Wellness and Preventive Care is Essential and Beneficial to Your Pet’s Health

Whether you’re welcoming a new puppy or kitten to the family or caring for a pet transitioning into their senior years, we’re here to ensure your pet receives the right care at the right time. In addition to in practice care St. Francis Vet Care also offers Home Visits, and Curbside Service.

Puppy and Kitten Care

Our puppy and kitten wellness visits are designed to give you and your pet a healthy start in life. We partner with you to provide the care your pet needs to grow and thrive, and we give you the knowledge, tools, and resources to support your pet at every stage of life.

We recommend scheduling your puppy or kitten’s first visit as soon as possible by calling 515-304-5277. They should be seen no later than six-weeks-old to protect them against diseases, parasites, and viruses, such as rabies, heartworm, roundworms, and parvovirus.

Adult Pet Wellness

As your pet continues to grow, we remain by your side as partners in your pet’s healthcare. We recommend annual wellness exams for all adult pets. Subtle changes in your pet’s behavior can be easily hidden or overlooked. In some cases, these changes may indicate more serious health conditions. Annual wellness exams allow us to promote a healthy lifestyle for your pet by screening for illnesses and diseases early on and treating them as quickly as possible.

Senior Pet Wellness

As your pet grows older, routine wellness screenings and early detection become even more critical. Senior pets are more susceptible to certain conditions, including arthritis, cancer, heart disease, and more. While older pets may not exhibit any symptoms of pain they often require pain management for joint and muscle pain.

Before your pet reaches their senior years, we recommend bringing them in for a baseline exam and diagnostic testing so we can determine what’s normal for your pet. This allows us to monitor for future changes.

Wellness Exams

During your pet’s wellness exam, you can expect the following:

• A comprehensive head-to-tail physical exam

• Administration of required vaccinations or updates

• Optional influenza vaccine for dogs (we carry the bivalent)

• Testing for parasites and deworming (as needed)

• A dental examination

• Virus testing for feline leukemia (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency (FIV) (for kittens & outdoor cats)

• Heartworm preventive and parasite control medication

• Nutritional and behavioral guidance