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Grooming is about more than keeping your pet looking beautiful and clean-smelling, although that’s certainly an obvious benefit. Keeping your animal well-groomed helps keep them comfortable and can also alert you to health problems before they become serious. Regular grooming allows for looking for lumps, bumps, and injuries while clearing mats and parasites.

How often you bathe your pet is largely dependent on the breed and their daily activities. Ask your veterinarian for recommendations on how often to bathe your pet.

1. Before the bath, thoroughly brush and remove all tangles and mats.
2. Wet the animal with warm water, avoiding the eyes and inside of the ears.
3. Make sure to use a shampoo formulated for your pet, DO NOT use human shampoo.??
4. Apply the shampoo starting on the back and massage to create a light foam. Remember to clean under the neck, in the face or finger folds, and ear flaps.
5. Rinse until the water runs clear.
6. Dermatology treatment shampoos require a second application during which the product needs to stand for at least 5 minutes for rinsing.
7. Towel-dry the animal. If well-accepted, use a hairdryer at the lowest temperature setting.

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Grooming is about more than keeping your pet looking beautiful and clean-smelling, although that’s certainly an obvious benefit. Ear cleaning is part of a grooming routine that will help keep your animal comfortable and can also alert you to ear problems before they become serious.

How often you clean the ears of your animal is largely dependent on the breed; dogs with long, droopy ears or with abundant or curly hairs in the ear canal are more prone to otitis and require frequent ear cleaning. Medical history and previous ear infections may also dictate a more frequent cleaning.

In animals with thick or curly hair, it may be necessary to tweeze and remove hairs at the entrance of the ear canal.
Hold the earflap upright.
Make sure to use an ear cleaner specifically formulated for your pet; do not use shampoo, lotions, or flushes for external use.
Apply the ear cleaner at the entrance of the ear canal, letting it flow naturally into the canal. Do not insert the tip too far to avoid injuries.
Massage the base of the ear for 30 seconds to help remove and solubilize the ear wax.
Wipe the earflap and entrance of the ear canal to remove excess products and debris. Let the animal shake its head. If necessary, wipe any remaining debris. DO NOT use a Q-tip because it pushes debris inside the ear canal instead of removing them, and it can cause injuries.

Reducing the Stress of Veterinary Visits for You and Your Cat

Providing good health care, especially preventative health care, can allow your cats to have longer, more comfortable lives. However, this cannot happen unless they see a veterinarian for needed care. Many cats dislike going to the veterinarian, which starts with the difficulty of getting the cat into the carrier. If we can make this step easier, the entire veterinary visit is usually less stressful.

The following tips will help make visits easier for you and your cat.

Understanding Your Cat’s Behavior

• Cats are most comfortable with the familiar and need time to adjust to the unfamiliar. The visit to the veterinarian is often difficult because the carrier, car, and the veterinary hospital are usually unfamiliar. Respect your cat’s need for time to become familiar with new situations, people, and places.
• Stay calm. Cats can sense our anxiety or frustrations, which may cause them to become fearful or anxious.
• Cats do not learn from punishment or force. Give rewards to encourage positive behavior. For example, if your cat is sitting calmly in or near a carrier, give a treat. Likewise, rewards can be given to help your cat become familiar with the type of handling that may be encountered at the veterinarian (e.g., handling paws, ears, and mouth). A treat that is highly desirable to your cat may be in the form of food, play, or affection. Be persistent and reward every time.

Helping Your Cat Become Comfortable with the Carrier

The goal is for your cat to learn to associate the carrier with positive experiences and routinely enter voluntarily.

• Make the carrier a familiar place at home by leaving it in a room where your cat spends a lot of time.
• Place familiar soft bedding inside the carrier. Bedding or clothing with your scent can make them feel more secure.
• Place treats, catnip, or toys inside the carrier to encourage the cat to enter at home. Often, you will first see that treats are removed from the carrier during the night.
• It may take days or weeks before your cat starts to trust the carrier. Remain calm, patient, and reward desired behavior.
• If you still have trouble, you may need to assess the carrier itself.

Getting an Unwilling Cat into the Carrier

If your cat needs to go to the veterinarian right away and is not yet accustomed to the carrier, the following may help:

• Start by putting the carrier in a small room with few hiding places. Bring the cat into the room and close the door. Move slowly and calmly. Do not chase the cat to get it into the carrier.
• If your cat will not walk into the carrier and your carrier has an opening on the top, gently cradle your cat and lower it into the carrier. Another option is to remove the top has of your carrier while getting the cat to go into the bottom half and then calmly replace the top.
• Use familiar bedding inside the carrier. Consider the use of synthetic feline facial pheromone (Feliway®) analog spray in the carrier at least 30 minutes prior to transport to help calm the cat.

