1441 Bridgetown Pike, Feasterville, PA 19053
Healthy Start: Wellness Exam & Key Services
We know how exciting new pets can be, which is why we believe it is important for you to schedule a wellness exam as soon as possible, ensuring your pet is on the path to a long, happy, and healthy life. Some pets may encounter fear and anxiety when coming to the veterinarian, and that’s ok! The sooner you bring in your new friend, the more likely he or she will be comfortable and hopefully less stressed! Whether you have a new puppy or kitten, there are two services we highly recommend: spay/neuter procedure and microchipping.
Puppy Wellness Exams
Wellness exams for puppies should be scheduled at 8 weeks, 12 weeks, and 16 weeks. These visits will allow us to carefully monitor your puppy’s growth and ensure he or she is on a path to live a long, happy, and healthy life.
Puppy wellness visits will typically include a full physical examination, a fecal exam, and the administration of appropriate core and non-core vaccinations.
Puppy Vaccinations
Vaccines can help keep your puppy protected against life-threatening illnesses, which is extremely important in younger pups due to their immature immune systems.
Before your puppy has been fully vaccinated, please be conscious of where you take him or her. To minimize the risk of disease, it is imperative you avoid places where dogs are. This includes dog parks, kennels, and groomers.
Core vaccines are highly encouraged for all dogs, these includes: Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus, Rabies, and Leptospirosis. Non-core vaccines are recommended based on your pet’s lifestyle, risk of exposure, and health condition. These are Bordetella (kennel cough) and Canine Influenza.
To learn more about how to keep your pets safe with vaccines, click here.
Kitten Wellness Exams
Kitten exams are typically scheduled at 8 weeks, 12 weeks and 16 weeks. These timely appointments allow us to carefully monitor your kitten’s growth, prevent illness, and catch parasites early on.
A kitten wellness exam usually includes a physical examination, a fecal exam, vaccine recommendations, and tests for health conditions common in kittens.
Kitten Vaccinations
Before your kitten has been fully vaccinated, it is recommended you him or her away from any other cats or pets.
Core vaccines are recommended for all cats, regardless of living conditions or health. These include Distemper, Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, and Rabies. Non-core vaccines are recommended for cats based on lifestyle, health conditions and risk of exposure.
To learn more about vaccines and how they can keep your pet safe, click here.
Multi-Cat Households
If you have other cats living in your household, we recommend your new kitten be tested for Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) before they interact with other cats in your household.
Since cats are instinctively territorial, we suggest slowly introducing your new kitten to other cats in your household. Start by keeping them in separate rooms for at least a week. They can peek at and smell each other under the door, allowing them to get used to each other's scent. Then, you can place the kitten in a carrier for your other cat(s) to see. Then, when you feel it is appropriate, let them interact with supervision.
Please let us know if you have any questions or would like advice on how to properly introduce your new kitten to your cat(s).
Spay/Neuter Procedure
Having your pet spayed/neutered offer numerous health benefits as well as behavioral advantages. At Family Pet Clinic, our medical team and leading doctors highly recommend the spay/neuter procedure for all of their patients.
With such an important procedure, Family Pet Clinic comes prepared. Your pet’s safety is our top priority. Our medical team is highly trained to perform this procedure with practices including:
- Pre-surgical bloodwork
- Properly dosed anesthesia
- Pain management
- Advanced surgical monitoring equipment
- Technician monitoring
- IV fluids
What is Spay/Neuter Procedure?
Spaying is for female pets and is the removal of the ovariohysterectomy (the ovaries and uterus).
Neutering (Castration) is for male pets and involves the removal of the testicles. Don’t’ worry! It sounds much scarier than it is.
Benefits of Spay/Neuter Procedure
The spay/neuter procedure poses numerous health benefits for your pet. The procedure can prevent future life-threatening illnesses, undesired aggression and sexual behavior, and unwanted litters.
Spaying female pets prevent:
- The urge to roam
- Aggressive behaviors
- Messy heat cycles
- Urine marking
- Uterine and mammary issues, including cancer and infections
- Unwanted litters
- Howling
Neutering male pets prevents:
- The urge to roam
- Aggressive behaviors
- Urine marking
- Testicular cancer and prostate disease
- Unwanted litters
Also, spaying/neutering is great for the overall pet population. Since the pets that undergo this procedure can’t have litters, it frees up space for pets in kennels to be adopted!
Common Myths
My pet will gain weight.
This is false. Gaining weight comes with growing and the spay/neuter procedure does not affect this process.
Female pets need to complete a heat cycle before being spayed.
There is no clinical evidence to back up this myth in most cases, and the longer you wait, the greater the chances of a mammary mass forming.
Male pets’ personalities change after being neutered.
Your pet’s personality will still be there. However, there will be less aggression and less urine marking.
Microchipping
Here at Family Pet Clinic, we know that accidents can happen. Every year, one out of every three pets goes missing, gets lost or stolen. That’s ten million pets a year!
For this reason, we highly recommend that all pet owners be prepared with reliable pet identification. Microchipping provides a modern solution to identifying pets that have been lost or stolen and maximizes your chances of having a pet return home to your should such an incident occur. Microchips may be inserted at any age, but the sooner the better!
The insertion process itself is quick, easy and painless. This procedure may be performed at the same time as other services, such as a dental cleaning or even during a routine wellness visit. Once your pet’s microchip has been inserted, you may upload your current contact information to the national online database. Should you ever move or change phone numbers you can simply update your information.
The microchips all have a unique serial number. Typically, when any lost pet is taken to a shelter or clinic, a special scanner is used to retrieve the contact information from the microchip and contact the rightful owner.
In addition to the use of microchips, our veterinary team recommends that all pet owners use collars and ID tags. These methods may not be the most foolproof, but are an added resource to help your pet should they ever be lost or stolen.