All cats will need to visit the vets at some point, so we recommend you register with your local practice as soon as possible.
Like all pets, cats need regular trips to the vets for routine health checks and vaccinations. These health checks work on the principle that ‘prevention is better than cure’ and are important to keep your cat healthy and help prevent certain diseases.
Your vet will want to check your cat over thoroughly at least once a year and more frequently as they get older or if they have special medical needs.
Cats tend to be very good at hiding signs of stress, pain or illness as they don’t want to appear vulnerable. This is another important reason for regular health checks.
Get their vaccinations
Vaccinations protects your cat against a number of common but serious cat diseases. The most commonly available vaccines are used to provide protection against the following infections:
- Feline Panleukopenia Virus (FPV, Feline Infectious Enteritis or Feline Parvovirus).
- Cat Flu (Feline Herpesvirus FHV-1 and Feline Calicivirus FCV).
- Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV).
After your cat’s initial vaccinations (two vaccinations given three to four weeks apart – usually administered to your cat as a kitten), your cat will then require follow up ‘booster’ vaccinations.
When you take your cat for a booster, your vet will also do a health check at the same time to make sure they’re physically healthy and well.
Treat them for fleas and worms
Your cat will need to be treated regularly for both fleas and worms. The safest and most effective treatments are those recommended by your vet.
Fleas
An infestation of fleas can be uncomfortable for your cat and can lead to them developing skin disease.
Fleas can cause your cat to become infected by tapeworm. They can also help spread disease both between cats and between cats and people.
Depending upon the product you use, your cat will need treating for fleas every month.
Cat specific spot-on treatments are recommended over flea collars and powders.
Make sure you only use cat-specific treatments when treating your cat for fleas as certain flea products developed for dogs can be lethal to cats.
Worming
Depending on the product you use, your cat will need treating for worms approximately every one to three months.
It may not be obvious when your cat is infested with worms, but large infestations can cause weight loss, sickness and diarrhoea.
Cats that hunt regularly are particularly at risk of worm infestations.
Certain types of worms that cats have can also be passed on to people.
Reduce any potential stress
Cats can be very sensitive. If your cat is stressed, they can become both emotionally and physically unwell and may develop physical illnesses as well as display problem behaviours.
Often owners may only notice something is ‘not quite right’ with their cats when they have already been stressed for some time. Cats may lose their appetite or be sick occasionally or behave in a way that owners have never seen before, such as spraying urine against the wall indoors or behaving aggressively.
The sooner you’re aware that your cat could be experiencing stress, the sooner you can resolve the problem. This means keeping a close eye on your cat’s physical health as well as their behaviour so that anything ‘odd’ or ‘out of character’ that could be a sign of stress is quickly identified.
