preventative healthcare Archives - Page 8 of 8 - Port Kennedy Veterinary Hospital

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Important Vaccines for Cats

Essential Cat Vaccinations: Protecting Your Feline’s Health & Well-being

Importantly, Cat Vaccinations: Preventive treatment is a vital part of your pet’s health. By ensuring your animal receives all the necessary vaccines at the correct times, you can prevent them from contracting common diseases and maximise the quality and longevity of their life. Below, we provide more information on the necessary and recommended vaccinations for your kitten or cat.

Core Vaccines

At Port Kennedy Veterinary Hospital, we offer a set of three core vaccinations. The feline rhinotracheitis and feline calicivirus vaccines both prevent a common respiratory disease, often simplified as ‘cat flu’. This disease is easily spread between cats through coughing or sneezing and can affect cats of any age, but kittens are particularly susceptible. This vaccine should be boosted annually to prevent reinfection.

The third vaccine in our core set is for feline panleukopenia, which is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease. Fortunately, the vaccine is highly effective in providing immunity, and the disease is no longer prevalent.

Additional Vaccines

We also offer optional vaccines for feline leukaemia, which suppresses your cat’s immune system, leaving them susceptible to infections, and feline immunodeficiency virus, which is a very slow-acting infectious disease that also affects the immune system.

When Should My Pet Be Vaccinated?

Kitten vaccinations typically begin between 6 and 8 weeks of age and are boosted regularly during their first few months. Young kittens inherit maternal antibodies that provide them with protection against disease, but this protection fades as they grow. Therefore, it’s vital to arrange vaccines at the right time. For adult cats, your vet will advise you on how often they need vaccinations, as this depends on their age and lifestyle. To ensure your pet is fully covered for preventive care, you can purchase one of our wellness packages, which includes vaccinations and other preventive treatments in a single, affordable bundle.

Does My Indoor Cat Need Vaccinations?

While it may seem counterintuitive, indoor kittens and cats will still require vaccines, especially the core vaccinations against feline rhinotracheitis, feline calicivirus and feline panleukopenia.

It’s important to remember that these diseases can be fatal, making complete protection necessary. If your curious cat wanders outdoors, ends up in a shelter or comes into contact with another cat, they may be exposed to dangerous diseases. Many kittens also contract diseases at a young age, before you meet them or even in utero, meaning the possibility of a disease recurring in unprotected cats is always possible.

What Are the Risks of Vaccination? Generally, there are few risks associated with standard vaccines. Your pet may experience a mild reaction at the injection site, but more serious side effects are unlikely. When caring for a kitten, it’s essential to keep them inside until ten days after their final vaccination to ensure they are fully protected. Vaccines are only effective when necessary boosters are given annually.

If you’d like to arrange vaccinations for your pet, call Port Kennedy Veterinary Hospital now on 08 9524 6644 or visit our contact page for more ways to get in touch.

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How to Treat Kennel Cough in Dogs

How to Treat Kennel Cough in Dogs: Symptoms, Remedies & Prevention

Kennel Cough in Dogs: If your dog has kennel cough, it can be quite distressing to witness. Kennel cough makes your dog generally miserable and lethargic. The cough itself is also loud and can sound quite concerning. Kennel cough can become quite serious if left untreated for a long time, and it also prevents your dog from being near other dogs until they have recovered.

What is Kennel Cough?

Kennel Cough is a respiratory disease that occurs in puppies and dogs. It’s highly contagious, and dogs tend to catch it at boarding kennels or off-lead dog parks. It’s easily treated, though puppies under 6 months old and unimmunised dogs may be at higher risk of becoming severely unwell.

How Do You Know If Your Dog Has Kennel Cough?

There are some common symptoms associated with kennel cough, one of them being a ‘honking’ sound as your dog coughs. Other symptoms may include:

• Frequent sneezing
• Runny nose
• Tiredness
• Loss of appetite

How Can You Treat Kennel Cough?

