With Christmas fast approaching we’re likely thinking about what fun gift we can buy our pet. However, it’s important to remember that like humans they can get quite sick. Here are a few of the nastier illnesses and afflictions that can affect your pet. Some of them are preventable, while others will need sometimes expensive medication to get rid of, nevertheless, it’s better knowing about the diseases.

Distemper

Distemper can prove a fatal disease, which combines deadly neurological illnesses, fevers and discharge. Even pets who survive the initial disease are rarely the same again, having to deal with bouts of seizure. There’s a great vaccination system available which is quite effective, although it needs to be administered during infancy to truly stop the onset of the disease.

Fleas

Fleas and ticks can be an awful irritant, causing extreme itchiness. But they can also carry some deadly diseases that can harm your dog or cat, and even your family. There is some great trifexis flea medication which can help, it’s taken once a month and keeps fleas at bay. Relatively inexpensive it keeps your pets clean, and also stops the critters jumping ship to your own body or furniture.

Parvo or Parvovirus

Parvo is a virus which occurs in both cats and dogs, it causes symptoms of vomiting, lack of appetite, diarrhea and low mood. It’s an extremely contagious virus that’s also resistant and hard to destroy. It can be quite deadly, but if caught early enough the pet can be cured. If you have a young or newborn pet it is likely worthwhile getting them vaccinated as a precaution.

Rabies

Usually associated with rabid stray pets, rabies can severely alter an animal’s mood, leading to brain swelling and death. It is always fatal, and has been near eradicated from all domestic population but the threat still exists, especially if there are strays in your area. A rabies vaccination is someone you need to get done, find out from your local veterinarian how often you need to get your specific pet vaccinated and stick to it.

Diabetes

Prevalent in older pets, but not exclusive, diabetes occurs when your pet can no longer properly regulate their sugar/insulin levels. There are many ways to regulate this, primarily you can control it with diet and exercise, but if it worsens you may need to give you pet injections before or after meals. The trick is spotting the illness before it gets too hard, you should look out for lethargy, lack of appetite, increased urination outside of normal protocols, dehydration, and weight loss.

The best way to ensure your pet stays healthy is to make sure they get the correct vaccinations when young, this coupled with regular health checks can catch any nasty illnesses quick enough to cure them. Pet insurance is a good thing to have, because sometimes the illnesses may require expensive medication. For a small monthly fee it could be worth it in the long term. It also covers you for other kinds of injury, which can usually happen a few times through the course of a pets life.