Jacksonville Veterinary | Jacksonville Cats | FL | Parkway Animal Hospital |

So Doc, what's in a Feline Annual Checkup?

• Comprehensive Physical Exam - A  head to tail exam by Dr. Kempf make sure your cat is in tip top shape (see below for a description of everything a Comphrehensive Physical Exam comes with). A physical exam by a veterinarian is required by law for all vaccinations.
  
• Free Lifestyle evaluation - To better understand what you and your cat do on a daily basis. We need to determine if your cat is 100% indoors, goes in and out as they please, or escapes whenever the opportunity arises! This will determine if they need additional protection against feline leukemia and additional screening for FIV - the feline form of AIDS.  
•  Free Nutritional consult - with our nutrition consultants. Our staff has had many hours of education to help you pick the right food for your cat. With over 800 brands of food, it can get confusing! We will also discuss things like ideal weight
• Annual Vaccinations based on your kitty's lifestyle evaluation. Rabies is the only vaccination required by law. FVRCP is a core vaccination for all cats, and is commonly referred to as the Feline Distemper vaccination.  FeLV is an optional vaccination determined by your cat's lifestyle and protects against the deadly Feline Leukemia Virus. If your cat goes outdoors (either allowed or escapes) or lives with a cat that goes outdoors, this vaccination is a great way to make sure everyone stays healthy.

• A Broad Spectrum Deworming - The Companion Animal Parasite Council recommends twice yearly checks for zoonotic diseases like intestinal parasites. These are worms that you and your children can catch!

Why an Annual Comprehensive Physical Exam by your veterinarian is so incredibly important:

With a vaccine clinic on every corner, you may wonder what the difference is between that what happens at your yearly visit here at Parkway. The vaccines you are getting for your pet do protect for many diseases, and in the case of rabies, is required by law in Duval county. However, what you may not know is that even the vaccine clinics recommend an annual Comprehensive Physical Exam by your regular veterinarian. (Seriously! If you simply read the fine print on the reciept they give you, you'll see that you're not doing yourself or your pets any favors, financially or medcially.) A Comprehensive Physical Exam is the most important part of your pet's visit to the vet. While it may seem like we are just petting and playing with your pet, we are doing a lot more. We check them from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail.  

•      Eyes - aging changes, cataracts, injuries
•      Ears - infections, check all the way down to ear drum
•      Nose - excessive drainage, growths
•      Mouth - condition of teeth, tongue and throat
•      Neck - feel thryoid, check neck for range of motion
•      Chest and back - listen to heart and lungs, check back for painful spots
•      Stomach - palpate (or feel) feeling for any masses and the general size of the organs
•      Rectum, penis or vulva- check of growths, abnormal discharge, prostate
•      Legs - range of motion
•      Whole body - lumps, general movement, how they walk and move

Eyes  Ears Teeth Listen