Vet Times

Tag: cat

  • Intuition works

    —

    by

    I recently had a male cat presented that was “just a bit quiet” – it wasn’t moving much and, uncharacteristically, had not eaten breakfast that morning. The owner had barely removed our feline friend from the carrier when I thought: “This guy’s got a blocked bladder.” Abdominal palpation confirmed my intuitive diagnosis. I’ve been thinking about…

  • Early neutering: what are the arguments?

    —

    by

    Working in education we need to spend time in practice ensuring we are clinically competent, so this week I’m back at one of my favourite charity hospitals. Walking into one of the cat wards, the enormity of the non-neutering of young cats hit home: six kennels full of young mums with at least three kittens…

  • Use of Convenia for treatment of cat bite abscesses

    —

    by

    OK, a potentially controversial one this… There is a lot of evidence highlighting resistance to antibiotic therapy both in the human and veterinary fields. My understanding is that this is, in part, due to poor compliance. I’ve certainly come across clients who have difficulty giving tablets to their cat, and have also seen cases that “appear” to…

  • Twenty years too late?

    —

    by

    I recently paused to think about what I was doing (which is always fatal) and realised I was drowning in paper. I was looking after seven in-patients, all in various stages of recovery. Each patient had a set of computer records where the narrative of their stay and invoicing were kept, while the hour-by-hour notes…

  • How far is too far?

    —

    by

    In my interview for Glasgow vet school, I was asked the question “how far is too far?”, and recent episodes of The Supervet on TV had me musing on the topic again, particularly as I had used The Bionic Vet as an example in my answer. At the time I discussed kidney transplants in cats…

  • Delaying investigations can sometimes be beneficial

    —

    by

    I was called out around 11pm recently to a case of acute onset dyspnoea in a seven-year-old Siamese cat (yes, we do our own out-of-hours work – how weird is that?) Even with my ageing ears, I felt I could hear a crackling over the lung fields and a cardiac arrhythmia. Its mucous membrane colour was a poor grey…

  • Consider low vitamin B12 levels in cats with suspected IBD

    —

    by

    Cats with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may have concurrent low vitamin B12 levels (Tams, 2014). A case recently presented with a history of chronic intermittent vomiting, inappetence and mild weight loss. Routine biochemistry, haematology, fPL (feline pancreas-specific lipase) and faecal analysis did not reveal any abnormalities, but having recently acquired the cat, the owners were…

  • Could I have a pet at university?

    —

    by

    I’ve always had cats at home, and they often played the role of revision buddy/lap warmer. That was one of the things I missed most when I first went to university. Pets aren’t allowed in student halls, but now that I live in a flat with other vet students, pet ownership becomes a possibility (landlord permitting).…

  • PCV and blood transfusions

    —

    by

    There are no specific packed cell volume guidelines as to when to transfuse an animal with red blood cell containing products. The decision to transfuse is based on the clinical condition of the patient and the chronicity of the anaemia. For example, a cat with chronic non-regenerative anaemia due to bone marrow disease may be…

  • Self-indulgent post

    Self-indulgent post

    —

    by

    There are lots of things going on in the world of veterinary nursing at the moment: VN council elections have just taken place – congratulations to Hilary Orpet and Amber Richards The RCVS has announced the end of its Awarding Body role for the Level 3 Diploma The final OSCEs for them will take place in summer 2015 Due to this, the…