The following are our current vaccination recommendations for cats. Vaccination protocols are constantly being reviewed and we update our recommendations based on the most recent research.

Rabies vaccine: Recommended for all cats over 3 months of age. We are currently using a one-year cat-
only rabies vaccine (PUREVAX®) that we feel is the safest available.

Rhinotracheitis/calicivirus/panleukopenia virus vaccine: Recommended for all cats over 8 weeks of age,
regardless of indoor or outdoor status.

Feline leukemia virus vaccine: Recommended for all cats over 10 weeks of age that will have potential
exposure to cats of unknown leukemia status.

Feline immunodeficiency virus vaccine: Currently recommended for special situations only.

Royal Road Veterinary Hospital offers a puppy program for puppies that come to our hospital for vaccinations and are younger than 6 months of age. It covers all needed vaccinations and gets them started on a parasite control program.

The following outlines some of our vaccine recommendations. We tailor these recommendations to your pet’s needs and your concerns. Recommendations are constantly changing, and we try to stay current and update our protocols as needed. If you have any concerns about our vaccine protocols, please discuss them with us.

Rabies vaccine: Recommended for all dogs over 3 months of age.

Distemper/adenovirus/parvovirus vaccine: Recommended for all dogs over 8 weeks of age.

Leptospirosis vaccine: Recommended for most dogs.

Lyme vaccine: Recommended for high-risk dogs.

Heartworm disease is uncommon in New Brunswick, but mosquitoes certainly aren’t. Mosquitos are carriers of canine heartworm. Screening for heartworm is particularly important in dogs that develop heart murmurs, cough or other potential signs of heart disease. It is even more important for those dogs that have travelled outside of New Brunswick. Quebec, Ontario and the Eastern United States have a much higher occurrence of heartworm disease that we do.

The SNAP® 4Dx® Plus Test is a very simple blood test that can check your dog for heartworm and three tick diseases (lyme disease, ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis) in less than 10 minutes.

Tick diseases are more common in the Fredericton area than heartworm, and most owners whose dogs
test positive for a tick disease never saw the tick on their pet! We have had positive cases in dogs living in urban Fredericton as well as the surrounding rural communities. If your pet is exposed to or develops one of these diseases, early detection is important in discussing treatment options.

We recommend all pets have this permanent identification hip implanted when they are spayed or neutered. If your pet is not going to be spayed or neutered, it can be done during an appointment. This is a very cost-effective means of giving your pet a permanent identification that can be read by each Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and veterinarians in North America. To learn about microchip pet insurance, visit 24PetWatch.

Dogs

• Lungworms
• Mange mites
• Roundworms
• Hookworms
• Whipworms
• Fleas
• Ticks
  

For those dogs who hunt rabbits and rodents, or who have had fleas, we also recommend deworming every month or so with Droncit® to eliminate tapeworms.

Fleas can be prevented with Advantage® or Revolution, which should be used monthly from at least May through December. Year-round treatment will help achieve complete flea prevention.

Cats
Indoor-only cats should be dewormed at least once or twice a year for intestinal worms.

Cats that go outdoors should be dewormed at least monthly in May – October, and year-round treatment is even better. This will help prevent or treat:

• Roundworms
• Hookworms
• Lungworms
• Heartworms
• Tapeworms
  
  

Fleas can be prevented by using Advantage or Revolution on a monthly basis.

We recommend Hill’s® products or Royal Canin’s Medi-Cal products as excellent diets for all life stages of cats and dogs, and we carry both brands’ prescription veterinary diets. These companies have spent large amounts of money and time developing their diets to enhance pet health. They stand behind their food 100% and provide professional dietary and medical advice for patients with problems. They also take pride in the safety of their products.

Ask us about which veterinary diet(s) are suitable for your pet during your next visit.

We recommend that all puppies and kittens have a blood screening test prior to spaying or neutering. This test helps detect health problems, either congenital or acquired, that may impact how your pet deals with the anesthesia and surgery. It can be performed the morning of their surgery. Senior Pet Health Screening.

We recommend that all our senior patients be screened every 6-12 months for diseases that are common in older animals. By detecting diseases early, sometimes even before the animal is acting sick, we can usually do more to keep the pet feeling happy and healthy for a long time.

Any dog over 7-8 years of age and any cat over 8-9 years of age could be considered seniors. The screening process usually involves an examination, analyzing a blood sample and, if possible, checking a urine sample. Even when screening tests indicate an animal appears healthy, the test provides us with a baseline normal blood sample to which we can compare future blood samples from that pet.

These are day procedures that require general anaesthesia. All of our patients undergoing surgery receive a combination of several pain medications to minimize discomfort. Our dog spays, dog neuters and cat spays all receive IV fluids to help prevent low blood pressure and other complications. All patients are monitored by both veterinary technicians and mechanical monitors.