Your pet deserves the best in veterinary care in Philadelphia, PA. Our local staff is dedicated to providing, not just emergency care, but ongoing wellness for your family pet.
Animals of all kinds need consistent, regular professional medical attention throughout their lives. Veterinary wellness checkups enable you to help ensure that your pet receives the proper diagnostic, examination and preventative treatments necessary to ensure optimal health on a daily basis.
Annual Wellness Checkups
When your pet gets their annual wellness checkup, here’s what you can expect. First, your pet will be checked over in a general way that starts with a physical examination. This is done to help catch any potential obvious problems such as deformities, growths, areas of pain or discomfort, or motility issues.
During the visit, you’ll discuss your pet’s health at home, and you’ll have the opportunity to convey anything that may be concerning you, such as changes in behavior or appetite, or anything else that’s changed since the last visit. Your vet will also ask you specific questions in order to highlight common potential issues, as well as to get a better sense of the animal’s lifestyle at home.
Next, your pet’s file will be carefully reviewed, with an eye toward ensuring that all preventative treatments and any local government mandated animal treatments are brought up to date during the annual wellness checkup. These may include things like:
- Vaccinations
- Inoculations
- Parasite control treatments
Wellness Services
Annual wellness checkups provide the chance for your pet to receive needed diagnostic procedures and treatment in a wide range of service areas. Additional services that may be conducted during your pet’s annual veterinary check up include items such as:
- microchipping
- dental examination and treatment
- spaying/neutering
- blood testing
- heartworm testing/treatment
- flea dipping
- FIV testing
- Parvo virus testing
- and more
Wellness Checkups for Special Situations
Consistent wellness checkups are also crucial for pets that fall into special categories, such as aging pets and relatively newborns, like puppies and kittens.
Senior Pet Care
Older pets often develop a range of age-related issues, such as loss of appetite, mobility challenges and failing eyesight. Veterinary wellness checkups support the health aging of your beloved pet to help ensure quality of life for as long as possible.
Puppy and Kitten Care
At a minimum, you should strive to have your new puppy or kitten get a visit when they are about eight weeks of age. Early wellness checkup can reveal health conditions you should be aware of, as well as to build a baseline of health that can be used throughout your new pet’s life. In addition, if you’re a new pet owner, you can receive valuable advice and tips on caring for your young pet, such as tooth brushing techniques and parasite control.
These are just some of the many services and treatment options available during routine veterinary wellness checkups at Cottman Animal Hospital. We are dedicated to providing the most advanced care for your pet in Philadelphia, and we can’t wait to be a part of your pet's whole life health!
Just like you, we want your cat to live the longest, healthiest life possible. That starts with the basics: quality food, enough exercise, good grooming, and yes, regular check-ups.
Annual exams are your pet’s first line of defense. Cottman Animal Hospital’s comprehensive annual exams include checking their overall health by taking their temperature, examining skin and coat, lung and cardiac function, internal health, oral hygiene, eyes, ears, and demeanor.
Vaccinations: Keeping your cat up to date on immunizations and booster shots is a highly effective way to prevent many common diseases and infections like distemper and rabies. Beyond those core vaccines, your pet’s age, lifestyle, and likely exposure to certain diseases will be evaluated before we recommend additional inoculations.
Dental Care: Imagine what your teeth would be like if you never cleaned them! Well, the same thing is happening to your cat’s teeth without good oral care. We recommend annual dental cleanings and can show you tips for brushing your pet’s teeth, which can reduce the need for expensive extractions and more serious dental work down the line.
Parasite Control: Fleas, ticks, worms – preventing them in the first place is much easier and ultimately less expensive than getting rid of them after they’ve infested your cat. We recommend monitoring your pet and having them screened for internal parasites regularly, and we offer a variety of alternatives for flea, tick, and heartworm prevention.
Proper Nutrition: There’s a lot of choices when it comes to what to feed your feline friend. Cats are true carnivores and making sure they get proper nutrition is very important to their health. Our veterinarians can help you figure out what is best for your cat and your lifestyle.
Behavioral Evaluation: Changes in mood or behavior, lack of grooming, or litterbox problems can often be a symptom of an underlying medical condition. Swiftly addressing these shifts can help to identify and treat the root cause.
Skin and Coat Care: Cats are fastidious by nature, but felines with long, thick coats and those who live indoors still need regular brushing, grooming, and nail trims. Proper skin and hair care can prevent things like mange, matting, bacterial infections and more.
Exercise: Cats are athletic creatures and getting enough exercise–especially if they live indoors–is extremely important in maintaining cardiovascular health and a healthy weight.
Senior Animals: At Cottman Animal Hospital, we love elder pets! We also know that preventative care is even more significant for them. Cats are living longer than ever, making them more susceptible to disease and illness as they age. We recommend twice-yearly exams and screenings for senior cats to help prolong and improve the quality of their life.
To schedule a wellness exam and testing for your feline friend, call us at (215) 745-9030.