Ark Vets Galway's home page
Knocknacarra 091 510131
St. Mary's Road 091 584185

Cat Care

All the information you need to care for your cat

  • Flea Prevention
  • Microchipping
  • Vaccinations
  • Dental Care
  • Neutering
  • Worming

Flea Prevention

We will treat your kitten for fleas and lice at the first vaccination visit. Many good products are available and we can discuss these with you. The best flea products are the spot-ons, small tubes of liquid which are applied to the back of the neck and provide cover for four to five weeks. Some products now prevent fleas and ticks for three months.

Please contact us if you require further advice and our nurses will be happy to advise you on your individual circumstances.

Microchipping

Whether your kitten is a pedigree or a moggie, we recommend microchipping. Microchipping is a deterrent against the increasing trade of pet stealing and will help re-unite you and your kitten if it is stolen or goes missing. The procedure involves the insertion of a microchip, approximately the size of a grain of rice, under the skin at the back of the neck. This is a relatively painless procedure.

The microchip contains a barcode which is registered on fido.ie. We will also give you a tag for the kitten’s collar which states that the kitten is microchipped and displays our practice telephone number.

Vaccinations

Your new kitten will require two vaccinations, starting at nine weeks with a second vaccination three weeks later to prevent certain diseases. An annual booster vaccination is required thereafter to maintain a healthy young and adult cat.

A thorough health examination will be carried out at each vaccination. We will offer advice and answer any questions you may have relating to your new kitten’s health, behaviour and house training.

All kittens at Ark Veterinary Clinic are routinely vaccinated against the Feline Leukaemia virus (FeLV) in addition to the basic kitten vaccinations. This basic vaccination protects both against the Herpes and Calici viruses that cause cat flu, an often chronic and difficult to treat upper respiratory tract infection. It also protects against the Feline Panleucopenia virus, an often fatal virus that causes sudden death or severe gastroenteritis in kittens. 

The Feline Leukaemia virus (FeLV) is a viral infection that can cause a range of cancers and also bone marrow diseases that are invariably fatal to your cat. Vaccination against FeLV is not routinely carried out in some clinics. Although the combination vaccination is slightly more expensive, it offers your new kitten greater protection against these potentially life threatening diseases.

These diseases can be protected against by the vaccination of your kitten at a young age.

If your kitten is older, we recommend a blood test prior to vaccination to ensure that your kitten is not already incubating the FeLV virus.

Do not allow your new kitten to go out for ten days after the second vaccination to allow for complete immunisation to develop.

Dental Care

Approximately 75% of all cats over three years of age suffer with dental disease. Gingivitis or gum disease is common in cats and they also suffer from enamel resorptive lesions, which often necessitates extraction of the offending tooth or teeth. Cats also suffer from Periodontal disease, which is the build up of plaque and calculus. This can result in inflamed gums and the eventual loss of the tooth. This occurs because animals do not brush their teeth!

Please contact us for further information. Our dental nurse will be happy to offer you advice.

Neutering

Female Cat/Queen
We recommend that you neuter or spay your kitten at five months of age. This involves the removal of the ovaries and uterus. There are many advantages to neutering before her first season, which will occur between five and seven months of age, depending on the time of year.

Advantages:

  • Breeding: an entire female cat can potentially produce up to 16 kittens in one year!
  • Mammary Tumours/breast cancers: spaying almost completely eliminates mammary tumours/breast cancers in cats. These tumours in cats are usually highly malignant and poorly responsive to surgical removal
  • Uterine/womb infections: spaying obviously prevents against potentially life threatening uterine infections
  • Viral infections: entire cats are likely to roam to find a mate and may contact fatal viral infections from fighting and breeding.

Disadvantages:
The main disadvantage is that some cats may put on excessive amounts of weight. This can be controlled with feeding the correct type and quantity of food. Our nursing staff will be happy to advise you on diet. We offer a free weight watchers clinic for our plumper patients.

Male or Tom Cat
Neutering reduces fighting. Less fighting means fewer problems with cat bite abscesses and reduces the chance of contracting life threatening Feline Leukaemia (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency (FIV) viruses.

Neutering also reduces roaming and the unsociable behaviour of spraying or marking. This procedure, called castration, is carried out at six to nine months of age.

Worming

We will worm your kitten at the first health examination. Worming should be performed every three weeks until your kitten is six months old and every three months after that. If you have very young children it is advisable to worm your cat monthly. One in ten thousand children can develop blindness due to feline roundworms, Toxocara cati. This is rare and it also is very preventable.

It is important to use a good quality wormer as cheaper alternatives can be less reliable.

Practice information

Knocknacarra

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  • Mon
    9:00am - 6:00pm
  • Tue
    9:00am - 6:00pm
  • Wed
    9:00am - 6:00pm
  • Thu
    9:00am - 6:00pm
  • Fri
    9:00am - 6:00pm
  • Sat
    9:00am - 4:00pm
  • Sun
    Closed
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Find us here:

Miller’s Hall Bóthar Stiofán Western Distributor Road Knocknacarra Galway H91 TD0F
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St. Mary's Road

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  • Mon
    9:00am - 6:00pm
  • Tue
    9:00am - 6:00pm
  • Wed
    9:00am - 6:00pm
  • Thu
    9:00am - 6:00pm
  • Fri
    9:00am - 6:00pm
  • Sat
    Closed
  • Sun
    Closed
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Find us here:

46 St. Mary’s Road Galway H91 HY88
get directions with Google Maps