At our animal hospital in Lincoln, NE, our staff advises all pet parents to understand the importance of parasite prevention for their cats and dogs. But aside from maintaining a tidy home and yard and regularly inspecting your pet’s body for fleas and ticks, the most important thing you can do to protect your animal is to provide your cat or dog with preventive medication.
Parasite Prevention Matters: Our Lincoln Veterinarian Team Can Help You Keep Your Pets Safe
Here’s what our Lincoln veterinarian team believes:
- Flea and tick-borne illnesses can endanger your pet’s health.
- Flea and tick-borne illnesses can endanger your family’s health.
- Flea and tick-borne illnesses can be extremely costly to treat–far more than the costs associated with maintaining a routine preventive medication schedule.
- Preventive medication is the most reliable way to reduce your pet’s risk of infection and indirectly protect you and your family members, too.
Bugs and critters often carry bacteria, viruses, and other diseases that can be easily transmitted to an unprotected animal. Such diseases may include Bartonella, anaplasmosis, heartworms, tapeworms, and Lyme disease. These conditions can lead to unpleasant symptoms such as like lethargy, joint pain, weakness, and skin infections, and may even become life-threatening if left untreated.
In some cases, certain diseases can even be transmitted from pets to their human family members. This has recently been seen with the Bartonella bacteria, which is now considered to have what’s known as a zoonotic potential for human infection (a zoonotic disease is one that can pass from animals to humans).
Fortunately, preventative medications are simple to administer, affordable, and (when used consistently throughout the year) quite effective. They can protect your pet from contracting many diseases commonly carried and transmitted by ticks, fleas, mosquitos, and even other animals (domestic or wild).
If your pet isn’t already on a routine parasite prevention program, then you’ll need to schedule an appointment with a Lincoln veterinarian. The exact type and the dose of medication your animal needs depend on several factors, including your pet’s breed, size, age, and overall health status.
Has your pet recently lost or gained weight, or has undergone a change in health? Call our vet team to let us know. Among other things, we may need to adjust your pet’s parasite prevention plan accordingly.
Schedule an Appointment with our Lincoln Veterinarian Today!
Don’t gamble with your pet’s health by skimping on preventive veterinary medicine. Keep your pets and your family members safe by scheduling an appointment today with our Lincoln veterinarian by calling (402) 488-0993.
