Asked Questions

We recommend that you bring your pet in for an annual veterinary checkup at a minimum. Once a cat or dog reaches 7 years of age, we recommend twice a year exams and lab work to ensure their health as they age.
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Your pet should have lab work performed annually as a component of our routine veterinary services. Yearly lab work will help us detect infections or diseases before they become serious, which will help your pet live longer and stay healthy. It also helps us provide the most effective treatment we can.
Yes. A common misconception among pet owners is that if their animal lives exclusively indoors they do not need heartworm prevention medication. All pets are susceptible to heartworms, and it is a very dangerous parasitic illness, so we recommend treating your pet year round. Should your pet have heartworms, we offer low-cost treatment plans to help them regain their health.
Due to our climate here in Tennessee, we strongly recommend year-round heartworm, intestinal worm, and flea and tick protection. The Pet Hospitals has a pharmacy in-house, which makes it easy to obtain the medications your pet needs. We offer competitive pricing and frequently provide specials and rebates.
Necessary vaccinations vary by pet species. Below is a list of pet vaccinations that are absolutely necessary for dogs and cats:
Necessary vaccinations for dogs – Rabies, Distemper, Parvovirus, Leptospirosis, and Bordetella
Necessary vaccinations for cats – Rabies, Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis, Calicivirus, Panleukopenia, and Feline Leukemia
If your pet’s stools aren’t extremely watery, don’t contain fresh blood, aren’t dark black and tarry, and aren’t associated with vomiting or excessive straining, take your pet off food for 12 hours. Make sure water is always available. After 12 hours you may try feeding a bland diet of cooked white rice and boiled chicken or lean hamburger.
Mix 1 part meat to 2 parts rice. If diarrhea worsens, you see any of the signs listed above or the condition doesn’t improve in 24 hours, call to make an appointment for an exam. DO NOT GIVE Pepto Bismol or Kaopectate to your pet (especially cats) unless you talk to our clinic first.
You may purchase a product called “Forbid” (or try meat tenderizer) to sprinkle on your dog’s food. It changes the stool, making it taste even worse. You may try “booby-trapping” any stool in the yard with hot sauce. However, you must be consistent. If your dog encounters any stool that has not been booby-trapped then it will take longer for your dog to stop this habit. Also try leash walking your dog and keeping the yard picked up.
Average temperature for dogs and cats is 101.5. A range of 100.5 to 102 is probably okay. Always use a well-lubricated rectal thermometer to take your pet’s temperature.
Fleas are small, dark brown-black insects. You can usually see them, often near the base of the tail or on the belly. They flee from light. You can also see “flea dirt”. This dark, grainy material in the hair coat or on the skin turns red when moistened, as opposed to dirt, that continues to be black even when wet.
If your pet is lethargic, not as active or perky as usual, disinterested in eating, not drinking normally, vomiting blood, got into the trash or may have eaten a foreign object or unusual food, you should withhold its food and call for an appointment. We will get your pet in for an exam and possible x-rays or blood work. If your pet does not show any of the above symptoms after vomiting, still keep it under observation to see if it vomits again. Remove it’s food for 12 hours and make sure that water is always available. If no more vomiting occurs after 12 hours has gone by, feed it two parts cooked whole rice and 1 part boiled chicken or lean hamburger for a day or two. If vomiting continues for more than 24 hours or occurs more than once in 24 hours, withhold food and make an appointment for an exam, x-rays and/or blood work.
Rawhide chews usually do not cause a problem. Choking or blockage may happen if your dog swallows the whole chew or an un-softened chunk of it. Rawhide chews can upset some dogs intestinal system causing vomiting or diarrhea. It’s best to supervise your pet when it’s chewing on any toy.
A cold, wet nose may be a sign of good health in dogs and cats, but even a healthy pet can have a warm, dry nose on occasion. On the other hand, really sick pets can also have cold, wet noses. What does all this mean? Your pet’s nose is not a reliable indicator of your pet’s health.