Veterinary Surgeon Walsall, Cannock, Willenhall, Wolverhampton
Pets Passports:
If you wish to take your pet abroad on holiday, many countries participate in the Pet Passport Scheme. For your pet passport to be issued you need the following, all of which can be done at any of our surgeries:
- 1. Microchipping
- 2. Rabies Vaccination
- 3. Blood test to make sure the rabies vaccine has a positive result
- 4. Passport issued and stamped by one of our government approved vets
Please note that once the passport is issued, it will be six months before your pet can re-enter the UK from the date the blood test was carried out. Also, it is vital to keep your rabies vaccine up to date to ensure the passport remains valid. We recommend organising your passport well in advance of your planned trip. For more information visit the Defra website.
Fleas:
We recommend routine flea prevention for all cats and dogs that go outdoors. Even if your cat or dog is not ‘infested’ with fleas, individual fleas can cause problems. Lots of cats and dogs are allergic to fleas and it only takes one fleabite to make them itchy all over. Also, if fleas get into your house and start breeding, then it can be very difficult and expensive to get rid of them. As houses are the perfect winter home for fleas, especially if you have any heating, we recommend using flea prevention all year round. Like worming products, there are many different flea products on the market and scientific studies and our own experience have shown that the flea prevention we sell works better than any you can get from a supermarket or pet store. We will recommend one of our ‘spot-on’ preparations, depending on your kitten or puppy’s individual circumstances, and advise you how to use it.
Insurance:
At Cavan Vets we aim to provide high quality, low cost veterinary care. However, if your kitten or puppy develops an ongoing condition such as diabetes, then over the duration of the condition, even low cost care can add up to significant amounts. Also, there are a number of surgical and medical procedures that can only be performed by specialists, and these can be very expensive. We therefore recommend you get pet insurance for your kitten or puppy, so that if either of these situations occurs, you don't have to worry about the cost.
Many policies will only pay for the first year of a condition, but frequently conditions last for much longer than a year. Therefore, we recommend that when picking a policy, you get one that pays for the duration of an illness, not just the first year (you need to read the fine print). Also, insurance companies will often have different premiums for different levels of cover. For example, they will often have one premium if they only cover the first £1000 for a specific problem, a higher premium if they will cover £3000, and a higher premium still if the cover is unlimited. £1000 goes a very long way with us at Cavan Vets, but unfortunately specialist bills of £2000 - £5000 are not uncommon, so the more you can afford to have covered, the better.
Vaccinations:
We advise that all cats and dogs are vaccinated at the first available opportunity.
Cats:
Kittens need vaccinations from the age of 9 weeks, to protect them from Calicivirus, Rhinotracheitis and Panleucopaenia. Your cat will need an annual booster. Another virus can cause your cat to get leukaemia and this is spread by cats fighting each other. Kittens will need two leukaemia vaccinations from the age of 9 weeks and again, an annual booster. We can combine these different elements of vaccination into one syringe, allowing us to be able to give one injection for each visit.
The second injection in the course is given 3 weeks after the first, but you must wait until the kitten is 12 weeks old to have its second vaccination. For example, if the kitten is 9 weeks old at their first vaccination, the second vaccination can take place when it is 12 weeks. If the kitten is 9 weeks or older at their first vaccination, then their second vaccination can take place 3 weeks later.
Dogs:
Puppies need at least two vaccinations, from the age of six weeks onwards, to protect them against Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza and Leptospirosis. Your dog will need an annual booster. The vaccinations should be given 2-4 weeks apart, but the second one must be given after your puppy is 10 weeks old. For example, if your puppy is 6-8 weeks at their first vaccination, their second vaccination can take place when they are 10 weeks old. If your puppy is 8 weeks or older at their first vaccination, then the second can take place 2 weeks after their first.
Rabbits:
Rabbits are ready to vaccinate from 8 weeks of age. They require 2 injections 2 weeks apart and boosters every 12 months. Myxomatosis and VHD (Viral Haemorrhagic Disease) are the two diseases you need to vaccinate against.
Worming:
Dogs:
We recommend worming your puppy fortnightly until it is 12 weeks old, then monthly until 6 months old, then every 2-3 months for life. The worming preparation we recommend will depend on the age and size of your puppy, but will either be a paste or tablet. Intestinal worms are parasites that live in the digestive system of both dogs and cats. There are a few different types of worms, and they can cause ill thrift, itching around the anus, anaemia, intestinal blockages and even death in severe cases. Even if your dog is not showing any of these signs, it could still have worms and these could be affecting it internally. As a result, all dogs that go outside should be routinely wormed.
