What is preventative care for cats and what does it entail?
Cat preventative care entails numerous things, including vaccines, annual or biannual checkups, routine blood work monitoring, fecal screening, flea, tick, and heartworm prevention, keeping them at a healthy weight, and dental care, to name a few.
How often should I take my cat to the vet for a checkup?
This kind of depends for every cat. Generally, younger cats usually need to be seen about once or twice a year, whereas cats, as they get older, often need to be seen at least twice a year, if not more.
What vaccines does my cat need?
The vaccines your cat needs depend on your cat and their lifestyle. All cats, we do recommend their core vaccines, including the rabies vaccine and the feline distemper FVRCP vaccine. For most kittens, we do recommend the feline leukemia vaccine series when they're young and then, depending on whether they stay indoor-only or become indoor-outdoor, continuing it or not.
What are common preventative care treatments for cats?
Common preventative care treatments for cats include, beyond their annual exams, routine dental cleanings and assessment in clinic, vaccines, flea, tick, and heartworm prevention, and fecal screening along with deworming.
How can I keep my cat's teeth healthy?
Keeping your cat's teeth healthy has a big component of home care, including teeth brushing if your cat will let you, or else doing daily dental treats. Usually, we recommend dental treats with a Veterinary Oral Health Council label. And then, when they get to be about 3 years of age, doing annual dental cleanings.
What should I do to maintain my cat's weight and prevent obesity?
Maintaining a cat's weight definitely is important at home by limiting how many calories they're taking in through meal feeding and measuring and portioning out their food, along with encouraging daily exercise and activity.
What are some signs that my cat needs to see a vet?
This includes numerous signs, including but not limited to coughing, vomiting, diarrhea, itching or hair loss, lethargy, or not doing their normal activities.
How can I prevent my cat from developing urinary tract issues?
A lot of prevention for urinary tract issues in cats starts at home. The biggest thing is the number of litter boxes. Most cats do prefer uncovered litter boxes, and some cats have a substrate or litter texture they prefer. Having enough litter boxes, however many cats you have plus one more, is recommended, keeping things lower stress at home and making sure your cat has plenty of places to get away to a quiet spot, hide, and kind of have their own alone time. And then cat pheromones can help as well.
What should I include in my cat's grooming routine?
Cat grooming at home can include brushing, brushing their teeth, and nail trimming, which are kind of the three biggest things.
How can I protect my indoor cat from potential health risks?
Protecting your indoor cat from health risks includes trying to keep them indoors, not letting them escape, making sure to have pet-safe plants at home, really limiting or not giving them any human food, and then making sure they don't have any small spaces that they can get stuck in or hide in.
At Crosslake Veterinary Hospital, your pet always comes first. Whether they need routine care or something more urgent, call (218) 692-4400 or email [email protected] to schedule a visit. Our team is here for you and your pet.