The Importance of Vet Check Up
One of the most important parts of your pet's ongoing health care is their annual wellness examination.
Providing your pet with regular care that includes physical exams as well as vaccinations, parasite prevention and proper nutrition, gives your pet their best chance at excellent lifelong health.
When you bring your pet in for their annual vet checkup, our team is able to continuously monitor your pet's overall health, prevent various health issues from affecting your pet, and watch for the earliest signs of developing health issues.
Early detection of health conditions allows our team to provide the most effective treatment possible.
What to Expect During Your Pet's Check Up?
During a pet annual exam, your Corpus Christi veterinarian will perform a comprehensive physical examination of your pet. Here are some things that your vet will examine:
General Condition
The overall behavior and physical health of your pet can tell your vet a lot about their overall wellbeing. How your pet is moving around, their level of alertness, and whether they are a healthy weight for their size are all important indicators of overall health.
Coat & Skin
During the examination, we will inspect your animal's skin and coat for signs of potential conditions, including excessive oiliness or dryness, lumps, bumps, dandruff, or abnormal hair loss or shedding.
Face & Head
Your vet will be sure to examine your pet's eyes, ears and nose for anything out of the ordinary or any discharge. At this time we will also check your pet's mouth for signs of any oral health problems such as plaque, tartar or periodontal disease.
Internal Health
It is incredibly important that your pet's heart rate and rhythm, pulse, and blood pressure are all functioning normally. We will also examine your pet's lungs for evidence of abnormal breathing.
Your vet will physically examine the lymph nodes for any possible pain, swelling or obvious signs of discomfort, and we will also examine the abdomen to ensure the intestines, kidneys, bladder, spleen, liver, and stomach all feel normal.
Review of Findings
Your vet will sit down with you after the examination and discuss any findings they may have as well as make recommendations for diet, exercise or any special care that they feel your pet may benefit from.
Puppies & Kittens
The first year of life for a puppy or kitten is crucial. Their health care during this time will set the stage for years to come.
Our compassionate vets will provide your new companion with any necessary immunizations and parasite prevention and testing, perform a complete physical examination. You'll be provided with a puppy or kitten 'kit' that contains educational material and samples to help you care for the newest member of your family.
Our team is always happy to answer any questions you may have as well as offer advice.
Your vet will make the necessary recommendations for booster shots as well as when you should bring your new pet in for their next exam.
Geriatrics
Modern-day veterinary medicine and technology allow us the opportunity to provide our pets with longer healthier lives than ever before.
Along with these extra years of life comes the need for extra veterinary care in order to maintain your pet's long-term health. As your pet advances into old age, routine examinations will become critical to ensuring their continuing health, physical comfort, and longevity.
Your vet will perform the usual examinations and diagnostics but will also give special attention to your senior pet's potential geriatric conditions, such as arthritis or decreased vision.
Your vet may suggest additional diagnostic testing in order to ensure that your pet is receiving adequate preventive and proactive care for the conditions that commonly affect senior dogs and cats.
Vaccinations & Prevention
Your veterinarian at our Corpus Christi animal hospital will also use this routine wellness visit to determine if your pet is in need of any vaccinations or parasite prevention at this time.