Puppy and Kitten 101. Six tips for healthier pets.

1. Pet Insurance

I highly recommend pet insurance for your cat, dog or any other pet you may have. There are a number of pet insurance companies out there. Pet insurance is most beneficial when you register them at a young age with no preexisting conditions.

For a small additional fee you can even get a Wellness plan that includes spaying and neutering, vaccinations, dewormings, microchipping and flea control. All of these things are extremely important and must haves when you first get your pet. So why not get some money in return?

I personally use Veterinary Pet Insurance. petinsurance.com I have been lucky enough to not need it yet, but it definitely came in handy with all the previous services I listed when we got Moose as a puppy. The fees range from approximately $150-$250 per year depending on the age of the pet and plan you choose to purchase. I recommend the Superior Plan for most individuals. Yes, you are paying a little bit more, but the plan pays back almost double that of the standard plan, and up to 80 percent of the cost on most services. There is only a $50 deductible for each claim, which is usually the cost of an exam. That means you can get reimbursed up to 80 percent for any diagnostics, treatments or medications.

Of course we always hope nothing traumatic or serious will occur, but trust me when I say, veterinary services are NOT cheap!!!!! A lot of owners don't realize exactly how expensive a broken leg, car accident, snake bite or dog fight can be. Not to scare you, but any one of those given scenarios is almost guaranteed to cost you more than $1,000, so $250 is sounding pretty good now, huh? Pet insurance is a great way for anyone, even those without a large income, to be able to take care of their loved pet. Pet insurance allows you to get your pet the care he or she needs without the additional stress on your emotions and wallet.

2. Vaccination

YOUR PET SHOULD NOT VISIT ANY PARKS OR BEACHES UNTIL IT IS FULLY VACCINATED. IT SHOULD RECEIVE 3 SETS OF SHOTS AND BE AT LEAST 16 WEEKS OLD BEFORE EXPLORING ANY PUBLIC AREAS WITH OTHER ANIMALS.

If you feel like you just have to get your pet out, the best option is to take them to friends’ houses where you know the vaccine history of the animals. Remember, even at a house with healthy pets, your new puppy or kitten is susceptible to contracting diseases.

Vaccinating your dog or cat is crucial to being healthy. In San Diego we live a very outdoor life and we love to bring our pets along. This unfortunately leads to the animals being exposed to a number of different diseases. All puppies and kittens should get their first set of vaccines around eight weeks old. Vaccines can be very confusing, so instead of trying to write out my recommendations, I think a chart will be easier to understand. Every veterinary facility is a little different, but by following this basic protocol, your pet should be well protected.

Not vaccinating your pet can lead to diseases like Distemper, Parvo, Feline Leukemia and Kennel Cough. The most common of these in puppies is Parvo. In any given year, a busy veterinary hospital will see hundreds of Parvo cases. Parvo can be fatal, especially if not treated right away. Usually treatment consists of hospitalization for at least three to seven days, depending on the severity of the pet’s symptoms. A bill for Parvo can easily exceed $1,000.

By following these recommendations, you and your puppy will be able to enjoy whatever activities you may have planned and be more protected doing it.

Puppy Vaccinations

•8 WEEKS
DA2PPC and B #1 (Distemper, Parvo, Corona, Bordatella)
Deworming

•12 WEEKS
DA2PPC and B #2
Deworming if Dr. recommended

16 WEEKS
DA2PPC and B #3
Rabies (must be at least 16 weeks or the county will not accept the license)
All dogs are required to be registered for their Rabies license
Deworming if Dr. recommended

•16 WEEKS or shortly after
Spay or Neuter
Microchip

Kitten Vaccinations

•8 WEEKS
DRCP #1 (Distemper)
Deworming

•12 WEEKS
DRCP #2
FELV #1 (Feline Leukemia, recommended for cats that are going to be spending time outside)
Deworming if Dr. Recommended

•16 WEEKS
DRCP #3
FELV #2
Rabies
Deworming if Dr. Recommended

•16 WEEKS or shortly after
Spay or Neuter
Microchip
Declaw (only if necessary, do not declaw a cat that will be spending time outdoors, not a recommended procedure if avoidable)

All cats and dogs should go back the vet one year after their last set of vaccinations for an annual exam and vaccination boosters. After this, some vets do vaccines yearly, others do them every three years. If you are planning on boarding your dog while you are on vacation, most places will require a Bordatella booster once a year.

