Your pet needs to come and see us at least once a year for a general checkup and wellness examination. Pets age on average seven years for every human year and therefor an annual checkup for them is as good as a general medical checkup for yourself every 7 years.
Regarding dental care, we recommend that you should try and brush your pet’s teeth one to three times per week. This significantly reduces the frequency that they need to have their teeth scaled and polished (under General Anaesthetics)by a Vet.
Animals can be very strong willed when it comes to giving pills, especially cats and small breed dogs. Don’t be disillusioned when a vet almost effortlessly gives your pet a pill. Vets have a few things working in their favour like that they are not on home ground and that they give pills to animals all day every day.
The best way to get a pill into an animal is to place the pill at the back of the throat, close the mouth and do a short sharp blow on the nose. This forces your pet to lick the nose, which they cannot do without swallowing the pill. This method works especially well with cats. It also helps to lubricate the pill with some margarine, which helps the pill slide down more easily.
Alternatively you can try and hide the pill in some food. Cats like margarine, marmite and fish paste. Dogs like bread, peanut butter and viennas.