There are numerous worming preparations on the market, but scientific studies have proven that the products you can get from us are more effective at killing the worms than any product you can get from a supermarket or pet store. There are three different types of worm preparation we may recommend for your dog: a paste or liquid, a tablet, or a spot-on. What we recommend will depend on your dog's age, size and whom your dog comes into contact with.
Our paste, liquid, or tablets are great at killing the worms your dog has at the time of worming, but unfortunately they have no residual activity. Your dog is susceptible to becoming re-infected straight away and if unlucky, could even have adult worms back in its system and laying eggs just 3 weeks after being wormed. However, most dogs will not get re-infected with a worm straight after being wormed, which is why we generally recommend worming with the paste/liquid or tablet every 2-3 months.
The exception to worming every 2-3 months is if the dog comes into contact with any young children at all. Worms pass their microscopic eggs out in the dog's faeces and if a baby or young child happens to ingest one of these eggs, then the worm can sometimes hatch and migrate around the child's body. This can result in skin irritation or even blindness for the child. If your dog comes into contact with babies or young children, then we recommend a product called Advocate, which is a spot-on applied monthly to the back of the neck and which will kill all the worms that children can pick up, also preventing fleas. Unfortunately, Advocate does not kill tapeworms, so dogs on Advocate still need to be wormed with a tablet, but they only need this every 6 months, because this is how long it takes for tapeworms to complete their lifecycle.
If you have any questions then don't hesitate to ask one of our members of staff.
The lungworm Angiostrongylus vasorum (also known as French Heartworm) is a parasite that infects dogs and lives in the heart and major blood vessels supplying the lungs, where it can cause a range of problems. Left untreated, the infection can often be fatal if not diagnosed and treated. The lungworm parasite is carried by slugs, snails, the slimy trails slugs and snails leave behind and occasionally frogs and foxes. The problem arises when dogs purposefully or accidentally eat these common garden pests when rummaging through undergrowth, eating grass, drinking from puddles or outdoor water bowls, or pick them up from their favourite toys. When infected the dog can show a number of quite different symptoms, some of which can be easily confused with other illnesses. Your dog could present one or more of the following symptoms: breathing problems or coughing, poor blood clotting resulting in excessive bleeding from minor wounds, bleeding from eyes, bleeding from nose and anaemia (paleness around the eyes and gums), tiring more easily, behavioural changes, seizures (having fits) spinal pain, weight loss, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhoea. If you notice any of the symptoms described above, it is very important that you speak to your vet. Early diagnosis and treatment will give your dog the best change of a complete recovery.
Cats:
We recommend you worm your kitten fortnightly until it is 12 weeks old, monthly until it is 6 months old and then every 2-3 months for life. There are numerous worm preparations on the market, but scientific studies have shown that our products are much better at killing worms than anything available from a supermarket or pet store. The two ways of worming a cat are either with a tablet, or with a ‘spot-on’ that goes on back of the neck. Both are as effective as each other. Tablets are cheaper, but can be more difficult to administer. We will discuss the two options with you and decide which one will be best for you and your kitten.
Cats can become infected with a type of lungworm (Aelurostrongylus abstrusus). However, infections seem to be rare and the outcome tends not to be as severe as in dogs. If you are worried that your cat may be showing symptoms similar to those described to the dog (particularly coughing), speak to your vet for advice.
Microchips:
Microchips are small implants (about the size of 2 grains of rice end to end) that are injected under the skin, between the shoulder blades. These are not GPS tracking devices, but work more like a barcode on a supermarket product. A scanner, which every vet clinic, the RSPCA and police stations all have, will detect the microchip and show its unique 15¬ digit number. The owner's details are all kept on a central computer database and for any stray cat or dog that is found to have a microchip, the database will be contacted and they will then inform the owner. Microchipping is the best way to permanently identify your cat or dog and is also used in the Pet Passport Scheme. Microchipping can be done at any age, for a one off fee of £15+VAT, but we generally recommend doing it at your kittens or puppies second vaccination.
Neutering:
Cats:
We recommend neutering both male and female cats at 6 months of age. There is no benefit for either a male or female cat not to be neutered. The benefit for a male cat is that they are less likely to fight or wander, meaning they are less likely to get cat fight abscess,' or be hit by cars. They are also less likely to spray urine around the house. The benefit for a female cat is that she is less likely to get mammary cancer, or uterine infections. Of course, there will be no unwanted pregnancies either and male cats won't hang around spraying as she won't come into season.