Another important step you can do to give your pet a long and healthy life is to ensure that he or she is vaccinated against common diseases. Your pet’s mother provided disease fighting antibodies through her milk for only a few weeks.

Vaccinations contain small amounts of altered or “killed” viruses, bacteria or other disease causing organisms that stimulate the immune system to protect your pet against disease.
Pets should be protected against disease that are most common, highly contagious and can cause serious illness.
For dogs this includes:

• Distemper
• Parvovirus
• Leptospirosis
• Hepatitis
• Parainfluenza
• Coronavirus
• Rabies

For cats this includes:

• Viral Rhinotracheitis
• Calicivirus
• Panleukopenia
• Rabies

Vaccine Reactions
Vaccines are a very important part of health care for dogs and cats. The vaccines purposes are to stimulate your pet’s immune system against certain very serious contagious illnesses. We do the best within our capabilities to minimize risk associated with vaccination; however some pets may have an abnormal reaction to one or more of the vaccines without any warning. Normal responses to a vaccine include very low grade fever, mild lethargy, and decreased appetite for 24-48 hours. Some pets may also develop a localized reaction at the injection site (a swollen lump may last up to 2-weeks). Usually this does not require treatment unless the swelling continues to grow and seems to bother your pet. You should always inform the veterinary office of any type of reaction that your pet may have or has had in the past including the site of the reaction and the time elapsed after vaccination. Abnormal response or allergic reaction to a vaccine may include facial swelling, hives, serve lethargy, and vomiting. In severe anaphylactic reactions, cardiovascular, and respiratory collapse may occur. All pets should be monitored for at least 4-6 hours after any injectable vaccine has been administered. If any of the above mentioned abnormalities occur, you should return to Adams Farm Animal Hospital immediately. If the facility has closed for the day, you should take your pet to the nearest emergency facility.