Veterinarians at Animal Hospital in Concord, CA Treat Heartworms in Dogs and Cats

Heartworm disease is a disease that can cause heart failure, lung disease, damage to other organs and pet deaths. Dogs and cats are particularly susceptible to the disease.

Dogs with Heartworms

The most common test for dogs, administered at an animal hospital in Concord, CA, is an antigen test. It is a blood test that detects specific proteins released into a dog’s bloodstream by adult female heartworms. To prevent heartworms dogs should be tested annually. Ask a veterinarian at the animal hospital about the best time to have a dog tested. 

The treatment is not easy on the dog or the owner’s wallet. Treatment has the potential of being toxic to the body of a dog. Serious complications, like life-threatening blood clots in a dog’s lungs, can occur. Multiple visits to the veterinary hospital in Concord, CA for a series of injections, hospitalization, x-rays, and blood work can be costly. 

Prevention is the best treatment. There are FDA-approved products that the staff at the animal hospital in Concord, CA can prescribe. Most are monthly treatments given as an oral tablet or applied to the skin. A product that is injected under the skin must be administered at the veterinary hospital in Concord, CA. 

Cats with Heartworms

Heartworm infection in cats is harder to detect. The staff at the veterinary hospital in Concord, CA generally, runs a combination of two blood tests to check for heartworms in cats. Negative test results do not necessarily mean a cat does not have heartworms. The animal hospital staff uses blood test results, the cat’s symptoms and other tests such as ultrasound or x-rays of the heart to determine heartworm disease. 

The FDA has approved several products to prevent heartworms in cats. They are oral and topical products, given monthly, that require a prescription from the veterinary hospital staff. Year-round prevention is also best for cats. Ask a veterinarian at the animal hospital in Concord, CA, which preventative is best. 

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Vet from a Veterinary Hospital in the Clayton, CA Area Concerned about Decreasing Numbers of Healthcare Visits

The ounce of prevention being worth a pound of treatment relates to animals as well as humans. For pets, it can be considered similar to a business proposition. Simply put, it costs less to diagnose impending diseases, conditions, and behavior patterns than the cost of trying to treat the maladies that were preventable.

A pet owner study, conducted about ten years by an Oregon pet hospital, determined the number of pets in the U.S. was increasing, while visits for veterinary care were decreasing. In the same time frame, treatable and preventable conditions and diseases were rapidly rising. The study showed pet owners felt routine checkups were unnecessary unless the pet was sick or had an identifiable condition. Pet ownership was viewed more as a privilege than a responsibility.

A veterinary hospital in the Clayton, CA vicinity would like to admonish pet owners to develop healthy routines and habits that will enhance the lives of their pets. The mission is to ensure pets receive preventative healthcare through regular visits to the vet in the Clayton, CA region. Experts agree the decrease in regular visits leads to increased treatable and preventable diseases in cats and dogs. The illnesses include parasite infestations, dermatitis, dental diseases, obesity, and diabetes.

The value of scheduling annual health checks for a cat or dog with a vet from the Clayton, CA area is potential issues are recognized early and a plan to overcome, or at a minimum, mitigate the looming effects of the problem is in place. A vet from the Clayton, CA vicinity will conduct an examination of the pet’s body using highly sophisticated and technical equipment.

Areas of concern, which are addressed at the veterinary hospital in the Clayton, CA region, include the mouth, eyes, lymph nodes, heart, and abdomen, the base of the tail, legs, skin coat, nails, fur, and temperament. These areas deliver information important to the staff at the veterinary hospital in the Hayward, CA area.

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Veterinary Hospital in Concord, CA Provides Proper Dental Care by a Veterinarian

One of the most overlooked areas of health care for pets is dental care. Dental care is necessary for the quality of life and optimum health of a pet. Untreated oral cavity diseases can lead to serious health problems that include kidney, lung, and heart diseases. Oral cavity diseases are often painful.

