Vet column: How to stop your pet from getting ill in the first place

At Dunedin Vets, as with most veterinary practices these days, we offer a pet health plan (PHP). This is a means to ensure your cherished pets receive all the treatment they require to prevent them catching certain illnesses.

Basically, you spread the cost of your pet’s preventative healthcare over the year rather than being faced with large bills at booster time, so allowing you to budget monthly for this.

Dunedin Vet’s PHP offers many other benefits and discounts. This ensures your pet has the best preventative healthcare possible. Please ask at the branches for details.

At Dunedin Vets, we offer free puppy and kitten checks for all new pets. Your pet will be thoroughly examined by a veterinary surgeon and lots of advice given by vets, qualified veterinary nurses and reception staff.

What can you expect to be included in these plans? Well, routine vaccinations, external and internal parasite control, and many other benefits.

Vaccinations

The following are the diseases you can protect your canine pals from catching.

l Distemper: This virus causes a multitude of symptoms, from respiratory disease and gastroenteritis to severe neurological conditions. It can be fatal.

l Parvovirus: This virus causes severe gastroenteritis, which rapidly leads to dehydration and death if supportive treatment is not administered quickly.

l Canine hepatitis: There are actually two types but both cause collapse, vomiting, bleeding and jaundice; very few pups recover.

l Leptospirosis: There are several of these organisms, which cause kidney or liver disease. This can be an acute or chronic condition.

l Kennel cough: This is the name for a syndrome of sore throat and coughing caused by a bacterium and virus together. Although not usually fatal, it can be a real nuisance and very contagious.

Vaccinations are given annually for leptospirosis and kennel cough, which can be an intranasal vaccine or injection. The other viral infections are vaccinated against every three years.

If you are considering taking your pet on holiday overseas then a rabies vaccine is essential and, if you are travelling to southern Europe, then a course of Leishmaniosis vaccinations are recommended. Please contact your vet for information on the vaccinations your dog requires.

It is advisable to vaccinate your feline friends against feline herpes and calici virus (constituting cat flu), feline enteritis and feline leukaemia. The ‘cat flu’ part is administered annually, with the other parts being given every three years.

l Cat flu: This condition is caused by two main viruses. The cat has respiratory problems, runny eyes, sneezing and general malaise. When they recover, cats can become virus carriers.

l Feline enteritis: This virus causes severe gastroenteritis, often resulting in death.

l Feline leukaemia virus: This virus can induce leukaemia or related diseases in cats. It also suppresses the immune system over a long period of time. Many cats recover but become carriers which can infect other cats by grooming etc. It is generally considered that cats kept totally indoors are not at risk if this virus. There have also been cases of cats developing a tumour where this vaccine has been previously administered. Some vets advocated administering this vaccine into a hind limb, just in case this scenario develops, but it is rare.

Recently, Mrs Louise Scott visited Dunedin Vets’ Tranent branch with her three cats Nuuk, Nansen and Binkie for their annual vaccinations and check-ups. They are lovely cats and were found to be very healthy. Mrs Scott has chosen not to have feline leukaemia vaccinations given to her cats, as unfortunately Nuuk was one of these cats who developed a post-vaccination sarcoma some years ago. He underwent extensive surgery to remove it and fortunately made a full recovery and is enjoying life with his brother Nansen and friend Binkie.

Your rabbits can be vaccinated against myxomatosis and viral haemorrhagic disease (VHD). One vaccine against the two agents can be given from six weeks of age. Boosters are given annually.

l Myxomatosis: This virus is usually spread from wild rabbits to domestic pets via fleas and flies. It causes a severe debilitating condition and most rabbits will die.

l Viral haemorrhagic disease: This is a viral condition which can cause sudden death or severe enteritis. It can be transferred by bird droppings, notably gulls.

Internal parasite control

Most puppies and kittens are born with a roundworm infestation. Worms are passed to them before birth by their mothers and through mother’s milk. This is obviously not very pleasant and potentially these worms pose a risk for humans, especially children.

Tapeworms are rarely a problem in puppies and kittens, although one type is actually transmitted by fleas.

We recommend worming puppies and kittens at eight, 10 and 12 weeks of age with a quality wormer in tablet or liquid form which will kill most worms. Remember, there may be no obvious signs of worm infestation.

Worming should be carried out every month for the rest of your pet’s life.

External parasite control

Fleas are passed from one animal to another. Although there are different types of dog and cat fleas, they don’t mind what they jump onto to feed!

Fleas are two to three millimetres long and move quickly through the coat. Flea droppings are black and gritty, and turn red if damp cotton wool is applied to them.

Fleas can transmit several diseases, cause allergies and general irritation. Treatment for fleas should be given monthly. Good-quality preparations, as supplied by your vet, should be used.

Fleas live on your pet and in the house. You must use a suitable insecticide spray to destroy flea larvae, which can survive for months in the environment. Your veterinary staff can advise what is best for your pet and your home.

The rabbit flea is unusual in that it doesn’t move very fast. They are often found along the edge of cats’ ears and are difficult to remove, so are called ‘stick-tight’ fleas. Cats can pick them up when hunting wild rabbits.

Ticks spend most of their life in long grass and woodland areas. They attach to pets as they brush past.

Ticks feed on blood and grow as they feed. They usually drop off after several days. They can transmit some dangerous conditions such as Lyme disease. They can also cause tissue reactions if parts are left behind when they are removed. You can buy special tick removers or your vet will be able to assist in tick removal.

So you see, vets are not only performing emergency treatments, a very large proportion of our workload is actually trying to ensure your pets never become ill in the first place. We therefore see many lovely, healthy pets and happy owners, which is very rewarding for everyone.