SERVICES

We’re proud to offer puppy and kitten packages

We start the first vaccines at 8 weeks of age, but if you have a puppy or kitten who is younger than that, we sometimes start their vaccines a little earlier (feel free to ask us about whether this applies to your kitten or puppy). Once your puppy or kitten’s vaccines are started, they generally get repeated at 3-4 weeks intervals, and continue until your kitten or puppy is 16 weeks of age. The packages provide you time with your veterinarian so they can team up with you to keep your new puppy or kitten healthy, and so they can help you problem-solve any of your young pet’s existing health issues. They also include advice to help you become more knowledgeable about proper training for your new kitten or puppy. These pre-paid packages do not include emergency exams, x-rays, surgeries, health certificates, or other treatments and medications except those listed above, but are excellent options for preventative care. Make sure you keep your puppies and kittens inside at home until all of the vaccines are completed (i.e until 16 weeks of age at the earliest).

These packages provide preventative care for your puppy or kitten, and they include:

• Two exams with your veterinarian
• All core vaccines and the required puppy/kitten vaccines
• One comprehensive fecal exam
• For kittens, a Feline Leukemia / Feline Aids test
• Basic deworming series
• Three month supply of heartworm, flea and intestinal parasite prevention
• Three toe nail trims as needed at each visit
• 10% off spays, neuters, microchips, and other lifestyle vaccines

Please call 916-925-3535, if you have any questions, and we’ll be happy to schedule you an appointment.

Preventive veterinary care is the cornerstone of keeping your pet their healthiest so that you and your pet can have more great years together. Since pets age more quickly than people do, it is critical to have regular physical examinations done to assess your pet’s health. During routine preventive exams, your veterinarian will assess:

• Overall Body Condition
• Eyes
• Ears
• Nose
• Mouth (Oral Cavity and Dental Health)
• Throat
• Heart and Lungs
• Abdominal Organs
• Musculoskeletal System
• Neurologic System
• Urogenital System
• Lymph Nodes
• Skin/Coat

When health problems are identified, a medical plan will be outlined to evaluate the problems in depth. If your pet appears to be healthy enough for routine preventive care, your veterinarian will discuss which immunizations are advised, as well as parasite prevention including heartworm disease, intestinal parasites, and ectoparasites (fleas, ticks, etc.). Annual age-appropriate lab tests, testing for heartworm and/or tick-borne diseases, and fecal tests for parasites may also be recommended for your pet. Finally, your pet’s nutrition, diet, and exercise routines can be assessed and optimized to help your pet be in best physical condition for their lifestyle and age. Remember, keeping up with preventive care for your pet is the best way to keep your pet happy and healthy for life.

We love Senior Pets! Senior pets have special needs, and benefit from more regular veterinary visits compared to their younger counterparts. Age-associated conditions include:

• Arthritis
• Dental Disease
• Heart Disease
• Liver Disease
• Kidney Disease
• Endocrine Disorders

These conditions will start to become more prevalent as your pet gets older. For this reason, we recommend twice-yearly veterinary visits for pets over 7 years of age. Your aging pet may be showing early signs of osteoarthritis such as stiffness after rest or play, difficulty going up or down stairs and reduced activity. Early intervention with joint supplements and prescription arthritis medications when indicated, along with modified nutrition and exercise plans, can greatly improve your pet’s comfort and mobility. Likewise, performing annual screening lab work on your older pet can help identify early stages of medical problems that might go unrecognized, and progress significantly without treatment.

Some pets experience age-related behavioral changes that can be a sign of cognitive dysfunction, which is similar in some ways to dementia. Your veterinarian can recommend diet modification and supplements to help improve your older pet’s mental sharpness. Getting older doesn’t have to be fraught with troubles for your pet… see your vet regularly to help keep your senior pet healthy and comfortable.

Pets are a part of our families, and preventing parasite infestations is an important part of keeping them healthy. Both ectoparasites (external parasites) and endoparasites (internal parasites) can affect your pet at some point in their life. Ectoparasites, such as fleas and ticks, are not only a nuisance to your pet, but can transmit vector-borne diseases to humans and pets such as Bartonella (cat scratch disease, transmitted by fleas); Lyme, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever. Fleas can also cause a severe dermatologic condition for your pet resulting in very itchy, inflamed skin, due to flea allergy dermatitis.

