Our Services
Cambridge Cat Clinic is pleased to provide the following services to our patients.
Kitten Care
It is important to start your kitten’s life out right with appropriate vaccinations and medical care. A kitten’s first visit should be around 8 weeks of age (unless they are separated from their mother before that). They need a complete physical assessment, a series of vaccinations to protect them from some very serious diseases, evaluation/treatment for internal and external parasites, and Feline Leukemia Virus and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus testing. It is also important to discuss nutrition and behavior early to prevent problems as they grow into adulthood and to discuss and plan spaying and neutering at an appropriate age.
Adult Wellness Care
It’s a myth that cats are low-maintenance pets that only need food, water, and a roof over their head. We all want our pets to live a long and happy life, and there are three major factors that determine whether that will happen: good luck, good genes, and good care. The first two are outside of our control, but the last one is up to us. Part of that good care is yearly evaluation by a veterinarian. Vaccines need to be regularly updated after the original kitten series as determined by your cat’s specific lifestyle/risk factors. But more important to your cat’s well-being is a regular physical exam. Cats are notorious for hiding signs of illness since they are not only predators, but also prey animals. Some conditions are difficult to detect at home, such as heart murmurs and dental disease, until they become severe and more difficult to treat. Ideally, we want to prevent as many health conditions as possible, so preventative medicine is a big part of wellness care. This involves discussing diet, lifestyle (indoor vs. outdoor, activity level, etc.) and monitoring your cat’s physical status on a regular basis to keep them on track for as long and healthy a life as possible.
Senior Care
Old age is not a disease; it just statistically increases the chance of disease. The best results in treating disease are obtained by detecting and intervening BEFORE your cat becomes symptomatic. The same principles outlined in our Wellness Care section apply, but even more so in the aging cat. Cats are considered Senior at around 7-8 years of age and Geriatric at around 13. Regular physical assessments, including close tracking of body weight, become even more important as well as regular blood and urine screening for early detection of the most common diseases of the aging cat, which include renal disease, hyperthyroidism, and dental disease, among others. In addition to preventative care and screening for early disease detection, management of chronic disease is a big part of our practice at Cambridge Cat Clinic. Many conditions are curable or manageable with treatment which not only increases your cat’s longevity, but improves their quality of life.
Dentistry
Dental disease is one of the most common conditions seen in all pets. Bad breath is an early sign of dental disease. As it worsens, drooling, painful mouth, difficulty eating dry food and other signs of discomfort can be noted. We have a fully outfitted dental cleaning and surgery service providing cleaning, digital dental x-rays and extractions under full anesthesia to get your pet feeling well again. Check out our page on Dentistry FAQs for more information.
Diagnostic Services
Blood and urine testing are often necessary for obtaining information that is not readily available by physical exam alone. We offer in-house blood and urine testing for situations in which we need the results quickly, as well as a wider variety of tests that are sent to an external laboratory when immediate results are not necessary. We also offer blood pressure measurement, cultures, cytology, fine-needle aspirates and biopsies.
Imaging
Visualizing the internal status of our patients in often critical to determining the cause of an illness. Digital radiography (x-rays) enable us to evaluate the skeletal system, as well as the contents of the chest and abdomen. Ultrasound offers a more sensitive evaluation of the abdominal organs and heart (echocardiography). We have board certified specialists come in to the clinic to perform complete abdominal ultrasound and echocardiographic procedures.
ENDOSCOPY
Gastrointestinal disease is common in cats and often the only way to obtain a definitive diagnosis is to obtain tissue samples of the GI tract. Endoscopy is a relatively non-invasive option to obtain these biopsies. We offer both upper and lower GI endoscopic services.
Surgery
We offer spay and neuter surgeries as well as a wide variety of other soft tissue surgeries. Your pet’s safety and comfort are our highest priorities. To that end, we perform physical examinations and pre-anesthetic blood and urine screening to make sure that there are no health issues that might contraindicate anesthesia. We tailor our anesthetic drug protocols to each patient’s individual needs and monitor heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, blood oxygen level, as well as other parameters closely during anesthesia. We also support each patient with warming beds and iv fluids. Pain medications
Urgent Outpatient Care
In addition to routine appointments, we offer same-day appointments for sudden-onset conditions requiring immediate attention. Please call ahead to determine availability and if your pet’s condition would be better treated at a 24-hour emergency/referral hospital.
Not seeing what you are looking for? This list is not all inclusive - please contact us and ask!