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Pet Wellness

Cayuga Veterinary Services provides the highest quality, complete pet wellness care for dogs and cats of all ages. Your pet’s health and quality and longevity of life is the focus of our preventative care protocols.

Pet Health Information

Pet Nutrition

Pet nutrition directly impacts all aspects of your pet’s health including, energy level and body condition.  We have a variety of wellness and prescription diets available to customize your pet’s nutritional needs.  This includes the correct balance of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and fat.  We will answer questions you may have regarding your pet’s nutrition based on your pet’s wellness exam.

Flea Control and Prevention

We recommend your pet begin flea preventative as early as 8 weeks old as flea infestations are difficult to treat but easy to prevent.  Fleas can cause a variety of problems for your pet including skin disease, allergic reactions, anemia, and a variety of diseases carried by fleas can be transmitted to your pet.  Even if your cat or dog stays mainly indoors, fleas can jump into your house through open doors, low windows, or tag along on you into the home.

Heartworm Disease and Prevention

Heartworm disease is caused by a blood-borne parasite that is transmitted to dogs and cats by infected mosquitoes.  The adult parasites damage the blood vessels and reduce the ability of your pet’s heart to pump effectively and sufficiently.  Many times the resulting damage is irreversible.  We recommend your pet start a monthly heartworm preventative as early as 8 weeks old to maximize the protection for your pet.  

Intestinal Parasite Screening

Our fecal test recommendations follow the Companion Animal Parasite Council guidelines of intestinal parasite screening (fecal test) every six months. In some cases parasites can be transmitted from pet to owner creating a health risk.  This is especially the case in children, immunocompromised individuals, and the elderly.  Parasites are easily transmitted to your pet through fecal matter and residual debris found on sidewalks, parks, and even your backyard.

Pet Microchips

Cayuga Veterinary Services offers microchipping services for your pet.  The procedure injects a tiny microchip under your pet’s skin between the shoulder blades.  You pet’s unique microchip number is linked to your personal contact information, which is stored in an international database for easy retrieval by veterinarians and animal control agencies worldwide.  Should your pet be lost and recovered you will be contacted and will be reunited quickly.  This procedure does not require anesthesia but we recommend that it is performed at the time of spay or neuter for convenience.

Tick Control and Prevention

We live in a tick endemic area so it is extremely important to be diligent about tick control and prevention.  Veterinary Parasitologists are reporting that tick populations are increasing and spreading into places that they have not been seen before.  Ticks can survive through the winter so year round prevention is the best for your dog and cat.  Not only is the tick bite a nuisance but ticks can transmit a number of infectious diseases such as Lyme, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, and Anaplasmosis. 

Protect yourself and your pets from tick-borne diseases with the following measures:

  • Provide all your pets with lifetime, year-round parasite control.  Just because your dog or cat stays mainly indoors does not mean that they are not at risk.

  • Apply tick-prevention products on a regular schedule. It's no longer effective to try to time parasite control to start in spring and stop after the second killing frost. 

  • Check your dog or cat for ticks anytime they have been outdoors. Keep a tick-removal device on hand and know how to use it.

  • Make your yard less welcoming to ticks by removing leaf litter, mowing the lawn frequently, keeping landscaping free of tall grass and brush, and fencing your yard to prevent incursions by deer and other animals that carry ticks. A three-foot swathe of wood chips or gravel between your lawn and wooded areas won't keep ticks away, but it does serve as a visual reminder that you are entering the tick zone.

  • Use insect repellent on yourself and wear protective clothing.

  • After a hike or other outdoor excursion to tick-friendly wooded areas with tall grass, give yourself and your pets a cursory examination for ticks, so you don't bring them home.

Puppy and Kitten Wellness

Bringing a new puppy or kitten into your life is not only exciting it can be overwhelming.

Cayuga Veterinary Services understands the human-animal bond and we are focused on providing high-quality pet health care to make sure that bond lasts a long time.  We highly recommend you begin your new pet’s wellness regimen as soon as you bring them home.  Our veterinary team will establish a customized wellness plan tailored to your new pet including appropriate vaccines, spaying or neutering, pet nutrition, pet dental evaluation, and parasite prevention.

