Cat Care

Intestinal Worms

Regular worming is recommended to protect your cat against roundworm, whip worm, hookworm and tapeworm. These parasites can be passed onto other animals as well as people. Young kittens should be wormed every two weeks, and adults and seniors should be wormed every three months. Intestinal wormers can be purchased over the counter at Spearwood Veterinary Hospital.

Fleas

As well as causing your cat to scratch, these little parasites can cause an allergic reaction (flea allergy dermatitis) and they can pass on tapeworm. To protect your cat against fleas we recommend using Advantage every month. This can be purchased over the counter at Spearwood Veterinary Hospital, we stock a variety of other flea products including Advocate, Frontline and Revolution.

Vaccinations

Kittens require vaccination at 6-8 weeks of age, 12 weeks of age and 16 weeks of age. Adult and senior cats require an annual booster. These vaccinations protect against feline enteritis, feline respiratory disease (cat flu), feline leukaemia virus and feline immune deficiency virus. For more information on vaccinations at Spearwood Veterinary Hospital click here.

Nutrition

It is important to ensure your cat is fed a well-balanced diet. A diet lacking in some of the essential vitamins and minerals can cause growth and development problems. Young cats require a kitten diet, this is formulated to assist with their quick growth and should be fed until they are between 9 – 12 months of age. We recommend Hills Science Diet and it is available in biscuit & wet food varieties. Adult cats still need to have a balanced diet and Hills Science Diet has a built in dental defence which helps protect your cats teeth from plaque and tartar build up and also contains DHA, essential omega 3 and 6 fatty acids to help maintain healthy skin and coat and promote brain function. When feeding senior cats it is important to consider that as cats age they can develop age related conditions such as reduced kidney function and arthritis. Hills Science Diet have diets available specific to mature cats and have included ingredients such as glucosamine to help maintain joint health. When compared on a day by day cost basis these diets compare favourably with lower quality diets and ALL premium food sold at Spearwood Veterinary Hospital comes with a 100% money back guarantee.

Microchip

Each chip has a unique number which is linked to your contact details on a national register. It is a quick and easy procedure which can be done in a regular consultation with the vet. The chip is implanted under the skin via a needle (similar to a vaccination.) This becomes a permanent form of identification, unlike tags on collars that can fall off or fade overtime. Microchips can greatly increase the chance of your pet being returned home should they ever get lost.

Desexing

This is a surgical procedure in which the reproductive organs are removed. There are many benefits of desexing that should be considered: prevention of unwanted pregnancies, prevention of undesirable behaviour (urine marking, aggression), prevention of certain disease (as well of the reducing the chances of any reproductive tumours, it can reduce the incidence of diseases such as feline leukaemia and feline immunodeficiency virus, these diseases are generally passed on from cat to cat during fights, and usually linked to unsterilised males and females wandering,) cats reach sexual maturity around 5 months of age, this is when we recommend having your cat desexed.