Coming Home – Keeping the Peace in a Multi-Cat Household

Cats are very sensitive to smells, and unfamiliar smells can result in one cat no longer recognizing another. Aggressive behavior can occur when one cat senses another as a stranger. These suggestions can help avoid problems between cats following a veterinary visit:

• Leave the returning cat in the carrier for a few minutes to see how all of your cats react.
• If all cats appear calm and peaceful, let the returning cat out of the carrier.
• If you sense tension between the cats, or if previous homecomings have resulted in conflict, keep the cat in the carrier and take it to a separate room to avoid potential injury from an upset cat. Provide food, water, and a litter box for a minimum of 24 hours while it regains the more familiar smell of home.
• If there is still stress after this time, contact your veterinarian for more advice on a slower introduction or medication to help the process.
• A synthetic feline facial pheromone (Feliway®) can help provide a sense of familiarity.
• For future visits:
  • Use familiar bedding or clothing with your scent, as it retains the smell of home and helps with reintroduction.
  • Use a synthetic feline facial pheromone (Feliway®)
  • Bring both cats to the veterinary practice together. This can prevent future conflict as both cats will carry the scent of the clinic.

What Type of Carrier is the Best?

The best carriers are inexpensive hard-sided carriers that open from the top and the front and can also be taken apart in the middle. An easily removable top allows a cat that is fearful, anxious, or in pain to stay in the bottom half of the carrier for exams. Your veterinarian can often do the exam in the bottom of a well-designed carrier. Avoid carriers that require a cat to be pulled from or dumped out for an exam.

Choose carriers that are sturdy, secure, and stable for the cat, as well as easy for you to carry. Carriers should be seat-belted into the car to keep your cat safer and to reduce the bumpiness of the ride.

Some cats like to see out, whereas others are less anxious when the carrier is covered with a blanket or towel to prevent seeing the unfamiliar.

Swann Animal Clinic knows you want only the best for your pets. We are here to provide the best possible care for your pets and address any questions or concerns you may have. Below are our veterinarians’ recommendations for yearly canine wellness and preventative medicine.

Physical Examination: A full physical exam with a veterinarian annually will help prevent disease and detect illness in your pet early. Your veterinarian is your pet’s advocate, and they will make every effort to maintain the best possible quality of life and health for your pet.

Core Vaccinations: All canines in our region need to be protected from disease that can make your pet very sick. Our veterinarians recommend giving at least the following vaccinations:

• DAPP – This vaccination provides protection against Distemper, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus. Each adult canine should receive this vaccination annually.
• Bordetella – This vaccination helps provide protection against “kennel cough”, a broad term that covers all the causes of tracheobronchitis. Boarding and grooming facilities will require your pet to be up to date on this vaccination before entering their facility. This vaccination should be boosted every 6 months.
• Rabies – This vaccination is required by the city and state for all domestic pets because it is zoonotic (can be passed between animals and humans) and is almost always fatal in humans. After the initial vaccination after the age of 12 weeks, each consequent vaccination will last for 3 years.

Non-Core Vaccinations:? Depending on the individual risk of each patient, your veterinarian may recommend that your pet be vaccinated additionally for the following:

• Rattlesnake – This vaccination is intended for canines that lead an outdoor lifestyle that includes activities like hunting, hiking, and ranching. It greatly reduces the effects of a rattlesnake bite reaction and recovery time. After the first series of boosters, this vaccination should be boosted every 6 months, depending on risk.
• Leptospirosis – This bacteria is most common in warm climates with standing water. It can cause kidney failure with or without liver failure. If you intend for your pet to visit places that your pet will have access to streams, rivers, and lakes, our veterinarians recommend vaccinating your pet. This disease is also zoonotic and can be spread to humans. Initial vaccination schedule and booster requirements vary according to manufacturer recommendations.
• Influenza – This particular vaccine is gaining more attention due to the recent occurrences of Canine Influenza in other parts of the country. Influenza is very contagious and is spread via coughing, barking, sneezing, and contaminated objects, like bedding. It causes acute respiratory infections that can profess into pneumonia. Our veterinarians recommend vaccinating your pet if you plan on boarding or traveling with your pet. Canines should receive 2 vaccinations after the age of 12 weeks old 3-4 weeks apart. This vaccination is boosted annually.

Parasite Prevention: This is important for all pets, no matter their age. Parasites can carry diseases that can be passed to your pet and possibly to you or your family.?

