine all at once, and it gives you a structured chance to ask the questions that pile up in the first days with a very small animal. Most kittens take it in their stride, especially when the appointment stays calm and unhurried.
How the Examination Usually Runs
She will be weighed first, and that number matters more than it might seem: a kitten's weight is a clear early signal of whether she is thriving, and it becomes the baseline every later visit is compared with. The vet will listen to her heart and lungs with a stethoscope, feeling for rhythm and clarity while she sits or stands on the table. Her temperature may be taken, her tummy gently felt, and her joints and limbs checked as she moves.
The head gets careful attention at this age. Eyes are checked for clarity, discharge, and how they are developing; ears are looked into for debris or signs of mites; and the mouth is opened so the vet can see teeth coming through, gum colour, and the palate, confirming it is fully formed. Her coat and skin are examined closely, parted in places, because fleas and other parasites are far easier to spot on a small body under good light than at home. The vet will also confirm her sex, something worth verifying in writing at this age, and ask to see any umbilical area or healing sites if she is very young.
The Conversation Around the Examination
Expect questions aimed at you as much as at her. How much is she eating, and what exactly — the food she came home on, or something new? How are her stools and litter tray use? How is she sleeping, playing, and coping with handling and household noise? Your answers from a week of living with her tell the vet how the transition is really going.
Parasite cover is a discussion topic in its own right. The vet will review what the breeder or rescue recorded as already given, explain what they recommend discussing for her situation — indoors or outdoors, other pets at home — and agree what happens next and when. Questions about her vaccination course are entirely appropriate at this visit: what she has had, what the course involves from here, and how visits will be spaced. Ask them openly; a good practice would rather explain the plan fully than have you leave unsure, and the agreed plan belongs in her record either way.
What to Bring and What to Ask
Take every scrap of paperwork that came with her: vaccination or treatment cards, microchip details if she has one, food information, and the rescue or breeder's notes. Add your own list — feeding amounts, litter questions, night-time crying, interaction with resident pets, safe rooms, and anything about her behaviour that has surprised you. No question about a kitten in her first week is too small for this appointment, because small questions answered early prevent small problems growing.
Also ask what should prompt you to call sooner than planned. A kitten who goes off her food, becomes unusually sleepy, has persistent loose stools, sneezes repeatedly, or seems to fade rather than flourish should be discussed promptly rather than saved up for a routine slot.
Starting the Record You Will Use for Years
Leave with the findings written down: her weight, anything noted on examination, what was agreed about parasite cover and her vaccination course, and the date of the next visit. That page is the first entry in a record that will follow her through kittenhood and beyond. With KinsLe, today's weight and agreed dates can be entered into Pet Passport straight away, giving every later visit a starting point to measure her against.