Preventive Care

We want to be your partner in your pet’s care. Like any relationship, communication is important, and we hope you find value in your pet’s annual exams and check-ups. Bringing your pet to Carolinas Veterinary Care Clinic for physical examinations is crucial to his or her health. We offer thorough physical examinations so that we can detect any potential problems before they become major problems. There are many pet health problems that can be avoided through regular physical exams, which is why we recommend that your pet has at least two examinations with our staff per year. While physical exams are critical to animal health, you can do your part too by being a vigilant pet owner. If you notice any irregularities with your pet, take detailed notes and bring him or her to Carolinas Veterinary Care Clinic for an examination.

What exactly does a physical exam include? Some things you can’t see, feel, touch, or hear without special tests and equipment, but many times you can gain a lot of information about your pet through simple observation. In a physical exam, your veterinarian looks for anything abnormal. What is considered normal is a combination of what is normal for the breed, and what is normal for your specific unique pet. Every pet is a little bit different, just like every human is different. Once the veterinarian does the basic physical exam, any areas of concern will be given more attention.

There are several diseases that can afflict cats and dogs, but most pets can be protected from the worst of them if they are vaccinated properly. For dogs, these include parvovirus, distemper, and infectious hepatitis. For cats, these include panleukopaenia, feline herpesvirus, and feline calicivirus; for outdoor cats, protection can include feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus.

Call us today to schedule a time to get your pet the vaccines they need. You can even start your pet’s schedule with us so they can get future vaccines when necessary.

You may not always be able to tell if your pet has parasites. Fleas can hide under your pet’s fur, and some ticks are very tiny (only the size of a pinhead), so they are very difficult to find. Intestinal parasites like roundworms can cause diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and other problems, but some infected pets don’t show any signs of illness at all.

Our expert staff can recommend medications to help control fleas, ticks, heartworms, and intestinal parasites. Preventing parasites in your pets also helps protect children and other family members, so let’s work together to protect your pets and family.

Veterinary examinations and parasite testing are important ways to protect your pet’s health. We can recommend a schedule for parasite testing, discuss what signs of parasites you can look for at home, review ways to control parasites in and around your home, discuss treatment options if your pet has parasites, and recommend ways to control and prevent parasites in the future.

Our vets usually recommend spaying or neutering at one year of age to both prevent unwanted pregnancies and to reduce the risk of other health problems. There are, of course, exceptions to that rule and our veterinarians will have an open discussion with you to decide on the best time to spay your neuter your particular dog or cat.

Why is this important?

Spaying your pet early on offers the best protection from diseases like uterine infections and breast tumors, which are malignant or cancerous in about 50 percent of dogs and 90 percent of cats. Neutering your male companion prevents testicular cancer and some prostate problems. Other added benefits include:

• Your female pet will not go into heat once they are spayed.
• You male pet may be better behaved after the operation.
• Your male dog will be less likely to run away from home, as un-neutered dogs will do anything to find a mate.

Routine blood tests are run before anesthesia and surgery to make sure that your pet does not have a disease or illness that would make anesthesia or surgery a significant risk. This lab work is very similar to the “pre-op labs” that your doctor would recommend before you have any procedure performed on yourself.