You Need to Take Your Pet for Regular Vet Check Ups to Avoid These Conditions

Whether you’ve owned and loved a pet (or pets!) for a while now or are just starting out as a newbie, you are probably already well aware that regular vet visits are absolutely essential in keeping your pets’ health in check.

What a lot of people don’t realize unfortunately is that taking care of an animal is very much akin to caring for a child, in the sense that both will inevitably sometimes need medical attention.

You might think that avoiding regular vet check ups wouldn’t do any harm and that it’s alright to skip them, because, let’s face it, doctor visits aren’t the least bit cheap. However, any pet owner must understand that these routine visits will actually help save you money in the long run. This is especially if you find yourself waiting until your pet is showing clear signs of being unwell before taking them to get checked.

Animals are by nature strong fighters, so they’re very good at hiding illnesses – by the time we notice that they are displaying symptoms of being sick, they are often a lot sicker than they would have been if they had previously been already screened during check-ups. If an unforeseeable situation comes up and you find yourself unprepared and in a panic, there are plenty of ways to avoid preventable conditions.

In this article, we want to tell you all about some of the most common illnesses that can affect your pet, but can fortunately also be avoided through routine vet visits. If this is a topic of some interest to you, keep reading to find out what you need to be on the lookout for so that you can protect your precious fur babies from harm or sickness.

Avoidable Conditions and Diseases that Might Affect Your Pet

Ear and Eye Infections

Infections that affect your pets’ eyes or ears are not always severe, but as soon as you start to see any signs of them, it’s better to be safe than sorry, so we advise that you act quickly. Many infections, though initially harmless, when left untreated in the long run can unfortunately lead to very serious health conditions for your pet, such as deafness and blindness.

Most ear infections that can affect dogs or cats are usually caused by parasites. When not addressed and the condition is left to fester and not be treated properly, this may even lead to death in severe cases.

You might be tempted to take the cheaper route and treat these infections on your own at home, but any veterinarian will strongly recommend against this. It’s much better to have any condition diagnosed properly by a licensed professional before you begin any form of treatment, lest you run the risk of making the condition worse.

Allergies

Pets get into all sorts of muck and mischief, so it’s very common to find them scratching incessantly. You might think that it’s only because of dust. However, you may need to take a closer look and think again. While dust is a common perpetrator, sometimes, severe instances of scratching might actually be caused by allergies.

Allergies can lead to various complications – for example, if your pet is constantly scratching, they may end up giving themselves bad cuts and scratches on their skin, which in turn might end up getting infected. Or if your pet is constantly exposed to something they are allergic to, depending on how that allergy manifests it could end up being fatal.

If you notice that your pet has been scratching a lot, or if they have any open sores or wounds that aren’t healing, don’t play it safe and instead, take them to go see your trusted vet immediately.

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

UTIs are a very common condition in many different animals. Cats and dogs commonly experience them, and they can be quite painful.

There are a few ways you might be able to tell if your pet has a UTI – for example, if you have a cat, you may notice that their urine is different in colour or might smell different. They may struggle to use their litter trays, so you might notice that you aren’t cleaning them out as often – sometimes they may be visiting the litter box more often than usual, but nothing is coming out. And sometimes, your pet might start having accidents around the home, urinating on a rug for example, because they want to avoid their litter tray as it reminds them of the pain, they feel from the UTI.

The reasons behind UTIs are many, and can include hygiene, diet, dehydration and in some cases, like cats, there is no explanation other than a predisposition to the condition.

If your pet has a UTI you must take them to the vet – just like it is for humans, a UTI is extremely painful for animals and can have fatal consequences when not treated properly.

Arthritis

Just like us, animals too, can get arthritis. Now, while you may not be able to avoid the condition the pain from it can be treated or managed to make your pet more comfortable. Regular vet visits are important, particularly as your pet ages to ensure the signs of a condition such as arthritis are noticed. This way, of you need to make any modifications to your pet’s environment you can.

And there you have it – a range of conditions that can affect your pet but can also be easily treated or prevented when your pet is taken to the vet regularly.

Sometimes, finding the time to take your pet to the vet is difficult, but that doesn’t make it any less important. To overcome this, you can always enlist the help of a vet that comes to you, you can find a mobile vet Bundaberg, then our friends at Sugarland Animal Hospital can make it easier by coming to you.

Remember, your pet’s health needs routine check-ups too!