Why Vaccinations are Necessary

If the mother is properly vaccinated, a puppy or kitten will initially receive disease protection through its mother, first inside the mother and then by drinking its mother’s milk.  This immunity does not last long therefore vaccinating your pet offers safe and effective protection from common, potentially life-threatening diseases. Your new pet will receive a minimum of three immunizations given in a series to protect against common diseases.  We recommend the vaccination series begins at approximately 8 weeks of age.  We will tailor a vaccination plan specific to your pet after a thorough risk-based lifestyle assessment.

 Puppy Vaccines

We recommend the following vaccines to maximize health benefits and reduce the most common risks for your puppy.  The core vaccines include:

  • DA2PPVL: Distemper, Adenovirus types 1 & 2, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus, Leptospirosis

  • Rabies Vaccine: required by New York State Law

  • Lyme Vaccine: a disease transmitted by ticks that is endemic to our area

  • Bordatella Vaccine: protects against what is commonly referred to as “kennel cough”

Kitten Vaccines

  • Vaccines that protect your kitten from potentially life-threatening diseases included:

  • FVRCP: Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia

  • Rabies Vaccine: required by New York State Law

  • FeLv: Feline Leukemia

Spaying or Neutering Your Pet

We highly recommend the spaying (ovariohysterectomy) of female puppies and kittens and the neutering (castration) of male puppies and kittens when they reach 6 months of age.  Performing the procedure prior to your pet reaching sexual maturity helps to prevent the development unwanted behaviors and reduces the risk of reproductive organ diseases.

There are many health benefits for female pets including:

  • Reduced risk of breast cancer

  • Eliminates the risk of uterine infections and cancers

  • Eliminated the risk of ovarian cancers

  • Eliminates unwanted pregnancy.

There are many health benefits for male pets including:

  • Eliminates the risk of testicular cancer

  • Reduces the risk of prostate cancer

  • Minimizes behavioral problems.

Spaying or neutering does not cause a change in your pet’s personality, intelligence, guarding instincts, or affection.

All of our veterinary surgeries follow our veterinary surgery procedure, which includes a complete physical exam and pre-anesthetic blood-work. Both spayed and neutered pets are typically discharged the same day.

Puppy and Kitten Nutrition

During the growth stage of puppies and kittens special nutritional requirements are necessary.  Specialty growth stage formulas contain a higher amount of calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals important to their development.  We recommend feeding on a set schedule using the quantity listed on the bag as a guideline.  During your pet’s wellness visit our veterinary team can make more specific recommendations for your pet and their unique needs based upon breed and lifestyle.

Adult Canine and Feline Wellness

Cayuga Veterinary Services provides the highest quality, complete pet wellness care for dogs and cats of all ages.  Your pet’s health and quality and longevity of life is the focus of our preventative care protocols.

Adult Pet Wellness Exam

We consider your pet to be an adult between 1 and 7 years of age and we recommend wellness exams yearly to check your pet for health changes. The adult wellness exam generally includes the following components:

  • Complete Physical Exam:  Our veterinary team will perform a physical exam evaluating and analyzing all the major organ systems and overall health of your pet.

  • Canine Blood Parasite Test: This tests the pet’s blood for heartworm, lyme, erchlichia, and anaplasmosis diseases which are transmitted by mosquitos or ticks. This test is only performed once yearly.

  • Intestinal Parasite Test: This tests the pet’s stool for intestinal parasites which are easily transmitted to your pet through fecal matter and residual debris found on sidewalks, parks, and even your backyard.

  • Blood Chemistry and Complete Blood Count Tests: Diagnostic testing performed on a healthy pet establishes a baseline of health characteristics. The results can be compared over time and may detect subtle changes that are often not noticeable by observation alone. This information can aid in the early detection of health issues.

Adult Feline Vaccinations

Vaccinations are a critical component of preventive care for your cat and are recommended for both indoor and outdoor felines. Vaccination provides safe and effective protection from potentially life-threatening diseases, some of which can be transferred to your human family members. Our feline vaccines are non-adjuvanted in an effort to provide your pet the safest vaccines available. In general, your cat should always be protected from the following:

  • FVRCP (feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, panleukopenia)

  • Rabies: Required by New York State Law

Based on your pet’s lifestyle, our veterinary staff may recommend additional vaccinations for added protection, and may include:

  • FeLV (feline leukemia) vaccine.

