At Germantown Animal Hospital in Cordova, we provide comprehensive preventive services, customized for the needs of each pet.
What is preventive health care?
Preventive health care encompasses veterinary treatments and procedures that impede the development of disease and injury in pets.
Our vets consider consistent preventive care to be the key to life-long health for the animals we treat.
We work with pet owners and pets to identify and prevent potential or developing health issues before they become serious.
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From good nutrition and plenty of exercise, to regular checkups and vaccines, preventive health care is the key to a lifetime of good health for cats and dogs - just like it is for people!
Preventive Health Services
Our preventive heath care plans include the following items for cats and dogs:
Annual Checkups & Testing
Annual checkups and blood tests allow us to identify and treat any developing health issues before they become serious, and monitor your pet's diet.
Vaccines/Immunizations
Immunizations help prevent diseases such as rabies, heartworm, distemper, parvovirus, hepatitis, and bordetella, among others.
Spaying & Neutering
Having your pet spayed or neutered can help prevent a variety of health issues, and reduce the desire to roam, thus keeping your pet safer.
Cold Laser Therapy
Cold laser therapy is a non-invasive treatment modality that can help reduce inflammation-related pain, and keep it from getting worse.
Microchipping
Microchipping is a permanent form of identification that makes it more likely to be returned home to you should they get lost.
Preventive Health Care FAQs
- Why should I have my pet vaccinated?
Vaccinations extend animals' lives by inoculating them against diseases like rabies, distemper, parvovirus, infectious hepatitis, feline leukemia and many more.
Yearly vaccination also help prevent the spread of infectious diseases among animals, and vaccinating against zoonotic diseases that are transmissible to humans, such as rabies and leptospirosis, can even help keep your family healthy, too.
- Why should I have my pet spayed or neutered?
Spaying and neutering have many benefits for your pets' health. These benefits include:
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reducing the risk of developing breast tumors, cystic ovaries and uterine infections later in life
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reducing the incidence of prostate cancer later in life
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diminishing the desire to roam (thereby prevent accidents and injuries)
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preventing spraying and marking
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decreasing the surplus of unwanted puppies and kittens.
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- Should I let my pet have at least one litter?
Allowing female cats or dogs to have a litter does is not in any way beneficial to the health of the animal. The opposite is actually true. Animals who go through heat cycles and pregnancy are at higher risk for uterine and mammary problems, including mammary cancer.
There are also significant health risks to the mother during the pregnancy and when giving birth. Proper pre-natal care, emergency care in the event of birth complications, and proper newborn care are expensive and time-consuming.
- Should I keep my cat indoors?
Yes; indoor cats simply live longer than those that go outside, so we recommend keeping your cat indoors as a preventive health care measure.
Outdoor cats are at a higher risk of injury or death from other animals, encountering busy streets and traffic that can cause injury or death, exposure to contagious diseases and parasites, exposure to extreme weather, poisoning, pet theft, and animal cruelty at the hands of humans.
- Is microchipping really necessary?
One of the most effective means of getting your dog or cat back if they are lost or stolen is microchipping them. Dog and cat collars with a name and phone number tag can be somewhat helpful, but are outdated and comparatively ineffective. They can break or fall off easily, whereas the microchip is permanent and can’t be separated from the pet.