Animal Hospital of Heath

Call 972-772-0040

"This hospital is dedicated to our patients, whose loving, loyal and engaging personalities enrich our lives, fill our hearts and constantly inspire us to provide the best veterinary medical care possible."

Location

209 Laurence Rd.
Heath, TX 75032
Phone 972/772-0040
Fax 972-502-9987


Hours of Operation

We are open:
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM M-F

We are closed:
Saturdays | Sundays

We are a stress-free cat hospital and we've been taking care of cats for more than 20 Years

Our compassion, love, and dedication to cats has led us to devote a significant portion of our attention to the special needs of felines. When you bring your cat to Animal Hospital of Heath, your furry friend will be treated to a quiet, stress-free environment.

Cats are not small dogs and should not be treated or handled as such. There are many medical and behavioral situations specific to cats, and you should feel very comfortable knowing that your veterinarian has thorough knowledge of these specific feline needs. Dr. Downes and Dr. Carter take a special interest to see that our feline patients receive the very best medical care. In addition, our Staff at Animal Hospital of Heath is specifically trained to handle the most sensitive feline patients with your cat's ease and comfort in mind.

What to Expect on Your Kitten's First Visit to the Vet

A Learning Experience for You and Your Kitten

Your first kitten visit will be an extensive learning experience!  We want to give you all the tools needed to care for your new furry family member.  First kitten visit's are approximately 60 minutes long, to allow plenty of time for you to ask questions and make sure you have all the information you need to raise a happy, healthy kitten.  

Your visit will begin with a "kitten talk" from one of our experienced nurses.  They will send you home with a packet of brochures, samples and written documents on how to care for your new kitten.  We will go over the most up to date behavior and training information and help you with litter box training, getting your cat into a carrier and how to introduce your new kitten to other pets and children.  

Action Plan for Vaccination and Care Schedule

Each kitten receives a clay paw print so you can remember their cute little paws!  You will go home with a first free dose of heartworm prevention.  Each kitten gets an action plan where we lay out a plan with you for vaccine schedules.  Each kitten gets a massage at each appointment because we want to help get them used to being touched for future visits as an adult cat.

Read why we don't "scruff" cats and why you shouldn't either.

Schedule Your Cat's Appointment Now

Call 972-772-0040 to schedule  your cat's next appointment for Animal Hospital of Heath Veterinary Clinic

Feline Annual Recommendations

Physical Exam:  

Every patient at Animal Hospital of Heath receives an annual physical exam with a veterinarian to check teeth, eyes, ears, lung sounds, heart sounds, check for any lumps/bumps, etc.  This also maintains a current doctor/client/patient relationship and allows our clinic to continue prescribing any necessary medications (such as monthly heartworm prevention) throughout the year.  A new client visit is typically scheduled for 60 minutes to allow you plenty of time to meet our staff and doctors and have all questions and concerns you may have.  Once we have an annual physical exam, you can bring your pet in for vaccines and labwork for 365 days without seeing a doctor or paying for another physical exam.  We do not have a fee for an "office visit" so if you needed vaccines or labwork drawn, it would just be the cost of that item(s).  The only time you would pay for another physical exam would be if your pet is ill or you want to speak to a doctor and have them assess your pet during the year.  

Vaccinations:

There are two vaccinations that we recommend to all of our feline patients.  These vaccinations are Rabies and FVRCP.  We follow AAFP guidelines for our feline vaccination recommendations. You can find more information on American Association of Feline Practitioners at http://www.catvets.com.  Rabies is the only vaccination required by law, but we do highly recommend that all cats remain current on the FVRCP vaccine, which is given every 3 years. There are other vaccinations we can discuss for your kitty depending on lifestyle.  

Intestinal Parasite Exam and Labwork:  

You may see other recommended items such as an intestinal parasite exam (stool test), annual labwork/senior labwork (blood test), and heartworm prevention.  We recommend that your cat remain on monthly heartworm prevention for their entire life.  We recommend Revolution, which can be purchased as individual monthly doses or six packs.

We recommend an annual intestinal parasite exam to ensure your pet is negative for worms and other intestinal parasites that can be transmitted to your other pets and your family! We also recommend annual labwork/senior labwork.  Labwork is recommended for pets of all ages, however, the type of labwork that we recommend changes as pets age.  Young pets should have labwork prior to anesthesia (for spay or neuter) and then yearly as a baseline for what they look like healthy.  This gives us a comparison as they get older.  As they age, the labwork profiles before more in-depth and extensive and allow us to find out more about the pets' internal health.  The earlier we catch problems with kidneys, liver, thyroid, etc, the easier those diseases are to control (through diet and medications).  Depending on the age/lifestyle of your pet, we may recommend a FIV/Feline Leukemia test.  These are both very serious infectious diseases that would be important for both parties to be aware of.  

If you are cost conscious, but still want to provide your pet the optimum care possible, many of our clients like to split up their visits over the course of a few months.  You could bring in your cat for an exam and then choose a couple of additional services to perform that day.  You could come back a few weeks later and have more tests/vaccines done to help split up the cost.  Alternatively, Care Credit is a medical credit card that can be used at many dentist, surgery and veterinary offices.  If you would like to apply for this card to use for pet's medical services, you can do so at www.carecredit.com.    

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call our clinic and speak with a team member about your options and our recommendations.

Alternatively, you can email us at admin@ahhdvm.com with any questions or concerns.  We want to educate you and provide you with as many tools as possible to provide your cat a long, healthy life!  

As always, we know you have options when choosing a veterinary facility and we appreciate that you trust Animal Hospital of Heath with your cat's veterinary care!