Dogs & cats · Updated August 30, 2026
Vet Visit Prep Sheet
Most of what a vet needs in the first two minutes of an appointment is history you already have and cannot recall on the spot. When did the limping start? Was it worse after the walk or after resting? What is the dose on the yellow bottle, and when was the last one given? Filling this in over the days before the visit turns a vague "he's been off" into a timeline, which is the difference between a diagnosis and a wait-and-see.
The sheet is built to be filled in twice: once at home in the days beforehand, and once in the room, where the back half gives you space to write down what you were told before it leaves your head. Take it with you rather than trying to remember it.
How to use it
- 1Print it a few days before the appointment, not the morning of — the symptom log is worth more with several days in it.
- 2Log symptoms as they happen, with the date and what your pet was doing at the time. "Coughed twice after climbing the stairs" beats "coughing".
- 3Copy medication names and doses straight off the bottles, including supplements and flea and tick preventives. Dose errors usually come from memory, not from the label.
- 4Write your questions down as they occur to you during the week. Star the two you most want answered — appointments run short and the starred ones get asked first.
- 5Take the sheet into the room and use the notes section for what the vet tells you: the diagnosis, the plan, and what should make you call back.
What is on the sheet
Pet and appointment
- Pet name, Species / breed, Age, Weight today, Appointment date, Reason for visit
Symptom log
One line per event. Note what your pet was doing at the time and how long it lasted.
- 7-row table: Date / time, What happened, How long, Before or after what
Eating, drinking and toileting
Tick anything that has changed in the last two weeks.
- 10 tick boxes
Current medications and supplements
Copy from the labels, including flea, tick and heartworm preventives.
- 6-row table: Name, Dose, How often, Last given
Questions for the vet
Star the two you most want answered.
- 6 ruled lines
Weight log
Same scale, same time of day, ideally before a meal.
- 5-row table: Date, Weight, Notes
Notes from the visit
Fill this in during the appointment, not after it.
- 5 ruled lines
- New medication and dose, Recheck date, Call back if you see, Test results due
Worth knowing
- Photograph or film anything intermittent — a limp, a tremor, a cough. A ten-second video is worth a paragraph of description, and the behaviour rarely repeats in the exam room.
- Bring the actual medication bottles if you can. Labels settle dose questions instantly.
- If a stool or urine sample is likely to be wanted, ask when you book, and collect it that morning rather than the night before.
- Weigh your pet the same way each time — same scale, before a meal. A trend matters more than a single number.
- Write down the answer to "what would make you want to see us again sooner?" before you leave. It is the most useful sentence of the visit and the one most often forgotten.
This is a form for recording what you observe, not a diagnostic tool. Nothing on it replaces an examination. If your pet is in distress, contact a veterinarian rather than filling in a sheet.