Affordable Vaccines and Wellness Care Plans for Kittens in the Kansas City Area
Blue Springs Animal Hospital & Pet Resort offers an affordable and comprehensive Kitten Wellness Plan that includes all the services and care your kitten needs to get off to a healthy start in life. We are happy to accept new kitten clients from Blue Springs and the surrounding Kansas City areas.
Is Blue Springs Animal Hospital & Pet Resort a Feline Friendly Veterinary Clinic?
Our doctors and staff love cats and recognize that they have special needs in order to make their visit a more positive experience. We cater to the unique personality of cats in many ways, starting with reducing their stress by providing separate waiting, boarding, and hospitalization areas for our feline friends.
We maintain the highest level of knowledge and expertise in feline medicine and several of our doctors maintain active memberships with the American Association of Feline Practitioners.
What is included in the Kitten Wellness Plan at Blue Springs Animal Hospital?
At Blue Springs Animal Hospital & Pet Resort our top priority is improving the health and well-being of the pets in our community. Many health problems and expenses can be avoided through completion of the kitten wellness series followed by regular wellness visits throughout the lifetime of your pet. To make it easy and affordable for you, we offer a comprehensive kitten plan which provides optimal healthcare.
While vaccines and parasite prevention are vitally important for kittens, at Blue Springs Animal Hospital your baby’s visits are about much more than vaccinations. Raising a kitten up to be a happy adult with an enjoyable temperament requires more than just good healthcare. Our Kitten Wellness Plan provides education and enrichment recommendations to help you meet all your little one’s needs.
Your new kitten will receive the following during his or her wellness visit series:
- a “nose to toes” physical exam by a doctor at each visit to screen for developmental problems and make sure your pet is growing up healthy
- vaccinations against kitten diseases
- testing for Feline Leukemia Virus
- testing for internal parasites (worms)
- complimentary doses of dewormer and heartworm/flea preventative
- gift card toward spay or neuter ($20 value)
- complimentary microchip identification ($70+ value)
In addition we will provide specific recommendations and education topics for raising a healthy and happy cat including:
- nutrition and exercise
- litterbox training
- behavior issues
- decisions like whether you should allow your cat to go outside and if you should have your cat declawed
- any other questions or problems you may wish to discuss
When you entrust your new little one to the care of Blue Springs Animal Hospital, you can be confident we will do all we can to make sure your pet will be a healthy and happy companion for many years to come!
What Vaccines Does My Kitten Need?
Our veterinarians monitor local risks for contagious diseases and make specific recommendations to protect pets in our area while being mindful to avoid over vaccination. As an American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) accredited hospital for more than 30 years, we also closely follow the latest research and adhere to highest standards of care.
It is vitally important that kittens receive their recommended vaccinations at the proper age and intervals. Immunity from the mother's milk protects young kittens to a variable extent, but it also interferes with vaccines. As the maternal immunity wanes the kitten becomes vulnerable and must be boostered at specific ages to ensure protection. The veterinarian will discuss the schedule for your kitten and it is important to follow through until the kitten plan is completed.
At your visit we will review your kitten's age, history, and anticipated lifestyle in order to adjust our vaccine protocol to best fit your kitten's needs. Factors such as living indoors vs outdoors, visiting grooming or boarding facilities, predation on birds or rodents, and exposure to other types of animals are just a few things that can impact our recommendations.
Vaccines which may be recommended include:
- Feline DRCP: Diseases which cause serious illness or death. These are recommended for all kittens and are administered at sequential ages with the final series booster at 4-6 months of age. Boostered again in 1 year and then every 2-3 years.
- Feline Leukemia: Virus which attacks the immune system and may be associated with cancer. Given twice to kittens, repeated in 6 mos, then yearly. Separated from the DRCP to reduce immune stress.
- Rabies: Administered once to kittens and repeated every 1-3 years.
Are Vaccines Needed If My Kitten Lives Indoors?
