Pet Vaccinations

Pet Vaccinations in McCaysville, GA 30555

Pet vaccinations are an important part of preventative health care for your animal companions. At Copper Basin Veterinary Clinic in McCaysville, GA, we offer a wide range of vaccines to help keep your pets healthy and safe. Vaccinations help to protect against deadly diseases such as rabies, distemper, and parvovirus. We tailor our vaccination recommendations to each individual pet based on their lifestyle and risk factors.

Rabies

Rabies is a fatal but preventable viral disease. In the United States, rabies is mostly found in wild animals like bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes. However, in many other countries dogs still carry rabies, and most rabies deaths in people around the world are caused by dog bites. Rabies virus is transmitted through direct contact with saliva from an infected animal through broken skin (bites) or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth (CDC.gov). Animals with rabies may show a variety of signs, including fearfulness, aggression, excessive drooling, difficulty swallowing, staggering, paralysis, and seizures. Aggressive behavior is common, but rabid animals may also be uncharacteristically affectionate (AVMA.org).

Canine Distemper

Canine distemper is a contagious and serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nervous systems of puppies and dogs. It is most often spread through airborne exposure (through sneezing or coughing) to the virus from an infected dog or wild animal. They then develop fever, nasal discharge, coughing, lethargy, reduced appetite, and vomiting. As the virus attacks the nervous system, infected dogs develop circling behavior, head tilt, muscle twitches, convulsions with jaw chewing movements and salivation, seizures, and partial or complete paralysis (AVMA.org).

Canine Parvovirus

Canine parvovirus is a highly contagious virus that can affect all dogs, but unvaccinated dogs and puppies younger than four months old are the most at risk. The virus affects dogs’ gastrointestinal tracts and is spread by direct dog-to-dog contact and contact with contaminated feces (stool), environments, or people. Some of the signs of parvovirus include lethargy; loss of appetite; abdominal pain and bloating; fever or low body temperature (hypothermia); vomiting; and severe, often bloody, diarrhea (AVMA.org).

Canine Parainfluenza

Canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV) is a highly contagious respiratory virus and is one of the common pathogens of infectious tracheobronchitis, also known as canine cough. CPIV is excreted from the respiratory tract of infected animals for up to 2 weeks after infection and is usually transmitted through the air. The virus spreads rapidly in kennels or shelters where large numbers of dogs are kept together (Merck-animal-health-usa.com). 

Canine Adenovirus

Canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2) is related to the hepatitis virus, canine adenovirus type 1 (CAV-1). CAV-2 is used in vaccines to provide protection against canine infectious hepatitis. CAV-2 is also one of the causes of infectious tracheobronchitis, also known as canine cough. Adenoviruses are spread directly from dog to dog through infected respiratory secretions or by contact with contaminated feces or urine. Symptoms of CAV-2 can include, dry, hacking cough (dogs), retching, sneezing, watery nasal discharge, pneumonia, inappetence, fever, and lethargy (Merck-animal-health-usa.com).

Canine Bordetella (Kennel Cough)

Bordetella (also referred to as tracheobronchitis, canine cough [in dogs], and feline bordetellosis [in cats]) is a highly contagious respiratory disease in cats and dogs caused by the bacteria Bordetella bronchiseptica. It causes inflammation of the trachea and bronchi. Bordetella spreads through direct contact (licking, nuzzling), through the air (coughing or sneezing), or via contaminated fomites. Dry, hacking cough (dogs). Symptoms can include, retching, sneezing, watery nasal discharge, pneumonia, inappetence, fever, and lethargy in severe cases.

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a disease caused by infection with Leptospira bacteria. These bacteria can be found worldwide in soil and water. Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease, which means it can be spread from animals to people. Infection in people can cause flu-like symptoms and can cause liver or kidney disease. In the United States, most cases of human leptospirosis result from recreational activities involving water. Infection resulting from contact with an infected pet is much less common, but it is possible. Common risk factors for leptospirosis in dogs residing in the United States include exposure to or drinking from rivers, lakes, or streams; roaming on rural properties (because of exposure to potentially infected wildlife, farm animals, or water sources); exposure to a wild animal or farm animal species, even if in the backyard; and contact with rodents or other dogs. Signs of leptospirosis may include fever, shivering, muscle tenderness, reluctance to move, increased thirst, changes in the frequency or amount of urination, dehydration, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, lethargy, jaundice (yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes), or painful inflammation within the eyes (AVMA.org). 

Feline Rhinotracheitis

Rhinotracheitis is a respiratory disease caused by herpesvirus-1. “Rhinotracheitis” means inflammation of the nose and windpipe or trachea. Herpesvirus-1 also affects the reproductive tract and can cause problems during pregnancy. Feline herpesvirus type 1 is responsible for 80% to 90% of infectious feline upper respiratory diseases. Feline rhinotracheitis is spread between cats through direct contact with the eyes or nose of an infected cat or through contaminated objects, such as food and water bowls. Symptoms can include sneezing, discharge from the eyes and nose, and conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eyelids) (Merck-animal-health-usa.com). 

Feline Calicivirus

Feline calicivirus is a highly contagious virus that causes a mild to severe respiratory infection and oral disease in cats. It is especially common in shelters and breeding colonies, and often infects young cats. Most cats recover completely after a calicivirus infection, but rare strains can be especially deadly. Symptoms of Calicivirus can include cold, with sneezing, nasal congestion, fever and sometimes drooling. Large amounts of discharge can come from the eyes and nose. In more severe cases, cats can also develop inflammation and ulcers on the tongue, and the lining of the mouth. Lethargy, mild lameness, and lack of appetite may also occur (Vet.cornell.edu).

Feline Panleukopenia

Feline panleukopenia (FP) is a highly contagious viral disease of cats caused by the feline parvovirus. Kittens are most severely affected by the virus. The names feline distemper and feline parvo should not be confused with canine distemper or canine parvo— although their names are similar, they are caused by different viruses. The viruses do not infect people. Cats can shed the virus in their urine, stool, and nasal secretions; infection occurs when susceptible cats come in contact with these secretions, or even the fleas from infected cats. Symptoms of FP can include generalized depression, loss of appetite, high fever, lethargy, vomiting, severe diarrhea, nasal discharge, and dehydration (AVMA.org).

Feline Leukemia

Feline Leukemia (FeLV) is a viral infection that is shed in saliva, nasal secretions, urine, feces, and milk of infected cats. Cat-to-cat transfer of the virus may occur from a bite wound, during mutual grooming, and (rarely) through the shared use of litter boxes and feeding dishes. Transmission can also take place from an infected mother cat to her kittens, either before they are born or while they are nursing. It is the most common cause of cancer in cats, may cause various blood disorders, and may lead to a state of immune deficiency that hinders a cat’s ability to protect itself against other infections. Because of this, common bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi that usually do not affect healthy cats can cause severe illness in FeLV-infected cats. These secondary infections are responsible for many of the diseases associated with FeLV. Symptoms of FeLV include loss of appetite, progressive weight loss, poor coat condition, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, pale mucous membranes, gingivitis, diarrhea, seizures or neurological conditions, and infections of the skin, bladder, and upper respiratory tract (Vet.cornell.edu).