With vaccination commonly recommended annually, most pet owners are accustomed to taking their pets to the vet for "yearly shots." It seems such a commonplace part of routine pet care that many people do not think about what is actually occurring within their pet's body.

Descriptions of rabies go back thousands of years as rabies has classically been one of the most feared infections of all time. It is caused by a bullet-shaped rhabdovirus that is relatively unstable in the environment; establishing infection requires direct contact with infected mucous membranes.

What our pets want more than anything else is to be with us. While they are just one part of our lives, we are their entire lives. Young or old, they measure their lives in time spent with us vs. time spent without us.

Spaying your cat is an important part of basic cat health care. Spaying at a young age prevents mammary cancer and spaying at any age prevents unwanted kittens, noisy heat cycles, and possibly even urine marking in the house.

Neutering a male cat is an excellent step to help your young man grow into a loving, well adapted household citizen. The main reason to neuter a male cat is to reduce the incidence of objectionable behaviors that are normal in the feline world but unacceptable in ours.

Feline leukemia virus, a retrovirus, is a common infection of cats. It is the cause of more cat deaths, directly or indirectly, than any other organism and is widespread in the cat population.

How the cat responds to a new baby or child will depend upon previous experiences as well as the cat ’ s genetic temperament. The most sensitive time for cats to begin learning positive social experiences is in the fi rst 2 months of life, although ongoing positive exposures through to adolescence also play an important role.

Even though cats have been domesticated for thousands of years, each new kitten that comes into our world must learn about humans. Socialization is the process during which kittens develop positive relationships with other living beings. The most sensitive period for successful socialization is during the fi rst 3 months of life, especially from 3 to 9 weeks of age.

An enriched environment for a cat offers a wealth of resources spread throughout the home that offer outlets for species-typical behaviors. Resources can include watering and feeding sites, elimination sites, scratching sites, resting/perching sites, toys and play activities.

FIV stands for feline immunodeficiency virus just as HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. In fact, these two viruses are closely related and much of the general information that has become common knowledge for HIV also holds true for FIV. FIV is a virus that causes AIDS in cats; however, there is a long asymptomatic period before AIDS occurs and our job is to prolong this asymptomatic period.