Pet owners are encouraged, to examine a pet's teeth regularly for periodontal disease signs. They include reluctance to drink cold water, play with chew toys, or eat. Other signs include pus between the teeth and gums, an unusual growth in the mouth, broken teeth, loss of teeth, and loose teeth. The pet may also have persistent bad breath; bleeding, red, or swollen gums; or brownish colored teeth. Consult a veterinarian in Concord, CA if any of these signs are noticed. 

Two critical components of a pet’s dental care are addressed at a veterinary hospital in Concord, CA. They are dental exams and cleanings. Dental care should begin at the puppy or kitten life stage. As pets age, developmental anomalies, oral tumors, periodontal disease, and the accumulation of tartar and plague are watched for by the veterinarian in Concord, CA. Basic exams are done while pets are awake. 

When cleaning is necessary, pets are induced under anesthesia at the veterinary hospital in Concord, CA where a thorough exam is done before cleaning. Cleaning done while a pet is awake is dangerous for the pet and the veterinarian in Concord, CA. Pets receiving inadequate care from a non-anesthetic procedure are prone to the development of periodontal disease. 

The element of risk that any medical procedure presents makes the use of safety precautions important. The American Animal Hospital Association sets standards the veterinarian hospital in Concord, CA meets. A veterinarian performs a thorough exam of the oral cavity teeth and structures of a pet presented for a procedure. Only properly trained personnel perform the procedures. 

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Veterinarian Deals with Cat Lower Urinary Tract Disease in Veterinary Hospital in the Walnut Creek Area

The number one reason cat owners bring their pets to a veterinarian in the Walnut Creek, CA vicinity is lower urinary tract disease. The problems associated with urinary tract disease include urethra and bladder problems, urinary tract infections, urinary stones, and feline idiopathic cystitis. Urinary stones and idiopathic cystitis comprise 80 percent of lower urinary tract problems in cats. Management of these conditions by a veterinarian in the Walnut Creek, CA region is essential. Clinical signs that a cat is suffering from urinary tract disease include:

• Urination straining

• Urination outside a litter box

• Urine containing blood

A veterinary hospital in the Walnut Creek, CA area will manage the lower urinary tract disease nutritionally, medically, or surgically. Medical management of lower urinary tract disease can include pain medication prescribed by a veterinarian from the Walnut Creek, CA area to alleviate discomfort, or antibiotics to treat an infection. 

The type of urinary stone determines if surgical management, performed in a veterinary hospital in the Walnut Creek, CA vicinity is necessary. A therapeutic urinary diet with nutritional modifications is utilized for the dissolution of struvite stones. Diet also helps prevent struvite or calcium oxalate stones from reoccurring. 

Additional health conditions are frequently incurred by cats with urinary stones of feline idiopathic cystitis. Lower urinary tract disease often occurs in conjunction with stress, obesity, or skin conditions. It is fairly common for cats to have multiple health conditions occurring simultaneously. Anxiety or stress is a common issue that is concurrent in many cats with lower urinary tract disease.

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Veterinarian Cares for Senior Pets at Veterinary Hospital near Clayton, CA Area

Improved care has pets living longer than ever before. The reasons stem from better living quarters, better attention to well-being and health, and vastly improved veterinary hospital care in the Clayton, CA vicinity. There is also less threat from predators and better pharmaceuticals and pet foods have been researched and manufactured. Added to those are greater awareness of preventative wellness programs that curtail traumatic injury instances and disease.

Due to longer life spans, a pet owner or veterinarian in the Clayton, CA region is faced with new conditions that need attention. Regular visits to a veterinary hospital in the Clayton, CA area, can detect problems before they advance and become life-threatening. The chances of a pet living a healthier life increase. Research has shown that an aging cat or dog’s health also enhances the well-being of senior pet owners. Pet recovery and care facilities, such as ‘no-kill’ shelters, are causing an explosion of older cats and dogs finding a place in our homes. Millions of senior pets are placed every year. 