Adult Canine Vaccinations

Vaccinations are a critical component of preventive care for your adult dog. Vaccinating your dog offers safe and effective protection from potentially life-threatening diseases. In some cases, the disease can be transferred to your human family members.  In general, your dog should always be protected from the following:

  • DA2PPVL (distemper, adenovirus types 1 & 2, parainfluenza, parvovirus, leptospirosis)

  • Rabies: Required by New York State Law

  • Lyme Disease: a disease transmitted by ticks that is endemic to our area.

Our veterinary team may recommend additional vaccinations depending on the lifestyle of your pet. These vaccines offer additional protection and include the following:

  •  Bordatella: protects against what is commonly referred to as “kennel cough”

  • H3N8: Canine Influenza.

Senior Canine and Feline Wellness

Cayuga Veterinary Services provides the highest quality, complete pet wellness care for dogs and cats of all ages.  Your pet’s health and quality and longevity of life is the focus of our preventative care protocols.

Senior Pet Wellness Exam

We consider your pet to be a senior over 7 years of age and we recommend senior wellness exam twice a year to check your pet for health changes. The senior wellness exam generally includes the following components:

  • Complete Physical Exam: Our veterinary team will perform a physical exam evaluating and analyzing all the major organ systems and overall health of your pet.

  • Canine Blood Parasite Test: This tests the pet’s blood for heartworm, lyme, erchlichia, and anaplasmosis diseases which are transmitted by mosquitos or ticks. This test is only performed once yearly.

  • Feline Disease Test: This tests the pet’s blood for heartworm, feline immunodeficiency virus, and feline leukemia.

  • Intestinal Parasite Test: This tests the pet’s stool for intestinal parasites which are easily transmitted to your pet through fecal matter and residual debris found on sidewalks, parks, and even your backyard.

  • Blood Chemistry and Complete Blood Count Tests: Diagnostic testing performed on a healthy pet establishes a baseline of health characteristics. The results can be compared over time and may detect subtle changes that are often not noticeable by observation alone. This information can aid in the early detection of health issues.

  • Chest and Abdominal Radiographs and Abdominal Ultrasound: These images allow our veterinary team to detect problems not visible to the naked eye such as cancerous and non-cancerous tumors and abnormalities within organs. By performing these imaging studies when patients appear to be well, we can detect concerns early as well as have a baseline for future changes.

Senior Feline Vaccinations

Vaccinations are a critical component of preventive care for your cat and are recommended for both indoor and outdoor felines. Vaccinations provide safe and effective protection from potentially life-threatening diseases, some of which can be transferred to your human family members. Maintaining your pet’s vaccinations is very important as older pets have decreased resistance to disease. Our feline vaccines are non-adjuvanted in an effort to provide your pet the safest vaccines available. In general, your cat should always be protected from the following:

  • FVRCP (feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, panleukopenia)

  • Rabies: Required by New York State Law

Based on your pet’s lifestyle, our veterinary staff may recommend additional vaccinations for added protection, and may include:

  • FeLV (feline leukemia) vaccine

Senior Canine Vaccinations

Vaccinations are a critical component of preventive care for your adult dog. Vaccinating your dog offers safe and effective protection from potentially life-threatening diseases. In some cases, the disease can be transferred to your human family members. Maintaining your pet’s vaccinations is very important as older pets have decreased resistance to disease.  In general, your dog should always be protected from the following:

  • DA2PPVL (distemper, adenovirus types 1 & 2, parainfluenza, parvovirus, leptospirosis)

  • Rabies: Required by New York State Law

  • Lyme Disease: a disease transmitted by ticks that is endemic to our area

Our veterinary team may recommend additional vaccinations depending on the lifestyle of your pet. These vaccines offer additional protection and include the following:

  • Bordatella: protects against what is commonly referred to as “kennel cough”

  • H3N8: Canine Influenza

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Signs Of Pet Illness

Often, the signs of illness are subtle and as the caregiver of your pet, you often notice these subtle changes first. Please contact us when your pet shows signs of illness such as:

  • Changes in eating or drinking habits

  • Increased urination, or urinating inappropriately

  • Sleeping more or hiding

  • Weight changes

  • Acting “not themselves”

  • Changes in grooming habits

  • Becoming hyperactive

Please contact us or click here to schedule an appointment when you first notice these or other changes to your pet’s normal behavior.