Advanced Veterinary Care’s
Optimal Best Care Guidelines for Cats
In compliance with current AAHA Standards
(American Animal Hospital Association)
Frequency of Visits:
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Every cat should have an annual wellness examination, with semi-annual examinations
for senior and geriatric patients, and those with chronic diseases.
Examinations are recommended for any illness, or whenever growths are discovered.
Emergency examinations whenever necessary.
Diagnostic Plan:
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All cats should have initial heartworm, feline AIDs and leukemia testing, and take monthly
heartworm preventative.
Outdoor cats should have an annual intestinal (fecal) parasite test.
Annual blood work is recommended for all senior and geriatric cats.
Semi-annual blood work is recommended for patients on chronic medication or those
with chronic illnesses.
Every cat should have growths evaluated when discovered, and excised if necessary.
Every cat should have a dental cleaning or oral surgery to treat dental disease.
Prevention Plan:
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All cats should be on year round heartworm preventative. Even indoor cats.
Outdoor cats should be on monthly flea and tick preventive year round.
Every cat should be current on recommended vaccines, including:
 Rabies: Annually for all cats, even indoor only cats: it’s a CT State law!
 FVRCP (Distemper): Every three years for indoor cats and annually for outdoor cats.
 Leukemia: All Kittens through 1-yr of age and then annually for outdoor cats.
All cats should have annual preventive blood work.
Some cats should be screened for breed-related conditions or diseases. Your doctor or
technician will inform you if this applies to your pet.
We recommend a high-protein, low-carbohydrate, grain-free canned diet to optimize
nutrition and prevent obesity. Ask us for a list of recommended foods and amounts.
Encourage water consumption by feeding canned diets, providing several water dishes
that are refreshed daily, or by providing a free-flowing water fountain. For geriatric cats,
add 1 tablespoon of water to their canned diet at every meal.
Every cat should have its teeth brushed daily to prevent dental disease.
Every cat should be spayed or neutered at six months.
Strive for 30 minutes of exercise daily: fetch, laser tag, etc.
Provide scratching posts, climbing posts, high platforms to rest on, and areas for privacy.
Semi-weekly grooming: brush or comb the coat of medium and longhaired cats.
Administer hairball preparation semi-weekly to at-risk cats.
Provide one litter box per cat and remove waste daily. Clean the box and replace the
litter weekly. In multi-cat households, provide 1 litter box per cat plus one additional.
For example: in a 2-cat household, provide two litter boxes plus one additional for a total
of three litter boxes.