Spring is definitely one of the most soul nourishing seasons, it lures us out of bed early drawing us into the great outdoors to revel in all of its glory! Judging by the actions of our furry friends in warmer weather it’s clear they agree.
Unfortunately spring also comes with heightened threats to our pets so we mustn’t be distracted by its splendour. Snake bites, insect bites, paralysis ticks, worms, fleas, heart worm plus the diseases we vaccinate against are some of the higher risks to our pet- by taking a small amount of time out to ensure your pet is adequately protected is guaranteed to make spring more joyous for you and your pet.
Now’s the time to get your pet’s preventative health care in tip top shape!
Paralysis ticks
Although they can pose a threat every day of the year to animals living along the east coast of Australia, spring is when the adult females are out in damaging numbers. They emerge from their hiding place seeking a host. Don’t allow your pet to become a victim, reduce their chance of succumbing to these toxic parasites by giving them a preventative product. Combine this with daily tick searches and you have provided your pet with the gold standard in preventing and detecting ticks! Easy! We have many effective forms of tick prevention available at Ourimbah vet and our online shop such as Bravecto, Nexgard and Simparica. To read more on the dreaded paralysis tick click here!
Fleas
These tiny blood suckers multiply like crazy as the weather becomes warmer and more humid. It’s their favourite time of the year! It is recommended that flea prevention is administered year round – if your pet is overdue for their prevention it is important you start ASAP in order to prevent that flea cycle from starting because when it takes hold it can seem impossible to break- for more on fleas click here
Intestinal worming
An all wormer needs to be given every 3 months in adult cats and dogs for intestinal worming- a great way to remember to administer it to your pet is at the changing of the season= every 3 months. It’s important the all wormer is for treatment of roundworm, hookworm, tapeworm and whipworm. To read more on intestinal worms look out for our Intestinal worming blog coming next month.
The recommended worming schedule in cats and dogs is to treat at
2,4,6,8,10 &12 weeks of age
then monthly up until 6 months of age
then every 3 months for the rest of their life
We have plenty of intestinal worming products in stock at Ourimbah vet and in our online shop
Heart worm
The only way it is possible for heart worm to be spread from animal to animal is via mosquitos! The warmer and more humid weather that spring and summer provides an ideal environment for mosquitos. Unfortunately the number of cases of heart worm have risen throughout Australia in recent months and we are seeing more and more cases throughout NSW. Prevention is so much easier and certainly safer as treatment can be quite unpleasant and risky for your pet.
There are a variety of heart worm preventatives available. In the bad old days the only option was daily tablets, but fortunately things have moved on with the development of monthly preventatives and a yearly injection. Call us to help find out what type of prevention is best for your pet.
The yearly injection is a fantastic option for most of our patients, as even missing a single dose of monthly preventative increases the risk of heart worm infection.
The heart worm injection can be administered in puppies as young as 12 weeks of age, conveniently followed by a booster at 6 months of age, then 15 months of age at the same time as their first adult annual health check and vaccinations. Once your dog becomes an adult, yearly boosters are administered.
We will email reminders when your pet is due so there is no need to try and remember when their yearly prevention is due. If you wish to start the heart worm injection it is easy to transition from monthly prevention to the yearly injection. Even if your pet hasn’t been on regular heart worm prevention we can run a simple blood test in house, which only takes 10 minutes and a drop of your pet’s blood to check for adult heart worm then they can receive the injection!
Do you anticipate being out and about enjoying this fine weather with your pet? When was the last time your pet was vaccinated? If you’re unsure please phone us to discuss.
Our routine vaccinations are as follows:
Cats are usually vaccinated with an ‘F3’ which provides protection against
Feline herpes virus– sneezing and nasal discharge
Feline calicivirus- difficulty breathing, eye and nasal discharge, pneumonia
Feline panleukopaenia– vomiting and diarrhoea
Dogs are usually vaccinated with a ‘C5’ which provides protection against
Distemper – unfortunately this disease is usually fatal and affects the gastrointestinal system, respiratory and central nervous system. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, red eyes, diarrhoea, coughing and seizures.
Hepatitis – infects the liver and can be fatal. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea, not eating, lethargy, excessive thirst and urination, neurological symptoms, an enlarged liver and jaundice (yellowing of skin, gums and whites of the eyes).
Parvovirus– attacks your pets gastrointestinal system and can also affect the cardiovascular system and has a relatively high mortality rate. Symptoms include inappetence, lethargy, fever, vomiting, severe offensive smelling diarrhoea- usually containing blood and severe dehydration.
Parainfluenza– viral component of kennel cough.
Bordetalla bronchiseptica– bacterial component of kennel cough. Symptoms of kennel cough include a dry hacking cough, runny nose, inappetence, fever with potential for secondary pneumonia.
All of the diseases vaccinated against are highly contagious and are potentially fatal- if your dog is out and about socialising with other dogs or visiting places where other dogs have been such as the park, dog beach, boarding kennels etc. we cannot stress to you enough how important it is to protect your pet. Similarly if your cat spends time outside or visits catteries or other places where they come in contact with other cats vaccination is strongly recommended. If your pet is showing signs of being unwell it is also very important you isolate them from these areas and contact your vet asap.
We hope you have an enjoyable spring!
If you have any further questions please phone our friendly staff on 4362 1644.