Newsletter April 2014

April 2014

FINALLY... Spring is here and we at Sissiboo Veterinary Services are very excited to have the sunny weather and the spring flowers popping up around the clinic. With spring being here we need to start thinking about those pesky ectoparasites (fleas, ticks, and mites) as well as endoparasites (hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and tapeworms). Both groups of parasites can be very hard on your beloved pet and can cause various problems that can potentially dangerous or even life threatening. We are able to defend your dog or cat from these problems because we stock a full range of anti-parasitic medications. Depending on the severity of parasite burden we may suggest a few different modes of treatment but the vast majority of our clients are going to be able to use the monthly topical parasitic control.

The products that we carry are as follows:

Advantage® 

• A topical application for prevention and treatment of fleas on dogs and cats. Safe for puppies and kittens over 8 weeks old. Not recommended for pregnant or nursing animals. Safe to apply every 3 weeks. This product is sold in a 4 or 6 month supply.

Advantage Multi®

•  A topical application for prevention and treatment of fleas, heartworm, intestinal worms (roundworms and hookworms) and ear mites. Safe for puppies and kittens 7 weeks and older and pregnant and nursing animals. This product is sold in a 6 month supply.

Revolution®

• A topical application for prevention of fleas, ticks, mange mite, heartworm, ear mites, roundworm and hookworm. Safe for puppies and kittens 6 weeks and older and pregnant and nursing animals. This product is sold in a 6 month supply.

****K9ADVANTIX®

• A topical application for the prevention and treatment of fleas and ticks. Safe for pregnant and nursing dogs. This product also contains permethrin which can be fatal if applied to cats. *** DO NOT USE ON CATS

Some alternative methods for flea, tick and worm control include:

Room sprays as well as flea collars

• Are an effective way to deter those fleas from jumping/attaching to your pets or killing any eggs that are around your home.

Program and Comfortis

• Tablets taken orally and prevent the eggs from hatching. The downfall is the fleas have to bite the animal first for this treatment to work. (For pets that show allergic reactions to flea bites this product would not be appropriate).

Drontal

• A broad spectrum anti-endoparasitic used to treat whip, hook, round, and tapeworms.

When and how often should you worm your pets?

• Each patient is different and we try to design a deworming program to suite the specific pet. Please check with the veterinarian as they will be able to design the appropriate treatment protocol.

Veterinary Clinic vs Department Store Brands?

• Be extremely careful of the“over the counter”flea, tick and deworming medications sold at department and grocery stores. The deworming medication is not the same product as ours and may not contain the appropriate ingredients to treat the problem, and, most importantly, READ THE LABELS on the flea products. --BEWARE-- not all of these are safe to use on both dogs and cats. Tragically, more than one cat has suffered or died due to being treated with a dog flea medication.

The staff at Sissiboo Veterinary Services keeps up to date on all products concerning your pet and are always happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have. Chances are we already know your pet, so we can help you choose and make the right decision on what product is best suited for him or her.

With Easter coming, be sure to keep the chocolate away from the dogs and strings away from the cats.

One last note... Watch out for those LILIES... they are extremely toxic to your little pets... If you have any lilies in the house we suggest you get rid of them or keep your pets away from them. For some reason they seem to ‘attract’ pets and can cause you a lot of problems.  

Have a Happy Easter Everyone and Happy Spring too!!!