One of the most important steps you can take to ensure your pet is on the right track for a long, healthy life is to schedule a regular veterinary exam. Veterinarians recommend a regular check-up for your pet for the same reason your doctor recommends a regular visit—if you can detect a problem in its early stages, it is more likely to be treated and resolved with less expense and better success.
To that end, the Rainier Animal Fund is committed to providing access to regular exams for lower income, pet-owner families. What does that look like? We recommend healthy adult dogs and cats visit a veterinarian once a year. Puppies, kittens, senior pets, and pets with health issues or illnesses need more frequent checkups. Our team is working hard with partner organizations and veterinarians to help make that possible.
Although she might not like it, regular exams with the vet will help your kitty live a long, healthy life.
How Do You Prepare Your Pet for an Exam?
If this is your first visit with our team, be sure to bring:
- Important paperwork (i.e., vaccine history, adoption paperwork, etc.)
- Crate and/or leash, as all pets must be on a leash or in a carrier
- Questions you have about your pet (helpful to write them down ahead of time)
What Happens During an Exam?
Nose to Tail exams include checking your pets’ eyes, teeth, and heart.
At an exam, the veterinarian will check your pet’s health from nose to tail. Here is what that looks like.
- Eyes—The vet will look at your pet’s eyes for such things as signs of vision loss, old age changes, discharge, redness, and cataracts.
- Ears—The vet will check the ears for redness, odor, or ear debris. The vet also might use a tool called an otoscope (a cone with a light inside) to see the ear canals.
- Mouth and Digestive System—The vet will look at the teeth and gums for signs dental disease. We also will check mucous membranes and briefly look at the anus to make sure there are no signs of issues.
- Lymph nodes—The vet will palpate the lymph nodes around your pet’s face, neck, armpits, inguinal area (where insides of back legs meet the abdomen), and back of the knees. Any swelling of the lymph nodes could mean underlying illness.
- Heart and Circulation—Using a stethoscope, the veterinarian will listen to the heart to make sure the rhythm is normal and there is no murmur or other abnormal sounds.
- Respiratory System—The vet will listen to your pet’s lungs with the stethoscope, making sure the lung sounds are normal during breathing. We will also look at your pet’s nose to check for discharge, redness, or a dry, cracked appearance.
- Abdomen—The vet will palpate your pet’s abdomen to feel for abnormalities and make sure the abdomen is not painful. The vet might be able to feel structures that do not belong, such as masses, or organs that are irregular in size or shape.
- Skin and Coat—The vet will check for skin issues, such as flaking, redness, and inflammation, and look for signs of fleas and other parasites.
- Joints, Bones, Muscles, Nervous System— The vet will feel your dog’s joints for pain/stiffness and possibly look at the reflexes as well. We also might watch your pet walk to make sure gait is normal.
- Urinary and Reproductive System—The vet will briefly look at the genitals to make sure nothing appears abnormal. A rectal exam might be done for intact males to palpate the prostate.
- Overall Body Condition—The vet will assess your pet’s overall condition, and will likely rate your pet’s body condition score as well. The body condition score is either rated on a scale of 1–5 or 1–10. The low end of the scale indicates the pet is severely underweight; the high end means morbid obesity.
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These first steps, along with a comprehensive vaccine schedule, will help make sure your pet is on the right path for a long, healthy life. We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming Clinics.
