Preventive Healthcare
Preventive health care aims to avert many diseases that are contagious between cats, such as parasites, cat flu, feline immunodeficiency virus and feline panleukopenia. Each cat’s life situation and risk of contracting infectious diseases are different, which is why we at Mielikki will plan your cat’s vaccination and deworming program and other necessary follow-up tests individually, utilizing the latest international and national recommendations.
Why is neutering important?
Many infectious diseases require close contact between cats. This is why it is important to neuter your cat. By neutering your cat, you reduce its need to wander away from home and, since other cats are not interesting for breeding purposes, the number of cat contacts also decreases, thus reducing the risk of encountering contagious diseases.
In addition, neutering prevents the birth of unwanted kittens and completely eliminates the risk of, for example, uterine inflammation.
Comprehensive health check for adult cats
Health checks always include a general examination of the cat from nose to tail. We assess the need for dental care and, if necessary, discuss weight management strategies. The comprehensive health check also includes updating needed vaccinations and taking basic blood tests: a complete blood count (CBC) and organ function markers (liver and kidney values, blood glucose, and protein levels). This visit is therefore more extensive than a standard health check and vaccination visit. Monitoring blood values in a healthy cat is important for detecting potential early-stage diseases or congenital organ abnormalities, as cats are notorious for masking symptoms of illness. Furthermore, regular blood testing allows us to track individual trends in blood values. For example, a rising trend in kidney values (even if the levels remain within the reference range) can be the very first sign of developing chronic kidney disease, appearing years before clinical symptoms manifest. The earlier such changes are detected, the sooner we can tailor our approach to the patient’s specific needs, such as when planning for anesthesia.
This visit is intended for generally healthy adult cats aged 1 to 7 years. For cats over the age of 7, we recommend a senior health check.
