Approximately 46,300,000 households in the United States own dogs, and 38,900,000 households own cats. Every pet should make frequent trips to a vet for routine checkups, but sometimes, veterinary surgical procedures must be performed to keep your pet in good health. If your pet is scheduled to undergo a minor veterinary surgery, rest assured — they’re in good hands. Here’s a look at one of the most common minor veterinary surgical procedures vets perform.

Tooth extraction is listed as the top surgical procedure performed on cats according to Veterinary Pet Insurance. It’s also the third most common procedure for dogs. The average cost of a dental tooth extraction procedure is just under $1,000. It’s important to understand that keeping your pet’s mouth in good dental health is one of the best ways to prevent the need for an emergency veterinarian.

As your pet ages, they are likely to develop periodontal disease as an adult. This causes breakdown of gum tissue that can lead to bacteria escaping into the bloodstream and potentially causing an infection. If your pet’s immune system isn’t strong enough to kill the microbes, it’s likely to lead to a heart infection.

Another little-known fact about cats is that they can be seriously harmed from prolonged cigarette smoke exposure. If your cat lives with someone who smokes cigarettes indoors, the noxious smoke and all its chemical components can actually seep into the cat’s fur. Then, when they groom themselves, which is generally several times a day, the toxins will get into the cat’s mouth and cause some serious issues.

Regardless of the environments in which your pets live, it’s important for them to maintain a healthy diet. Doctors recommend a diet of mostly raw foods that trace back to the animal’s roots. For example, it’s recommended that cats should not eat seafood since ancestors of today’s house cats did not hunt from the sea. Even though most cats enjoy seafood, there are other alternatives your cat will enjoy as well. Remember to look at the ingredients and try to limit the preservatives in your cat’s food.

Overall, keeping your pets healthy is a proactive effort. Taking small steps to reduce health risks, and taking advantage of veterinary services are the best ways for your pet to live a happy and healthy life.

Obviously, pets can’t talk. Things would be a lot easier if they could. If they could, they’d be able to tell us whether they were hungry, wanted to play, or needed to go out. They’d also be able to tell us if they weren’t feeling well.

Unfortunately though, they can’t, and so it’s up to pet owners to decide whether they should take their furry friends to the veterinarian if they think they’re unwell. There are luckily a few signs you can watch out for to see if your pet needs to go to an advanced veterinary care center or not.

If your cat is being unusually vocal…

If your cat is being unusually vocal, you may need to take it to the veterinary hospital to get looked