Kennel Cough can usually be treated like a common cold, with a fortnight of rest usually enough to recover completely. If symptoms persist, a veterinarian may prescribe antibiotics or a cough medication to ease them.

What Happens if Kennel Cough Isn’t Treated?

Generally, kennel cough resolves on its own. However, if after 14 days your dog is still quite unwell, kennel cough may need to be treated with antibiotics before it becomes more serious.

What Else Do You Need to Do if Your Dog Has Kennel Cough?

To avoid re-infection or infection of other pets or dogs, you should separate your dog from other pets and keep their food and water bowls apart. Humans can’t catch kennel cough, but other animals can.

How long has your dog had kennel cough?

You should isolate your pet from other dogs for 14 days following the first symptoms of kennel cough. This is to be on the safe side, as generally, dogs are only contagious for the first 7-10 days.

The team at Port Kennedy Veterinary Hospital understands, values, and respects the very special nature of the human-animal bond. We are dedicated to ensuring that your pet has the best possible quality of life.

If you’re concerned that your dog may have kennel cough, contact us today.

Similar post: Infectious Disease Symptoms in Dogs

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Ways to save on Pet Expenses

Save on Pet Expenses with Preventative Healthcare

Being a pet owner is truly wonderful, with our little animal friends bringing companionship, love and joy into our lives. In addition, caring for a dog or cat is a significant investment, both in time and money.

Before you go ahead and adopt a new puppy or kitten, you need to make sure that you’ve carefully considered whether you have the financial capacity to responsibly care for them. The expense of keeping a pet can be considerable for some owners, particularly if their cat or dog becomes ill or needs emergency vet care.

Fortunately, there are also ways to save on pet expenses. Today, we’ll look at how wellness packages for your dog or cat can allow you to look after their health and wellbeing while saving money in the process.

Properly Caring for Your Cat or Dog

Owning a pet is a long-term responsibility. You have to be committed to caring for them for their entire life, providing them with a safe and comfortable home.

Annual health checks by a professional veterinarian are recommended for all cats and dogs, even if your pet appears to be completely healthy. If your pet has an ongoing condition or is older, they may need to visit the vet more frequently – generally twice a year, or as advised by your veterinarian.

Save Money with Preventative Healthcare

By practising preventative healthcare, your cat or dog will receive regular health checks by a qualified vet. This will help you to keep track of their well-being and detect any signs or symptoms of ill health.

This proactive approach to your pet’s wellbeing will keep them healthy, reducing the need for emergency treatments or operations. This will also reduce the likelihood of more expensive vet bills further down the track.

Things You Can Do At Home

You can also save on expenses by ensuring your cat or dog is properly cared for at home. Coupled with professional preventative care, the following strategies will help to protect your pet and keep your costs down:

Nutritional foods – feed your pet a vet-approved diet to maintain their health and wellbeing
Regular cleaning – clean your pet’s beds, bowls and other living areas to prevent infection and other sicknesses
Pet grooming – have your pet groomed regularly to create a healthy coat and reduce possible complications
Entertainment – playing games and engaging your pet will improve their emotional well-being while nurturing their physical.th

Wellbeing Packages – for Easy, Affordable Monthly Payments

Port Kennedy Veterinary Hospital offers a range of affordable wellness packages that provide regular preventative care. Working with you, we can ensure optimum health for your cat, dog, kitten or puppy. With a wellness package, you’ll also know you have somewhere to turn to in case of an emergency. Our professional and qualified vets are always on hand to offer you guidance and support at any stage of your pet’s life.

At Port Kennedy, we understand the financial aspects of caring for an animal, and we offer services to make life a bit easier for pet owners. Monthly payment plans provide you with much-needed peace of mind about your cat or dog’s health while taking the emotional and financial stress out of being a pet owner.

Talk to your trusted Port Kennedy vet about how wellness packages can benefit you and your best mate.

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