Preventive Exams and Care

Live Beyond 9 Lives™️

Preventive Exams and Care

Live Beyond 9 Lives™️

Go Beyond 9 Preventive care is an essential part of your cat’s healthcare plan to help them Live Beyond 9 Lives™️. At Just Cats Clinic we recommend annual exams and vaccinations for cats that are 7 years old or younger. For senior cats, ages 8 years and older, we recommend preventive exams every 6 months and lab work annually. We customize your cat’s healthcare plan to meet their specific needs and lifestyle.

Our veterinarians do a complete nose to tail assessment of your cat during every preventive care visit.

What do we look for?

  • Body condition score: Checking your cat’s weight and body condition on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being too thin and 5 being too heavy.
  • Coat condition: Checking if your cat’s coat is dry, oily, has any dandruff and whether your cat is grooming itself regularly.
  • Eyes: Checking for any abnormalities and assessing vision.
  • Ears: Checking for any debris.
  • Mouth: Checking dental health including plaque, tooth decay, gingivitis and overall gum health.
  • Heart and Lungs: Listening for any abnormalities and assessing any heart murmurs.
  • Abdomen: Palpating abdomen for any abnormalities and checking for changes in size of liver, kidneys and the large/small intestine.
  • Pain Assessment: Checking on a scale of 0 to 4 by applying pressure during examination at certain points and watching for reaction with 4 being very painful and 0 being no sign of pain.
  • Walk/gait: Checking for any stiffness or abnormality when walking/jumping; looking for signs of pain or potential joint disease.

By performing lab work annually, we may be able to spot underlying disease processes early and create a treatment plan before symptoms become severe.

Our veterinarians do a complete nose to tail assessment of your cat during every preventive care visit.

What do we look for?

  • Body condition score: Checking your cat’s weight and body condition on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being too thin and 5 being too heavy.
  • Coat condition: Checking if your cat’s coat is dry, oily, has any dandruff and whether your cat is grooming itself regularly.
  • Eyes: Checking for any abnormalities and assessing vision.
  • Ears: Checking for any debris.
  • Mouth: Checking dental health including plaque, tooth decay, gingivitis and overall gum health.
  • Heart and Lungs: Listening for any abnormalities and assessing any heart murmurs.
  • Abdomen: Palpating abdomen for any abnormalities and checking for changes in size of liver, kidneys and the large/small intestine.
  • Pain Assessment: Checking on a scale of 0 to 4 by applying pressure during examination at certain points and watching for reaction with 4 being very painful and 0 being no sign of pain.
  • Walk/gait: Checking for any stiffness or abnormality when walking/jumping; looking for signs of pain or potential joint disease.

By performing lab work annually, we may be able to spot underlying disease processes early and create a treatment plan before symptoms become severe.