This is a good question because so many people, if there's like a little skin tag or something, they might not want to put their pet under anesthesia or if we have like a 16 year old dog with a heart condition, I'm not going to want to put them under anesthesia. But we do have some options. If there are small skin tags that are irritating either to the pet or to the owner, we do have cryotherapy here, which is painless. It is cold, but it involves freezing these growths off. In some cases, we can try to do local anesthesia. Because the lidocaine stings, some pets will not tolerate it and any procedure that's going to be done on the face will require sedation and/or anesthesia. There's just not something we're going to get away from because we only get two eyeballs. But if we have a skin tag on the top of the head that keeps scabbing and is gross, and a little cauliflower-like benign growth, that's something we're going to be able to use the cryotherapy and freeze that off without anesthesia.

Risks with anesthesia are very low. The incidence is super low. In this practice, we've only had maybe two incidents in almost four years, so it's an extremely low risk. But there is always risk. The biggest one I would say and the one that scares most owners, including myself, is that we can lose them under anesthesia. They can go into cardiac arrest. It can be a drug reaction, an underlying heart condition that was silent and we weren't able to pick up on. Unfortunately, there are certain breeds of cats that can have silent heart disease like our sphinxes or Maine Coons, which is why we do a lot of preoperative monitoring and/or testing to make sure they can safely undergo anesthesia and the same with our canine patients. That's why every patient gets a preoperative exam, and for every patient over the age of four, our blood work, preoperative lab work is not optional. We do strongly recommend it for pets that are under four, but it is optional. What we're looking for is infection, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. What are our organ functions with our liver and kidney? What are our electrolytes doing? Do we have normal clotting times? Because if we're having surgery we need to make sure we can clot. So these are possible risks, possible complications from anesthesia. Even though we do place a breathing tube down to protect their airway when they're asleep, aspiration pneumonia or when we get contents into the lungs from the esophagus like if they regurgitate or vomit while they're under anesthesia is a risk. There are different complications with each surgery, and if your pet is having one of those surgeries, we’ll go over those risks with you before the procedure.

Paying attention to your cat's normal behaviors is a form of preventative care that you can do at home. Changes in their behavior, such as drinking more water. Cats are really good at hiding their diseases, so you may notice that your cat is limping, not playing as much, sleeping more than normal, or maybe instead of jumping straight up on the cat tree, they're taking steps to stick it up to the top and steps to stick it down. Where they used to run up your steps fluidly, now they're kind of taking their time, or when they're coming down the steps in your house, they're taking time and they're kind of bunny hopping down. These are signs that have actual pain. Checking your cat's teeth and monitoring their breath can also help detect problems early. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, it's best to make an appointment with a vet. I thought I found a bump or a little growth on one of my cats about six to eight months ago. It was a little tumor, so that had to come off. But this is the type of preventative care that you can do at home. You're going to pick up on things because you're seeing your cat every single day. I see your cat once a year.

By the fact that you're seeing them all the time, you are going to pick up on things and what I would tell you is listen to your gut. If something is not normal, call and make an appointment. You are going to be the best advocate for your cat because you are the best person that knows them a hundred percent. You're the one that knows all their different meows. You're the one that knows their behaviors and their patterns. You're going to know when something's different. Are they hiding under the bed? Are they sleeping in the closet? Are they not greeting you when you come home? Are they not chirping at you for their food at the regular times? So you are going to be the best person to help with preventative care at home because you are going to pick up on those tiny nuances that I'm not going to see because I'm only seeing them once a year.

Even if your cat is indoor-only, flea and tick prevention is still important. Fleas can come inside on us or other pets, and here in Texas, we also have to worry about heartworm disease which is transmitted by mosquitoes that can come inside. Once a cat gets heartworms, it's very difficult to treat, so prevention is key.

While it's technically optional, it's strongly recommended. Just like with human health, things can change quickly. Preventative medicine can help your cat live a longer, healthier life and allows us to regularly check their organ function and catch problems before they start.

These are usually called annual exams, and it's important to remember that our pets age much faster than us. During these exams, we do lab work to establish a baseline of health for your cat. This way, even if there is a subtle change, we can detect it. It's far better to catch a disease before your cat starts showing symptoms. This can mean the difference between aggressive medical management, which can be expensive, versus outpatient care which is less costly. Preventative medicine is so important because it allows us to catch potential issues early on.

Preventative care is exactly like it is for humans. It involves taking your cat for an annual exam every year, and possibly twice a year when they're older. It includes managing conditions they may already have and paying attention to changes in their behavior. The primary goal of preventative care is to prevent disease or to catch it in the early stages when it's more manageable, treatable, or curable.

Definitely give us a call. We can make sure they don't have any signs of arthritis or pain in their knees and their hips specifically, but we do see some issues in their elbows as well. Sometimes we need to make a food change, but either way, definitely let us know and we'll get them in and help you figure out what's going on.

With training, you always want to use positive reinforcement and you want to try and make it fun. So, whether that is basic training or more advanced, we want to initially train them with food and almost hand commands. Use treats to encourage them to do well and then give lots and lots of praise after they've accomplished those things.

First of all, crate training your dog can be really helpful, or at least keeping them in an enclosed area where they feel safe. Within that area, giving them a food puzzle to do, as long as they have no food allergies, giving them peanut butter that's frozen and a Kong can be really great. Just things to keep them mentally stimulated while you're gone are great.