Pet Preventative Care
At Healthy Pets Veterinary Care, we strongly believe in the advantages of preventative medicine versus reactionary medicine.
Puppy and Kitten Vaccines
Puppies and kittens require a series of pet vaccinations beginning at six to eight weeks of age. Due to their immature immune system, puppies and kittens require multiple vaccine boosters to achieve proper immunity.
DOG VACCINES
Vaccinations are a fundamental part of your dog’s overall health. Once vaccinations start at six to eight weeks of age, they’ll continue throughout your dog’s life. We recommend following the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) guidelines for core and non-core vaccines, but we also believe each pet is an individual. Pet vaccinations may be tailored to your pet based on need and risk.
- Rabies
- Distemper/parvovirus combination
- Parainfluenza
- Adenovirus
- Bordetella (kennel cough)
- Leptospirosis
- Influenza
- Lyme
CAT VACCINES
Vaccinations are essential to your cat’s health and are recommended even for indoor-only cats. Vaccinations for cats also start at six to eight weeks of age and will continue throughout their life.
We recommend following the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) guidelines for core and non-core vaccines, but all cats differ. Because of this, your cat’s vaccinations can be customized based on their needs and exposure risks.
Core Vaccinations for Cats
- Panleukopenia (feline distemper)
- Feline calicivirus
- Feline herpesvirus (rhinotracheitis)
- Rabies
- Feline leukemia virus (FELV)
The FELV vaccine is essential for indoor/outdoor and outside cats. Healthy Pets Veterinary Care is also proud to offer Purevax Feline Vaccines, a non-adjuvant line of vaccines for cats – as recommended by the AAFP. We provide both the one and the three-year Purevax rabies vaccines.
Heartworm Prevention
Heartworms are a potentially life-threatening parasite carried by mosquitoes. A single bite can infect your dog without proper prevention. Heartworm disease is unfortunately common in South Florida, where the sub-tropical climate allows mosquitoes to thrive year-round.
The good news is that heartworm disease can be easily prevented in your pet by affordable monthly heartworm preventatives. These preventatives are far more inexpensive and safer than heartworm treatment, which is extremely expensive and life-threatening.
We proudly carry Heartgard as our heartworm prevention due to its safety and efficiency. We also offer alternative heartworm preventatives through our easy-to-use and convenient online pharmacy.
For your pet’s safety, we require yearly testing for heartworm disease before refilling preventatives. Contact us today to schedule your pet’s annual heartworm test. To learn more about heartworm disease, please visit the American Heartworm Society.
Flea and Tick Prevention
Fleas and ticks are more than just a nuisance for dogs and cats. They can cause severe anemia and carry deadly diseases that can be transmitted to people.
Fleas are a common problem in South Florida, as they love high humidity and warm temperatures. This makes our climate the ideal environment for them. Dogs and cats often get fleas through contact with other animals or contact with fleas in the environment. Sometimes, they are even carried in on our shoes or clothes.
Fleabites usually cause itching for the host, but some dogs and cats may be hypersensitive to the flea’s saliva. For pets with flea hypersensitivity, the itching can be quite severe and often leads to hair loss, skin inflammation, and secondary skin infections.
Ticks are common parasites and are found all over the world, from the woods to city parks. They transmit many serious diseases, including:
- Lyme disease
- Anaplasma
- Ehrlichia
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
The risks to your pet can be minimized with proper prevention and annual screening tests, which are performed at the same time as your pet’s heartworm test. These screening tests are critical as symptoms of tick-borne diseases are often vague and difficult to recognize until it’s too late.