Common Pet Health Issues and How to Prevent Them: A Guide for Pet Owners
When you make sure your pet gets regular wellness and preventive care, you’re helping make sure your furry family members stay healthy. Part of preventive care is keeping an eye out for the issues that can pester our pets. The team at MarketPlace Veterinary Hospital would like to highlight five of the most common pet health issues—and how you can avoid them.
The 5 Most Common Pet Health Issues
- Dental Problems
Over 80% of dogs over the age of 3, and between 50-90% of cats over 4, live with dental disease. It’s not always easy to remember to brush your pup or kitty’s teeth, which is the best way to prevent dental disease, but regular dental care is important. Without regular dental care, food and bacteria turn into plaque, which hardens into tartar. This irritates the gums, causing inflammation and gingivitis that can affect the entire body—not just your pet’s mouth.
Dental treats and water additives can make a big difference if you simply can’t stick to a brushing routine. Yearly dental cleanings, like the ones recommended by your own dentist, are the other big step you can take to protect your pet from dental disease.
- Obesity
Obesity can shorten the length of your dog or cat’s life and lead to a host of health problems from arthritis to heart disease. We encourage all pet parents to keep their furry friends on a balanced, nutritious diet. Daily exercise is also essential as it helps keep your pet mentally stimulated, limber, and happy to boot.
- Parasites
At every wellness appointment, we’ll make sure your furbaby is getting the parasite protection they need.. The most common parasites that plague pets are heartworm, fleas, and ticks. Fleas cause significant skin discomfort and even allergic reactions in some pets. Ticks can transmit diseases that’ll affect your pet for life. Heartworm disease is one of the most dangerous and expensive parasitic infections to treat, so heartworm prevention is incredibly important. Contact us today if you need flea, tick, and heartworm preventives for your pet.
- Allergies
Our pets can’t talk, but they can sure scratch, lick, nibble, and sneeze. If your pup or kitty is doing a lot of any of these things, bring them in for a checkup. They might be coping with allergies to pollen, mold, dust mites, fleas, or even something in their food. With allergy testing and treatment, we can get to the bottom of those sniffly snuffles so your pet can feel better again.
- Arthritis
Is your dog limping, walking stiffly, or romping around the yard less energetically than they used to? Your pet may be dealing with arthritis. Dogs and cats alike can develop this common pet health issue, especially if they are aging or overweight. The good news is that the earlier we spot the signs of arthritis, the better your pet’s prognosis will be.
With supplements, pain management, and extra TLC, your pet can continue to enjoy life with you, arthritis and all.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment at MarketPlace Veterinary Hospital. We’re here to help you look for signs of potential health issues in your pet.