As you can see by what I've got here on my table, there's quite a bit that's out there. It's not uncommon that your veterinarian might recommend combining these to get your pet the most relief and try to get things managed the best we can.

And so, here I have a bunch of ear flushes that we use here. I also love to use bathing therapy. I think it's beneficial and sometimes prevents us from using oral antibiotics. I've also got things like Omega-3 Fatty Acids and some medicated sprays.

And then, a lot of times, we'll recommend either Cytopoint or Apoquel to help with your pet’s itching because that tends to be one of the most common symptoms. Apoquel and Cytopoint are great tools that we have to help manage your pets itch.

Sometimes we'll recommend a hypoallergenic diet if we get to that point and feel like that will be beneficial to your pet. And then, any pet with allergies benefits from being on flea and tick prevention, but of course, I'm going to recommend full prevention, so heartworm, intestinal parasite, and flea and tick, which we have here. Simparica Trio does everything; BRAVECTO here does fleas and ticks. And we carry both of these in the clinic.

There's a ton on the market that you can find, and the question is, are they effective? And that brushing action is beneficial, but again, it's one of those things that it has to be used consistently to be as efficacious. And there are some that you can put the toothpaste in, and we always recommend toothpaste made for pets. We don't want to give them any human toothpaste. But yeah, if treats or chews are used consistently, they can have an effect. Now, some pets may eventually need a dental cleaning, but it's something worth a try to do at home.

They can, in a sense. It's not what you think about you or I getting a cavity, and we don't do fillings here. That's what many people get for their cavities at the dentist, but we have different ways to manage them.

I get asked that question all the time, and the answer is that unless you're going to commit to brushing your dog's teeth twice a day every day, it's not beneficial to do an occasional brushing here or there. The veterinary dentists do recommend twice-daily brushing, which, if you're like me, that's hard to fit into my busy schedule. So, what I like to do instead is give things like dental treats, dental chews, or even something like water additives because then I feel like I'm rewarding my dog with a treat, and it's helping take care of their teeth.

There are different things to consider with indoor versus outdoor cats—things they're exposed to outdoors that they might not get exposed to indoors and vice versa. In general, if you have a cat that goes in and out, I would encourage the cat to be in at night. That's probably better for their wellness and safety. Didn’t everyone’s mothers say that nothing good happens after 11 PM? Cats need to be in, too, as there are no good things out there happening at night for them either. They're more at risk for getting injured, getting attacked, disappearing, or having other things happen.

Whether you have an indoor-only cat, an indoor, outdoor cat, or an outdoor-only cat, they can be exposed to parasites. We recommend the Revolution plus, as it protects against fleas and ticks and heartworms, ear mites, intestinal parasites. There are many things that cats can be exposed to both inside and outside.

There are also certain lifestyle vaccines that we recommend for cats. If a cat never is exposed to another cat that goes outdoors, is the only cat in the household and indoors only, they probably don’t need a leukemia vaccine. Yet a cat that goes outside or one that's exposed to a cat that goes in and out would need something to consider to help with their wellness. There are differences and similarities in how you handle indoor vs. outdoor cats.

You can do quite a few things, even things as simple as appropriate feeding, trying to maintain proper weight, and having a safe environment for them so they can't hurt themselves or get into things. Cats get a little trickier beyond that. Because cats can get upset and be very picky about certain things, these things can cause stress in their lives. And when cats have stress in their lives, they put stress in your lives—sometimes urinating in inappropriate places or causing other issues.

Some other critical cat-specific things have to do with litter box maintenance, how many litter boxes per number of cats in the household. The general rule is to have one more than the number of cats that you have. For some people with five cats, for example, that's a little bit much, but it’s imperative to adhere to those numbers. Also, don't have eight litter boxes lined up in the same room. If you have a three-story house, you're going to want to probably have one on each story and in different parts of the house. You're going to want to have them where the cats can feel comfortable. This isn’t always our most convenient location, as you don’t want to tuck it somewhere that a cat's scared to go or feels trapped to go. Instead, use places where the cat is comfortable and wants to go. Most cats also appreciate frequently scooped litter boxes. Don't change anything if they like their litter—don't give them newer, different litter. Some of those things can stress cats out. And when you have stressed cats, it is going to affect their wellness in general.

You should also consider enrichment. Cats like to lay around a lot and lay in the sun and enjoy things, but they also enjoy playing. Some cats like the laser pointers, having something you can interact with, having different levels, and having little cat trees or places they can climb or get away.

And then if you have a multi-species household - if you have little children, dogs, or other creatures in the house - cats want a special place to go to be away. If they feel like they need to get away from the hustle and bustle, having that place is also very important for their enrichment and their wellness in general.