Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our recent questionnaire about your pets’ lifestyles and parasite control. We are keen to involve clients in the process of reviewing our current Health Care Plans so we can create meaningful plans the represent true value for money. We received responses from several hundred dog and cat owners across our Wells and Weston practices, and the results were remarkably consistent.

 

The survey has been incredibly helpful in making sure our advice reflects how pets in our local community actually live, rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach. Below is a summary of what we learned.

 

 

From over 400 dog-owning households, it was clear that dogs have very different levels of exposure to worms depending on their lifestyle and home environment. Factors such as living with young children or vulnerable adults, and behaviours like scavenging, eating grass, slugs, snails, or faeces, all significantly affect risk.

 

Based on these factors:

• Around 70% of dogs would benefit from monthly worming

• Around 30% of dogs are suitable for three-monthly or less frequent worming

 

This confirms that not all dogs need the same worming schedule. As a result, we are moving towards more flexible dog health plans that allow parasite control to be tailored to your dog’s real lifestyle. This helps ensure the right level of protection, avoids unnecessary medication, and reduces environmental impact.

 

 

The cat survey showed equally clear differences. Hunting behaviour was common, particularly among cats registered at our Wells practice, while indoor-only cats had much lower exposure. We also found that only a small proportion of cat-owning households include young children or immunocompromised individuals.

 

Some owners were unaware that cats who hunt, or those living in higher-risk households, should be wormed more regularly. For cats that do not hunt and do not live with vulnerable people, most owners were happy with three-monthly worming, with indoor-only cats often needing less frequent treatment.

 

As with dogs, this tells us that cat worming should be based on lifestyle and risk, rather than a blanket recommendation.

 

 

This information is being used as part of our ongoing health plan review. If you are a health plan member, we will contact you separately with any relevant updates — there is nothing you need to do in the meantime.

 

As always, your vet or nurse will be happy to talk through parasite control options tailored to your individual pet at your next visit.

 

Best wishes, the team at Nurture