Tag Archives: Annual wellness exam

I know pet owners have a hard time figuring out when it is time to go to the veterinarian. If you get a reminder for routine care, like your pet’s annual wellness exam, it’s easy. The harder question is illness: when is your pet sick enough to go the veterinarian? For example, I recently saw a young terrier whose owners noticed him shaking his head and developing a brown discharge from his ear. They correctly suspected an ear infection. That same day, I saw a cat whose owner was worried about a growth in the abdomen—but it turned out to be a normal fat pad that some cats have between their back legs, in the inguinal area. These examples highlight an important point: sometimes pet owners recognize a problem accurately, and sometimes they don’t. Today’s blogpost will give some guidance on when pet owners should seek veterinary care for their pet.

February is American Heart Month—a time when hearts are top of mind. While candy conversation hearts are ubiquitous this time of year, I’m focusing on a different kind of heart: the one inside your dog or cat’s chest that pumps blood throughout the body, delivering oxygen and nutrients while taking away carbon dioxide and waste products. To help raise awareness, the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center featured Dr. Erin Achilles, Senior Veterinarian and board-certified veterinary cardiologist, on this month’s Ask the Vet podcast. This blogpost summarizes her expert recommendations to promote heart health in your dog and cat.

The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), of which AMC is a member, maintains guidelines for the life stages of cats in conjunction with the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP). These purr-fectly tailored guidelines help veterinary professionals make recommendations for wellness care for cats of different life stages. The guidelines address four feline age groups: kittens (birth to 1 year of age), young adult (1-6 years of age), mature (7-10 years of age) and senior cats (> 10 years of age). In today’s blogpost, I’ll discuss the nuances of veterinary care for each of these age groups and the one thing all cat owners should do to ensure the health and vitality of their feline friends.

For decades, the marketing of Wonder Bread, with its added vitamins and minerals, claimed to build bodies eight ways: muscles, bones and teeth, body cells, blood, appetite, growth, brain, and energy. Pet food contains many of the same vitamins and minerals as Wonder Bread to build your pet’s body eight ways. This blogpost will focus on why minerals are so important in your pet’s diet.

This week the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center and veterinary clinics everywhere are celebrating the thirtieth annual National Veterinary Technician Week honoring critical members of the veterinary healthcare team, the veterinary