Preventive and Wellness Care

Two of our veterinary assistants leaning over a cat on a treatment table

Wellness and Preventive care visits are the best way for our team to get your beloved pet companions on track to long-term wellness.

Staying on track with your pet’s annual exams (recommended twice a year for pets with specific medical conditions or senior/geriatric pets) benefits your pet, and so do you.

What are the benefits of preventive and wellness care for my cat or dog?

Whether your pet is primarily in the house, an outdoor cat, a yard dog, or a working dog, all our pets deserve proactive care to help keep them healthy.

By taking a proactive approach instead of waiting for problems to arise, we can help prevent your pet from experiencing unnecessary discomfort or pain and save you from unexpected costs due to illness, injury, and more.

What can I expect from a wellness visit for my pet?

- Comprehensive Exam: Nose-to-tail checkup to assess your pet’s overall health.
- Dental Health Check: Early detection of tartar, gum disease, or oral pain.
- Diagnostics as Needed: Bloodwork, blood pressure, or other screening tests to catch problems early. This is especially important for cats since they are masters at hiding illness.
- Nutrition & Weight Counseling: Guidance on diet, exercise, and healthy weight goals.
- Parasite Prevention & Screening: Heartworm tests, fecal exams, and preventives for year-round protection. Parasites are a year-round concern in Eastern North Carolina. Don’t skip on prevention. Keep your pets protected all year.
  Common Parasites in Eastern North Carolina:
  - Fleas can cause itching, skin infections, and tapeworms. They thrive in warm climates but can survive indoors through the winter.
  - Intestinal Parasites like roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms, which also pose a risk to humans, can be found in standing water, feces of other animals, or contaminated soil.
  - Mosquitoes transmit heartworm, which can be deadly to dogs. All it takes is ONE BITE for your dog to become infected.
  - Heartworm disease is fatal to cats, even if they are indoor cats. There is no treatment or cure for heartworms in cats. Prevention is the only way to protect your cats (indoor or outdoor) from heartworms.
    Heartworms are a year-round risk.
  - Ticks pose a risk to all dogs. Dogs that adventure outdoors on trails and yards are highly susceptible to these parasites. Ticks can carry Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.
- Time for Your Questions: Space to discuss concerns, behavior changes, or lifestyle needs.
- Vaccinations: Protection tailored to your pet’s age, lifestyle, and risks.

Most importantly, bringing your pet in for yearly visits helps us nurture our bond with them. This familiarity allows Willow Grove to be a place your pets enjoy coming to, making wellness and prevention that much easier.

Dr. Morphis and the staff are knowledgable and caring! I always use Willow Grove vets for my babies!

Robyn S. (Patient's Owner)

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