For those of use whose lives have been graced by the presence of a cat, we understand how different cats are from the rest of the animal world. When we talk about cats choosing us, they very often do adopt us rather than the other way around. At the Groton City Animal Hospital we truly understand not only their different personalities but also their different health care needs. Cats have unique needs both for routine care as well as understanding how they may be affected by different diseases as they age.

     We encourage our clients to come in for yearly thorough physical exams in addition to updating vaccines on a regular basis. Our vaccine recommendations have changed over the past several years as we learn more about vaccines, how long the immunity to certain diseases last and most importantly evaluating your individual animals risk factors for getting a disease. The time when all cats got the same vaccines on the same schedule is gone. We now tailor our recommendations to your pet. A comprehensive physical exam is also important in identifying any problems that your pet might have from simple things like skin issues to more major problems such as heart disease. In addition to our doctors using their skills to exam your pet, we may also recommend blood screening to help identify some diseases at an even earlier stage than might be apparent on a physical exam. Some of the things we might test for would be anemia, kidney disease, liver dysfunction, feline leukemia/feline aides and thyroid function. We also might recommend testing your pet’s urine to identify things such as bladder stones, bladder infections, kidney disease or early stages of other diseases. Testing your pet’s stool for internal parasites on a regular basis is a very important part of general wellness care. Internal parasites can cause a variety of physical problems from weight loss to diarrhea and vomiting. Individual tests would be recommended based on your pet’s age, physical signs and the doctor’s exam. Many of the blood tests can be run here at our office and we also have the capability of doing radiographs and basic ultrasounds here.

     The most important part of your visit to our hospital with your pet is the time that we spend talking with you about your pet, his or her lifestyle, and getting information on anything that may be a concern to you about your pet and especially spending time educating you about health care for your cat. Educated clients are our best clients and make better pet owners! We encourage owners to ask questions about their pet on every subject from diet to behavior. You can also rest assured that if at any time, your pet’s health care needs are beyond the scope of the equipment available at our hospital, you will be informed of options for referral for additional diagnostics or more advanced medical and surgical care. Situations where this might arise include complicated orthopedic cases, seriously ill medical patients that require round-the-clock intense monitoring, and the need for advanced diagnostics such as abdominal ultrasounds, MRI or CT scans.

     Come in sometime and meet the two felines who live in the lap of luxury here at the Groton City Animal Hospital and meet our staff and doctors.