Your dog's and cat's health record: vaccines, parasite treatments and check-ups without forgetting

A dog or cat has, on a small scale, the same health needs as a child: vaccinations with boosters, regular treatments, check-ups, documents to keep. With one difference: nobody sends a reminder from school. If a booster slips or the flea treatment is forgotten, you find out when the vet points it out — or when it's too late.

This article is about organisation. Your pet's vaccination schedule, treatments and medicines are decided by your vet.

What to keep track of

For most pets, the recurring deadlines are:

• vaccinations and boosters, according to your vet's plan
• parasite treatments: fleas, ticks, heartworm, worms, often on different schedules
• regular check-ups
• grooming and breed-specific care
• medicines for any ongoing treatment

Then there are documents: the health record, microchip registration (compulsory for dogs in many countries, including Italy and the UK), the EU pet passport if the animal travels, the insurance policy if there is one.

1. One profile per pet

In KidBox's Pets section every animal has its own profile: name, species, breed, date of birth, microchip number, photo. Having the microchip number to hand is useful more often than you'd think: if the pet goes missing, at a new vet, for insurance.

2. Every event with the next due date

The heart of the system is recording each vaccination, visit or treatment with the next due date. Leaving the vet, two minutes: what was done, what it cost, when it's due again. KidBox sets the reminder for the next date, and the notification arrives when it's needed.

If the event has a cost, it also becomes a family expense: at year end you know what your pet really costs.

3. Monthly parasite treatments

Monthly treatments are the most often forgotten, because they come too often to remember and too rarely to become habit. A recurring event in the family calendar — "Pepper flea treatment", on the first of the month — with the reminder assigned to whoever handles it solves the problem.

4. Documents somewhere safe

Health record, registration certificate, passport, test results: photographed or scanned, they go in the family documents, encrypted and linked to the pet's profile. If the paper record gets lost or left at home during a trip, the data is still there.

5. When your pet travels

Taking a dog or cat to another EU country usually requires a microchip, an EU pet passport and a valid rabies vaccination; some countries ask for extra treatments. Check the requirements with your vet well in advance, and put the dates in the trip calendar.

6. Who takes care of it

In a family the pet belongs to everyone, but care often falls on one person. Sharing it sensibly — who goes to the vet, who does treatments, who does walks — is the subject of who looks after the family pet.

In short

One profile per pet with the microchip number, every vaccination and treatment recorded with the next due date and a reminder, monthly parasite treatments as a recurring event, documents photographed and safe, and travel requirements checked in time. Your pet won't know. But your vet will.