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Animal Care and Control
- Why should I have my pet spayed/neutered?
- What vaccinations does my dog need?
- What vaccinations does my cat need?
- Why should I keep a collar and identification tags on my pet?
- How can I afford Veterinary care for my pet?
- Why can't Veterinarians treat my animal for free? I thought they loved animals.
- What should I feed my pet?
- How do I deal with fleas?
- What is heartworm and what do I do about it?
- What is lyme disease and what do I do about it?
- I want an exotic pet. What should I do?
- When I come to the shelter, why can't I play with the animals?
- Why do you spay/neuter puppies and kittens? Doesn't it harm them to do this when they are young?
- Are there rabies in San Francisco?
- Can my pet catch anything from raccoons or other wildlife?
- Why shouldn't I declaw my cat?
1. Why should I have my pet spayed/neutered?
Spaying a dog or cat before their first heat cycle virtually eliminates the possibility of the pet getting mammary (breast) cancer. Neutering will eliminate the possibility of the pet getting testicular cancer and greatly cut down on any prostate problems. Spaying and neutering sterilizes the animal and thus reduces unwanted litters. It also may reduce undesirable behaviors such as spraying, marking, aggression towards other animals, roaming and mating behaviors. For more information ...
2. What vaccinations does my dog need?
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DOGS - The available dog vaccinations are listed below:
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DHLPP (distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza and parvo virus)
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Corona
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Lyme
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Bordetella*
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Rabies
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PUPPIES - The available puppy vaccinations are listed below:
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7 - 8 weeks old--DHLPP #1
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11 - 12 weeks old--DHLPP #2, Corona #1, Lyme #1
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15 - 16 weeks old--DHLPP #3, Corona #2, Lyme #2, Rabies
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19 - 20 weeks old DHLPP #4
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1 year old and yearly thereafter: DHLPP, Corona, Lyme
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1 year old and every 3 years thereafter: Rabies
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*Give a Bordetella vaccination if the dog is going to be boarded in a boarding kennel during your vacation. Remember to have your pet wormed every time it gets vaccinations, especially when it is a puppy.
3. What vaccinations does my cat need?
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CATS - The available cat vaccinations are listed below:
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FVRCP (feline viral rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, panleukopenia)
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FIP (feline infectious peritonitis)
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Felv (feline leukemia)
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Rabies
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KITTENS - The available kitten vaccinations are listed below:
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7 - 8 weeks old: FVRCP #1
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11 - 12 weeks old: FVRCP #2, FIP #1, Felv #1
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15 - 16 weeks old: FVRCP #3, FIP #2, Felv #2, Rabies
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1 year old and once yearly afterwards: FVRCP, FIP, Felv
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1 year old and every 3 years afterwards: Rabies
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Remember to have your Veterinarian worm your cat when you get the vaccinations; this is especially important in kittens.
4. Why should I keep a collar and identification tags on my pet?
If ACC finds a pet with a collar and identification on it, we make every effort (phone calls, letters) to contact the owner and tell them that their pet is at our shelter. The less time your pet spends at the shelter, the less it will cost you to redeem it and the quicker you will have your pet back.
5. How can I afford Veterinary care for my pet?
Please remember, a pet is a priviledge, not a right. If you are not prepared to take proper care of the pet (and this includes paying the Vet bills), then you shouldn't own a pet. There is inexpensive pet insurance available from several companies; your Vet can probably give you more information on which companies they have dealt with in the past. Another idea is to start a savings account for your pet. If you contribute $25.00 a week into the account, you will have $1,300.00 by the end of one year. This will help cover yearly vaccinations, dental care and emergency visits.
6. Why can't Veterinarians treat my animal for free? I thought they loved animals.
Veterinarians do love animals; it is their chosen profession. But a veterinary education costs anywhere from $60,000 to $120,000 for four years of school. The equipment in a veterinary hospital costs as much as that in a human hospital and the drugs used on animals are just as expensive as those used on humans. A Vet must pay for all of this out of their own pocket and try to make a living by charging for services and medications. Since the pet insurance industry is still quite small, Vets must charge for all of their services. And remember, a pet is a priviledge, not a right!!! If you can't afford to take proper care of the animal, you should not have an animal.
7. What should I feed my pet?
All of the name-brand commercial foods have complete and balanced nutrition; this means that if your pet ate only this food all its life, it would survive fine. Most of the time, dogs and cats do not need additional vitamin or mineral supplimentation. If your pet has a medical condition that requires a special diet, your Vet can recommend a prescription diet that is formulated especially for the pet's condition (Hills Science Diets, IAMs Prescription diets, Purina CNM diets.) For small rodents, birds, and reptiles, we would recommend asking a Vet who specializes in these animals what diet would be the best to feed them. Reading about the animal in books from the library is also a good idea. In some animals, the wrong diet can lead to death, so before you get an exotic pet, know how to care for it.