• Intestinal – Intestinal parasites are transmitted by parasite ingestion. This includes hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, tapeworms, and coccidia. We can perform an intestinal parasite screen in the clinic to ensure your pet doesn’t have any of these parasites. We do this by analyzing a sample of feces under a microscope for eggs. If your pet tests positive for any of these parasites, our veterinarians can provide the correct treatment to rid your pet of any parasites. Monthly heartworm prevention includes a deworming medication that can protect your pet against most intestinal parasites.
• Blood – Blood parasites and diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks. The most common to our region are heartworms, Ehrlichia, Anaplasmosis, and Lyme. It is important to keep your pet on a preventative year-round to prevent all of these diseases.
• External – The external parasites your pet is at risk of in our region are fleas, ticks, and mites. Some pets experience flea allergy dermatitis, which is an allergic reaction to the flea’s saliva. It can cause non-stop scratching and skin infections. Ticks, as mentioned before, can transmit different blood parasites and can cause a localized skin reaction at the site of attachment. The scabies mite can also affect your pet but is also zoonotic and can affect you and your family. Keeping your pet on a monthly preventative can keep your pet from having any of these parasites.

Annual Parasite Screens: It is important to test your pet each year for blood and intestinal parasites, even if they are on preventatives year-round. When doses of parasite preventatives are not given correctly, your pet becomes at risk of contracting the aforementioned disease?s. We can bundle the blood and intestinal parasite screens for submission to our reference lab, which costs less than performing the same tests in the clinic.

Annual Blood Work: Depending on your pet’s age, your veterinarian may recommend annual blood work to establish a baseline to compare all future blood work and begin screening for early stages of different diseases. This blood work can also serve as pre-anesthetic blood work for any procedures you may have scheduled (i.e. dental, mass removal, etc.) This blood work is submitted to our reference lab.

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Swann Animal Clinic knows you want only the best for your pets. We are here to provide the best possible care for your pets and address any questions or concerns you may have. Below are our veterinarians’ recommendations for yearly canine wellness and preventative medicine.

Physical Examination: A full physical exam with a veterinarian annually will help prevent disease and detect illness in your pet early. Your veterinarian is your pet’s advocate, and they will make every effort to maintain the best possible quality of life and health for your pet.

Core Vaccinations: All canines in our region need to be protected from disease that can make your pet very sick. Our veterinarians recommend giving at least the following vaccinations:

• FVRCP – This vaccination provides protection against Feline Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, and Panleukopenia. Each adult feline should receive this vaccination annually.
• Leukemia – This vaccination helps provide protection against the Feline Leukemia Virus, a virus that causes immune deficiency. This virus is spread from infected cats through saliva and nasal secretions, urine, feces, and milk. Each adult feline should receive this vaccination annually.
• Rabies – This vaccination is required by the city and state for all domestic pets because it is zoonotic (can be passed between animals and humans) and is almost always fatal in humans After the initial vaccination after the age of 12 weeks, each consequent vaccination will last for 1 year.

Parasite Prevention: This is important for all pets, no matter their age. Parasites can carry diseases that can be passed to your pet and possibly to you or your family.?

• Intestinal – Intestinal parasites are transmitted by parasite ingestion. This includes hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, tapeworms, and coccidia. We can perform an intestinal parasite screen in the clinic to ensure your pet doesn’t have any of these parasites. We do this by analyzing a sample of feces under a microscope for eggs. If your pet tests positive for any of these parasites, our veterinarians can provide the correct treatment to rid your pet of any parasites. Monthly heartworm prevention includes a deworming medication that can protect your pet against most intestinal parasites.
• Blood – Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitoes. It is important to keep your pet on a preventative year-round to prevent this disease.
• External – The external parasites your pet is at risk of in our region are fleas, ticks, and mites. Some pets experience flea allergy dermatitis, which is an allergic reaction to the flea’s saliva. It can cause non-stop scratching and skin infections. Ticks, as mentioned before, can transmit different blood parasites and can cause a localized skin reaction at the site of attachment. Ear mites are highly contagious and cause irritation and infections in the ears. Keeping your pet on a monthly preventative can keep your pet from having any of these parasites.

Annual Parasite Screens: It is important to test your pet each year for blood and intestinal parasites, even if they are on preventatives year-round. When doses of parasite preventatives are not given correctly, your pet becomes at risk of contracting the aforementioned disease?s. We can bundle the blood and intestinal parasite screens for submission to our reference lab, which costs less than performing the same tests in the clinic.

Annual Blood Work: Depending on your pet’s age, your veterinarian may recommend annual blood work to establish a baseline to compare all future blood work and begin screening for early stages of different diseases. This blood work can also serve as pre-anesthetic blood work for any procedures you may have scheduled (i.e. dental, mass removal,etc.) This blood work is submitted to our reference lab.

Sidekicks Stay & Play 

Boarding, Daycare, Enrichment, Training, and Spa
806-395-3133
8723 Plum Creek Dr. Amarillo, TX 79124 (next to our location on Plum Creek)

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