Professional Veterinary Dental Treatments are a lot different from the  ”teeth cleaning” or ”dental scaling” provided by groomers, kennels and other lay animal care givers without the benefit of general anesthesia.

Of course, The professional dental cleaning done by veterinarians is done under anesthesia so that the surfaces of the teeth under the gums, where painful periodontal disease starts, can be thoroughly cleaned then polished . Since pets are anesthetized for the deep cleaning process, your vet takes advantage by doing everything possible to restore oral health.  Your veterinarian can further evaluate underlying bone structure with radiographs, instill periodontal antibiotics around infected, but salvageable, teeth and perform extractions or oral surgery if needed.  It’s like you going to your dental hygienist, dentist, oral surgeon, and periodontist all at once– without voluntary cooperation! (Think how much that would cost if you did it all on one day!)

The best that can be done in an awake pet is a superficial scaling, removing the large chunks of calcified plaque (“claculus”).  The best behaved pets will tolerate a little more involved cleaning before tiring of the process. There is certainly  a benefit to this process, whether done by your groomer or veterinary assistant.  Removing the larger accumulations of calculus provides less area for bacteria to collect and certainly reduces the amount of smelly bacteria in a pet’s mouth.  This procedure may even extend the time between when professional veterinary dental treatments are needed.

But don’t get lulled into a false sense of security, just because you don’t see a lot of staining and plaque on the teeth.  If the gums are red or have lost their fine “knife edge” margin because of swelling, a professional cleaning should still be done.  Often, pet owners are amazed to discover that their pet has loose teeth (from periodontal disease) when there is no visible plaque on the teeth and gums actually look relatively healthy!  Certainly, any indication of loose teeth with or without gum disease warrants a thorough evaluation and treatment via a professional veteirnary dental treatment!

• Have your family vet evaluate your pet’s teeth every 6 month (with the rest of his comprehensive physical).
• Brush your pet’s teeth daily.   How to Brush Your Dog’s Teeth   How To Brush Your Cat’s Teeth
• Ask your vet whether she will perform a superficial scaling if a professional treatment is not yet necessary.
• Have a professional cleaning done upon recommendation by your veterinarian.  For some pets, that may be only every few years, other pets may need professional help once a year.  Your vet will you give you the best advice to balance all the pros and cons of a professional treatment.

Start ‘em young!

But, we at Cimarron Animal Hospital are not just Veterinarians, Technicians and Assistants.  In today’s world of fragmented health care, we are your Whole Family Health Care Team.   When we care for your pets, we also care for you and your family.  We realize that, while some families are able to revolve around their pets, most families are strung out in all different directions.  Kids have elaborate school and activity schedules.  Pet Parents have complicated work or vacation schedules.  Some pet parents are completely new to pet ownership.  Some are old hands interested in new medical care techniques.  Some pet parents are elderly, with physical and memory challenges, but they need their pets more than anyone.  No matter how quiet or chaotic our lives, we  all rely on the solid constancy and unconditional love of our pets, every day.
  All of a family’s lifestyle facets and challenges have to be considered when caring for a pet– whether it’s basic care or more intensive medical management.  Sometimes, our staff members also act as family counselors, life coaches, hospice care consultants, bereavement counselors, shoulders to cry on or home delivery helpers– whatever it takes to help you and your family take care of the pets that are the glue in our lives.
  Every human who walks through our doors has issues and concerns about his pet, her family, their jobs.  It all filters down to us.  It’s all important to us if it affects your pet.  Every human we see is as much a part of our family as every one of their pets.  That’s why Pets, AND their People are Our Passion at Cimarron.
  Whatever you need, no matter how small, how silly-seeming, how complicated or challenging, just ask!   We are here for you, your pets, your whole family.

Discounts, Free Exams and nail trims, Optimal Health Care all in easy Monthly Payment installments! 

We are bonded more with our pets than ever before.  In today’s high stress world, many of us prefer a relaxing moment on the computer with a cup of tea at hand and a warm cat in our lap than the swirling hubbub of a party full of people. We want our furry companions to be healthy forever, but this high tech world has raised the cost of veteirnary care, along with everything else.

