How To Choose A Pet

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

A gorgeous new Russian lady at the veterinarian's appointment talks about her cat and his problems.

The doctor asks how the cat eats, drinks, sleeps, plays, urinates, and finally:

- Tell me, does he have a chair?

- What are you, doctor !!! What chair ?! He has two luxurious chairs!

Well, chairs are not chairs, but your pet will still need something, and let's think it through in advance.

Firstly, for fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, an aquarium (terrarium) is needed, and for birds and rodents - a cage of a certain volume, depending on the type and number of animals. Many of them only need special food. I'm not even talking about all sorts of complicated things like aerators, filters and the like. Unfortunately, the Veterinary Academy does not study the feeding and maintenance of reptiles, amphibians, insects at all, and fish, birds and rodents (only rabbits) - only as industrial animals. If you decide to purchase such a pet, you will have to look for a specialist.

Alas, not every veterinarian, even if he has led your cats and dogs perfectly for many years, will be able to give expert advice on keeping, feeding and treating a lizard or a parrot. After consulting a competent specialist, decide what you can afford for your money in your apartment. For cats and dogs, you also need to equip a place for eating, resting and, sorry, a toilet. There is a great variety of houses, bedding, baskets, feeders, bowls, litter boxes, as well as a variety of ammunition. All these are best purchased before you bring a new tenant into the house.

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How to choose a pet so that later there will be no problems? You need to buy an animal from reliable people. Babies bought from dubious street vendors have a whole bunch of diseases. These are cutaneous parasites (fleas, or even lice or ticks), and worms, and fungal diseases (lichen), and viral infections. It is very difficult to cope with such a combination, almost impossible, given that babies, as a rule, lag behind in growth and development due to inadequate feeding and poor maintenance. If you decide to compete with Mother Teresa, then keep in mind that this will take a lot of time, money and patience.

A responsible owner will always allow you to get to know the mother of your future pet. If you are offered to meet on neutral territory, for no apparent reason they refuse to meet with the pet's parents, you should know: it's unclean !!!

A healthy puppy, kitten or rat is mobile, curious, active. The coat should be clean and shiny (especially carefully examine in the area of the eyes, ears, anus), visible mucous membranes (mouth, lapel of the eyelids) - pink, moist, ears - clean, eyes - clear. Dark, dry discharge from the ears indicates a possible infection with an ear mite, purulent or mucous discharge from the eyes may be the first sign of an infectious disease, reddened skin and sticky hair in the anus hint at diarrhea, minor bald spots and scratching can result in fungal, mite or microbial skin lesions … Either do not take such an animal, or immediately run with it to the doctor.

So, a kitten or a puppy is at home. What's next? The first few days you need to watch the baby. At the first signs of the disease (diarrhea, vomiting, cough, and the like), an urgent need to consult a doctor.

A separate topic for conversation is feeding. You can definitely recommend feeding your baby for the first days with what he is used to, and then gradually transfer him to the type of feeding that you plan to adhere to in the future. Do not give to animals: fatty, fried, smoked, salty, spicy, starchy foods, sweets, feed that are not suitable for their age and physiological state. Do not overfeed animals !!!

If there is no cause for concern, we pay attention to possible parasites. Fleas and lice are visible to the naked eye. Fleas are dark, mobile, lice are whitish, passive, and their eggs (nits) are glued to the hairs. If you put the baby on a white surface and actively scratch his fur, flea feces will be clearly visible on a white background in the form of black "straws", and when rubbed in water, they will stain it red.

Many different means have been developed to combat skin parasites, but almost all of them are approved for use only from three months. Read the instructions carefully !!! In the most extreme case, you can use the folk method. To do this, mix in equal parts camphor alcohol, 3% vinegar and floral cologne. This mixture moistens the patient's hair and skin, it is placed in a plastic bag (HEAD OUT !!!) for 5-10 minutes, and then the wool is carefully combed out with a frequent comb over a bathtub or basin with water. Fleas that get into the water are washed down the drain. The puppy or kitten should be wiped dry or blow-dried immediately. In the future, it is better to use veterinary drugs (collar, drops on the withers), suitable for weight and age.

Having got rid of cutaneous parasites, we turn to the fight against internal (worms). The overwhelming number of babies, despite the external well-being, are infected with worms. To combat them, it is better to use veterinary rather than medical drugs. They are better suited for animals, destroy both round and flat worms, and are easier to dose. For a more complete effect, it is better to repeat the administration of the drug after ten to fourteen days. If you are going to participate in exhibitions, then it is better to record the dacha of the anthelmintic in the veterinary passport, otherwise, before each exhibition, you will have to take a feces analysis from your pet.

And finally, if the parasites are over and there are no complaints, it's time to get vaccinated. Only absolutely healthy animals are vaccinated !!! Vaccination is carried out starting from two months. The first time the vaccination is done twice with an interval of 2-4 weeks, then at 8-10 months, then - once a year.

It should be remembered that full immunity occurs only 10-14 days after the second injection, therefore, from the moment the animal is acquired until the onset of immunity, the animal must be isolated from other animals and outdoor shoes (quarantine). There are required and desirable vaccines. Vaccination of dogs against RABIES is mandatory. For trips abroad and participation in exhibitions, a comprehensive vaccination of both dogs and cats is required. If you are going to travel with an animal abroad, in advance, ask the state veterinary service what the requirements of a particular country for the animals imported into it. An animal passport must be issued at least one month before the trip. Some countries require animals to be vaccinated with only certain vaccines. Take care of this in advance so that later it will not be too late!

There are domestic and imported vaccines against one or several diseases at once, prophylactic and even therapeutic (the vaccine against lichen acts not only prophylactically, but is also used to treat sick animals). The choice of vaccine depends on your financial capabilities and the preferences of your veterinarian. Imported vaccines are marked with "cryptic" letters. In fact, nothing mysterious - each letter denotes a disease from which the vaccine protects.

LETTER DISEASE

D Plague of carnivores (plague)

H Viral hepatitis

P Parvovirus enteritis ("olympic")

Pi Parainfluenza

R or T Rabies

L Leptospirosis

If all recommendations are followed, your pet is reliably insured against troubles, and we can only wish you happiness and long life together!