Annual Health Checks help keep our pets healthy

We all know the old saying prevention is better than a cure … and we all know its true! We have regular check-ups and high five ourselves when we come out with a clean bill of health, and if not we take our medicine to get back on track and in-shape. The older we get the more often we slip in for a check-up. Think about your furry friends just for one minute. Our animals age far more quickly than we do – an annual vet visit for your dog is the equivalent of you seeing your doctor every seven years! Kind of puts it in perspective when you think about it.

The most common reason given by owners for not taking their pets for an annual health check is time and for vaccinations … simply forgetting when they are due!

We recommend you bring your pet in every year for a health check.

A yearly check means we can monitor your animal to ensure their ongoing well-being and address any changes that may adversely affect their health as early as possible.

The annual check also provides you with the opportunity to have a chat with us about any concerns you may have, as well as a chance to discuss your pet’s diet, exercise, and parasite prevention.

Vaccinating Adult Dogs

Cats & Kittens

We have different levels of vaccinations for our feline friends. Our base vaccination is the F4. This covers for:

Panleukopaenia – the cat equivalent of canine parvovirus.

Herpesvirus – this causes significant disease of the upper airways and inflammation of the eyes. Cats become lifelong carriers, and stress can cause the disease to flare up and make your cat sick again. While the flare-ups can be treated, there is no cure.

Calicivirus – This also causes upper respiratory tract disease, and affected cats often develop severe ulcers in their mouth. As with herpesvirus, cats become lifelong carriers and the disease can flare up when stressed. While the flare-ups can be treated, there is no cure.

Chlamydiosis – This bacteria causes severe conjunctivitis and may also cause a respiratory tract infection. While it can be treated, it is debilitating, and has the potential to be fatal in young kittens.

In addition to these four core vaccines, we also offer vaccination against Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV).

FeLV – can severely impact a number of different body systems, and infected cats are at high risk of developing cancer. It significantly shortens lifespan.

FIV – most commonly causes suppression of the immune system, making cats more prone to developing other diseases and making it harder to recover.

Also significantly shortens lifespan. (Further information about FIV on then left).

The most common route of infection for both of these diseases is through saliva, and thus is a particularly high risk for cats that get into fights.

If your cat goes outdoors, we strongly recommend they be vaccinated against these two diseases.

Vaccinating Kittens

Dental disease is caused by the accumulation of plaque. Plaque is the thin, sticky film that covers teeth and is composed of bacteria and their by-products, saliva, food particles and sloughed epithelial cells. Much the same as with our own teeth.

Four ways to prevent dental disease:

• Appropriate food
• Pet Dental chews
• Brushing your pet’s teeth
• Regular veterinary dental check-up

• Dogs over the age of 3 with dental disease 80% 80%
• Cats over the age of 3 with Dental disease 70% 70%

Signs of dental disease

There are various signs you can look out for in your pet, these are:

• Bad Breath (halitosis)
• Discoloured or loose teeth
• Excessive drooling, sometimes blood stained
• Dropping of food from the mouth when eating, or reluctant to eat, especially hard food
• Pain when handled around the head or behavioural changes
• Facial swelling pawing at the mouth Inflamed (gingivitis) or receding gums

Pet dental treatment

A dental treatment involves:

• Full veterinary pre-operative health assessment
• Admission and discharge appointments.
• General anaesthetic including intravenous fluids
• Professional scaling to remove tartar.
• Charting of the mouth to look for tooth decay, pain and mouth cancers
• Polishing of the teeth so they shine
• Advice on home-care to keep that smile sparkling

For more information about your pets specific dental health we encourage you to make an appointment for a dental assessment.

We offer a variety of parasite prevention products in our clinics to cover all the parasite groups discussed below. Our products are top of the range, whereas many supermarket products cannot guarantee sufficient protection. Please come in and have a chat to our staff … they can help you determine which parasite prevention products best suit your needs.

Fleas

While these pesky bugs are most common in the warm weather, your pet can be infested all year round. Although fleas particularly love warm sandy environments, they can be found anywhere, including being tracked though your yard by strays and wildlife. In very severe cases, particularly in young animals, flea burdens can be life threatening.
Maintaining flea control, and regularly washing your pet’s bedding in a hot wash, are some easy but important ways to keep them healthy and itch free.

Ticks

We are unfortunate enough to share this part of the world with a species of paralysis tick. These ticks are most commonly found in bush and beach regions, so keeping your furry friend protected when travelling through these areas, particularly in the warm weather, is paramount. Tick paralysis requires intensive medical intervention, and if left untreated is fatal.

Heartworm

This parasite is spread by mosquitoes, and is particularly dangerous because by the end of a complex life cycle, the adult worms reside in the heart and all the major blood vessels from it, which can lead to some serious and potentially fatal cardiac complications.
It is predominantly a parasite found further north in Australia. However, there have been isolated cases of heartworm in the region over the last few years, and the potential for the disease to be carried into the area by another animal is high.
If your pet is not up to date with heartworm prevention, it is extremely important to get them tested before starting any heartworm prevention product. Prevention products can kill all stages of heartworm at once, and if your pet happens to be heartworm positive with adult worms living in their circulatory system, this can result in blockages (embolism) that will likely be fatal.

