There has been advancements in dog & cat immunisation of the last few years, and to offer your pet the best protection Illawarra Animal Hospital offer the most recent and advanced pet immunisation schedules.

Adult dogs (12 months and over)

• Annually for KC and Heartworm
• Every 3 years with DHP vaccine (C3) – this is the highest quality vaccine available and is Australian made.

Puppies (less than 12 months):

• 6 weeks
• 10 weeks for DHP and KC
• 3 months and 6 months for Heartworm
• Then from 12 months move to the adult dog annual vaccination regime

Adult Cat

• Annually with F3 vaccination; or
• a course of 2 vaccinations if hasn’t been previously vaccinated.

Kitten (3 dose course of F3)

• 8 weeks
• 12 weeks
• 16 weeks

Sometimes individual variations with vaccination regimes occur, so it always important to talk to the Vet.

The paralysis tick is a small, eight-legged tick that produces a potent toxin. This toxin causes paralysis in dogs and cats, and is potentially fatal. Paralysis ticks are commonly found on the east coast of Australia, and favour warm, humid conditions.

Fleas are uncomfortable for both pets and their owners. A single flea lays 40-50 eggs a day, so 1 single flea can reproduce up to 2,000 other fleas in their lifetime. So if you don’t prevent your pet from fleas they can take over your home.

Even inside pets can get fleas. Treating both the pet and the environment is important if you have a flea infestation. Then preventing the return of fleas through treating your pet with a flea/tick prevention is key.

The Wollongong/Illawarra Region is a flea and tick hot spot due to our coastal position and warm humid weather. It’s important to ensure that your pet is on tick prevention and that you search them daily for any potential ticks.

There are a few different products on the market, however at Illawarra Animal Hospital we have reviewed the available products and stock the products that we believe are most reliable for your pet:

• We recommend and stock Bravecto for fleas and ticks in both Dogs & Cats:
• • Bravecto Spot On for Dogs is every 6 months
  • Bravecto Spot on for Cats is every 3 months
  • Bravecto Chews for Dogs that last 3 months
• If owners would prefer a monthly option, for example for puppies that are growing rapidly, we stock and recommend Simparica Chews which protects against fleas and ticks for a month.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO VACCINATE?

There has been advancements in dog & cat immunisation of the last few years, and to offer your pet the best protection Illawarra Animal Hospital offer the most recent and advanced pet immunisation schedules.

Adult dogs (12 months and over)

• Annually for KC and Heartworm
• Every 3 years with DHP vaccine (C3) – this is the highest quality vaccine available and is Australian made.

Puppies (less than 12 months):

• 6 weeks
• 10 weeks for DHP and KC
• 3 months and 6 months for Heartworm
• Then from 12 months move to the adult dog annual vaccination regime

Adult Cat

• Annually with F3 vaccination; or
• a course of 2 vaccinations if hasn’t been previously vaccinated.

Kitten (3 dose course of F3)

• 8 weeks
• 12 weeks
• 16 weeks

Sometimes individual variations with vaccination regimes occur, so it always important to talk to the Vet.

HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO TREAT MY PET FOR FLEAS AND/OR TICKS?

The paralysis tick is a small, eight-legged tick that produces a potent toxin. This toxin causes paralysis in dogs and cats, and is potentially fatal. Paralysis ticks are commonly found on the east coast of Australia, and favour warm, humid conditions.

Fleas are uncomfortable for both pets and their owners. A single flea lays 40-50 eggs a day, so 1 single flea can reproduce up to 2,000 other fleas in their lifetime. So if you don’t prevent your pet from fleas they can take over your home.

Even inside pets can get fleas. Treating both the pet and the environment is important if you have a flea infestation. Then preventing the return of fleas through treating your pet with a flea/tick prevention is key.

The Wollongong/Illawarra Region is a flea and tick hot spot due to our coastal position and warm humid weather. It’s important to ensure that your pet is on tick prevention and that you search them daily for any potential ticks.

There are a few different products on the market, however at Illawarra Animal Hospital we have reviewed the available products and stock the products that we believe are most reliable for your pet:

• We recommend and stock Bravecto for fleas and ticks in both Dogs & Cats:
• • Bravecto Spot On for Dogs is every 6 months
  • Bravecto Spot on for Cats is every 3 months
  • Bravecto Chews for Dogs that last 3 months
• If owners would prefer a monthly option, for example for puppies that are growing rapidly, we stock and recommend Simparica Chews which protects against fleas and ticks for a month.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF TICK PARALYSIS?

A Paralysis tick is toxic for both dogs and cats. If you think you pet has a paralysis tick then you need to seek urgent veterinary care for assessment and treatment immediately.

Signs of tick paralysis vary depending on the length of time the tick has been on the animal, as well as the potency of the toxin, which can vary between ticks. Signs to watch for may include:

• a change in your pets behaviour and their bark or meow sound
• difficulty in breathing – particularly increased speed or laboured breathing
• sudden coughing or gasping
• you notice excessive salivation or frothy discharge from the mouth
• vomiting or regurgitation of food or water
• Loss of strength in the hind legs and a reluctance to get up or walk

Seeking timely veterinary care is critical to determine whether your pet needs tick anti-toxin. Keep your pet calm, quiet and cool. Excitement, exercise and overheating can stimulate the toxin. Remove food and water. Your pet’s ability to swallow may be compromised, putting your pet at risk of aspiration pneumonia. Also search for other ticks on your pet.

Paralysis ticks can be fatal to your pet. Treatment with tick anti-toxin needs to be administered as soon as possible by your veterinarian. Other treatments used depend on the severity of tick paralysis, but include:

• Full shave to ensure that there are not other ticks on your pet. This can be the most shocking part for owners – but the hair is guaranteed to grow back, however if there are still ticks under their coat there is no guarantee of survival
• Hydration therapy through Intravenous fluids to rebuild and maintain hydration
• Sedation to reduce excitement and prevent breathing difficulties
• Depending on the risk of pneumonia Antibiotics may be administered
• Oxygen therapy
• Anti-emetics to prevent vomiting and aspiration

This is a common question. Dogs and cats may develop immunity to ticks, but this requires repeated exposure to ticks – and the risks of paralysis and death each time is high. And research has demonstrated that even where immunity does occur it is very short-lived. Unfortunately, there are no vaccination against paralysis tick toxin available.

Both cats and dogs require worming every 3 months when they are adults. A good quality all-wormer is needed to prevent against roundworm, hookworm, whipworm and tapeworm.

Puppies and kittens are at a higher risk of worm infestations than adults, so they need to be wormed according to the following schedule:

• every 2 weeks until 12 weeks old
• monthly from 12 weeks – 6 months age
• and then every 3 months the same as adults