Get Ready For Those Pesky Parasites!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Hello all,

I can’t believe we are already heading into April! It seems just yesterday we were locked up in our homes, waiting for the blizzard storms to calm, now everyone is out and about with their pets by their side.

Spring is my favorite time of the month because I love to see the flowers and trees in bloom, and of course I love the warmth. But there are a few things that we as pet owners need to know about so that both you and your pet can enjoy the great outdoors.

If you are a dog owner and your pet is not up to date on their physical, please try to schedule soon. If you come to us, we will make sure your pooch is current on necessary vaccines (especially if you plan on taking them to the area dog park), heartworm and tick test, and fecal exam. This will also be a good time for you to discuss any other issues that may need to be addressed.

If you are a cat owner, we recommend updating vaccines, heartworm test (yes cats can get heartworms from mosquitos too), and a fecal exam. I know that some people feel it is not necessary to do as much for their indoor cat, but remember this, we can bring things in the house like ticks, fecal matter on our shoes, and mosquitos can come in on their own. So it is still very important to make sure they have not picked up anything.

As for the pocket pets and exotics, I will let Dr. V. speak on this but I will say that checking fecals (poop as others may call it) is extremely important, and we have caught many parasites from doing it routinely.

Once you have gotten them up to date on everything, now it’s time to make sure we prevent. So flea and tick as well as heartworm prevention is highly recommended (for cats as well), and if intestinal parasites are found, we will make sure they receive the proper treatment.

So I hope this info was helpful, and make sure you get ready for those pesky parasites because they are definitely getting ready for you!

With warm regards,

Dr. P