We recommend vaccinating your kitten even if you don’t plan on letting them outside. While an indoor cat’s risk of exposure to illness is substantially lower than a cat who goes outdoors, there is no way to eliminate it. It only takes one ripped window screen or a door that stays open just a few seconds too long for an “inside-only” cat to find their way outside. Whether they’re gone for an hour, a day, or an entire week, there’s no telling what diseases they could encounter during their adventure.
In addition to escaping to the great outdoors, indoor cats may also be exposed to diseases if they encounter other animals through a window screen or if other animals are handled by the cat's owners or brought into the home. Cats must also be vaccinated if they will travel or be boarded or groomed in a facility with other pets.
Does My Kitten Need Deworming and Parasite Prevention?
Intestinal Parasites
Almost all kittens have intestinal worms which are an important health care concern for pets and their human family. The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) reports many cases each year of parasitic diseases which are contagious from pets to people. Most of these diseases could have easily been prevented with routine veterinary care. The CDC has produced a brochure for pet parents entitled "What every pet owner should know about roundworms & hookworms". Another excellent resource for additional information about parasites is the Companion Animal Parasite Council.
It is very important to do multiple fecal tests at progressive ages and to deworm kittens for the common intestinal parasites. A fecal test is included at each visit in the kitten plan and the kitten will be dewormed initially and then as needed based on testing. We perform and recommend fecal testing by centrifugation, which has been shown to be much more reliable than the more common fecal floatation.
Please bring a fresh, teaspoon sized stool sample in a ziplock baggie to your kitten visits.
Heartworms
In the Kansas City area there is a significant risk for heartworm infections whether a cat lives primarily indoors or outdoors. In studies 30% of cats diagnosed with heartworm disease live exclusively indoors. Heartworms are not contagious from pets to people, but it is a serious disease in both dogs and cats, causing respiratory and heart damage which may be fatal. Often cats show no symptoms of the infection until severe damage has already occurred. Prevention is the only option for cats as there is no medication currently available to treat cats once they have been infected.
The veterinarian will discuss Heartworms and preventative options during one of the Kitten Plan visits. Kittens will receive an initial complimentary dose of preventative and should continue on a preventative for life.
For more detailed information on heartworms, visit our Heartworms in Cats webpage, view the video below, and visit the American Heartworm Society website.
Fleas and Ticks
External parasite control is important for the comfort of your cat and because fleas and ticks can transmit diseases. Fleas often carry tapeworms and ticks carry several dangerous diseases diagnosed in our area in both people and pets, including Feline Cytauxzoonosis. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has identified Missouri as a high risk area for tick borne diseases due to multiple species of ticks that are common in this area and capable of spreading diseases.
Choosing a safe and effective product to prevent fleas and ticks can be a confusing decision. Many available over the counter flea and tick products are ineffective or even unsafe, especially for cats. Adding to the confusion, some safe and effective products work well in certain circumstances, but not in others. Our veterinarians will help you evaluate your pet’s risks and recommend a product for your kitten.
The video below illustrates why it is important to prevent fleas. Just one flea can lay 50 eggs in your home or yard in one day! Multiply that by several fleas over several days, and it becomes clear why prevention is a good idea.
Customer Reviews of Kitten Wellness Care at Blue Springs Animal Hospital
What a great first experience! My family just adopted our first pet and I asked around and searched online before deciding to start our kitten's care with Blue Springs Animal Hospital. From my initial call to set up the appointment to the check out process, everyone was so friendly. I love that they have a separate waiting area for cats. My kitty loved watching the fish while waiting to see the Dr. The facility was clean. The staff was caring, professional, knowledgeable, and helpful. Dr. Williams genuinely seemed to care about our fur baby's well being and set us up with a plan of action for vaccinations, routine testing, and spaying. We look forward to continued pet care with Blue springs animal hospital.
We took our kitten for her first vet visit and couldn't have been happier. Staff was very professional and took time to answer all our questions. Everyone genuinely cared about our kitten and made sure we all felt comfortable.
We are first time pet owners and were referred to Blue Springs Animal Hospital and Pet Resort. I am so happy with our choice and would not want to go anywhere else. They have been so helpful and informative at every visit. We had many questions about our kitten and they have given great advice and care.