Roundworms are the most prevalent endoparasite in pets. Others include hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. Pets are typically infected with these parasites through accidental ingestion of parasite eggs (which are microscopic) from areas that have fecal contamination from other infected animals. Alternatively, some parasites are acquired through ingestion of intermediate hosts such as rodents (Taenia tapeworm species; Toxocara roundworm species) or fleas (Dipyllidium tapeworm species). These parasites are also a health risk to humans and are considered zoonotic – meaning they can be transmitted from animals to people. For example, if a person accidentally ingests roundworm eggs, the larvae can migrate in the body and cause organ damage and potentially blindness. Hookworm larvae in the soil and grass can infect bare skin and cause a condition in people known as cutaneous larval migrans.

Heartworm is another important endoparasite, but one which is not zoonotic. Heartworm infections result from pets being bitten by infected mosquitos. The larval form of the heartworm travels through the bloodstream to the heart where it develops into an adult. The adult heartworms live in the right side of the heart and left untreated, result in progressive heart failure and death. In initial stages of heartworm disease, pets may be asymptomatic. As the condition progresses, symptoms may evolve including a cough and exercise intolerance in dogs, and vomiting/coughing in cats.  Treatment of heartworm disease can be very risky for the pet, and very costly.

Because of the health risk to your family and pets, it is important to keep your pet on a year-round parasite prevention program. There are several preventives that when used properly, are very effective at greatly reducing the risk of your pet acquiring heartworm disease, intestinal parasites, and tick transmitted diseases. Additionally, you can help prevent the risk of zoonotic disease to your family by practicing good hygiene (frequent hand washing), avoiding eating unwashed raw vegetables or undercooked meats and cleaning up pet feces in your yard. For more information about pets and parasites, visit petsandparasites.org, and consult with one of our friendly staff!

Bringing your pet in for routine dental care helps to keep your pet healthier and happier! We perform dental cleanings year-round during the weekdays on Monday through Friday.

We have a state of the art dental machine with an ultrasonic water-cooled dental scaler/polisher and a high-speed drill.

Our dental service is performed under anesthesia which allows us to properly examine and clean your pet’s teeth. Some animals may require blood work before or during the dental depending on their health. We maintain IV access, IV fluids, and monitor your pet’s cardiovascular status during the dental to minimize the anesthetic risk. We also have a dental x-ray machine to help us see under the gum line to better assess which teeth are safe to leave and which ones need to be extracted. Pain medications and antibiotics are administered during and after the procedure for animals who are having tooth extractions.

Please call us at 916-925-3535 ahead of time to schedule your pet’s appointment for a dental exam and dental cleaning.

When your pet is sick or injured, they can’t tell us what’s wrong. A thorough physical exam and history (symptoms you’ve noted at home) are the first important step. If the diagnosis is not immediately evident upon initial assessment, your veterinarian will recommend specific diagnostic tests. These may include:

• Laboratory testing for baseline blood counts and organ function tests, or infectious disease. Blood and/or urine samples may be collected from your pet, for point-of-care testing, or reference lab tests. Point-of-care tests are those tests that are done on-site in our hospital so as to be able to determine results and make treatment recommendations in the most timely fashion possible. In other cases, lab samples may need to be sent off to off-site laboratories (reference laboratories) – when the test cannot be performed with in-hospital lab equipment, or when the test results are not needed urgently.
• Imaging such as x-rays or ultrasound, which allows diagnosis of conditions of the heart and lungs, gastrointestinal obstruction, tumors of the internal organs or bones, fluid in the chest or abdominal cavity, urinary stones or gallstones, reproductive diseases, and bone/joint disorders. For most patients, gentle restraint can be used for these procedures, however, in some cases, sedation may be necessary.
• Cardiac Ultrasound
• Microscopy is quite useful in the evaluation of lab samples such as ear swabs, skin impressions and scrapes, and needle biopsies of tumors. These tests are helpful in the diagnosis of dermatologic and otic (ear) conditions.
• Ocular conditions may warrant evaluation for tear production (Schirmer Tear Test), corneal injuries (fluorescein stain), or abnormal intra-ocular pressures (Tonometry).

Diagnostic testing is an important step in the development of a treatment plan for your pet, allowing your veterinarian to most effectively target the underlying problem(s) and assess the probability of successful treatment. Your veterinarian can explain the purpose of each diagnostic test for your pet, and help prioritize which tests may be most helpful in determining the cause of your pet’s illness.

Ultrasound

We have an excellent ultrasound machine that we use routinely in pregnancy exams, cardiac work-ups, abdominal work-ups (including investigations of possible bladder stones), and ultrasound-guided biopsies. We also have a great crew of referral radiologists who travel to our hospital to further assist with cardiac, abdominal, neck, and orthopedic ultrasound exams, and to consult on other challenging radiological cases.

