Like human babies, kittens and puppies need to be vaccinated, immunized against infections, fevers, and life-threatening diseases. In many instances, these infections can also pass onto you, if your pet scratches or bites you. It’s essential to get your cats and dogs vaccinated with essential antibodies, when they are just a few weeks old, to keep them and yourself safe. At Affordable Animal Hospital Santa Ana, we provide feline and canine vaccination services. Visit our California center and get your kitten or puppy immunized today.
Cat & Dog Vaccinations
Santa Ana
Two Types of Vaccines
Necessary for Your Pet
When it comes to dog and cat vaccinations in Santa Ana, we are specialists. There are two major types of vaccines that you need to get:
- Core/Primary vaccines – These are essential vaccines, as they help your pet lead a healthy and long life.
- Non-core/Secondary vaccines – These are vaccines that may be necessary for specific breeds or for pets living in particular conditions where they are vulnerable to certain diseases.
Our team at Affordable Animal Hospital Santa Ana can provide both types of immunizations at our facility.
Canine-Specific Vaccinations
Now, let’s look at the type of vaccinations you need to get if you have a puppy:
- Rabies – a viral disease that causes inflammation of the brain and affects your pet’s neurological development. Behavioral changes and fever are symptoms of rabies. If bitten, a pet owner may also develop rabies.
- Lyme disease – caused by a tick called Lyme borreliosis, this infectious disease affects your pet’s appetite, mobility, physical strength, and energy.
- Canine distemper – a dangerous and often fatal viral disease that affects the respiratory, spinal, gastrointestinal, and ocular systems of your pet.
- Leptospirosis – a bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Leptospira. This is a condition that makes your pet very weak and lethargic, followed by intense fever.
- Canine parvovirus infection – also called the “Parvo” virus, it is a very contagious viral disease that spreads between dogs through feces. It has high mortality rates and needs immediate vaccination.
- Canine adenovirus-2 – a viral illness that causes dangerous conditions like infectious hepatitis and infectious tracheobronchitis in dogs.
- Canine enteric coronavirus – a very contagious intestinal disease that is caused by a virus called Alphacoronavirus 1. It causes severe vomiting, diarrhea, and anorexia.
- Canine parainfluenza – highly infectious between canines, the CPI is a respiratory virus that causes a debilitating condition called canine cough.
- Canine influenza – different from the CPI, this disease is caused by different strains of influenza virus A and has pneumonia-like symptoms. Your pet won’t have any natural immunity towards this disease and need immediate vaccination.
- Heartworm disease – a severe and sometimes fatal disease caused by the parasite Dirofilaria immitis. Heartworm disease leads to multiple organ failure in dogs.
- Bordetellosis – caused by the Bordetella bronchiseptica bacterium. This is a highly contagious respiratory disease that causes your pet’s trachea to swell and causes bronchitis.
- Intestinal worms – these are four types of worms that can cause severe diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, weight loss, and other conditions in dogs.
Timely vaccination can protect your canine buddy from these life-threatening illnesses.
Feline-Specific Vaccinations
These are the type of vaccinations you need to get if you have a kitten:
- Rabies – a viral disease that can cause extreme behavioral modifications in cats, lead to lethargy, mobility issues and paralysis, seizures, and sometimes death.
- Feline panleukopenia – also called feline distemper, a strain of the parvovirus causes this disease. It spreads between cats and can compromise your pet’s immune system, neurological development, and gastrointestinal health.
- Feline leukemia (FeLV) – the Feline leukemia virus is a very dangerous and sometimes fatal disease that causes respiratory problems, swelling in the lymph nodes, bladder problems, weakness, poor coat health, and high fevers.
- Feline calicivirus infection – caused by the Caliciviridae strain virus. This disease affects the upper respiratory tract of your cat and causes respiratory failure. Conjunctivitis, fever, anorexia, and lethargy are other symptoms.
- Feline herpes virus infection – also called feline viral rhinotracheitis, the Feline herpesvirus type-1 causes it. Just like the calicivirus, the herpes virus causes chronic upper respiratory tract disease.
- Heartworm disease – A parasitic condition that can cause your cats to experience severe vomiting, diarrhea, asthma-type attacks, weight loss, and lethargy.
- Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection – Caused by the Lentivirus, FIV is an almost-always fatal condition that compromises your cat’s immune system. Conjunctivitis, gingivitis, anemia, fever, urinary tract infection, and fever are symptoms.
- Intestinal worm – Parasitic worms that can cause numerous gastrointestinal diseases in cats.
Immunizations will help you protect your cat from these debilitating and sometimes fatal conditions.
Deworming Can Increase the Impact of Vaccinations
The vaccinations mentioned above don’t kill the parasites and worms that may be present in your pup or kitten’s gastrointestinal tract. This is where deworming helps.
At our veterinary center, we simultaneously deworm your pet, while the vaccinations are being done. We are experts at cat and dog vaccinations in Santa Ana. Heartworms, intestinal worms, and any other GI parasites will be killed using either an oral medication or a deworming shot.
Your puppies should be dewormed at 5 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks of age. Your kittens should be dewormed every 2 weeks from the time they are 2 weeks old until they are 8 weeks old. Additional deworming sessions may be advised by your vet, depending on the health of your pet.
Pet Vaccination Schedules
The right time to start vaccinating your pet is just a few weeks after birth. Here is a schedule that most vets recommend:
Puppies
Core vaccines | Non-core vaccines | Puppy age |
Parvovirus & Distemper | Bordetella | 6-8 weeks |
Distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, and parvovirus (DHPP vaccine) | Leptospirosis, influenza, Lyme disease & Bordetella | 10-12 weeks |
DHPP & Rabies (second dose) | Influenza, leptospirosis, Bordetella & Lyme disease | 16-18 weeks |
DHPP & Rabies (third dose) | Lyme disease, coronavirus, leptospirosis & Bordetella, | 12-16 months |
DHPP (fourth dose) | Coronavirus, influenza, Bordetella, Lyme disease & leptospirosis | Once every 2 years (must be repeated life-long if advised by the vet) |
Rabies (fourth dose) | N/A | Every 3 years (mandated by law) |
Kittens
Core vaccines | Non-core vaccines | Kitten age |
Rabies | Feline leukemia & Feline immunodeficiency virus (FeLV/FIV) | 6-8 weeks |
Feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia (FVRCP) | FeLV & FIV (second dose) | 6-8 weeks |
FVRCP (second dose) | FeLV & FIV (third dose), | 9-11 weeks |
FVRCP (third dose) | FeLV & FIV (fourth dose) | 12-14 weeks |
FVRCP final dose & Rabies final dose (with annual booster shots as mandated by law) | FeLV & FIV (final dose) | 15-17 weeks |
This schedule may change depending on your pet’s unique medical history, lifestyle, and genetic vulnerability. Be sure to consult our vets at Affordable Animal Hospital Santa Ana to get a customized vaccination schedule for your pet.
Extremely Affordable & Effective Vaccinations for Pups & Kittens
At Affordable Animal Hospital Santa Ana, vaccinations and deworming are available at extremely affordable prices. We also offer discounts on vaccinations that are scheduled before 5:00 PM.
Our vets are extremely gentle with your newborn pets. You can trust them for careful and safe vaccination. Contact us to schedule your appointment.
Affordable Animal Hospital
1901 N. Broadway
Santa Ana, Ca 92706
Tel:
(714) 942-2986
Hours:
Mon: Closed
Tue-Fri: 9am to 6pm
Sat-Sun: 9am to 2pm