3. Deworming

When you first get your puppy or kitten, you should take him or her to your local veterinarian for a basic exam, vaccinations and deworming. They should have this exam by the time they are eight weeks old.

Most puppies and kittens will get worms, primarily round worms from their mothers. This is one of the reasons you often see distended bellies in puppies and kittens. Round worms often lie dormant in the environment, but pregnant females are an ideal host. They then pass the parasite on to their offspring. Most puppies and kittens should be at least dewormed for round worms. Most clinics will have a specific dewormer that is effective against specifically these worms. Usually it requires a few doses of the medication, sometimes two weeks apart. It seems as if more practices are leaning towards a broader spectrum dewormer even for puppies and kittens. This is fine as well, and sometimes only requires one dose. Both dewormers are about the same in price.

Contrary to popular belief, you will not usually see worms in the pet’s feces if they have parasites. Usually, the most common parasites you will visually see are tapeworms. Pets get these from ingesting fleas. For these reasons, it is recommended that you do a fecal examination once a year. Many pet owners will automatically deworm once a year despite testing. If your pet does have tapeworms, flea control is a necessity.

4. Spaying and Neutering

There are a number of reasons why spaying and neutering is important. There are the obvious ones that most people think of such as overcrowding in shelters; however my main point for fixing your pet is for their health. Unless you are breeding your pet, which I also don't recommend, there is really no reason for them to stay intact. If you do breed your pet, as soon as you are done breeding, they should be fixed as well.

Cost Many people don't spay or neuter because they think it is expensive. The reality is not spaying or neutering may cost you more than a $1,000 vet bill or your pet’s life. Many veterinary hospitals will offer county price spays and neuters (about $15-$85). This usually doesn't include pain medication for after the surgery. Most animals do extremely well during surgery, so pain medications often times are not necessary. Young animals recover very quickly from the routine surgery and having them be in a little bit of pain helps to keep them calm for the healing process. If your vet doesn't do country price surgeries, you still should be able to get it done for under $150-200 including pain meds, pre anesthetic blood work and possibly a stay overnight for observation. Often times you can go to a shelter and they will give you a coupon for a discount on a spay or neuter as well, sometimes up to $50 off. The fact is, doing the surgery early in life is much cheaper than paying for any of the medical ailments that can occur later in life from not being spay or neutered.

Neutering dogs Neutering your boy should be done between four and six months of age. Neutering will help prevent your pet from wandering around your neighborhood searching for females. It has the potential to help calm aggressive or hyper dogs; however honestly, I haven't found this to be very significant. Neutering your boy can prevent some cancers later in his life, mainly testicular and prostate cancer. I once saw a miniature schnauzer with testicular cancer and his testicle was so inflamed and swollen it actually hung to the ground. A simple neuter earlier in life would have saved him a lot of pain.

Neutering Cats While the health reasons are still a concern for cats, I recommend you neuter your cat more for behavioral reasons. Male cats have a tendency to wander and neutering him will help to keep him in your house or yard. Also a HUGE point for male cats is spraying. If you neuter early, they will be less likely to begin this horrible habit. Once a cat starts the habit of spraying, it is extremely difficult to get them to stop. Un-neutered male urine has a very potent smell, and I doubt anyone would want that smell in their house.

Spaying Dogs It is important to spay your girl before she goes into her first heat cycle, typically four to five months. By doing this, she will have almost no chance of developing mammary tumors later in life. Mammary tumors can be compared to breast cancer in humans. If she goes through even one cycle, her chance of developing these tumors greatly increases. If she does develop them later in life, they must either be removed or biopsied to determine if they are cancerous. Both procedures are costly and painful and can be completely avoided by spaying. Even more common than mammary tumors are Pyometras. A Pyometra is essentially an infection of the uterus. As a percent guesstimate, I would say 85 percent to 90 percent of unspayed females that are older will develop a Pyometra. This condition can be fatal if not detected extremely early. The warning signs are lethargy, in appetence and discharge from the vaginal area. Pyometras are extremely expensive costing more than $1,000. If the pet makes it through the surgery successfully, it is painful and a difficult recovery due to the typical age of the pet.

If you choose to not spay your female and breed instead, you should be prepared to spend $1,000-$1,500 for a c-section. It is fairly common for dogs to need assistance giving birth.

