Vaccinating Your Pet
Bringing your cat or dog into the veterinarian for regular vaccinations is an integral part of their overall health plan. Pet vaccinations protect against dangerous, highly contagious, and sometimes lethal animal diseases. Vaccines are especially important for puppies and kittens since their growing bodies are still developing immunities.
We offer both core and noncore vaccinations for cats and dogs
Can Vaccines Make Pets Sick?
Our animal hospital uses the safest and highest-quality vaccines on the market to keep adverse reactions to a minimum. However, some puppies and kittens might seem a bit lethargic the day after their first booster shots, which is normal.
For those rare pets that do experience an allergic reaction, we might opt to discontinue the vaccine responsible. If your pet is not acting like themselves after being vaccinated, let us know immediately.
The Frequency of Vaccinations
If you have a new puppy or kitten, they will need to receive monthly boosters after their initial round of vaccines. As your cat or dog grows into adulthood, we offer either one or three year protection, depending on your pet’s lifestyle. Vaccines help control the spread of these contagious diseases. Therefore, it’s important to keep your pet current on their vaccination schedule. This ensures they don’t have a chance to contract or pass along any disease.
Choosing the Right Vaccines
Since cats and dogs can have varying levels of risk exposure to disease, we sometimes recommend noncore, or lifestyle vaccines. Noncore vaccines are recommended in addition to our standard core vaccines. All pets should be vaccinated against rabies as well as several other high-threat diseases. Contact us for a wellness examination, so we can customize your pet’s essential vaccination schedule today. We look forward to guiding you on your pet’s care.
Recommended Dog Vaccines
Due to recent canine influenza outbreaks, we recommend vaccination against this flu virus for all our dog patients. Canine influenza can live on surfaces for extended periods of time and travels easily through the air. Additionally, all dogs are vaccinated against diseases recommend by the greater veterinary community.
All dogs receive core vaccines:
- Rabies
- Distemper
- Hepatitis
- Parvovirus
- Leptospirosis
- Parainfluenza
- Canine Influenza
If your dog attends doggy daycare or goes to boarding facilities, we recommend Bordetella as well.
Vaccines We Recommend for Cats
Fortunately, cats don’t have to worry about coming down with a bad case of the flu. But if they go outside, they will likely need to be protected against feline leukemia.
Cats receive essential vaccine protection against:
- Rabies
- Distemper
- Calicivirus
- Rhinotracheitis
- Feline leukemia
Vaccines have proven to be an effective way to keep cats healthier over the course of their lives.
