The first few weeks with a new pet are the easiest time to build a record-keeping habit, because there's nothing to retroactively organize yet — you're just capturing things as they happen. Wait six months and you're reconstructing a vaccination history from memory instead.
Day one: the basics
- Name, breed, and date of birth (or best estimate, for a rescue)
- Microchip number, if already chipped — and where the chip is registered
- Adoption or breeder paperwork, including any health history they provided
- Starting weight, as your earliest baseline
The first vet visit: what to walk away with
Your first appointment usually covers an initial health check and the start of a vaccination series. Make sure you leave with — or immediately write down — the exact vaccines given, the date, and most importantly, the date the next one is due. Puppy and kitten vaccine series happen on a tight schedule, and missing a booster window can mean restarting part of the series.
What to log from week one onward
- Every vaccine — what, when, next due date
- Deworming and parasite prevention — start date and ongoing schedule
- Spay/neuter — date, if and when it happens
- Any reactions or sensitivities — to food, medication, or vaccines
- Growth and weight — useful for puppies and kittens especially, since rapid change is normal but worth tracking
Set the system up before you need it
The easiest moment to set up a tracking system is before you have six months of scattered paperwork to retroactively enter. Even just logging the first vet visit the same day you get home means everything after that builds on a real foundation instead of a gap you have to fill in later from memory.
Start your pet's record on day one
Set up your new pet's profile in PetFolio Health before the first vet visit, and every vaccine, weight check, and milestone has somewhere to go from the start.
Get Started FreeWhat to expect over the first year
Most puppies and kittens go through a vaccine series every 3-4 weeks for the first few months, followed by a spay/neuter conversation around 5-6 months for many breeds, and a transition to adult food and an annual visit cadence around the one-year mark. Knowing this rhythm in advance makes the appointments feel like a plan rather than a surprise each time.