All About Cat Wellness Exams at DePorre Veterinary Hospital
When you bring your cat in for a wellness exam at DePorre Veterinary Hospital, we will review any changes you've noticed at home since your last visit or other concerns that you may have with your cat, both medically and with any behavior changes.
We'll plan out what vaccinations are recommended and any other diagnostics, such as blood work or stool testing. Plan any medication refills or parasite preventative refills and review any other recommendations or concerns.
Then we'll proceed with a complete physical exam and review any exam changes that we're noticing, such as weight changes, dental care changes, heart, hair coat, or other changes that we've noticed. Proceed with any vaccinations that we decide to give your cat and draw blood or submit other diagnostic tests and provide you with recommendations for ongoing care.
How often should my cat have a wellness exam?
In general, most cats should have an annual wellness exam every year to help make sure they stay up to date on their vaccinations and monitoring lab work, and make us aware of any changes as they age, with their weight or other exam findings. For senior cats over the age of 10 to 12, we recommend taking exams every six months, as things may change more rapidly and be subtle to identify at home, and that will help us find those changes sooner rather than later.
What bloodwork or other tests are recommended for my cat during a wellness exam?
We recommend some specific wellness or screening exams during an annual wellness visit, and those may include a blood profile. Preventative care blood work is helpful at detecting early disease and can be used to monitor trending of laboratory values over time or monitoring of medications or other diseases that we're in the process of treating. That may include a complete blood count, a chemistry panel to evaluate blood sugar, kidney, liver, or protein values. Sometimes we'll include electrolytes or thyroid measurements, cardiac screening, or urinalysis testing.
With that, we also recommend annual stool testing, which is called fecal parasite analysis. Sometimes there may be other tests that are recommended, but that can be decided during the visit based on the physical exam. You may have questions to ask your vet during the wellness exam based on some things you're seeing with your cat at home, such as weight changes, appetite changes, or litter box usage or urination and water consumption amounts.
Any behavioral changes that you're noticing with your cat. Additions to new family members or changes in the environment, such as moving or having construction in your home, may cause stress for your cat. Any of those things may be questions that you have, and feel free to ask when you come in for your wellness visit.
What is the difference between a wellness visit for my cat and a sick visit?
The difference between a wellness exam and a sick pet visit is that a wellness exam tends to occur on a regular interval and coincide with when vaccinations are due or on a yearly basis as a preventative and maintenance exam to help healthy pets be alerted of changes and owners be alerted of changes as the pet ages. Whereas the sick pet exam is made when you see changes at home that are occurring that are more rapid and changing new developments or sickness that can't wait until a wellness visit such as vomiting or diarrhea, itchiness, decreases in appetite and lethargy, significant amounts of weight loss, or any other changes that you see at home.
There are many ways to track your cat's health between wellness exams, but some of the basic things would be to monitor how much food they're eating on a daily basis. Monitor for any vomiting, diarrhea, soft stools, or difficulty passing stool. Especially if you're noticing harder stools and smaller amounts of stool over time or changes in water consumption or urination amounts, either frequency, urination outside of the litter box, or larger amounts of urine in the litter box. These may also be important changes. Behavior changes such as grooming patterns, sleeping patterns, and relationship with other pets or people in the household are also important.
Additionally, monitoring for mobility changes such as the ability to jump or move up and down the stairs, and on and off the furniture, and go to their favorite perching and hiding places.
What vaccinations will my cat need at a wellness exam?
One of the vaccinations we may discuss during the exam is the rabies vaccination. Generally, rabies vaccination is recommended for all cats once a year. Exceptions may be made if pets are undergoing chemotherapy, but otherwise, it's recommended for almost all feline patients.
Other vaccinations that we may discuss are the upper respiratory combo vaccine, which is often called the feline distemper vaccine. This is a vaccination that includes multiple disease protection vaccinations in one and is recommended either every one year or every three years based on the health and age of the pet. It's recommended for all cats, and we usually update that along with their wellness visit.
Some cats are recommended to have a feline leukemia vaccination. That is usually young kittens or cats that go outdoors, or are exposed to other cats that go outdoors, may be recommended to have a feline leukemia vaccination.
Wellness blood analysis is recommended on an annual basis and becomes more important especially as a pet ages to track trending in their blood values. Stool testing is recommended for a kitten and for an adult cat. Outdoor cats have more exposure to intestinal parasites, but there are times that indoor cats will have exposure too, depending on the other pets in your household and if they get outside intermittently or accidentally. We do recommend that on an annual basis.
Can my veterinarian detect diseases during my cat's wellness exam?
Wellness exams can detect common feline diseases. As we're monitoring weight changes, pets that are gaining weight or losing weight can be alerted of disease changes sooner rather than waiting until the disease has progressed dramatically. Also, changes such as detecting a new heart murmur, changes in the hair coat texture, body condition, and muscle mass of the pet.
Dental health, we can detect dental disease changes over time and often be alerted to new changes of aging-related diseases such as diabetes, kidney disease, thyroid disease, liver disease, or gastrointestinal diseases based on observations at home and change physical exam.
In general, health issues that are found or recommendations made during the exam might vary. Sometimes there will be medication that you give short-term or long-term at home or dietary changes, or we may recommend a follow-up appointment for additional diagnostics or rechecking of treatment or abnormalities that we found on the wellness exam. If pets are on chronic medication, we will often see them back every six months for monitoring lab work and evaluation of how they're managing their chronic disease.
Sometimes we'll recommend a COHAT, which is a complete oral health assessment and treatment done under anesthesia to help treat and manage dental disease. These are things that we will find on an annual physical exam and wellness exam. Any other concerns that come up in between your wellness visits can be managed by making an appointment for a sick pet visit. Questions can always be answered by calling the office in between visits.
How can I reduce my cat's stress during an exam?
If your cat shows signs of stress during the exam, there are a number of things that you can do to help. Oftentimes, we will recommend administering a previsit pharmaceutical, also known as a PVP, prior to the visit. These medications can help reduce anxiety, provide a little bit of mild sedation or sleepiness for the visit so that the pet is more relaxed getting into the carrier, during the car ride, and at the vet visit. These medications will be dispensed and recommended.
We use a variety of medications. Gabapentin is a common one that many cats will take prior to their visits. There are also a number of supplements or nutraceuticals that are available for anxiety, and Feliway products, which are pheromone products that help reduce anxiety and calm cats, can be used in the carrier on their bedding.
It's advised to use a hard-sided carrier that feels more stable for your cat to travel in, and one that allows the lid to be easily taken off so that we can remove the lid to help get your cat out of the carrier for any body weight checking, diagnostics, or procedures. This is less stressful for the cat. Sometimes we will let them lay on their bedding in their carrier.
Bringing their favorite bedding from home could be helpful to give them a little bit of reassurance and comfort. Having you bring their favorite treats, such as their favorite dry treats, lickable treats, or a favorite toy, can also be helpful. Preparing them for the visit at home by getting the carrier out and putting some treats and bedding in there ahead of time, so that they're used to climbing into their carrier and sitting in it before the appointment can be helpful at preparing them for the car ride. Some cats will get nauseous in the car, and we can provide anti-nausea medication to help them not have as much stomach upset when they're traveling in the car for motion sickness.
How can I schedule a wellness exam for my cat?
We’re proud to serve our community by helping pets and their families live healthy, happy lives. Call (248) 609-1625 or email [email protected] to schedule your pet’s appointment today.