Valley Veterinary Hospitals Ltd :: Valley Veterinary Hospital :: (FAQs) Frequently Asked Questions :: At Valley Veterinary Hospital, Fredericton, New Brunswick, we are all pet owners too. Our pets are important parts of our families.

Below are a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that we are commonly asked. If your question is not answered below, please let us know and we will add it in this section to benefit others.

1. How often and for what should my pet be vaccinated? Or is the yearly visit really necessary?

YES. Your pet cannot complain when it is feeling aches and pain and therefore an annual exam with your veterinarian is the best way to ensure that your pet
remains in its optimum health. Vaccines; at your annual exam, your veterinarian and you can determine the optimal vaccination schedule for your pet. We advise 2 to 3 sets when your pet is young then a full set a year later then starting to rotate the vaccines that don't have to be repeated annually.

2. How often should my pet be dewormed?

We recommend deworming every 14 days until 3 months old then once monthly until 6 months then either maintaining on monthly or once/3 months depending on the parasites you are trying to control. More frequent deworming for internal parasites of dogs and cats helps keep the human risk for zoonotic infection as low as possible (immunocompromised humans can have problems with the common intestinal parasite roundworms as well as others). Monthly deworming with a product like Interceptor not only controls intestinal worms, it also protects against heartworm and lungworm.

3. What can my pet carry that can endanger humans?

There is a long list including Rabies, internal parasites, some bacterial disease transmitted via feces. You can decrease your risk by keeping your pet current on its vaccines and having it on a regular deworming program.

4. How often will my cat come in heat?

Cats come into heat after they reach sexual maturity (sometime after 6 months of age). They seem to stay in heat until they are bred but they actually cycle on a 3 week rotation from February to October. This is very annoying to the cat owner usually and we recommend spaying the cat. Their gestation length is 63 days or 9 weeks.

5. How often will my dog come into heat? How long do they stay in heat?

Dog's usually cycle every 6 months or more. They stay in heat for 3 to 4 weeks and need to be closely monitored the entire time to prevent unwanted pregnancies. The gestation length for dogs is 63 days, or 9 weeks.

6. Should I vaccinate my dog against Leptosporosis?

We started recommending this vaccine to dog owners within the last 6 months after having 3 cases of it at this hospital within the last year. It a bacterial disease transmitted to your dog via the urine of infected animals through your pet drinking out of contaminated water in the summertime. The vaccine is not perfect as it does not protect against every strain of the disease but it is the best we can do at this time. Please ask your veterinarian for further discussion and details.

7. Should I declaw my cat?

The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association has taken a position against declawing cats. It has been an animal welfare issue in Canada for awhile. It is a painful procedure involving amputation of the last bone of each digit of the front feet. We still perform this procedure if the owner strongly wants it done. We feel we control the cat's pain quite well with pre-emptive pain medication, nerve blocks to the feet and follow up pain medication until the cat's feet have healed.