Preventive Veterinary Care—Early Detection & Protection
West Hills Animal Hospital provides comprehensive preventive veterinary care for dogs, cats, birds, and exotic pets. Routine biannual preventive care visits protect your pet from harmful disease, and they allow us to detect subtle changes in your pet’s health. Early detection of health concerns allows us to identify health problems before they develop into costly and harmful disease.
Our animal hospital customizes health care programs for each pet based on their life stage, environment, behavior, nutritional requirements, breed risk factors, disease/parasite exposure, and needs of their caregivers. To this end, we have developed various baseline programs to best support the longest, healthiest, and happiest lives possible for every family-member pet.
Kitten and Adult Cat Preventive Care
Preventive care is a vital component in your pet's health care routine. We recommend biannual exams for kittens and adult cats. We want to partner with you to ensure all of their needs are being met throughout their lifetime including health, behavior, nutrition, exercise, and vaccinations.
Our hospital offers comprehensive kitten and adult cat preventive care including:
- Biannual preventive care exams
- Pet dentistry
- Behavior counseling
- Early detection disease screening
- Vaccinations
- Nutritional consultation
- Internal and external parasite control
Kitten and Adult Cat Friendly Practice
We are committed to meeting the unique needs of the cats you love. In 2012, West Hills Animal Hospital became a recognized Cat Friendly Practice® through the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP).
Cat Friendly Practice was created to improve the treatment, handling, and health care of our cat patients. As a team, we are devoted to learning ways to make each visit more pleasant and to be aware of ways we interact and handle cats so that examinations and procedures are less stressful.
We voluntarily completed a multi-part evaluation process considering feline specific needs from the entrance and exam room to surgery and hospitalization areas. We are devoted to providing a high standard of care and creating a positive experience for you and your cat.
Puppy and Adult Dog Preventive Care
Whether you have a new puppy or adult dog, we want to partner with you to ensure all of their needs are being met throughout their lifetime including health, behavior, nutrition, exercise, and more.
Our hospital offers comprehensive puppy and adult dog preventive care including:
- Pet dentistry
- Behavior counseling
- Early detection disease screening
- Vaccinations
- Nutritional consultation
- Internal and external parasite control
- Biannual preventive care exams
Senior Pets
As a general guideline, once your pet turns 7 years of age, they are considered a senior pet. In most circumstances, senior pets require additional medical attention and health care needs. We recommend biannual wellness exams and consultations to address these needs and keep our senior patients comfortable for as long as possible.
Our hospital utilizes multiple modalities for the care of senior pets including specialized diagnostic testing, therapeutic cold laser treatments, nutritional supplements, and more. Based upon the needs of your pet, we create a personalized senior health care plan to keep your pet at their best during the golden years.
Our hospital offers senior pet preventive care and early disease detection testing including:
- Biannual preventive care exams
- Pet dental assessment and dentistry
- Behavior counseling
- Early detection disease screening laboratory tests
- Early disease detection x-rays
- Nutritional consultation
- Vaccinations
- Internal and external parasite control
Vaccines
At West Hills Animal Hospital, we believe preventive wellness care is an important strategy for keeping your pet healthy and happy for many years to come. Vaccinations are an easy, safe, and effective component of your pet’s wellness routine. Vaccines provide protection against both life threatening and highly contagious illnesses.
Our animal hospital follows the American Animal Hospital Association’s vaccination guidelines. This ensures your pet will receive the maximum protective benefits vaccines can provide based on your pet’s exposure risk and lifestyle. This tailored approach targets key health risks, and eliminates unnecessary over vaccination.
Core Vaccines for Dogs and Cats
Core vaccines are recommended regardless of risk factors. The diseases that these vaccines prevent may pose human health concerns and can be fatal to pets.
Core vaccines for dogs include:- Rabies
- Distemper
- Hepatitis
- Parvo virus
- Rabies
- Panleukopenia
- Rhinotracheitis
- Calicivirus
In addition to core vaccines, there are other vaccines that can add disease protection for your pet. Based on your pet’s exposure risk, we will discuss additional vaccine recommendations.
A sample of other vaccines to consider includes:
- Bordetella—Recommended for dogs that frequent dog parks, day care, boarding facilities and groomers
- Leptospirosis—Recommended for outdoor pets with specific risk factors
- Lyme disease—Carried by ticks in certain areas
- Feline Leukemia—Recommended for cats with outdoor contact or potential exposure to unknown cats.
Ask about other unique vaccines if you have specific concerns.
