Regular professional dental cleanings under anesthesia are essential for your pet's overall health and well-being. A professional cleaning allows us to thoroughly examine and address issues below the gumline—the place where serious disease starts. Investing in your pet's dental health is investing in a longer, happier, and healthier life!
Periodontal disease it is a progressive bacterial infection that affects the gums and the bone supporting the teeth. If left untreated, it can lead to chronic pain, tooth loss, and even systemic health issues in the heart, kidneys, and liver as bacteria enter the bloodstream. Our goal is to proactively manage your pet’s dental health to prevent these serious consequences.
What stage of periodontal disease is your pet in? Stages of Periodontal Disease.
• Prevent Pain and Discomfort: Dental disease, like gingivitis and periodontitis, can cause chronic pain that often goes unnoticed by owners. Cleaning removes the sources of infection and inflammation.
• Stop Tooth Loss: As tartar and calculus build up, they push the gums away from the teeth, leading to bone loss and eventual painful tooth extraction.
• Protect Organ Health: Bacteria from severe dental disease can enter your pet's bloodstream and travel to major organs, including the heart, liver, and kidneys, potentially causing serious, life-threatening conditions.
• Freshen Breath: While not the most important reason, professional cleaning eliminates the buildup of bacteria that causes "doggy breath" or "cat breath," making cuddle time much nicer!
We understand you may have concerns about anesthesia. Please know that modern veterinary anesthesia is generally very safe, and we take extensive precautions to minimize risks for every patient.
A professional dental cleaning under anesthesia is necessary to thoroughly scale away plaque and tartar above and below the gum line, polish the teeth, and perform a full oral exam with X-rays.
• Comprehensive Pre-Anesthetic Evaluation: We require recent pre-surgical bloodwork to evaluate organ function and screen for underlying issues that might affect the anesthetic plan.
• Individualized Anesthetic Protocols: A personalized plan is developed for your pet based on their health status, age, and breed.
• Dedicated Monitoring Team: A trained veterinary technician is dedicated solely to monitoring your pet throughout the procedure and recovery.
• Advanced Monitoring Equipment: We use state-of-the-art equipment to continuously track vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and respiration.
• Intravenous (IV) Catheters and Fluids: IV fluids help maintain blood pressure and support organ function during anesthesia.
Have more questions?
Please call Cornerstone Veterinary Center and our staff would love to answer any further questions you may have.
A year in your pet’s life is equivalent to several years for a human, making their annual check-up crucial. This visit is far more than just a quick look—it’s a head-to-tail health assessment:
• Early Detection of Illness: Pets instinctively hide pain and illness. During the exam, we perform a thorough physical assessment—checking their heart, lungs, eyes, ears, teeth, skin, weight, and joint mobility—to catch subtle health issues (like dental disease, arthritis, or heart murmurs) that are easily missed at home.
• Vaccine and Prevention Review: We ensure your pet is up-to-date on essential vaccines (as recommended by their lifestyle) and discuss the best year-round parasite prevention (fleas, ticks, and heartworm) plan.
• Tailored Health Plan: We discuss diet, exercise, and any behavioral changes you've observed, allowing us to create a customized health and nutrition plan for your pet's specific age, breed, and needs.
• Crucial for Aging Pets: For senior pets (typically ages 7+), these exams, often combined with annual wellness lab work, become even more vital for monitoring organ function and managing age-related conditions.
Vaccines work by stimulating your pet's immune system to recognize and fight off specific diseases. They are crucial for several reasons:
• Protect Against Deadly Diseases: Vaccines protect your pet from common, highly contagious, and often fatal diseases like Parvovirus, Distemper, Feline Leukemia, and Rabies.
• Prevent Disease Spread (Herd Immunity): When a high percentage of pets in a community are vaccinated, it helps protect those who are too young, too old, or medically unable to receive vaccines.
• Required by Law (Rabies): The Rabies vaccine is legally required in most areas because this disease can be transmitted to humans and is nearly always fatal.
• Prevent Expense and Suffering: Treating a full-blown infectious disease is often costly, stressful for your pet, and can have long-term consequences. Prevention is always the best approach.
• Necessary for Boarding/Grooming: Many boarding facilities, dog parks, and groomers require proof of current vaccinations to protect all their patrons.
Pets are masters at hiding illness, and sometimes the earliest signs of disease show up in their blood long before we can see them with a physical exam. Wellness lab work allows us to:
• Detect Silent Disease Early: We can catch common diseases like kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, and thyroid conditions in their earliest stages, when they are easiest to manage and treat, leading to better outcomes.
