Latest News

Welcome to those new Puppies & Kittens

February 24, 2021

A special welcome to those very cute new kittens and puppies that have arrived over the summer months to join your families.

Our focus is to make sure you have all the information to ensure your new friend is as happy and healthy as possible.

VACCINATIONS

We vaccinate our pets to protect them against some very nasty infections. The first vaccination is generally given when your kitten or puppy is 6-8 weeks old. The vet will then discuss with you how many further vaccinations, and what type of vaccinations are needed. With puppies we recommend waiting 1 week after their FINAL puppy vaccination before interacting with other dogs of unknown vaccination status and being taken on walks in the general public. We have much more info on this topic so please ask if you require it.

MICROCHIPPING

There is a legal requirement to have your dog microchipped and we highly recommend you microchip your cat. This is often done at the time of the last vaccination. Alternatively, it can be done at the time of desexing. We will provide you with certification which you can give to the council. We also highly recommend you register your pets microchip number on the National Companion Animal database system, which gives 24-hour access to your pets details.

WORMING

This should be done every 2 weeks until 12 weeks of age, then every month until 6 months of age and then every 3 months.

DESEXING

The decision to desex your pet is an important one, and is important for many reasons.

It helps to:

Prevent unwanted pregnancies
Reduce the influence of hormones on behaviour such as aggression, urine marking, territorial behaviour, fighting, and other dominance related behaviour.
Reduce life threatening diseases including uterine infection, mammary cancer, testicular cancer and prostatic diseases.
Prevent roaming and potential road traffic accidents.

For a cat whether it is a female or a male the best time to desex is 4- 6 months before they become sexually active.

For a dog there are many different factors including sex, size and breed that mean the recommendation is different for every pet. We will discuss the optimal age for your pet when you are here for vaccinations. Or you can give us a call and we can discuss with you.

The spey or neuter surgery requires a day stay and is performed with your pet under general anaesthesia to minimize pain and discomfort. We use multiple methods of providing pain relief, and dissolvable sutures are generally placed meaning they do not require a repeat visit for removal of sutures.

FOOD

Kittens should be on a good quality diet formulated specifically for kittens. Cats have very different nutritional requirements to dogs and should not be fed on dog food. Avoid significant amounts of meat in the diet, as this is low in calcium and will result in bone defects. They should stay on this diet until around 12 months of age.

Small and Medium breed puppies should be on a growth, small or medium puppy diet.

Large breed puppies should be on a large breed puppy diet. (Large Breeds are classified as any puppy that will be over 25kg as an adult, eg. Labrador) until 18 months of age.

For puppies and kittens extra supplementation is not required as they are getting a balanced diet from the kitten or puppy food.

Photo cred: i-stock

BACK TO PREVIOUS PAGE