Owning a friendly feline or should I say, being servant to one, is one of life’s great pleasures. Whether it is introducing your tiny ball of fluff to the family for the first time or looking after a sedentary senior, it is important to provide for them as best you can. At FVH we are here to assist you in providing the optimum health care to ensure a long and happy life.
As owners, there are a few things you have to remember:
- Wellness for Life
Cats age faster than us. Going to the vet for annual vaccinations is like us going to the doctor once every 7- 8 years. Regular 6 monthly health checks play an important role in early detection and prevention of illness. This keeps your cat happier and healthier for longer. - Nutrition for Life
As with people, diet depends on the age of your cat. Diets should be fully balanced and suitable for the age of your animal. Home cooked diets or meat only diets can have significant deficiencies resulting nutrition related illness. Premium dry formulas have added benefits to keep your cat’s teeth clean. As far as milk? Water is fine, milk is likely to cause diarrhea as a lot of our furries are intolerant to lactose and can also react to the high fat content in cow milk. - Protection from Life’s Nasties
- Vaccination
There are many potentially life threatening diseases our pets confront. To safeguard our cats we vaccinate against many potentially fatal or debilitating disease: Cat flu syndrome and feline enteritis form the core F3 vaccine. If your cat is coming into contact with other cats it should be vaccinated against Feline AIDS virus. FIV infection is mainly spread through cat fighting. For the basic vaccination your kitten will require a series of three injections at 6-8weeks, 12-14 weeks & 16-18 weeks of age. Adults require an annual vaccination. - Intestinal Worms
These parasites live in the intestines of the cats and can be a cause of ill health, poor growth, vomiting and diarrhea and in the extreme death. Cats are infected from an early age from their mother. It is important to commence a worming schedule for kittens ASAP. Adult cats are at risk too, and should be wormed every three months. If giving a worm tablet is difficult ,our nurses are pleased to help. You can give your cat specialized worming pastes or spot on skin treatments to avoid giving a tablet to your cat. - Heartworm
Unrelated to intestinal worms, heartworm is spread through mosquito bites. This disease is rare in cats in Southern Victoria. The potentially killer worm grows in the major arteries of the chest and chambers of the heart contributing to often fatal respiratory or heart disease. It is easily prevented with monthly treatment oral or topical treatments. - Fleas
These blood suckers are a real nuisance year round in Australia. They cause nasty skin irritations and infections If enough fleas bite your young kitten it can cause a life threatening anemia. These fiendish critters not only bite cats and dogs but us too! There are many safe preparations such as Comfortis available at FVH. Just ask one of our trained team.
- Vaccination
- Smile for Life
Keeping your cat’s teeth clean is essential to it’s wellbeing. Suffering from poor teeth causes pain but can seed infections elsewhere in the body causing serious illness. Nowadays getting a new kitten we can train them to accept teeth brushing. Other options include dental diets and oral gels that require no brushing to name a few. - Life’s Little Adventures
We cannot always guard against misadventure, but pet insurance can take the financial pain away from the situation. - Microchipping
Microchipping provides a permanent identification so if you pet strays it is able to be identified even if the collar is lost. Young animals are required by law to be microchipped before pet registration with the council. - For Longer Life
Desex your pet! For further Information please do not hesitate to call us.
