Vaccination visits are especially important occasions in your pet’s life. Apart from the obvious benefits of having your animal’s health checked out once a year, vaccines prevent a host of diseases in your pet, some of which may be deadly.
At Animal Matters, we vaccinate our canine pets against Distemper, Parvovirus, Canine Hepatitis and Canine Parainfluenza. Parvovirus is mainly a killer of young puppies, while Distemper and Hepatitis are potentially deadly to dogs of all ages. Parvo and Distemper are rife in some of our less affluent areas and vaccines make the difference between life and death. We also offer vaccines against Kennel Cough for our canine patients. Puppies start at six weeks of age, and get two boosters, three to four weeks apart.
For our feline patients we vaccinate against Feline Rhinotracheitis and Feline Calicivirus, viruses causing snuffles and Feline Panleukopenia a virus causing gastro-enteritis as standard. Feline Leukaemia is optional but recommended for all cats that encounter other unknown cats in the neighbourhood. Kittens start their vaccines at eight weeks and get a single booster three to four weeks later; Leukaemia vaccines start at nine weeks.
Both dogs and cats must be adequately vaccinated against rabies. While the Western Cape is generally regarded as low risk for rabies, there have been cases nearby in recent years. Rabies has a 100% fatality rate, and can be spread from animals to humans, so it is not something to be ignored. Rabies vaccines start at three months of age.
We recommend that all pets have their initial courses of vaccines as puppies or kittens, where after we follow a more tailored approach, according to the risks your pet might be exposed to. This means that we do not vaccinate unnecessarily against diseases that you do not need to worry about, but make sure your pets get the protection they need.
Do you have a new puppy or kitten, are your dog or cat’s vaccinations out of date? Contact our reception today and book your appointment.
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