Ed. Note: The following paid content was provided by Cinema Veterinary Centre, who is a client of KHTS AM-1220.
As Santa Clarita Valley residents begin thinking about their New Year’s resolutions for 2015, a Santa Clarita veterinarian is offering pet owners resolution tips they may not have considered.
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A few simple resolutions pet owners can make to help keep their animals healthy in the new year include annual exams, teeth cleanings and watching what they eat, according to Dr. Jaimie Ronchetto of Cinema Veterinary Centre.
“With many pets nowadays… it’s sort of a trend to be a little overweight and deal with a little obesity,” Ronchetto said. “Watching their weight in the new year would be a really good idea– actually measure the amount of food that you’re feeding them.”
Ronchetto advises pet owners to use an actual measuring cup they might use to cook with instead of items like coffee mugs or bowls that don’t provide an accurate measurement.
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“To make them happy they certainly need attention and affection from us, but that doesn’t always have to come in the form of a treat or food,” Ronchetto added. “Brush them, groom them, pet them, play with them– give them other forms of stimulation and affection other than food items.”
In addition to keeping a closer eye on what pets eat, Ronchetto also recommends pets receive a wellness exam once or twice per year depending on their age.
“We definitely recommend yearly exams,” she said. “For our older pets– that would be seven years or older –we actually recommend every six months. That’s because certainly with older pets they can start to show signs of illness, and we want to make sure that we’re catching anything early while it’s still manageable and treatable rather than having things linger and wait.”
An important aspect of routine healthcare for both dogs and cats is regular dental exams and cleanings, according to Ronchetto.
Like people, calcium builds up on pets teeth and below their gumline, she said, which can lead to severe gum disease and other serious health issues without regular cleanings.
“They should be seen by their vet to get a full dental exam and an anesthetic or sedated cleaning,” Ronchetto said. “While they’re sleeping with the anesthesia we can not only do a full cleaning, but we can get underneath the gumline with the scaler to get all of the calculus that’s underneath the gumline out, we can do full mouth dental x-rays and if there’s any pathology or any bad teeth we can extract them at the same time.”
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.Following an anesthetic dental cleaning, pet owners can follow up with home care to keep their pet’s teeth healthy longer.
“Brushing is best, and working up to (brushing) daily is going to be great,” Ronchetto continued. “With those pets that you can’t brush their teeth, there’s other options, like supplements, you can use to keep the teeth clean.”
Residents in need of a Santa Clarita veterinarian can schedule an appointment with Ronchetto online or by calling her office.
23460 Cinema Drive
Valencia, CA 91355
661-253-9300