• Establish Baseline Values: The results create a normal "baseline" for your pet. When they are sick later on, we can compare the new results to their healthy baseline to spot subtle changes quickly.
• Screen for Internal Parasites: We test for parasites that can affect your pet's digestive tract and overall health, sometimes even posing a risk to human family members.
• Safe Medication Monitoring: If your pet is taking long-term medication, regular lab work ensures the medication is working effectively and safely, without causing unwanted side effects to the internal organs.
Please call Cornerstone Veterinary Center and our staff would love to answer any further questions you may have.
Ensuring your cat uses the litter box consistently is key to a harmonious household. Inappropriate urination or defecation outside the litter box is one of the most common reasons cats are surrendered to shelters, yet it often has manageable solutions. Understanding your cat's natural preferences and needs is the first step to success.
Your cat's "restroom" comfort is paramount.
Size Matters (and No Tops!):
The "N+1" Rule: Provide one litter box per cat, plus one additional box. So, if you have 3 cats, you should have 4 litter boxes. This helps prevent territorial disputes and ensures a clean option is always available.
Cats have incredibly sensitive noses and paws, and their litter choice is crucial.
Unscented is Best: Avoid perfumed or scented litters. While humans might appreciate the smell, cats' refined noses often find these scents overwhelming or even repulsive.
Texture is Key: Most cats prefer fine-grained, clumping clay litter because its texture is similar to sand, which they instinctively prefer for digging and covering waste.
Cleanliness is a MUST: Scoop the litter box at least once a day, and ideally twice a day. Cats are fastidiously clean animals and will often refuse to use a dirty box. The entire box should be emptied, washed with mild, unscented soap and water, and refilled with fresh litter at least once a week or every two weeks, depending on the litter type and number of cats.
Where you place the litter box is as important as the box itself.
Quiet & Safe: Choose quiet, private, and easily accessible locations. Avoid high-traffic areas where your cat might be startled or feel ambushed (e.g., near a children's playroom).
Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind: While privacy is good, don't hide the box in a place that's difficult for your cat to reach or remember, especially as they age.
Separation from Food/Water: Never place the litter box directly next to your cat's food and water bowls. Would you want to eat in your bathroom? Neither does your cat!
Avoid Scary Appliances: Laundry rooms can be convenient, but the sudden noise of a washing machine or dryer can frighten a cat and create a negative association with the litter box.
Consider Multi-Level Homes: If you have a multi-story home, place at least one litter box on each level to ensure easy access for your cat.
If your cat suddenly starts eliminating outside the litter box, it's crucial to rule out a medical issue first. Schedule an appointment with your veterinarian immediately. Many conditions, such as urinary tract infections, bladder stones, kidney disease, diabetes, or arthritis, can cause inappropriate urination or defecation.
Once medical causes are ruled out, your veterinarian can help you address behavioral factors and create a plan to get your cat back to using the litter box consistently.
Have more questions?
Please call Cornerstone Veterinary Center and our staff would love to answer any further questions you may have.
Spaying and neutering are routine surgical procedures that provide significant health, behavioral, and community benefits. We generally recommend performing this surgery between 6 to 24 months but we will discuss the best timing for your pet based on their breed and individual health
Health and Longevity Benefits (The Why)
Spaying or neutering your pet is not just about population control; it's a critical step in preventive healthcare.
Cancer Prevention: Significantly reduces the risk of mammary (breast) cancer, especially when performed before the first heat cycle. It also completely eliminates the risk of ovarian and uterine cancer.
Preventing Life-Threatening Infections: Eliminates the risk of pyometra, a common and life-threatening uterine infection that requires emergency surgery to treat and is often much more expensive and risky than a routine spay.
Avoids Heat Cycles: Prevents the messy and often stressful periods of "heat" that typically last 2–3 weeks, along with the resulting unwanted male attention.
Cancer Prevention: Eliminates the risk of testicular cancer.
Prostate Health: Greatly reduces the risk of non-cancerous prostatic enlargement (benign prostatic hyperplasia) and other prostate issues that can cause difficulty urinating as pets age.
Reduces Roaming/Injury Risk: Reduces the instinct to roam in search of a mate, which lowers the risk of car accidents, getting lost, and fights with other animals.
Reduced Undesirable Behaviors: Neutering often reduces sexually driven behaviors such as urine marking (spraying), mounting, and aggression toward other male animals.
Less Frustration: Fixed pets tend to be calmer, happier, and more focused companions because they are not driven by the powerful instinct to mate.
Solving Pet Overpopulation: Prevents accidental litters, which helps reduce the overwhelming number of homeless pets in shelters.
Have more questions?
Please call Cornerstone Veterinary Center and our staff would love to answer any further questions you may have.
