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4933950-247650Feline GuidelinesVACCINATIONS:DISTEMPER : This vaccination contains a combination of viruses that commonly affect the feline species. This includes rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia. We recommend first vaccinating at 6-8 weeks of age. They receive this vaccination every three to four weeks to build up immunity up through 13-16 weeks of age. Initially, this vaccination is a minimum of two shot series (age depending) and then we recommend vaccinating every year thereafter. RABIES: This vaccination is recommended to help protect your pet from contracting the rabies virus which is spread by bites of infected mammals such as raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes. We recommend to have the first rabies between 12-16 weeks of age. We recommend vaccinating cats every year for rabies. IF YOUR PET BITES SOMEONE and is NOT current on rabies, the law will require quarantine and possible euthanasia depending on the case. This vaccine is the most important because rabies is zoonotic (can be transferred to humans). FELV (Feline Leukemia Virus): This virus is spread by infected cats and causes cancer, blood disorders, and hinders their immune system which can make them more susceptible to infections from common viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and fungi. This vaccine is given after your pet has been blood tested and confirmed negative. It is also a two series vaccination 3-4 weeks apart. We run a test that requires a couple drops of blood in the clinic and takes about 10 minutes.Who should be tested? Every cat should be tested to help prevent the spread of this deadly feline disease. It is spread through a cats saliva, nasal secretions, urine, feces and milk of infected cats. Kittens are most susceptible, but with sufficient exposure adults are able to get it too. There are some clinical signs of this disease including poor appetite, poor coat conditions, pale gums and mucus membranes, infections of the skin, bladder, upper respiratory system, persistent diarrhea, seizures, and a variety of eye conditions. What happens if they test positive? Most cats on average who have this disease live to around 2 1/2 years of age. Some may live longer with management of weight, diet, bathroom habits, eyes and mouth, activity level, and behavior. Also, it would be very important that they were not able to transfer this to any other cat. DEWORMING: Cats come into contact with all sorts of parasites throughout their lives, but the most common ones are intestinal: hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. Other parasites called protozoa can cause intestinal infestations too such as Coccidia and Giardia. During early stages of life, we recommend you deworm at least two times. After deworming, it's important to do a fecal examination to confirm that the deworming was effective and that your pet has not reinfected themselves. Most general dewormers do not cover tapeworms or protozoa ,therefore it is essential to be thorough. To help matters, some newer flea and tick products act as a monthly dewormer as well! As an adult, we then recommend yearly fecal examinations. SPAY AND NEUTER:SPAYING (female): We recommend females to be spayed between 5-6 months of age. We recommend trying to spay them before their first heat cycle as this greatly decreases the chance of mammary cancer. If your pet is older than 6 months, we still highly recommend spaying as it also prevents a condition called a pyometra (a condition in which the uterus fills with infection) which is serious and can be fatal. Spaying your pet has great lifelong health benefits and helps reduce the pet population!NEUTER (male): We recommend males should be neutered at 8-9 months of age. This allows the males urinary system to mature and still allow the testosterone to give him male characteristics. If they begin marking or showing aggressive behaviors, we will neuter them sooner. The benefits include decrease in fighting, roaming, and spraying because neutering removes testosterone which is the driving hormone in these behaviorsFLEA AND TICK: Fleas and ticks are HUGE pests in the life of your pet. Not only are they a nuisance, but they carry a wide variety of dangerous pathogens! Some of these pathogens can be fatal to your pet and can even be zoonotic! So what to use to protect your pet? The market for flea and tick control is booming because of the importance of prevention. We recommend to use products carried and sold at veterinary clinics only. Products sold in stores or online cannot always be trusted . Those stores cannot always guarantee where the product was distributed from. We carry the highest quality product for your pet and receive our product directly from distributer. Also, product toxicity and misuse happens all the time. It is important to talk to a veterinary professional about how to properly use products to avoid overdosing and even death in your pet. We carry a wide variety of products that are either applied monthly or every 3 months. We provide products that can be applied topically. The product to choose depends on your lifestyle and the current flea and tick population you have. Feel free to discuss with us what is best for you and your petsMICROCHIP: Microchipping and registration offer the only truly permanent, unalterable method of identifying your pet. Collars and tags can be removed or lost. If you want to increase the chances of your pet being returned to you, microchipping is best. We provide a Datamars Microfindr microchip which is as small as a grain of rice and is easily implanted under the skin of your pet between its shoulder blades. It cannot be removed or fall off. It is no more painful than any other vaccination or injection. The initial microchipping fee includes the lifetime registration for your pet. You will register the microchip information with your name and information and is password-protected online.DIET: We recommend putting your pet on a quality food. Here at our clinic we carry Hills Science Diet. It is a high quality food backed by a company with years of research and is strict about quality control. Another great quality is that it has a large variety of products to help fit your pets needs. To top it off, if your pet does not like a food that you buy, the company will take it back no matter what! It is important to get the food that fits your pets health needs. If buying at your local market, we recommend Purina or Iams. Please avoid the cheapest foods available. Most times they are mostly fillers and tend to have many additives that can cause a variety of health concerns from itchy skin to irritable bowls. How much to feed? Always go by the feeding guidelines on the bag. Every bag of food will require different amounts so there is no set amount. If you feel these guidelines on the back do not properly fit your cat, feel free to discuss with the veterinarian or veterinary technicians how we can alter it to fit your pet.When to feed? We recommend feeding on a SCHEDULE! This allows you to properly monitor the amount of food your pet is eating. We recommend 2-3 times a day depending on your schedule and the size/age of your pet. We tell owners to put the food down for 15 minutes and if they do not eat it, PICK IT UP! We want your pet to come to the food bowl hungry. If your pet decides one day that they are not hungry, it is a good indicator that they may not be feeling good. If you were to free feed, you may not notice until a 2-3 days later that you haven't filled the food bowl and now you are a few days behind any possible sickness. LITTER BOX: Most felines have no issues with using the litter box. Some helpful tips include cleaning the litter box often and thoroughly, having one litter box for each cat plus one extra, have a large enough box, making sure it is easily accessible, and not having too much litter (they prefer 1-2 inches). Location plays an important role as well. Try to have it in a quiet place but somewhere they do not feel cornered. Also, many new litters have different scents and textures which cats can be sensitive to and may not like. Most cats prefer clumping unscented litter. Medically if your cat is not using the litter box, they may be having pain which may be associated with using the litter box. This pain may be from but not limited to a urinary tract infection, feline interstitial cystitis (neurological disease affecting the bladder), kidney stones or blockage. If your cat is having accidents out of the box, veterinary care may be needed and a urinalysis may need to be done. Call if these problems occur.If you have any questions about any of our recommendations, Please Call Our Clinic at 605-665-4291.NOTES ................
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