When to take kitten to vet?

8 week old kitten.

When should my friend take it to the vet? She thinks it's too soon and they won't do anything. What will be done at this age and is it important?

its not too early in my opinion. i took my kitten when she was 7wks and she received her first set of shots, was dewormed,got tested for feline leukemia and an overall health exam. you dont really need to get the feline leukemia test unless there are other cats in the home. so my advice would be to call the vet first and ask if its too soon and if its not then take her now.

Misstoviah,

I have a difference of opinion here with Nern's advice about testing a cat for Feline Leukemia.

It is good medical sense to have a cat tested, whether or not you have other cats in the house or not. Here are some links that give you some more information:

http://www.cfainc.org/health/FeLV.html

http://www.fivtest.com/testing/index.cfm

http://www.fivtest.com/aboutFIV/index.cfm

I hope this helps you in your decision to have your cat tested. A kitten can test a false positive if it is tested too soon. The best advice I can give you is to ask your vet when is a good time.

Generally the vaccine schedule for cats is 8, 12, and 16 weeks.

Where did she get the cat? I certainly think that she needs a feline Leukemia test- just to be safe. At 8 weeks they can check for worms, give initial shots, etc. Get the kitty to the vet.

I agree with juicelyn0527 and everyone else. Have your friend take her kitten to the vet ..... it's not to early. They can check him for worms, flease, etc, and see how his health is overall.

Just wanted to say that it is usually best to test a cat for leukemia after the age of 4 months. Any earlier can result in a false negative or positive.