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Preventive Care & Wellness

  • Special attention must be given to a dog's nutrition during her pregnancy to ensure the birth of healthy puppies. It is important to maintain a good body condition throughout pregnancy; this is achieved with regular monitoring. This handout outlines a pregnant dog’s unique nutritional needs and how to meet them, ensuring a healthy mother and pups.

  • Each cat is an individual and one standard feeding plan may not work for every pet, but following a set schedule can be beneficial for several reasons. For most cats, two meals per day is best. The use of food toys or interactive feeders can add interest to your cat’s mealtime. Routines help your cat adjust to changes that may occur in your home and allow you to monitor her health.

  • Each dog is an individual and one standard feeding plan may not work for every pet, but following a set schedule can be beneficial for a number of reasons. For most dogs, two meals per day is best. The use of food toys or interactive feeders can add interest to your dog's mealtime. Routines help your dog adjust to changes that may occur in your home and allow you to monitor their health.

  • Selecting your cat's food is a choice you make to support their health and well-being for each of their life stages. Complete and balanced commercial cat foods are designed to have specific nutrient profiles, and different diet types are available for healthy cats or those with a medical condition. Your veterinarian is always ready to help you make the best nutritional choices for your cat.

  • Selecting your dog’s food is a choice you make to support their health and well-being for each of their life stages. Complete and balanced commercial dog foods are designed to have specific nutrient profiles, and different diet types are available for healthy dogs or those with a medical condition. Your veterinarian is always ready to help you make the best nutritional choices for your dog.

  • The primary nutritional goals for the young adult cat are to maximize health, longevity, and quality of life. The diet should address common health issues that nutrition may influence, such as dental disease, obesity, feline idiopathic cystitis, cancer, and osteoarthritis. Your veterinary healthcare team can help choose a nutrient profile that best suits your individual cat.

  • The primary nutritional goals for the young adult dog are to maximize health, longevity, and quality of life. Obesity is the most common preventable disease in dogs of all ages. Your veterinary healthcare team can help choose a nutrient profile that best suits your individual dog.

  • Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is a virus that infects cats. FeLV depresses the immune system and cats tend to remain infected for life. There is no cure for FeLV, and the disease is fatal, so preventing FeLV through vaccination is highly recommended.

  • Ferrets are carnivores and cannot digest a diet that contains more than 4% fiber. A good quality ferret diet should contain 32% to 40% protein and 10% to 15% fat. This handout provides the information needed to feed your ferret a balanced and healthy diet.

  • There are several common diseases or conditions that may affect the pet ferret. Like dogs, ferrets may get heartworms, distemper virus, heat stroke and a variety of cancerous conditions. Yearly veterinary health examinations are recommended to assess overall health.