Kyle Vet | The Best Veterinarian in Kyle TX – Animal Hospital For Pets

What is a pet wellness exam?  

A pet wellness exam is simple an overall checkup of your pet which ensures the wellbeing of the animal. These are usually carried out in a Kyle animal hospitals and veterinary clinics. It is a regular checkup where you take your little bundle of fur to the vet’s clinic just to make sure that they are doing just as well as you want. Your Kyle vet then does a complete physical examination and also runs some standard tests that will diagnose anything out of ordinary. Pet wellness exams in Buda Texas  should be carried out every 6 months, especially if your pet has a chronic disease.  

The Procedure 

First and foremost, the owner is asked to fill out a preliminary checklist and the complete medical history if the pet is taken. Owners are asked to narrate any out of the ordinary behavior that might relate to a possible disease or sickness. Here you might also want to ask the Kyle veterinarian any questions that you have regarding your pet. You should prepare a checklist beforehand in case you forget about your queries. 

The veterinarian, after answering all your questions and completing their medical records will proceed to the physical examination. This includes an in-depth inspection to find out any abnormalities. The doctor will use equipment such as the stethoscope, otoscope for the ears and ophthalmoscope for the examination of eyes. The animals’ temperature, pulse, and respiration are also checked. The veterinarian will also check the animal’s gait and also check the skin or fur for any bumps or rashes.  

The veterinarian will also run some simple tests on your pet. This includes blood, urine and stool tests. These tests are necessary if your pet has digestion issues or suffers from problems such as anemia. Depending on the history of the pet, tests such as a thyroid examination and urea tests are also done. Stool tests are done to make sure that the pet doesn’t suffer from a parasite. But the problem here may arise that this testing cannot be done on site and the samples have to be sent to laboratories for inspection. But these tests yield an in-depth result that will tell you if your pet is suffering through anything.  

In the end, depending on your pet’s condition and health issues that might be discovered, the veterinarian will give you a set of instructions to follow for the future. The doctor may also prescribe certain medications for the pet.  

Why should you go for a pet wellness exam?  

Your pets are unable to voice their pain. They are unable to tell you that they might not be feeling well. A wellness exam is extremely important for these creatures to make sure that they live a long and healthy life. It is also an important preventive measure as it detects changes in physiology very early on. Diseases in their earliest stages are detected this way. To schedule a pet wellness exam, contact Dr. Stephanie Murphree at Republic Veterinary Hospital at (512) 269-0738. 

Caused by the parasite Diroflaria Immitus, heartworm disease is a potentially fatal disease that can infect your dogs and cats. This parasite is transmitted to dogs through the bile of mosquitos. The adult worms live in the heart, lungs and blood vessels of the host. These worms can grow up to a foot long. They usually live on mammals such as wolves, coyotes, dogs and cats. In some very rare instances humans can also carry this parasite.  

Signs and Symptoms  

There are many signs of Heartworm disease. The main ones are coughing and an inability to exercise. The animal stops growing or the process of growing is slowed down and the gums and skin take on a blue or purple tinge. They might even start spitting up blood. Dogs hat are very hyper and active show the symptoms more quickly.  

An animal hospital or your veterinarian clinic should be your first stop when your pets starts exhibiting these signs. An antigen detection test is carried out on your pet. This is the first kind of diagnostic test and verification of heartworm disease. The drawback of this test is that it does not identify the earliest stages of the disease as it is only capable of identifying grown, adult heartworms. Chest x rays may also be done on the animal suffering from these symptoms and blood tests are also carried out.  

All pets should be tested annually for heartworms. The disease if rarely, If ever curable, therefore it is better to take preventive measures for your animals rather than treating them for the disease. 

To have your pet checked, contact Dr. Stephanie Murphree at Republic Veterinary Hospital at (512) 269-0738.   

Heartworms in Dogs and Cats 

Dogs are the natural host of the heartworm. The heartworms present in dogs are most likely to mature and reproduce. Dogs can contain up to several hundred worms in their bodies and this leaves a very lasting effect on the mammals that remains even after the disease has been cured. In cats this disease has a different way of exhibiting itself. These worms usually do not survive to become adults in cats. This leads to the disease going undiagnosed because only the smaller worms stay alive and those that grow soon die out.  

Transmission of the disease  

The heartworms live inside the blood vessels of infected animals. These are usually foxes, wolves or coyotes. The carrier of the heartworm larvae is the mosquito. When the adults lay eggs into the blood vessels of the infected animal, and the mosquito comes and bites these infected animals, they become carriers of the larvae. As a result, when the mosquito goes and bites another animal, the larvae are transmitted to the blood vessels of the other animal. It takes about six months for the larvae to develop into adult heartworms which can live up to 7 years in dogs and 2 to 3 years in cats.  

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