A veterinarian in the Clayton, CA vicinity knows the assumption that a year in a pet’s life being equivalent to a seven-year human span is not necessarily correct. Cats and dogs do age at a more rapid rate than humans. However, that rate is not consistent in a pet’s life. Both cats and dogs are approaching ‘old age’ at seven years of age. A dog is approximately the equivalent of a 44 to 56-year-old human. Cats are approximately equivalent to a 54-year-old human at that age. Breed, weight, and size of a pet affect those ranges. 

Veterinary hospital workers in the Clayton, CA region, do not consider old age a disease. A veterinarian in the Clayton, CA area, is aware of certain mental and physical changes that occur in pets as they mature. 

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Vet in Concord, CA Animal Hospital Prepares Pets for Surgery

A full blood profile is drawn before procedures involving anesthesia. The blood work is done two or three days before surgery. A pre-surgical exam is also conducted, by a vet from the animal hospital in Concord, CA, to ensure a pet is physically fit for surgery.

The kidneys and liver remove most anesthetics from the body. Those organs must be deemed healthy by the Concord, CA vet before surgery takes place. It is important that the blood cell count is normal for proper tissue healing promotion. Abnormal tests spur a discussion with the pet owner to decide on one of three options.

Those options include postponing the procedure to a later date, further diagnostics at the animal hospital, or altering procedures and medications before proceeding with anesthetics. Normal test results are no guarantee a pet will not have a reaction to anesthesia, but they do indicate a healthy pet with a low risk of anesthetic reaction. All anesthetics carry a certain amount of risk. A vet from Concord, CA would be remiss in not arming pet owners with as much information as possible.

On the day of surgery at the animal hospital in Concord, CA, the pet is dropped off early so that any necessary x-rays or blood work can be done. Early arrival helps the pet become situated. It will take approximately 15 minutes to fill out paperwork after arrival. Time can be saved by downloading the form from the animal hospital in Concord, CA website, and filling it out before arriving.

Most pets can return home the day of surgery. If a pet is not awake enough to go home, the vet from Concord, CA may suggest an overnight stay to allow the pet to sleep off the anesthesia while resting quietly and comfortably.

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Recommended Vaccinations from an Animal or Veterinary Hospital in Concord, CA

To protect a pet from disease, keep vaccinations up-to-date. If the pet spends most of its time indoors, vaccinations are particularly important. Airborne contagious disease exposure can come from an open window. The risk of pets slipping out the door also exists. Grooming salons, dog parks, and boarding kennels are potential areas in which pets can contract a disease. Remember, too, that vaccinations require a little time to take effect. That time frame can be a few days or a few weeks. 

Dogs and cats all need to be vaccinated against rabies. An animal hospital in Concord, CA can perform the service. There are also vaccinations that are specifically needed by dogs or cats. Doctors, working in a veterinary hospital in Concord, CA, will recommend a ‘distemper shot’ for your pet dog. It is a combination vaccine that protects against distemper. The vaccine also protects against parvovirus, parainfluenza, and hepatitis. 

Depending on your location, other vaccines may be recommended by an animal hospital vet in Concord, CA. California is usually a moist climate, especially along the coast. Slow-moving or standing water is a breeding ground for bacterial infection. Veterinary hospitals, in Concord, CA, will likely include a leptospirosis vaccine in the distemper shot. Lyme disease, an infection caused by ticks, is also prevalent along the west coast. Dogs should be vaccinated against that disease as well. 

The distemper shot, a veterinary hospital in Concord, CA would recommend for your cat, is a combination of vaccinations against panleukopenia, calicivirus, and feline viral rhinotracheitis. Other recommended cat vaccinations are based on where your cat spends most of its time. Cats that spend a lot of time outdoors will likely receive the recommendations for feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia from an animal hospital in Concord, CA. 

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