Owning a pet is one of the main joys that many people have in life. From cats to dogs to smaller pets like fish, guinea pigs, and ferrets, there is nothing like pet ownership. Pets can bring happiness to life, as well as excitement. Pets can also bring a much needed companionship to the lonely, particularly for someone who has been living alone. With nearly forty million households in the United States owning cats alone, there is no doubt about it that pets are hugely accepted as an important part of the typical life in the United States – no matter where you go within it.

However, it is hugely important that you take good care of your pet, bringing them to local animal hospitals in emergency situations and to a vet’s office for regular check ups. Animal hospitals can even be avoided with the use of regular veterinary services, as regular veterinarian visits can help to prevent conditions that become emergencies and necessitate the trip to animal hospitals. For instance, if you adopt a baby animal, a puppy or a kitten, you will need to take them to the vet far more frequently than an animal that has reached adulthood. In fact, it is recommended that puppies and kittens are seen in a vet’s office around every three to four weeks for the first four months – or sixteen weeks, depending on how you may be keeping track – of their lives. This is so they can get all of the required immunizations, but also so the vet can track their growth and make note of any abnormalities that they may have. Once they reach adulthood, it is likely that their vet visits will become far more spaced out, as older animals typically only need to be seen by a vet for a check up once or twice in the span on a year.

However, some problems can still develop even with regular vet check ups. Fleas, for instance, are one such problem (though probably not a severe enough problem to constitute an emergency vet visit or a visit to a pet hospital). Fleas are all too common among cats and dogs (outdoor ones) in the United States and spread rapidly. The typically flea can have a lifespan of up to one hundred days, with female fleas rapidly reproducing, laying as many as two thousand eggs in total by the time that she reaches the end of her natural lifespan. As fleas can jump immense heights (particularly when in comparison to their very small size), it is far too easy for fleas to spread. If you notice fleas on your cat or your dog, getting them in to see a vet is the likely course of action that you will want to take. Though this is not a serious enough condition for animal hospitals, it is still one that you want to treat as quickly as you can, as it is more than likely to be causing discomfort and even pain in your pet.

From animal hospitals to regularly scheduled check ups with your veterinarian, there are many components to keeping your pet or pets both happy and healthy. Animal hospitals play an important role and if you fear a medical emergency, you should most certainly frequent one urgently to receive the proper treatment for your pet. But regular check ups are important to, and can even prevent and mitigate visits to animal hospitals that may have otherwise been in your future, though it is true that some medical emergencies in pets can be difficult to prevent, such as in the case of injuries.