Vaccinations play an important role in maintaining your pet’s health by protecting them from a number of infectious diseases. These diseases can affect your pet's health in many ways and can even be life-threatening. Puppies and kittens are particularly vulnerable, with a good vaccination protocol, the risk of disease can be greatly reduced.

At Greenlane Veterinary Clinic, we recommend vaccinating your pet following the guidelines below:

Puppies

* Your kennel may have different requirements to the ones stated above, therefore please check with your kennel well before you dog is due to stay there, so that we can make sure your vaccinations are up to date.

Kittens

What are we vaccinating your pet against?

Dogs

Canine Parvovirus

A highly contagious, life-threatening disease. Clinical signs include vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, inappetance and lethargy, particularly in young, unvaccinated dogs.  It causes rapid degeneration, however animals can be saved if treatment is started early enough.

Canine Distemper

The disease can be life-threatening and affect many areas of the body, including the gastrointestinal, respiratory and CNS systems. It is rare these days due to vaccination programs, which have maintained immunity within the population and prevented outbreaks of disease.

Infectious Canine Hepatitis

A viral disease targeting the liver. Affected dogs can develop chronic liver problems, and eyes abnormalities, resulting in a ‘blue’ eye. Depending on the degree of infection, you may see also fever, anorexia, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhoea and rarely CNS signs.

Canine Leptospirosis

A serious disease mainly affected the kidneys and liver, seen as fever, anorexia, stiffness, depression, diarrhoea and jaundice. Humans can become infected with leptospirosis from an infected animal. Particularly important in dogs that may come into contact with rats eg. Waterways, farms, rubbish dumps.

Canine Infectious Tracheobronchitis (Kennel Cough)

An infectious respiratory disease, seen as a dry, hacking cough in your dog. Dogs tend to become infected when stressed and placed in confined areas with groups of dogs eg. Kennels, animal shelters, dog shows or any areas where dogs mix.

Cats

Feline AIDS (FIV)

FIV is a life-threatening disease spread by fighting. It presents in a similar fashion to HIV but is not transmissable to humans. Your cat can be be vaccinated against it at any age but the longer you leave it, the more likely they are of contracting the disease. If you decide to vaccinate against it as an adult, your cat will need to be tested first. Once vaccinated, they cannot be tested for the disease as the vaccine interferes with the test. For this reason, it is recommended that your cat is microchipped at the time of FIV vaccination in case they get lost and end up at the SPCA. At the SPCA they could be tested for FIV and suspected of carrying the disease. If your cat is microchipped, they will not be tested as you will be contacted as soon as your cat is found.

Feline Herpes (FHV-1) and Calici (FCV) Viruses

These viruses have been found to be accountable for 90% of Feline Upper Respiratory Tract infections (commonly known as snuffles). These viruses usually affect young cats, but can remain dormant for years, and reappear if the cat is stressed, is on high doses of corticosteroids, or is immunosuppressed. The most common symptoms include conjuncitivitis, sneezing, clear to cloudy nasal discharge, and in some cases oral and corneal ulcers.

Feline Panleukopaenia (Feline Distemper)

Panleukopenia is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of cats. The panleukopenia virus tends to invade cells which are rapidly growing such as those of the digestive system, bone marrow (which makes blood cells), lymph tissue, and developing nervous system. This explains the common symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting, low white cell count (causing a low immunity), and seizures.