National Immunization Awareness Month: Make Sure Your Pets are Vaccinated!
August is National Immunization Awareness Month for everybody, and that means pets, too! Your friends at Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital want to help you figure out what you need to know about pet vaccines so you can be sure your furry friends are protected and healthy.
Pet Vaccinations Keep Disease Away
There are plenty of serious, even deadly viruses and bacteria that can find their way into your yards and homes. Some are found in animal droppings, meat from small animals and birds your pets may capture, disease-infected insects, and parasites that make their homes inside your pets. The environments of disease may be outside your control, but you can immunize your pets on a regular schedule to reduce their risk of contracting them.
Start Early—Puppy And Kitten Vaccinations
At your first wellness checkup, your vet will recommend a vaccination schedule. In the early months of life, you’ll have several visits to ensure that these little ones are staying healthy.
Why Do Young Pets Need Vaccinations?
At Leon Valley Veterinary Hospital, our goal is to help our pet patients—at whatever age—stay healthy and happy. Young animals do not have a robust immune system and need help to combat infectious diseases. Some of the more common vaccinations we recommend are:
Vaccines For Puppies
- Distemper: Incurable and fatal
- Adenovirus: Can kill in up to 30% of cases
- Parainfluenza: Highly contagious and can be fatal
- Parvovirus: Can kill within 24 hours
- Rabies: Fatal
Vaccines For Kittens
- Calicivirus: Vaccine will shorten severity and length of illness
- Panleukopenia: Fatal in kittens
- Chlamydia: Can be transmitted to humans
- Feline leukemia: Fatal in up to 85% of infections
- Rabies: Fatal
That’s a lot of shots, and there may be multiple rounds. You can see that vaccinations are critically important to prevent the spread of deadly diseases to your pets and, in some cases, human family members.
Our veterinarians will send reminders when annual exams and shots are due so you can be certain your pets are up-to-date with vaccinations.
Don’t Miss A Dose! Monthly Preventives To Keep Pets Clear Of Pests.
Preventive medicines are like another form of immunization. Fleas and ticks, other external parasites, and heartworms bring nothing but trouble to your pets. Bites from fleas and ticks can cause skin infections. Their blood-sucking ways can deposit disease and parasites into your pet’s bloodstream. Internal parasites, like heartworm, grow and reproduce inside your pet’s organs and blood.
Monthly preventives may combat these pests in your dogs and cats:
- Heartworm
- Hookworms
- Roundworms
- Whipworms
- Tapeworms
- Fleas
- Ticks
- Ear mites
- Sarcoptic mange mites
Ask us for product recommendations for puppies, kittens, adults, and senior pets at your next appointment.
Regular Wellness Care Helps Your Pets Stay Happy and Healthy
We encourage our pet families to visit us once a year for a wellness checkup, even if everything seems to be okay. Early detection is essential to stop the progression of disease when possible. We like to see our senior patients visit twice annually.
Immunization Awareness Is Vital, 12 Months a Year!
No one wants to see their pets suffer from a catastrophic disease, especially when it is preventable. Good food, fresh water, and plenty of love alone will not protect your beloved pets from contagious and infectious diseases. Be consistent with vaccination and preventive medication schedules. Your pets will love you for it! Schedule a wellness visit today to learn more about vaccinations for your pets.