Other LocationsPreventive Veterinary Care: Cat & Dog Vaccinations
At , we feel that regular vaccinations are one of the cornerstones of good preventive health care for dogs and cats. When administered by your veterinarian, vaccines provide cost-effective protection against infectious and contagious diseases for both pets and people.
The news in both human and veterinary medicine is filled with misinformation and misunderstandings about vaccines. Even if your pet spends more time indoors than outdoors, he may be at risk of exposure to infectious diseases. Prevention helps assure the best quality of life for your pet and is much less costly than treating your pet for a serious illness that could have been prevented. We recommend a core group of vaccines to protect you and your pet against the most common serious diseases. Bring us your questions and concerns about pet vaccines and we will help you separate truth from myth.
Puppies and kittens are as vulnerable as they are adorable, and their immature immune system can’t fight off disease as well as older pets. The protection received naturally through their mother’s milk can interfere with early vaccinations, making it difficult to pinpoint when vaccines stimulate immunity. This is why little ones need vaccinations several times during their first months of life. That way, if maternal antibodies interfere with early vaccinations, later doses will still stimulate the puppy or kitten, to produce its own antibodies to the disease.
Below are our general recommendations for cats and dogs—vaccination plans and parasite control—with some explanation of common diseases and symptoms. Remember that these are general recommendations and no two animals are exactly alike.