Is something wrong right now? If your pet is struggling to breathe, has collapsed, is bleeding heavily, cannot pass urine, has a swollen hard abdomen, is having a seizure, has been hit by a car, or has swallowed something you think is poisonous, this is an emergency. Call us before you set off so we can be ready for you, and if we are closed call a 24-hour emergency hospital straight away. Do not wait to see whether it settles. Call 000-000-0000
Flea and tick treatment in Woodside, NY is only one part of what parasite prevention actually needs to cover — fleas and ticks are the visible half, and heartworm and intestinal worms are the half you would never see without a test. All four are prevented differently, on different schedules, and the reason we prescribe rather than sell off a shelf is that the right plan depends on your animal's actual weight, species, other medications and lifestyle, not on which box happens to be at the front of a display.
Prescribing to weight matters because these products work within a genuinely narrow margin. An amount calculated for a 25kg dog does not scale down safely by eye for a 4kg dog, and a product formulated for a dog is not simply a stronger version of the one made for a cat — some are actively dangerous used the wrong way round. We weigh your animal at the visit rather than working from a guess or a figure from six months ago, because a guessed weight is exactly how an off-the-shelf product goes wrong even when the packaging looks right.
Heartworm and intestinal worms are the two problems a coat and a good appetite will never show you, which is why a faecal parasite screen exists as its own service at $45, run in-house with results the same day. A yearly screen, alongside prevention given properly and on schedule, catches an infestation while it is still a laboratory finding rather than a clinical illness. We will tell you plainly what your animal's actual risk looks like — an indoor cat is not exposed the same way as a dog that walks daily near standing water — rather than prescribing the same plan to every animal that comes through the door.
Four problems, one plan, different reasons for each
Fleas, ticks, heartworm and intestinal worms rarely arrive one at a time, and prevention treats them together.
Fleas
Visible, itchy, and capable of establishing an infestation in carpet and soft furnishings faster than most owners expect, since eggs and larvae in the environment outnumber the fleas actually living on your animal at any one time by a wide margin. A single missed month of prevention is often enough for an environment to become properly reinfested even after the animal itself has been treated and appears clear, which is why consistency matters more than any single application.
Ticks
Attach during a walk, a garden visit or contact with another animal, and matter beyond the bite itself because several tick species carry diseases that are considerably harder to treat than the tick itself is to prevent from attaching in the first place. Consistent prevention through the warmer months matters more here than almost anywhere else on this list, since a single gap in cover is often exactly when a bite happens on a walk nobody thought twice about.
Heartworm
Transmitted by mosquito bite rather than by contact with another animal, which means an entirely indoor cat is not fully protected simply by staying inside, since mosquitoes reach indoor spaces more easily than most owners assume. Prevention has to be continuous rather than seasonal across most of the Northeast, because a single missed month can be enough of a gap for transmission to occur, and it is considerably harder to treat than it is to prevent.
Intestinal worms
Roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms, picked up from contaminated soil, from grooming after a flea bite, or from contact with another animal, usually with no visible sign at all until a burden is heavy enough to affect weight, coat or digestion. A faecal screen finds these directly rather than waiting for a symptom to appear, and some are a genuine concern for people in the household too, particularly young children.
Why one plan often covers several of these at once
Several prescribed products cover more than one of the four in a single monthly dose, which is genuinely more convenient and more reliable than four separate products given on four different schedules that are easy to lose track of. We will tell you honestly which combination actually fits your animal's real exposure rather than layering products unnecessarily just because a wider combination happens to exist.
Why prescribing to weight is not a formality
The margin on these products is narrower than a shelf display suggests, in both directions.
The margin is narrower than it looks
These products are effective within a specific weight band, and the difference between the right amount for a 9kg dog and a 14kg dog is not a trivial rounding error the way it might be with a food portion. A product bought for the wrong weight band on the strength of a guess is either under-dosed and genuinely ineffective, or given at a level that was never intended for an animal of that size.
Dog products and cat products are not interchangeable
Some ingredients that are entirely safe and effective in dogs are genuinely dangerous when given to cats, and packaging on a shelf does not always make that distinction obvious at a glance to someone in a hurry. This is one of the clearest reasons parasite prevention is prescribed by a veterinarian rather than simply picked up alongside a bag of food at the till.
We weigh your animal, not estimate it
Every prevention plan starts with an actual number from a scale at the visit itself, not a guess, not a figure remembered from a year ago, and not an assumption based on breed averages your specific animal may not match. A dog that has gained or lost even a few kilos since the last visit needs the plan reassessed against the current number rather than continued on the old one.
Other medication and health conditions change the answer
An animal already on other medication, with a known health condition, or of a breed with a known sensitivity to a particular ingredient may need a genuinely different product entirely rather than the standard first choice given to most animals. We check this at every prescription rather than assuming the previous plan is automatically still right simply because it worked before.
Why we will not simply tell you what to buy over the phone
Recommending a specific product and amount without seeing your animal's current weight and health status is exactly the guesswork we are trying to prevent by prescribing in the first place, and doing it over the phone would defeat that entire point. Bring your animal in, or at minimum give us a current, accurate weight, and we will prescribe properly for that number rather than guess responsibly from a description.
The faecal screen, and what actually shows up in it
A stool sample answers a question a healthy-looking coat cannot.
What the screen actually checks for
A stool sample examined in-house under a microscope for the eggs of intestinal parasites, with results back the same day rather than sent away to an outside laboratory and waited on for a week. It answers a direct question a coat and a good appetite cannot: is there currently a worm burden present in this specific animal, and if so, which kind of parasite is responsible.