We, at Cimarron Animal Hospital, are dedicated to providing optimal wellness care to pets who are people, too.  So, we’ve been working to create a way for clients to be able to afford the kind of care that they want for their pet companions….  Wellness packages that cover optimal wellness care paid for in more comfortable monthly payments!

We have packages for young adults, middle-aged adults  and senior dogs and cats.  Cat packages are further broken up into inside only or outdoor lifestyles.  Each package is custom designed for the lifestage and species of pet.  Owners pay 25% down on the package and the rest in 11 monthly payments via credit card.

Our Pet Friends Forever (PFF) Wellness Packages Include:

Optimal Wellness Care:   2 Wellness Visits, Necessary vaccinations (based on lifestyle risk assessment), Wellness blood and fecal screen (age appropriate), Professional Dental Treatment, Blood pressure monitoring, arthritis screen radiographs or cardiac screen radiographs if needed.

                                              3 FREE Visits during the year for Anything

                                             2 FREE Nail Trims

    Discounts                  Substantial Discount on Dental Cleanings

                                             3% Discount on any payments made in cash

                                            10% discount on everything else if the package is paid in full, up front!

Peace of Mind   With the 3 Free Visits, you don’t have to hesitate and second guess yourself about whether it’ll be worth the money to come in– it’s FREE– just come in!  After all, a real, live vet, actually touching your pet,  who knows your pet personally is going to be able to give you better information about your pet, in your home, with your lifestyle, than Dr. Google!  And, if they are both free, why not do the best?

Special Care can be rolled in:  Pets with medical conditions requiring additional monitoring, chronic medications and special treatments can have that additional care rolled into the package as well, spreading ALL those costs out over monthly payments instead of bigger lumps at a time during the year!

Better than Big Box Vet’s Wellness Packages:  If your pet passes away or you decide to go elsewhere, you only have to cover the charges of the services rendered up to that time.  You do not have to continue paying all year (unless you still owe for services and want to continue monthly payments as opposed to a lump sum payment) if your pet dies or you move- as you would with the Big Box Vets.  We won’t trap you into paying for anything that we haven’t provided!  Furthermore, we have the flexibility to customize packages for our Arizona pets and pets with special needs.  Pets are individuals and should not all be treated the same!

For details on pricing, please call our office at  520 886-1125

Cats are usually difficult when it comes to taking medicine, leaving owners throwing their hands up in frustration and cats leery of coming out of hiding. Here are some alternatives to forcing a pill down Fluffy’s throat.

You can try Pill Pockets that are specially made for cats. It is basically a cat treat shaped like a pocket where you place the pill in order to disguise it from Fluffy. This will work with some cats and others will simply eat the treat and spit out a half dissolved pill. What can we say, a cat knows what it likes and will not be tricked…….or do we have more tricks up our sleeves?

For cats with impeccable taste, you can go to a local compounding pharmacy where the pills can be turned into a chicken or tuna flavored liquid that can be mixed into Fluffy’s food……yes, as easy as eating cake! For those do-it-yourself people, you can crush the pill and mix it in Fluffy’s tuna for the same affect—as long as tuna (or beef broth) is OK with Fluffy’s Doctor, of course!  Learn more from Prescription Lab Compounding Pharmacy

Last but not least, some medications can be given transdermally, (rubbed into the skin). Fluffy can get his/her medicine while receiving love from you, how awesome is that?! It is true; a spoonful of love helps the medicine go down!

For more tips and tricks on medicating cats, contact  us @ 520-886-1125

Pets that stay at home or only go on leash walks without a lot of contact with other animals may only need some vaccines every 3 years, according to new recommendations made by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

The veterinarian who knows your pet, your family and  lifestyle is the best person to make recommendations regarding the vaccines that are best for your pets.  If you take your pets to a discount vaccination clinic, you will not get advice about which vaccines are uniquely suited for your pet since all animals are treated the same at most vaccination clinics.  They will not recommend 3 year vaccines for pets (that would cut into their profits).  They will not recommend specialized vaccines based on your pets lifestyle (like rattlesnake vaccine for hunting dogs or periodontal vaccine for dogs prone to dental disease) because they do not take the time to perform a Life Risk Assessment or a complete physical exam.  They may even insist that your pet have non-core vaccines that he/ she doesn’t need because that’s what corporate says they have to do. 

