Congratulations on the new addition to your family! The following information will assist you in giving your new family member a healthy start. There are three main areas of concern that we at Galena Veterinary Hospital worry about. They are congenital disease, disease prevention, and behavioral training.

      Heart murmurs, skeletal malformations, portosystemic shunts, and kidney disease are all examples of the many congenital diseases that we occasionally see with kittens. Some of these congenital diseases are tragic and have no cure. But, many of them can be treated and / or cured. By doing physical exams throughout the kitten package, we will check for these diseases and make the appropriate recommendation to help your kitten.

       A major component of the kitten package is giving your kitten proper immunity to infectious diseases that are common or deadly. Through a series of vaccines, your kitten will gain immunity against feline distemper, calici virus, rhinotracheitis virus, feline leukemia virus and Rabies. We will also discuss other vaccinations that your kitten may need later in life. Kitten vaccinations are very important to prevent diseases that may be deadly to your kitten. Another area of disease prevention is in regards to parasites. At each visit we will be giving a dewormer that will treat or prevent many parasites such as round worms.

       The final component of a kitten’s health that we will address is behavioral problems. One of the most common reasons that cats are taken to the local animal control or humane society is behavioral problems. Most of these bad habits or problems are started during the first year of life. So, through behavioral recommendations, we can avoid many of these problems.

       With our total health package for your kitten, we will give you the best start with your new family member.