Spaying Cats All the same health reasons apply for cats as dogs, so please read the dog section. Mammary tumors are less likely in cats, but are still a distinct possibility. Behavioral reasons in female cats are also a great reason to spay her. Female cats in heat have a tendency to act "crazy" for lack of a better word. They become very vocal and can increase their activity level, running crazily around the house. Many people that I have encountered with cats in heat don't like the way they act, so they inquire about spaying.

5. Microchipping

Microchipping your pet is extremely recommended. I have seen numerous pets be returned to their families because of a microchip. I recommend having the procedure done when your pet is spayed or neutered. The reason for this is because the needle is very large. However, it can be done while the pet is awake, and this is a better option than not doing it at all.

There are a couple different microchip companies; your vet probably carries one brand in particular. The two most popular are Home Again and Avid. Every veterinary hospital, shelter and animal control have scanners. When a lost pet comes in, scanning them is the first thing that happens. Most scanners are now universal and will read the numbers from both brands of chips. If a chip is found, the company is called and they can then relay the owner’s information so they can be contacted.

Here is the catch - YOU MUST REGISTER YOUR PET. If you don’t, the chip will come up with the veterinary hospitals information and not the owner’s. It is not guaranteed that all vet hospitals keep a record of the chips that are implanted. The chip must be registered to the owner to be effective. Make sure to update any address or phone number changes when you move.

6. Flea and Heart Worm Prevention

Flea Control Flea control is essential for your pet whether they be cat or dog. What can vary is how often you need to use it. If you live in a climate that freezes, you don't need to worry about flea control in the winter. You should purchase it for the rest of the year, spring through fall. If you are lucky enough to live in a climate that is mild and doesn't freeze, you will need to have your pet on flea control year round. Keep in mind that fleas come in the house on clothing and through screen doors. Your pet doesn't have to spend time outside to have a flea problem. And the fact of the matter is in places like southern California, fleas are a year round problem. I don't recommend store bought flea controls such as Hartz or Bio Spot. In my experience I have found that these products don’t work as well, and on occasion we have seen cases with sick animals from them. I recommend the products you can get through your veterinarian. Advantage, Frontline, and Revolution are the 3 main brands. Many of the products now can be bought through local pet stores, but make sure you are buying the real product. You can also purchase them cheaper on line through sites like Petmeds.com. Every pet reacts differently to the medications, so it may take a trial and error to find out which one is best for your pet. I personally found that on my lab Moose who goes in the water a lot, Advantage wasn’t working. He was still having allergic reactions to flea bites. When I would flea comb him, I was still getting a number of fleas. I switched him to Frontline and have had no problems yet. His allergic reaction is gone and when I flea comb him, even after being at the beach, the comb is usually clear or only has 1 flea. This doesn't mean it will work for every pet; again, you will have to figure out which product is better for your pet.

Some of the brands have products with multiple functions, like Advantage Multi. They may include an anti parasitic, heart worm prevention, and/or tick repellant. If you feel one of the products is useful to you, be aware that sometimes products with multiple functions don't work as well for specific conditions. For example, if you have a flea problem that is your main concern, but you also use a product with heart worm prevention, the product may not be as effective against the fleas as a straight flea control is with no other functions. Therefore you may want to purchase a separate flea control and heart worm preventative to protect your pet.

Heart Worm Preventative Heart worms are parasites that can infest both dogs and cats. They get the parasite from mosquitoes. Heart worm can be fatal if not treated and even with proper treatment prognosis can vary. If you live in an area with mosquitoes you should absolutely keep your pet on heart worm preventative at least from Spring through Fall if it freezes. Most areas like the Midwest where mosquitoes are prevalent are very good about keeping up on heart worm testing and preventatives. Often times you will see fewer cases of the disease in these areas because owners are so careful. In my time at veterinary hospitals in San Diego, I have seen at least a handful of cases. This is because owners are not as educated on the parasite and their pets are not on preventative. It is recommended in areas where mosquitoes are not as common, but climates are warmer, your pet should be on preventative year round. The prevention is dosed once a month. If a dose is missed, especially in an area that has a lot of mosquitoes, a heart worm test should be administered. This is because if a pet gets the preventative while having an infestation, it can cause serious health problems . If you live in an area where mosquitoes are not as common, some vets will only require a test every other year instead of yearly if you are on prevention year round. My recommendations for heart worm prevention are Heartgard or Interceptor. They are the two I have seen used most.