The best place for vaccinations for your pet is still with your family veterinarian.  Sure, you may have to pay $ 40- $50 for an exam with the vaccines, but you may not have to pay for vaccines that your pet doesn’t need.  Meanwhile, for your investment,  your pet will be getting the physical exam, individualized health recommendations, and better health care that are the Really Important things!

Tips:

• Put the kitty in YOUR space– up on a table/ counter/ washing machine
• Have a second person help keep kitty in one place if you are inexperienced
• Practice gently pinching the toe tips, pulling the covering sheath of skin up the leg away from nail tip to “uncover” the nail
• Regardless of type of trimmer you use, trim off only the “hook” of the nail, avoiding the pink quick in the nail– that’s where the blood vessel and nerve live.

Arm yourself with the right equipment: 

Our BASIC CARE PACKAGE provides services comparable to Discount Clinics, but with SOME EXTRA BENEFITS:

• Your pet is at a full service hospital.  In case anything goes wrong during surgery, we can deal with it!
• You will have full support of our staff, available by phone day or night, should you have questions or concerns after surgery!  Even our after hours calls are taken by veteirnary emergency trained staff! (Not just an answering machine– or go to the emergency room as at discount clinics)
• Pets will receive 3-4 Pain injections (not just one)  during their stay and have the option to take home pain medications after surgery.  (Would you want an ovariohysterectomy
  

  Local Discount clinic surgery

  or castration without pain control at home?!?) 
•  Surgeries are performed in a sterile surgical suite- our Doctor is fully dressed in sterile surgical attire- discount or not! 
• Patients will be attended by a dedicated Certified Veterinary Technician from anesthetic induction to recovery.

For Pet Parents wanting optimal anesthetic safety for their pets, we still  offer the ULTIMATE PATIENT CARE PACKAGE which includes all of the above PLUS:

• Pre-Anesthetic Bloodwork- ensures there is no hidden infection or organ compromise that will affect anesthetic/ surgical safety, and allows the
  

  Surgery at Cimarron

  Doctor to make individual adjustments in your pet’s drug plan.
• Intravenous catheter and fluids- provide immediate venous access for emergency in case they are needed. The fluids help to maintain healthy organ function throughout and after surgery. They also help organs metabolize sedatives and anesthetic medications faster, returning your pet to “normal” behaviors sooner.
• Advanced Electronic Anesthetic Monitoring- Using EKG, Pulse oximeter, Blood pressure monitor, Respiratory monitor and Core Termperature we can customize a patient’s anesthesic level based on subtle
  changes, minimizing the amount of anesthetic needed. These monitors also allow us to detect problems before they become anesthetic crises.
•  Proactive Pain Medication- Pets receive both a pain/ sedative injection and an anti-inflammatory injection before surgery, a pain injection during surgery, and another if they need it after surgery. They also receive pain medication to go home. We also offer a post op Cold Laser therapy treatment to minimize swelling and desensitize nerves in the area of surgery. 

 We believe that pets deserve the safest surgical options.  They should not just survive surgery, but survive it Well– with a minimum of physiologic stress and pain. 

But, we also understand that many of our clients have financial constraints. 

** We would rather pets were neutered and spayed, rather than not, just because of monetary issues.  Also, we would rather have our patients’ surgeries done in a sterile surgical suite, with skilled anesthesia nurses in constant attendance, proactive pain management, and after care support should they need it! 

Contact Us today for an $Estimate!

