Did you know that on average cats and dogs are now living longer than ever before? This is of course great news but, just like us, their body organs may begin to function less efficiently as they grow older.
With advancing years, our pets may develop a wide range of problems including obesity, dental disease, arthritis, impaired vision, loss of hearing, and disorders of internal organs such as the thyroid gland, heart, liver, kidneys and bladder. Ageing changes can also affect the brain, resulting in the loss of normal behaviour patterns and/or mental confusion.
However, with regular veterinary check-ups, problems can often be detected at a much earlier stage, allowing treatment to be started sooner and hopefully ensuring your pet stays in the best of health.
A check-up involves a full physical examination of your pet. Additionally, blood and urine tests may be required to assess the health of internal organs such as the liver and kidneys. Further diagnostic tests, such as x-rays, may also be required to examine your pet's chest and/or, abdomen.
Happily, having identified any problems, a tailored diet and exercise programme, together with medication and other treatments if required, can make a real improvement to the quality of life for many pets.
If you feel your pet is slowing down a bit in his or her latter years,
it is probably time for a check-up! Please contact us for information
on any aspect of caring for your older pet.
Kennel cough is a highly contagious disease in dogs causing a harsh dry hacking cough. It is spread from dog to dog wherever they congregate (not just in kennels!). The cough may last for several weeks and antibiotic treatment is frequently required.
The disease is caused by a combination of viruses and a bacterium: Bordetella bronchiseptica. The routine annual booster offers protection against many of the viruses, but only intranasal vaccines offer protection against Bordetella. Contact us now for an appointment, or advice on the prevention of Kennel Cough.
Rabbits make lovely pets and, just as with cats and dogs, your rabbit needs to visit us from time to time for routine health checks and vaccinations.
Vaccination
We can currently vaccinate against two life-threatening viral diseases
of rabbits -Myxomatosis, and Viral Haemorrhagic Disease.
Myxomatosis is a very distressing disease spread by rabbit fleas and mosquitoes. Affected rabbits typic-ally suffer from swollen eyes, rapidly leading to blindness and death in the majority of cases.
Viral Haemorrhagic Disease (or VHD) was first reported in the UK in 1992. It is spread either by direct contact with infected rabbits or by the virus being inadvertently transported by people on their hands, clothing and other objects or by birds. Affected rabbits are usually very ill and sadly most will die.
Neutering
There are many benefits to having your rabbit neutered, the most obvious
being the prevention of unwanted pregnancy. Neutered rabbits also tend
to be calmer and more loving, are less prone to destructive or aggressive
behaviour and can usually be kept together in groups. Finally, neutering
eliminates the possibility of cancer of the repro-ductive organs, which
is a fairly common problem in middle-aged un-neutered females.
Feeding
Their ideal diet includes plenty of good quality hay, together with
a selection of fresh food and a small amount of commercial rabbit food.
This type of diet increases the wear on teeth (reducing the incidence
of dental disease), reduces the chance of obesity and keeps them occupied
for several hours each day!
In addition to traditional loose mixes, commercial rabbit foods are now also available as extruded pellets and this helps to avoid the problem of rabbits selectively feeding - leaving the vitamins and minerals uneaten.
If you would like further advice on vaccination, neutering, feeding or
any other aspect of rabbit care, please don't hesitate to ask!
One of the great benefits of regular grooming is that you can keep a watchful eye for lumps and bumps.
If your pet develops a lump, there may be several possible underlying causes. These include allergic reactions, abscesses, hernias, and tumours. The most serious of these are tumours, which are either benign - tending to be slow growing and to remain in one place, or malignant - which invade the surrounding tissues and may also spread to other parts of the body.
If you find a lump on your pet it is therefore very important that we
examine it in order to determine the underlying cause, allowing any required
treatment to be started as soon as possible. Please contact us if you
are concerned.
When looking at worms in dogs and cats, there are two major types of worm to consider: -
Tapeworms live in the small intestines and shed segments containing eggs, which pass out in the faeces. The eggs may then be eaten by an intermediate host, including small rodents and fleas. Cats catch and eat small rodents and both cats and dogs swallow fleas as they groom, reinfecting themselves with tapeworms.
Roundworms also live in the small intestines and shed thousands of tiny eggs, which pass out in the faeces and pollute the environment. Dogs and cats are re-infected by unwittingly eating eggs in the environment. These eggs also pose some risk to children if inadvertently swallowed.
Treatment and Prevention
Keeping your pet and the environment worm free involves three steps:
worm your pet regularly, use regular flea control and clean up faeces.
Remember - just because you don't see any worms doesn't mean your pet is worm free!
Please ask us to advise you on the most suitable worming and flea control regime for your pet.