Veterinary Consultation

Our Clinic have a team of highly-skilled Vets and Nurses who make sure that the welfare of your pet always comes first. They are responsible for providing the best care to our community’s much loved pets.

The Pets Haven Veterinary team provides the best of care to all animals. Our Clinic has the latest specialised equipment, with in-house radiology, pathology testing facilities and ultrasound services to enhance diagnosis. Our caring Vets and Nursing staff are trained in the latest techniques and have expansive specialised knowledge, including in the areas of orthopaedics, optics and dermatology. We also emphasise and support continuing professional development, so our Vets and Nurses are always at the forefront of advances in knowledge and techniques.
Our Veterinary clinic will cover all your pet’s needs, from emergency care to routine vaccinations, health checks, microchipping and prescription foods.

Why use us?

• You can request the same vet! We know as a pet owner you want nothing more than your pet to feel comfortable when in a stressful environment, which is why we encourage building relationships between your pet and their preferred veterinarian
• House calls- Convenience at a clinic or your home, our house call service is another option for those who find it difficult to leave the home or pets that are stressful.
• A loving environment- We see our clients and patients as our family members, Our regular clients share their lives with us as we slowly get to know you. You can always expect us to remember your name and of course your much loved furry family member!

What is the reason for a Veterinary consultation?

Ideally, your pet should visit a vet once a year, and more frequently as they get older or develop special medical needs, these visits play a huge part in the “prevention is better than cure” approach. Another advantage of these annual check-ups is getting your pet used to visiting the surgery when they’re well. If they only visit when they are hurt or ill, They can become nervous about seeing the vet, associating their trips with bad times or stressful experiences. It’s a good idea to pop into the clinic every so often, even if you don’t have an appointment. The vets and nurses will always appreciate a cuddle and create a positive experience for your furry friend!

When to visit the vet

If your pet is showing any of the below signs or you are not sure, it is best to make an appointment with your veterinarian for a thorough check over to identify the possible cause of the symptom and assess the best treatment plan.

• Vomiting and Diarrhea
• Lumps and Bumps
• Limping
• Bad breath
• Coughing
• Appetite and drinking changes
• Urine or Defecation changes
• Eye or ear problems
• Itching/skin irritation
• Lethargy/ Change in demeanor or activity levels

Dog Desexing

For female dogs, it involves the removal of the ovaries and the uterus via a small incision 5 -10cm long either along the abdomen or the flank (the side of the abdomen). For male dogs, it involves the removal of both testicles through a 2-3cm incision just in front of the scrotum. A tattoo can be placed on the inside of your dog’s ear to signify it has been desexed.

Your vet will attend to the post-operative requirements of your dog and normally dogs are ready to go home a few hours after the procedure. Your vet will also give you detailed advice on how to properly care for your dog at home in the days following surgery.

When is the right time?

Traditionally, vets have recommended that cats and dogs are desexed between about 5½ and 6 months of age. But over the past decade, desexing at an earlier age (from eight weeks onwards) has become more common. This is known as early-age desexing or EAD. Pets Haven has been desexing kittens and puppies in its shelters at this earlier age for many years, and based on this experience and the cumulation of considerable scientific evidence, Pets Haven considers EAD to be a safe and effective strategy for the wider community to prevent unplanned/unwanted litters in cats and dogs.

Of course, this is always something you can talk about with one of our friendly veterinarians, Not only do we want to ensure your pet feels safe and comfortable during a procedure, we also spend time ensuring each owner knows all of the details of a routine surgery and is feeling comfortable with the decision.

Why desex your dog?

Desexing not only ensures less unwanted and abandoned animals, but also helps our dogs live longer healthier lives. Desexing your dog not only eliminates the chance of unwanted pregnancies and medical issues, It also eliminates the unpleasant behavior that can be shown in entire dogs, Such as roaming, howling, aggressive behavior towards other dogs in the household or Urinating or “marking” certain areas. A male dog is more likely to try and escape to find a prospective “mate” leaving a path of destruction behind, whilst females can become quite stressed and out of character during a heat cycle.

What are the health benefits?

• It helps control your dog’s urge to wander
• It reduces anti-social behaviours like leg mounting (humping), urine marking in male dogs and oestrus bleeding in female dogs
• It reduces the likelihood of cancer and other diseases  of the reproductive organs – uterine, ovarian and mammary diseases in female dogs and testicular cancers, some prostate diseases, perineal hernias  and adenomas in male dogs
• It increases the likelihood of your dog enjoying  a longer and happier life
• It eliminates unwanted litters of puppies or kittens
• There are council registration rebates for a dog that is both desexed and microchipped
• Reduces territorial behaviour

Cat Vaccinations

Cats don’t actually have nine lives, so you need to do what you can to protect them. The key? The right vaccinations. Shots protect your cat from diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. They can also strengthen their immune system. Whether you have a kitten or an adult cat, your vet can help you figure out which vaccines are best and how often your kitty should get shots. It usually depends on their age, overall health, and lifestyle. The vet will also think about how long vaccines are supposed to last and how likely your cat might be to come into contact with a certain disease.