• 6 Mo Wellness Exams-  $10 off      Since pets age faster than people, it is generally recognized that they should, ideally, have a physical examination every 6 months.  These more frequent visits give your vet a chance to identify changes early, so you can make changes or take action to correct a problem before it becomes a health- threatening crisis.  We know that more frequent visits can get expensive, so we give our frequent visitors a little break.
•  Sick Exams $10 off   if we have seen your pet in the last 6 months    If your pet comes in for regular 6 mo Wellness Exams, even his sick exams are $10 off!
• Pre-Surgical Exams FREE   if we have examined your pet within the last month We perform a physical exam before every anesthetic procedure—no matter what.  But, we don’t charge you again if your pet has been seen within the last 1 month
• Adult booster vaccination exams $10 off   if we have seen your pet within the last 6 months!    We perform an examination with every vaccination that we administer (see our reasoning).  But, we give you a  discount if we have to give a  booster to your adult pet within 4 weeks of his initial vaccination!
•  PFF Annual Wellness Plan:   Optimal Wellness Protection for the year: get 3 exams (~ $150.00 value!)  within the year FREE, 2 Free Nail Trims, Discounts on Dental Cleaning, and more!   Our Pet Friends Forever Annual Wellness Plan let’s you pay ahead or in monthly installments over the course of the year for your pet’s anticipated Wellness needs.  If you choose to enroll your pet in the PFF Annual Wellness Plan, you can bring him in up to 3 times in the year for FREE!
• Website Review Us for $5.00 off any Exam up to 2 reviews/ month!   Our client’s feedback helps us grow and allows us to provide better medicine.  Bring in a printout of your positive website review to receive your credit– up to $10.00 every month!   Thanks for the time you take to tell your friends about us!  Go to yelp.com , our Facebook page , google.com maps

We appreciate our clients for coming to us!  We appreciate that our clients want to do the best for their pets!  Let us give you something back for your commitment to your pet’s wellness!

CIMARRON ANNOUNCES NEW FELINE FRIENDLY INITIATIVE!

    Studies say #1 reason cats don’t come to the vet:   it’s stressful to them and their people!  Boy Howdy!  Ever noticed how fast a cat can run under a bed when you get the carrier out of the garage?  Then, if you can reach them, they have to be dragged out and stuffed into the carrier.  Straight out of the cartoon when the cat spreads his legs across the doorway…  Then, if you’ve been able to successfully stuff scratching, hissing kitty into the carrier, you have to endure the excruciating, guilt building yowling all the way to the vet.  Then, there are the dogs and other cats in the waiting room– not friends!  Then the veterinary nurse drags you out of the only safe haven you have (hey!  how’d this dread carrier suddenly become the best thing around?) to stuff a thermometer up your tookus (that’s cat French).  The room smells like all the other scared animals. The steel table, no place to hide cuz they keep dragging you around.  Poking , prodding, stabbing.  Thank goodness, the carrier door is open! Kitty can slither into it faster at the vet’s office than anywhere! The hideous yowling all the way back home.  Once kitty is home, his cat-mates hate him all over again because he smells funny, so he hides under the bed for the next 12 hours.

Studies also say that when we emotionally bond with our cats, it’s more intensely than with out dogs!  (Swear, I didn’t make it up!)  It’s no wonder we dread the trip to the vet with our precious, beloved pussy cats so much that we just don’t do it and hope OUR cat doesn’t get sick.

Cimarron’s New Kitty Sensitive Solutions:

   * Tips for Travel Training cats and kittens  check it out!

   * Medications to help the travel anxiety– ask for a dose when you schedule your appointment. Pick it up ahead and administer an hour before the trip

   * Happy Kitty Pheromone diffusers in the cat room to help reduce anxiety.  Also on sale so you can pre-treat that carrier!

   * Move directly into your exam room to avoid other animals and give kitty a chance to come out of carrier and explore a little before all of the necessary evils.

   * Fleece lined exam tables.

   * More onwer comfort care allowed.

     #2 Reason to not bringing cats to the vet:  She’s never sick.