We have in-house laboratory equipment that allows us to perform a variety of diagnostic tests on your animal. This includes standard serum chemistry tests, serology and hematology tests, urinalysis, canine heartworm and parvovirus tests, feline FELV/FIV tests, and tests to rule out parasites. We also utilize commercial veterinary laboratories for specialized diagnostic tests and consultations. We have the ability to run blood testing before anesthetic procedures for those clients that are interested.

At Natomas Animal Hospital, we have well-trained staff capable of performing or assisting with surgeries. We also have access to traveling board-certified surgeons for more complicated elective surgeries such as anal gland removal, and orthopedic surgeries. With planning, these surgeons can perform more specialty surgeries here at Natomas Veterinary Hospital with our doctors administering anesthesia and continuing more personalized client contact.

Our facility offers the following surgical services for companion animals:

• Routine spay and neuter
• Dentistry
• Tumor removal
• Abdominal and advanced soft tissue procedures
• Biopsies
• Orthopedic surgery (TPLO, extracapsular repair, medial luxating patella repair – performed by the board-certified surgeon)
• Gastropexy
• Urethral Prolapse Repair
• Advanced surgeries including brachycephalic airway surgeries available with a board-certified surgeon

In the best interests of our pet, we require a physical examination appointment with one of our doctors prior to scheduling procedures. Before the procedure is scheduled, our staff will explain the process including:

• Any pre-surgical testing that is recommended – baseline laboratory testing is beneficial so that there are no surprises on surgery day. Knowing that your pet has normal blood test results can help prevent anesthetic complications or surgical complications such as excessive bleeding, which can occur when patients have low platelet counts or abnormal clotting. When there is liver or kidney disease, this may affect the choices of anesthetic drugs recommended by your veterinarian, to prevent anesthetic complications and promote a smooth anesthetic recovery.
• Food and water intake restrictions prior to surgery – a period of fasting may be necessary prior to your pet’s procedure. Our staff will let you know what is advised.
• What procedures are to be done on the day of surgery – from initial intake to sedation and general anesthesia, anesthesia monitoring, the procedure and recovery, the staff will walk you through what will happen with your pet once you leave the hospital.
• Discharge and aftercare for your pet – some patients may be able to go home the same day as their procedure, whereas others may need an overnight stay or referral to a 24-hour care facility. The veterinary team will advise you as to what is best for your pet, and also discuss aftercare for your companion and any rechecks needed.

Anesthesia

Anesthesia is tailored to each individual patient, and your animal’s doctor has to consider such factors as your pet’s species, breed, age, sex, general health, weight, and cardiovascular and metabolic condition. Sometimes your veterinarian will advise pre-anesthetic testing for your pet in an effort to minimize the risks of anesthesia. While under anesthesia, your pet’s cardiovascular and respiratory status will be monitored with one or more of several types of equipment, which allows your Veterinarian to keep a closer watch over how your animal is doing during the procedure. The specific type of equipment will vary depending on the procedure, and the factors listed above. Most of our anesthetic procedures are done with propofol and isoflurane consistent with the UC Davis Veterinary School Protocols. For older patients, patients with more potential health problems, we also have sevoflurane, a more expensive but better good option for these more “at-risk” patients. Pulse-oximeters, blood pressure and respiratory monitors, temperature probes, and electrocardiograms (ECG’s) are some of the types of equipment used for this monitoring.

In emergency, seconds count. When you arrive with your pet on emergency or urgent care basis, our highly trained staff will perform an immediate triage assessment to assess the stability of your pet and need for emergency medical intervention. In life-threatening situations, you may be asked for consent to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

The first component of basic triage is assessing your pet’s level of consciousness, airway/breathing (labored breathing or choking, lack of oxygen), circulatory status (pale gums or weak pulses, racing heart), and pain score. Patients needing urgent medical attention, upon consent will be moved to our treatment area for immediate doctor assessment and commencement of emergency care.

Placing an IV catheter and administering IV fluids, giving oxygen supplementation, and pain relief medications may be elements of the initial stabilization of your pet. As your pet is stabilized, your veterinarian will review a diagnostic plan which may include imaging (radiographs, ultrasound) and laboratory evaluation (blood and/or urine tests) to ascertain the severity of the situation and tailor treatment for your pet.

At times, your pet may need advanced care at a referral or specialty center. When this is the case, our staff will discuss options for transfer and referral. Your primary veterinarian will stay abreast of your pet’s status at the emergency facility.