31/12/2007 by Arielle.

While we are all celebrating Christmas and the new year with all our family and friends, it can also be a very lonely time. I worked on Saturday and the very first client that I saw really touched me. He was an elderly man who brought in his extremely well cat for me to look at.

He had made the appointment as she had not been to the toilet for 3 days and was normally quite regular; but a few hours before the appointment, she produced a large healthy mound in her litter tray.

At first I was puzzled as to why he had brought her in as she was incredibly healthy on inspection, but then I realised. As I spoke to him about his 3 other cats; he proceeded to tell me about his wife’s death last year and then about his ailments. He was incredibly lonely and a vet is an ideal person to talk to when you are elderly and lonely and everyone else seems to have someone!

A happy 2008 to you all!

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24/12/2007 by Arielle.

There are a number of christmas dangers to be aware of with your pets. These are ones that I have seen:
1). An owner had left a huge 2kg chocolate slab all neatly wrapped under the tree. Remember how good a dog’s sense of smell is. Her Spaniel ate the entire contents of the present and spent christmas in the hospital. Cocoa powder or very dark chocolate contain a substance called theobromine that can cause a heart attack in dogs. Milk chocolate just gives them a nasty stomach ache due to the over-indulgence of sugar and fat.
2). The thin tinsel strands that look so pretty on a tree can be lethal. I had a kitten once that had chewed one and they can cause the gut loops to twist and can be very dangerous.
3). Poinsettia flowers as shown above are very decorative at Christmas but can cause mouth irritation and mild vomiting if eaten by your cat.
Other than that, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!

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15/12/2007 by Arielle.

I went for my usual jog this morning with Slick our excited Labrador. It is the highlight of her day. We run around the open park outside our house.This the first morning where I have had to put on a scarf, hat and gloves as it is so frosty. I do love the frost though as it means no muddy paws in the house (only dog owners will understand this). I then had a full day at work and saw 3 cats today with a bladder infection or cystitis. One had previously suffered with this very painful condition; but 2 of them had never suffered before and usually went outdoors to toilet instead of using litter trays. I explained to their owners that their cats were probably very reluctant to scratch the frozen ground and were holding their urine in. Bacteria thrive in a warm environment and this could have been the cause of their bladder infection. Snow also seems to cause an increase in cystitis in cats. It is easily treated with antibiotics, some pain relief and I recommend feeding their cats wet food for a few days instead of dry.

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09/12/2007 by Arielle.

My husband is also a vet and had a very strange call a few nights ago. One of the trained sniffer dogs up in Scotland (we live in England but my husband is in charge of all the working sniffer dogs); had eaten some of the explosive that she was supposed to just sniff out!

The call was from the concerned local vet in Scotland. She was alone at the practice and had obviously never dealt with such a condition before. My husband quickly contacted the poisons bureau who advised that the side effects would be seizuring and the dog (a Pointer) was to be kept sedated overnight.

The practice owner phoned back at about 11.30pm as he had just heard about the case and was very concerned that with the stomach juices and the explosive material, the dog may blow up! My husband reassured him that this would not happen and the Pointer is on her way to a full recovery after her explosive meal a few days ago.

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04/12/2007 by Arielle.

I just felt so sorry for Inca when she stepped out of her basket today (or rather skulked out as Siamese cats do). Inca has suffered with an allergic skin all her life and is on a permanent dose of steroids to stop her from licking and scratching herself raw.  

She returned a few days later to find that Inca’s skin which is normally kept under control with the steroids, had erupted and she really looked terribly moth-eaten and so sorry for herself. The owner at least now knew what she was severely allergic to and she was determined that not another prawn would pass Inca’s fangs.

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