Should I bring my new kitten for his first vet visit before I even get him home?

Rather than have your kitten be stressed twice, take him to the vet on your way home. This way, when you get him to your home, you can love him, cuddle him, and know that you aren't going to have to take him anywhere for a month........giving him time to "settle in".

I raised kittens for over 15 years, and this would be my advice. One trip, instead of two.

One thing that I'd suggest........when you get him home ( in a carrier, I hope ), leave the carrier out in the room, with a towel or "blankie" inside, so he can use it for his BED. This way, when you need to take him somewhere ( vet, again? ), he won't be "freaked out" being put in the carrier. To him, it will be his bed.

I have 4 carriers ( with towels ) sitting open at all times in my home. I have 9 cats in that part of the house, that "rotate" between those and some other beds that are sitting around. So, when I need to take one to the vet, I don't have a problem getting it into a carrier....

Also........his litter box......this needs to be IN THE ROOM where he spends MOST of his time. Kittens can't always FIND their litter box IN TIME, if it's been stuck in a laundry room, bathroom, upstairs, etc. Until the kitten is a little older ( 3-4 months ), knows what those "urges" mean, and knows his way around your home......his box needs to be "handy".

Hope this helps..........Good luck to you and your new "baby".....

I'm not sure what would be the least stressful really but I do know when my cats have shots they are like kids and they don't feel good for a day or two. They seem to want to sleep on my lap more. So I like to try to do shots like close to a weekend or when I'll be home a little more. I like to keep an eye on them to make sure they will be ok. I have 5 cats and a few yrs ago I found out the one can't have all her shots at once because when she did she got pretty sick. So the vet has me split up the shots for her which means she has to go 2 times a yr though, but I'd rather be safe.

I guess it depends really on what you want to do. With my cat we got him from the shelter and then took him straight to the vet. It is stressful because they don't know you and then you take them to a strange place, but it shouldn't be too bad. I think you should just get it all over with. If you bring it home it has time to adjust to you, but then you have to stress it again when you bring it to the vet. So there's good and bad to both. Our cat was perfectly okay though once he was home. He went to the bathroom right away. I guess that might be a concern (if they get nervous they could go to the bathroom or something). It's really up to you though.

It depends. If you have another cat at home, then you will want to go straight to the vet so that they can get their shots done and get checked for diseases that could be spread to your other pets (like feline leukemia). If this is your only pet, then you can wait a few days if you want to.