2023: The Year You Take Pet Parenting to the Next Level

Through the loving eyes of your cat or dog, you are already a hero. You provide for their needs and give them a pawsome life. (Yeah, we like to have pun over here, but it’s all true!) 

This year, Sploot Veterinary Care is here to help you take your pet parenting to the next level. We love being your partners in providing the very best care for your pets — and we always aim to find new ways to give support. 

So, on top of our daily appointment availability, expanding clinic locations, and ever-increasing services, we’re creating even more resources for pet parents. From vet-approved guides to useful cheat sheets to tape on the fridge — we’re focused on creating great content to address the needs of pet parents like you.

The Best Investment: Preventive Care 

At Sploot, we love the basics - and by basics, we mean preventive care. Why? Because committing to great, consistent preventative care is the number one thing you can do to have as many happy years as possible with your pet — and it’s totally in your control! 

So, this year, you’re going to get more than an “ounce of prevention (tips)” from us - you’re going to get tons of great knowledge on all things preventive care — both in and out of the clinic. 

Whether you’re a new pet parent or a seasoned pro, you’ll be equipped with easy to digest, highly actionable tips on investing in your pet’s health.

What Exactly is Preventive Care for Dogs & Cats?

Preventive care is a combination of routine screenings, check-ups, and counseling with the aim of maintaining your pet’s overall health. Preventive care for dogs and cats is a broad, proactive veterinary approach that involves the following:

• Regular wellness exams; 
• Routine core vaccinations (e.g. rabies vaccine, distemper vaccine);
• Regular pet dental exams;
• Lifestyle/Location-based non-core vaccinations (e.g. bordetella vaccine, rattlesnake vaccine);
• Proper nutrition; and
• Regular exercise.  

The Benefits of Preventive Care

Preventive care for dogs and cats ensures that they are in tip-top shape. Maintaining optimum health means that pets have more energy, better mobility, and overall comfort so that they are ready to enjoy life to the fullest with you and your family. 

Preventive care also reduces the likelihood of needing urgent and emergency veterinary care. When pets are immunized sufficiently and kept in great health, they’re less likely to experience severe or life-threatening illnesses. 

In addition, if a pet is predisposed to certain illnesses due to their age, breed, lifestyle, or genetics, preventive care helps detect and address problems early on. 

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Preparing You for the Unexpected — The Option of Urgent Care

Preventive care is all about proactive measures. But sometimes, the unexpected happens — such as pets eating something they shouldn’t, sustaining wounds, and so on. This is where either urgent care OR emergency care comes in. 

While we encourage our pet parents to embrace understanding and obtaining preventative care, we have a different philosophy when it comes to urgent and emergency care. When it comes to the unexpected, simply knowing the next best step (i.e. when to get urgent care or emergency care) can make a big difference. So our goal is to arm pet parents with the knowledge they need to recognize potentially urgent situations and be able to obtain the care they need.

What Exactly is Urgent Care for Dogs and Cats?

Veterinary urgent care services are intended for cases that need immediate attention but are NOT immediately life-threatening (e.g. skin disease, gastric problems, ingesting a toxin) — typically, these are cases that require care in the next 24 hours. For cases qualified for urgent care, opting for urgent care has numerous benefits. 

Urgent care is different from emergency care — which is intended for cases where pets face a life-threatening crisis (e.g. severe trauma, anaphylaxis, or loss of consciousness).

Though they are different types of care, urgent care and emergency care still have an overlap in scope. In fact, at Sploot, we estimate that 70% of pet ER cases can actually be treated in an urgent care facility - for a fraction of the cost. 

Urgent care facilities can handle cases like: 

• Diarrhea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal problems;
• Urinary abnormalities (e.g. blood in urine, painful urination);
• Eye / ear infections and other issues;
• Runny nose, coughing, or sneezing;
• Bite wounds and wound treatment;
• Paw wounds or concrete burns;
• Hair loss, mites, rashes, and other skin conditions;
• Worms, fleas, and ticks;
• Signs of pain or limping;
• Sudden behavioral changes (e.g. lethargy, aggression);
• Sudden loss of appetite;
• Ingestion of toxic substances, toys, upholstery, and other foreign items; and
• Other similar conditions to the ones listed above.

The Benefits of Urgent Care

Familiar Care & Convenience

At a clinic that offers both primary care and urgent care, your pet will be able to receive urgent treatment in a comfortable and familiar environment. Your pet will also be handled by familiar vets who know your pet (including their full medical history). This level of familiar care can greatly minimize the animal’s stress levels. 

In such arrangements, follow ups about the urgent care cases are also more convenient and can be integrated with your pet’s wellness exam and broader care plan. 

Savings & Availability

Many cases seen in the ER can actually be addressed in urgent care. For such cases, urgent care services deliver the same care for a fraction of the cost of veterinary ER. In addition, urgent care facilities provide additional availability - and sometimes, can even be scheduled.  For example, all Sploot locations are open 365 days a year, from 10 am to 10 pm - which means we can offer same day and walk in appointments, allowing pet parents to address urgent concerns in the most convenient way possible.

An Accessible Touchpoint of Care

In some instances, if an emergency case is brought to an urgent veterinary care facility, the urgent care facility can take over certain procedures, including stabilizing a pet, before endorsing the case to an emergency facility as soon as possible. This helps save time while also ensuring the pet’s comfort during the wait. 

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Local Tips & Just for Fun!

At Sploot, we don’t just love giving great care to our pets - we love having fun! Our team loves our local community, and we’re excited to keep our pet parent community up to date with all things local and pet-friendly - whether it’s Sploot-hosted hot cocoa in dog parks or our favorite dog-friendly bar, pet friendly local hotels and more. 

Plus, we’ll have fun stuff for the folks at home - everything from Buzzfeed-inspired quizzes and cute animals to catio advice. Stay tuned! 

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An Exciting 2023

So pet parents, get excited for 2023! It’s a great year for taking your pet parenting to the next level! We can make this year a howling good time — with happy and healthy pets to brighten up our every day. 

If you want to make sure you don’t miss a beat with all the great stuff coming out - subscribe to our newsletter today!

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