Dogs & Puppies

There are four common types of intestinal worms in dogs, they are: roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms. The symptoms of each type of worm vary, as does the way in which dogs can be infected.

Roundworm 

There are two species of roundworm which can affect dogs, toxocara canis and toxascaris leonin. Both are long, white and spaghetti-like in appearance and absorb nutrients from the infected dog.

Roundworm larvae will initially infect a dog’s intestinal tract, but can burrow their way into other bodily tissues and organs. As toxocara canis larvae mature, they will move onto the lungs to develop and then then up to the airway before being coughed up and swallowed again, re-entering the intestine to complete their lifecycle. Toxascaris leonina do not move around the body and have a far simpler lifecycle.

Hookworm 

Hookworms are short, blood sucking parasites with teeth. They can be fatal in young puppies, due to the amount of nutrients they strip from the dog. They are not common in the UK but they are present in Europe. Hookworms have a very similar lifecycle to the toxocara canis roundworm, moving about the body and into the lungs to mature before re-entering the intestine.

Whipworm 

Whipworms live in the large intestine and don’t extract as many nutrients as other types of worms. Unless the worms burrow into the intestinal tissue, they pose few problems and rarely cause symptoms. They do occur in the UK but aren’t common.

Tapeworm

Tapeworms live in the small intestine, grabbing on to its wall with six tiny rows of teeth to absorb nutrients as food is digested. They are long – half a foot or more in length – and flat in appearance. Unless the dog is extremely active, the parasite does not harm the pet, as there are plenty of nutrients to serve both host and tapeworm. When excreted, the worm normally splits into segments which look like small grains of rice.

Cats & Kittens

Kittens need worming against roundworm every two weeks from six-16 weeks old. Check that the product is appropriate for the age and weight of the kitten. Adult cats should be wormed regularly, and when feeding kittens. Recommended frequency depends on whether good quality flea treatment is given regularly, and if the cat is able to hunt. It is probably sensible to treat most cats at least four times a year.

Some tapeworms – which look like grains of rice in the faeces (excrement) – are caught from fleas, so a good quality programme for flea control is essential – consult your vet.

Desexing is the only effective permanent method for preventing unwanted pregnancy in animals, and provides important health benefits as well.

Desexing surgery involves the removal of the testicles of males, known as castration or ‘neutering’, or the ovaries and uterus of females, known as ovariohysterectomy or ‘spaying’.

Your pet will be desexed under general anaesthesia. As most animals undergoing desexing are young and healthy, complications are rare. In addition, the anaesthetic will be closely monitored throughout the procedure to ensure the safety of your pet. Post surgery our nursing team will monitor and care for your pet until he or she is ready to go home.

Benefits of Desexing
There are important benefits associated with having your pet desexed.

Social benefits

• Reduction in territorial behaviours such as urine marking.
• Reduction in noisy calling behaviours.
• Reduction in anti-social behaviour.
• Reduction in wandering.

Health benefits

• Reduction in risk of some malignant cancers, in organs such as the testes, ovaries, cervix, or uterus.
• Prevention of infection of the uterus, or pyometra.
• Reduction in risk of some serious diseases, such as prostatic disease and perineal hernia, in male dogs that haven’t been castrated.

Financial benefits

• Prevention of costs associated with unwanted litters.
• Avoidance of costs associated with the serious medical diseases listed above.
• Discounted council pet registration fees.

Pet Insurance has many benefits, most of which is peace of mind. Many of us consider our pets to be part of the family. Although when a pet becomes injured or sick, the reality of veterinary costs can come as quite a shock. Those that have chosen to insure their dogs or cats can focus on their health rather than the costs.

It is common for some clients to assume that a Medicare rebate is available for pets, but there are unfortunately no subsidies for veterinary care, including both preventative and emergency procedures.

The costs associated with providing high quality veterinary care to your beloved pet can be very expensive, particularly in emergency situations, and we find that most people are unprepared! It is for this reason that we strongly recommend that all of our clients consider a pet insurance plan. This covers your responsibility as a loving and caring owner to provide the best treatment for your four-legged companion who is completely dependent upon you for their health and wellbeing.

Ask our Reception team for a PetPlan Pet Insurance brochure or visit www.petplan.com.au

VetPay is specifically designed to help you pay for veterinary expenses without the worry of high upfront costs, particularly for emergency or unplanned medical treatments. VetPay sets up a payment plan and debits your bank account or credit card and pays your Fur Life Vet for the services provided. You can even get pre-approval for VetPay with no obligation to use it!

We understand how heartbreaking it can be when a beloved pet requires extensive veterinary treatment and the funds are not readily available. In some cases, this can mean owners are forced to make a decision not to treat their animal.

Our payment policy is that ALL visits are paid for at the end of each consultation and surgery. For this reason, we have paired up with a company called VetPay to cover the costs of those emergency visits that can unfortunately surprise us all. VetPay is a company that focuses in providing small loans specifically for veterinary treatment.

The process of applying with VetPay involves a quick and simple approval process with us at the clinic and a small 10-20% deposit is made (dependent on the price of the procedure).

VetPay will then pay for all of your pet’s treatment on the spot, while you make small repayments over time. VetPay is very flexible and will try their hardest to meet your needs, as we understand that each situation is completely different.

For more information on VetPay, or to seek initial approval, please visit www.vetpay.com.au, or give them a call on 1300 657 984.