What do the Vaccines protect against?

Feline Enteritis – This is the most common disease that affects cats. It is a very contagious and is highly life threatening especially in kittens under 12 months of age. The most common symptoms are: High fever, depression, dehydration, severe stomach pain, vomiting diarrhea and dehydration.

• Feline Respiratory Disease (Cat Flu) – Cats of all ages can contract this disease as it is highly contagious. Symptoms of this are sneezing, nasal discharge, runny eyes, coughing, loss of appetite and ulcers on their tongues, in their mouths and on their nose, if left untreated this disease can cause severe dehydration.
• Feline Calicivirus- this virus can cause respiratory signs, fever, drooling ulcers of the mouth and footpads, pneumonia, diarrhea, arthritis, and neurologic signs
• Feline Distemper or Feline Panleukopenia- this disease is not very common in Australia however vets still see the occasional case, this viral disease is contagious that can cause high fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Unfortunately, it is often fatal in young kittens. It is also important to know that the feline distemper virus is not the same as canine distemper virus.
• Feline Chlamydia – Chlamydia is an organism that causes eye disease, it is most commonly seen in young kittens under 9 months of age. The symptoms Chlamydia are discharge from the eyes and nose, sore red eyes, high temperature, coughing, heavy breathing, enlarged lymph nodes, loss of appetite, sudden weight loss and depression.
• FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) –Whilst FIV cannot be transmitted between cats and humans, it acts in the same way as HIV does in humans, it is a blood borne viral infection that destroys the immune system and leaving a cat susceptible to infections and disease The symptoms of FIV are sores, lesions and diarrhea progress to severe chronic infections as the immune system is overcome. There is no treatment or cure for the virus itself.

Why Vaccinate?

Vaccinations can help prevent serious illness by building up your kitten’s immunity to potentially fatal diseases. They can also help to prevent the spread of disease to other cats, and more rarely, humans.

Common non-core vaccinations include feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukemia and feline chlamydia.

When to Vaccinate

Kittens should start getting vaccinations when they are about 6-8 weeks old until they are 16 weeks old. Then they must be boosted a year later. The vaccinations generally come in a series of 3 to 4 weeks. Adult cats need Vaccinations less often, usually every year or every 3 years depending on how long the vaccine is designed to last.

Cat Desexing

The decision to de-sex is one of the most significant aspects of pet care an owner can provide. De-sexing is a surgical procedure performed by a registered veterinarian to sterilise male and female cats. After this procedure is performed the animal will no longer have a season or fall pregnant. This is permanent and the procedure cannot be reversed. De-sexing is ideally performed while the cat is still a kitten and if female, prior to their first heat cycle.
When a female cat is de-sexed it is referred to as spaying and involves the removal of the uterus and ovaries. Despite being considered a routine surgery for veterinarians, it is a major surgery and usually requires hospitalisation.

When is the right time?

Traditionally, vets have recommended that cats and dogs are desexed between about 5½ and 6 months of age. But over the past decade, desexing at an earlier age (from eight weeks onwards) has become more common. This is known as early-age desexing or EAD. Pets Haven has been desexing kittens and puppies in its shelters at this earlier age for many years, and based on this experience and the cumulation of considerable scientific evidence, Pets Haven considers EAD to be a safe and effective strategy for the wider community to prevent unplanned/unwanted litters in cats and dogs. In addition to helping to prevent unwanted pregnancy, EAD can offer significant animal welfare benefits when compared to traditional age desexing. Desexing surgery is faster and easier when carried out on younger patients as their anatomical structures are less developed. There is less tissue trauma and less tissue handling involved, the surgery incision site is smaller, and bleeding is reduced and minimal. It also takes less time to prepare the animals for EAD surgery which means less time under general anaesthesia. The anaesthetic recovery and wound healing times are also shorter, providing further animal welfare benefits. EAD significantly reduces the risk of mammary cancer in both dogs and cats. These benefits are in addition to all of the commonly accepted benefits associated with general desexing, such as a reduction in wandering/roaming and undesirable sexual behaviours such as mounting and urine spraying.

Why Desex your cat?

Cats are prolific breeders. One pair of un-desexed cats can produce a mind blowing number of kittens, an estimated 420,000 over a 7-year period if the kittens aren’t desexed either! There are estimated to be around 3.3 million cats in Victoria and every year hundreds of thousands are left abandoned at shelters or outside on the streets to face and un-certain future.

What are the health benefits?

Of course with desexing, comes the health benefits creating a much happier relationship between you and your much loved feline. Research has shown that desexed cats can live a much longer healthier life, as removing the reproductive organs helps minimize the risk of life threatening cancers such as testicular, mammary and ovarian. It can also benefit with unwanted behaviors, A female cat with repetitive heat cycles tends to howl and become stressed during a mating cycle whilst male cats can be prone to roaming, spraying urine or becoming aggressive with other male cats.