 Cats are largely indoor pets, so people figure thaey don’t need vaccinations, adn simce cats are so good at hiding signs of illness, it’s easy to tnik that a cat is “fine”– unitl she’s in medical crisis.  so, why put us all through all that stress and expense?  Did you know that indoor cats are actually more prone to dental disease, obesity, diabetes mellitus, pancreatitis, osteoarthritis, urinary tract disorders and behavioral conditions than outdoor cats?

The best news is that medical advances in feline medicine in the past 5-7 years have given us treatments for these diseases in cats!  Many of the treatments are simple food additives.  Even treating diabetes is no longer the horror that it used to be!  Newer feline pain medications keep you cat spry and active!  A little treatment can give you back the playful, spunky kitten you once knew!

 Cats should be seen once to twice yearly by their veterinarian, just like dogs,  even if they are indoors only. Veterinary Wellness exams and wellness testing can detect disease conditions early.  And early intervention is the key to a longer,  more comfortable life with fewer expensive, emotionally racking crises along the way!

   We are here to do whatever we can to help you take the terror (for both you and your family felid) out of Kitty’s trip to the Vet!                                                

•    Watch our Events bulletins on Facebook for Cat appreciation month coming soon!  We’ll be offer price cuts on Kitty services to      help with reason #2:  owner’s financial trepidation! 
•    Join our Facebook discussion:  Why don’t you bring your cat to the Vet?  (Like us on FB to win a Free Exam!)

Over 70% of “Well Vaccination Visits” turn up some kind of disease condition.  Not all of these conditions preclude vaccinations, but some certainly do.  If a pet has a fever, for instance, vaccines could be rendered inactive– no benefit to the patient and a waste of money. And, vaccinating a pet whose immune system is already burdened fighting another disease could compromise that pet’s ability to heal.

It’s also the law.  A veterinarian must have a valid veterinary-client-patient relationship in order to administer medication, including vaccines. We believe that means a full physical examination of the patient and health consultation with the owner.

Vaccinations are potent immune stimulants that can cause serious side effects such as immune mediated disease and anaphylactic shock.  Your veterinarian can treat your pet better, faster, already knowing your pet’s health status.  Pets vaccinated at  Discount Clinics receive no support from the Clinic if they develop a problem after the vaccine is given. These pets in post-vaccine distress have to go to an emergency clinic for treatment, be evaluated by a new veterianrian, then be treated at Emergency clinic prices! 

 At Cimarron Animal Hospital, we provide not only a Complete Physical Exam, but also a Nutritional consultation, a Behavior consultation and a  Risk Assessment to determine what vaccines and other preventive products or services would be beneficial to your pet, given his specific lifestye.  Not every pet needs every vaccine every year! Your veterianrian can advise you on what’s the best for your pet, latest medical  advances and the diseases prevalent in your area.  Discount clinics and Big Box Veterinary clinics are notorious for giving every patient the same thing– that’s what’s in the package– whether they need it or not.  (Giardia vaccines are not improtant to most pets living in the desert southwest as Giardia is not very prevalent here.  Cats living in most family households do not need Bordetella vaccinations.  Many cats don’t need vaccines every year. Getting unnecessary vaccinations overwhelms the immune system and can be very dangerous!)  Our veterinary staff devises an Individualized Medical Care Plan to maximize you pet’s Wellness. 

 Your pet is unique to us, not “just an animal” like any other!

Your pet’s Wellnessis really what vaccination exams are about, after all.  Everyone realizes that we give vaccines to keep our pets healthy.  But vaccines are only a small part of what keeps pets healthy.  For example, Periodontal disease which is painful, leads to tooth loss, and frequently causes liver, heart and renal disease, occurs in 80% of pets over age 3.  Yet, many pet owners don’t recognize that good dental care and professional cleanings will extend their pets’ lives and quality of life!  Your veterinarian’s Physical Eam findings and advice are at least as important, if not more improtant, than vaccinations when it comes to your pet’s well-being and longevity.

Cimarron Animal Hospital is a full service Veterinay facility comitted to providing optimal medical and wellness care to its patients.  We believe that it is medically irresponsible to administer vaccinations or medications without knowing that our patients are healthy first.