How Often Should You Take Your Cat To The Vet?

A good relationship with your vet is essential for the wellbeing of your cat. He isn’t there to see your cat when he is sick, but also to check the overall health of your cat so that problems can be picked up early.

Whenever you obtain a new cat or kitten, it is prudent to take him to your own veterinarian for an examination to make sure everything is okay. If your kitten hasn’t already been vaccinated and microchipped, this will also need to be done. Kitten vaccinations should be given as follows:

Then every 1-3 years or as recommended by your veterinarian.

* Where applicable.

If your cat hasn’t been spayed or neutered, this will need to be performed from between 10-24 weeks — generally the earlier, the better.

Annual check-ups

Once your cat has settled in, had all his vaccinations, been desexed and microchipped then it is just a case of seeing the vet when your cat is sick and once a year for a check-up. Previous recommendations were that cats should receive an annual booster, but the majority of vets now recommend every three years for low-risk cats.

A part of the yearly booster visit was also to check the overall health of your cat, which will include listening to the heart, checking the teeth, weight, skin, and coat as well as answering any questions you may have about your cat’s health and nutrition. While we can’t say that 1 human year is the equivalent of 6 cat years, it is a long time between visits considering the average cat lives for 12-15 years.

Cats over 8 years of age should have a health check-up every six months. Bloodwork is strongly recommended at least once a year to pick up common diseases to affect senior cats.

Blood tests

Your veterinarian may choose to perform some routine blood tests on your cat. Even if he is well, it is a good idea to have these tests to see an overall picture of your cat’s health. Plus it enables your veterinarian to go back on previous tests to help pinpoint when a problem may have occurred.

The most common tests include a biochemical profile, complete blood count, and urinalysis. These tests check the blood cell count as well as evaluate the organs and detect inflammation and infection.

When your cat is sick

See a veterinarian if you notice any of the following:

• Loss of appetite
• Vomiting more than once or twice in one day
• Drinking more
• Lethargy
• Pain
• Difficulty going to the toilet
• Blood in the urine
• Recent trauma
• Lumps or bumps
• Unable to bear weight on a leg
• Wound more than 1 cm long
• Any type of burn