Call now: 805-927-9700 | Open Mon-Fri 8am to 5:30pm
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Call now: 805-927-9700 | Open Mon-Fri 8am to 5:30pm
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Thank you very much for entrusting your pet’s health to us at Cambria Veterinary Clinic. We take an integrative and common sense approach to keeping your pet in optimal health, and want to work with you as your partner in keeping your pet free of parasites. In light of a recent study showing that 1 out of 7 humans nationwide has been exposed to their pet’s worms, it is logical to keep our pets as free of parasites as possible…. for their sake, and yours.
The risks of cats developing parasites is dictated by their age and the time they spend outside. About 75% of kittens are born with roundworms, which can easily be killed by oral pyrantel dewormers. If you have children, it is VERY IMPORTANT to kill your pet’s roundworms, as they can create permanent blindness in children if accidentally ingested.
Once you have eliminated roundworms from young cats, they can only get more parasites in one of two ways– by having fleas, or by going outside and eating prey like mice and other rodents. In either case, tapeworms are the most likely culprit. If your cat lives inside and you do not have fleas in its environment, it likely doesn’t need to be dewormed.
We use two different dewormers for cats, both of which are applied topically to the skin over the neck and shoulders. The old days of having to pill a cat are gone.
If you want to kill ALL worms– roundworms, tapeworms, and the less common hookworms and whipworms– on an intermittent basis, we use Profender. Note that this does NOT kill fleas. For kitties that go outside, we recommend at least once annual deworming with Profender, since they will inevitably be exposed to parasites through hunting (and also fleas if not kept up on flea prevention).
If your cat spends a lot of time outside, or if flea control is a concern for you we recommend Revolution Plus. It’s life insurance in a tube for your cat. Used on a monthly basis, this will not only prevent fleas and ticks, but also roundworms, heartworm, and ear mites– a broad spectrum approach to ensuring your cat’s health. We sell Revolution as individual doses or in packages of six. Alternatively, you could use Bravecto topical, which has the ease of a single application preventing flea and tick infestations for a total of 3 months!
The first paragraph of our cat summary, above, also applies to puppies. Simply put, roundworms are present in most pups, are easily killed with pyrantel, and are a risk to humans– especially kids.
Parasite control in the adult outside dog, however, is a little more complex. That is because they not only get fleas and tapeworms– like cats– but some dogs… like ours… actually like to eat poop– which is a GREAT way to get different parasites
.On an intermittent basis, we use Virbantel Plus tablets to eliminate ALL intestinal parasites from your pet. It is a very safe and effective drug, but bear in mind that it has no residual activity.
An emerging microscopic intestinal parasite we encounter commonly (primarily in the dog population, though it can affect cats) is called Giardia. It is a protozoal parasite that loves to live in fresh water sources but for shorter periods can survive in the cool, damp soil (read: not uncommon in Cambria). Most recently, fecal screening tests have shown that 10-15% of dogs in San Luis Obispo carry this parasite! Not all dogs that have the parasite get sick from it, and many healthy dogs probably clear it on their own without their owners even knowing about it. However, younger dogs and some others get physically ill, experiencing diarrhea and potentially abdominal pain, reduced appetite and vomiting. Also, this parasite CAN infect humans (through accidentally ingesting fecal material, so wash those hands!) but most strains that infect dogs are different than those that infect people. Because our dogs in Cambria are usually living a great outdoor life and potentially encountering this parasite, we recommend ANNUAL fecal testing for parasites (including Giardia) and for any pet experiencing diarrhea. Treatment can be difficult but we usually cross that bridge when we come to it.
Cats
Dogs
The last part of this discussion centers around the fact that most pets’ parasite risks change with the season and their lifestyle. An indoor Chihuahua in winter does NOT have the same risks an outdoor Labrador in summer does. If your pet is not exposed to ticks, don’t try to prevent them. If your cat never goes outside and you don’t have fleas in the house, I’m not sure we should be deworming them. Just as with any other medication, let common sense be your guide.
And the very last thing to remember? We’re Cambria Veterinary Clinic, and we’re here to help you, however we can.
Cambria Veterinary Clinic
1500 Main Street, Cambria, CA 93428 | (805) 927-9700
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