Vaccination:
We at St Martins Veterinary Clinic would recommend that kittens start their vaccination course from 8 weeks of age and complete the course at 12 weeks. We would then recommend annual boosters along with your cat's yearly health check.
Vaccines are available against five primary diseases:
- Feline Parvovirus (Feline Enteritis)
- Cat Flu (2 types - Feline Herpes Virus & Calicivirus)
- Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV)
- Feline Chlamydiosis
These diseases cause distressing and frequently fatal disease. Many cats become carriers for life if they are infected as kittens and symptoms will flare up during periods of stress.
The combination of vaccines and the frequency with which we would advise boosting them depends on the cat's environment and lifestyle. For more information regarding the vaccines we offer please don't hesitate to contact us.
Neutering:
It is strongly advised that your cat is neutered. Neutering helps to prevent or reduce a number of problems:
FEMALES:
- Unwanted pregnancies
- Marking
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Mammary tumours
- Ovarian and uterine cancer and disease
MALES:
- Marking and Spraying
- Fighting
- Straying
- FIV (feline AIDS virus) and sexually transmitted diseases
- Testicular cancer
Spaying involves an ovaro-hysterectomy with the removal of the uterus under general anaesthetic through a small incision that only requires 1-2 stitches Castration involves the removal of the testicles which is also performed under general anaesthetic but stitches are not normally required. Cats recover quicly from these procedures.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no advantage in allowing a female to have a litter of kittens first. We would recommend a female being neutered from the age of 4 months and a male at the slightly later age of 7-8 months. Un-neutered male cats are more than twice as likely to die prematurely due to injury or illness than neutered males.
Flea and worm treatment
We advise worming kittens shortly after weaning then regularly afterwards. Adult cats with access to outdoors should be wormed every 3 months. Cats can pick up worms from each other or from fleas and eating birds, rodents, slugs and snails etc. These worms include:
- Roundworm (Toxocara and Toxascaris)
- Taenia spp (Tapeworms from eating wildlife)
- Dipylidium (Tapeworm from fleas)
- Heartworm
- Lungworm
Some of these worms can be fatal and are difficult or impossible to treat so prevention is of vital importance.
Cats regularly pick up fleas out-of doors and should be treated monthly to prevent investation of the home.
Most effective flea and worm products are only available from vets.
We have a wide range of flea and worm products available at competitive prices. These are often in combination preparations that come as easy to apply formulations or even in injectable form to avoid having to give pills! Flea treatment needs to be repeated frequently to be effective as infestation may not be apparent until it is serious. We are able to give the correct advice on what is best for your cat depending on his/her lifestyle and environment.
Other Parasites
Cats are commonly infested with ear mites which can cause severe and distressing ear infections. They will also occasionally pick up other skin mites and frequently become infested with ticks if they go into rough ground. A number of products are available for these parasites and treatment is often incorporated into regular flea and worm treatment. Some of these parasites can carry other diseases that may be fatal.
If you have any questions on these or any other topics relating to your cat's and kittens' welfare please don't hesitate to contact the surgery.
Please follow the links from the menu to find more details on these topics.
Fact sheets on many aspects of care and vaccination are available from the surgery and can be emailed to you.