Why once a year is the sensible default
Most healthy adult animals on reliable prevention are screened annually, usually alongside a wellness examination so it is one visit rather than two, while puppies, kittens and animals with regular outdoor access or a known history of worms are checked more often than that. We will tell you honestly which category your specific animal actually falls into rather than applying one blanket rule to everyone.
A negative result is still useful information
A clear faecal screen does not mean the prevention plan was unnecessary all along — it means the plan is actually working, which is precisely the outcome you are paying for every month rather than a disappointment. Skipping the screen because nothing currently looks wrong is exactly how a genuinely early infestation goes unnoticed for months before anyone thinks to check.
What we do with a positive result
A confirmed finding gets treated specifically for the parasite actually present, using an approach matched to that parasite rather than a generic response, followed by a repeat screen a few weeks later to confirm it has genuinely cleared rather than assuming the first treatment worked. We will explain exactly what was found and why the follow-up matters, in plain terms rather than shorthand you have to look up yourself afterward.
$45, and what it is not a substitute for
The faecal screen checks specifically for intestinal worms — it does not test for heartworm, which lives in the blood and needs a blood sample to find, or for fleas and ticks, which are found by physical examination rather than a stool sample at all. We will tell you plainly which test actually answers the particular question you came in asking about.
Parasite Prevention in western Queens
Flea and tick treatment, heartworm prevention and worming, prescribed to your animal's actual weight rather than sold off a shelf, from $18 a month, with a $45 faecal screen for what a coat alone cannot show.
It starts the same way whatever you are here for: a full examination with time to talk, what we found explained in plain English, and a written estimate for anything beyond the consultation before it happens. You are entitled to take that estimate away and think about it, and to ask what happens if you do nothing. That last one is a real question and it gets a real answer.
This is general information, not veterinary advice. This page describes a service. It is general information and it is not veterinary advice, a diagnosis or a treatment plan for any particular animal, because no page can examine your pet. If your animal is unwell, injured or behaving unusually, speak to a licensed veterinarian who can actually see it. In an emergency contact your own veterinarian or a 24-hour emergency animal hospital immediately.
Questions
Parasite Prevention — the questions we are asked most
How much is flea and tick treatment in Woodside, NY?
Parasite prevention plans start from $18 a month, prescribed to your animal's actual weight and which parasites the plan needs to cover — fleas and ticks alone cost less than a plan that also covers heartworm and intestinal worms. We confirm the real figure after weighing your animal at the visit, not before, because a guessed weight is exactly the kind of guesswork prescribing to weight exists to avoid.
Why do I need a prescription instead of buying flea and tick treatment at a store?
Because the effective, safe amount depends on your animal's actual current weight, species and health status, and the margin on these products is narrower than store packaging suggests. A dose calculated for the wrong weight band is either too weak to work or given at a level never intended for that animal, and some ingredients safe in dogs are genuinely dangerous given to a cat. Prescribing to a current weight avoids that mistake.
Does my indoor cat really need heartworm prevention?
Yes. Heartworm is transmitted by mosquito bite rather than by contact with another animal, and mosquitoes reach the inside of a home more easily than most owners assume. An entirely indoor cat has a lower risk than an outdoor dog, but lower is not the same as none, and heartworm disease in cats is considerably harder to treat than it is to prevent.
What is a faecal parasite screen, and how often does my pet need one?
It is a stool sample examined in-house under a microscope for intestinal parasite eggs, with results back the same day, and it is $45. Most healthy adults on reliable prevention are screened once a year, usually alongside a wellness examination, while puppies, kittens and animals with regular outdoor access are checked more often. We will tell you which schedule actually fits your animal.
My pet has fleas even though I use a product from the store. Why?
The most common reason is that a store product was not matched to your animal's current weight, or was applied at an interval that left a genuine gap in cover. It is also possible the environment — carpet, bedding, furniture — is still hosting eggs and larvae even after the animal itself has been treated. Bring your animal in and we will assess both possibilities rather than simply repeating the same product.
Can you tell me what product and dose to use so I can buy it myself?
We will not recommend a specific product or amount without weighing your animal and reviewing its current health, because that is exactly the guesswork prescribing to weight is meant to prevent. What we will do is examine your animal, confirm the current weight, and prescribe the right plan for it — after that, we can write you a prescription to fill wherever suits you, at no extra charge.
Do intestinal worms actually put my pet at risk, or is it just unpleasant?
Both, depending on the burden. A light infestation can genuinely produce no visible sign at all, while a heavier one affects weight, digestion and, in a young or small animal, can become serious. Some intestinal worms are also a genuine concern for people in the household, particularly children, which is part of why an annual faecal screen is worth doing even when your animal looks and behaves entirely normally.
What is the difference between the faecal screen and a heartworm test?
The faecal screen checks a stool sample for intestinal worm eggs and cannot detect heartworm, which lives in the blood rather than the gut and needs a blood sample to find. The two are complementary rather than interchangeable, and a wellness examination or an in-house blood panel is where a heartworm check for dogs actually happens. We will tell you which test answers the specific question you have.
Related
Usually booked alongside this
Wellness & Prevention
Pet Care
Everything routine pet care covers in Woodside, NY, from a puppy's first visit through a senior's twice-yearly check-up, with the specific service, the actual interval and the price for each one.
Read more
Wellness & Prevention
Wellness Exams
A full nose-to-tail wellness exam for $75, or an extended senior health check with blood pressure and a senior blood panel for $145 — both including a written plan you actually leave with.
Read more
Wellness & Prevention
Vaccinations
Core vaccines for dogs and cats, the rabies vaccination New York State requires, and an honest answer about titre testing — each priced plainly and given at the interval that actually protects your animal.
Read moreA written estimate before anything is booked
Book an appointment
We hold same-day appointments back on every single day of the week for animals that were well yesterday. Call the practice and describe what you have noticed, and the desk will book you at the right speed rather than the soonest one.