8. How do I deal with fleas?
This is a subject that is open to much debate. The short answer is: ATTACK ON ALL FRONTS AND NEVER GIVE UP! Spray the yard, spray and flea-bomb the house, flea bathe the cat or dog and then use either powders/sprays or one of the new spot-on products (Advantage or Frontline). The powders/sprays need daily application, while the spot-on products are applied monthly. It may take a few months to see good results, but the war can be won. BE DETERMINED!
9. What is heartworm and what do I do about it?
Heartworm is a parasitic disease of dogs and cats that causes heart failure. The mature worms live in the chambers of the heart and the larvae are in the blood. The disease is transmitted by mosquitoes. San Francisco is not a common place for heartworm, but other Bay Area communities are. There is a blood test that your Vet can do to see if your pet has heartworm and medicine that the Vet can prescribe to prevent the pet from getting heartworm. If your pet travels outside the city, it is a good idea to see your Vet and get on the preventative medication. Treatment for heartworm disease is costly and can be harmful to the pet so prevention is definitely a better alternative.
10. What is lyme disease and what do I do about it?
Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks and causes inflamed joints, fever and systemic illness. It can be costly and difficult to treat. San Francisco is not a common place for Lyme disease, but other Bay Area communities are. There is a vaccination for dogs that will help prevent this disease and I recommend any pet owner which takes their pet out of the city to ask your Vet about the vaccination. Using flea powders/sprays or the spot-on Frontline will help kill the ticks.
11. I want an exotic pet. What should I do?
First, go to the library and find out how to care for the type of animal you are interested in. Call around and find a Vet who has experience in treating the pet. Ask other people who have these type of pets about their experiences. Many exotic animals die because their owner did not know how to care for them. THINK BEFORE YOU ACT! DO YOUR RESEARCH AND BE PREPARED!
12. When I come to the shelter, why can't I play with the animals?
Going from cage to cage and touching all the animals can spread disease. The animals would also be completely stressed if we allowed everyone to play with them. For their health and safety, we limit their exposure to those people who are genuinely interested in adoption.
13. Why do you spay/neuter puppies and kittens? Doesn't it harm them to do this when they are young?
There has been several studies over the years on this subject. They have all found that, even when done at 2 months of age, spaying and neutering puppies and kittens does not harm them and greatly decreases the pet over population problem. We have had a problem in the past when we have adopted out unaltered animals; the people never take the animal in to get altered and subsequently have litters of puppies and kittens. Early age neutering and spaying also virtually eliminates mammary (breast) cancer and testicular cancer and will reduce any future prostate problems. THERE IS NO GOOD REASON NOT TO SPAY OR NEUTER!
14. Are there rabies in San Francisco?
There have been several positive rabid bats in San Francisco over the past few years. Because of this, all cats that are adopted or redeemed from ACC are given a rabies vaccination. All adopted dogs are also given a rabies vaccination and all redeemed dogs must have a current rabies vaccination or are given one when they leave ACC.
15. Can my pet catch anything from raccoons or other wildlife?
Raccoons carry canine (dog) distemper and there are always distemper outbreaks in the San Francisco raccoons every year. They can also carry rabies. Raccoons also have an intestinal parasitic worm that will cause severe disease if it infects humans. Do not ever handle a raccoon or touch its feces. Vaccinate your pet for distemper and rabies and keep them on leash when in areas where raccoons are living. Pigeon feces can be a source of fungal spores which can cause diseases in humans and animals. Skunks and bats can carry rabies.
16. Why shouldn't I declaw my cat?
Cats use their claws to exercise, play, stretch, climb, hunt and mark their territory. Although your cat might use your hands or furniture for these activities, declawing is NOT the answer. Declawing is a painful and difficult operation. It is the same as removing the first joint on all your fingers. It impairs the cat's balance and causes weakness from muscular disuse. Declawed cats are defenseless. Cats need their claws for protection. You may know that your indoor cat will never have to climb a tree in order to escape their neighbor's chihuahua, but your cat doesn't know it. Declawing makes a cat feel insecure and defenseless. It is radical to cut off so many parts of the body to prevent such a simple behavior problem.
In addition, declawing destroys on of the cat's most enjoyable activities - climbing. It is natural for cats to scratch. It is perfectly normal feline behavior. It is unfair and inhumane to punish a cat for acting like a cat.
The stress resulting from being declawed creates more problems than it allegedly solves. Some declawed cats become more nervous biters; others are known to become even more destructive to furniture than before the operation; and many cats stop using the litterbox.
There are alternatives to declawing. Exercise and play with your cat regularly. Give him a scratching post and teach him to use it. See the sheet on 'scratching Furniture" enclosed in your adoption packet. Temporarily confine your cat to a small area where he does not have access to your furniture. A few days in a room with a litterbox, food, water and of course a scratching post is much more humane than declawing . Trim you cat's nails on a regular basis. The curved tip of the claw is the part that hooks into fabric, rugs, etc., and causes the most damage. If your cat is scratching you in play, see the sheet on "Biting and Scratching" enclosed in your adoption packet.
17. Preparations to do on behalf of your pet's care in an emergency or disaster?
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