Vet Times

Tag: Cats

  • No harm infection control

    No harm infection control

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    Like most RVNs, I like a good clean. This is never at home though, obviously – it’s all about a sparkling work place. I love to smell disinfectant and have everything shiny – especially a ward. Once all the patients are medicated and calm, curled up sleeping, it’s not unusual to find me quietly ensuring…

  • The beginning of the end of vet school

    The beginning of the end of vet school

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    As regular readers of this blog may have noticed, I was a little apprehensive about starting my final year at veterinary school… Having already been in the small animal hospital for two days, we finally received our results – confirming I and many of my fellow classmates had passed our exams and could now wear…

  • RVN debate: nurse or not?

    RVN debate: nurse or not?

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    As Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month draws to a close, I wonder where we are when it comes to informing the public about RVNs – our level of training, our expertise, our standing within the profession, or that we even exist at all. I realise we are a drop in the ocean in terms of numbers…

  • Don’t you even care?

    Don’t you even care?

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    “I’m telling you, I haven’t got the money! Are you going to leave her like this? She’s in pain! Don’t you even care?” If you haven’t heard this sentence already then don’t worry – you will. The problem with trying to make money out of pain and suffering is… well, frequently, you’re dealing with suffering…

  • Clients’ perception of pain in their pets

    Clients’ perception of pain in their pets

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    I’ve been hearing a classic client phrase a little too much recently. I realise it can be difficult for some people to get – that animals feel physical pain just like we do – but when the evidence is staring you straight in the face (or even trying to bite your hand), why can people…

  • RCVS council election manifesto: Melissa Donald

    RCVS council election manifesto: Melissa Donald

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    MELISSA DONALD BVMS, MRCVS Otters View, Purclewan Mill, Dalrymple, East Ayrshire KA6 6AN. T 01292 560083 M 07921 384852 E melissadonald88@gmail.com PROPOSERS: Alison Lambert, Freda Scott-Park I started as a food animal intern at Iowa State University, having graduated from Glasgow (1987). After two children, my first full-time position was in a traditional mixed two-person…

  • To scruff or not to scruff – do we handle cats well?

    To scruff or not to scruff – do we handle cats well?

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    How well we know our patients helps us handle them with the minimum amount of stress – but a few recent incidents have had me thinking about how well we really know cats. Head tapping Throughout my years in nursing, I’ve often seen people “head tapping” cats when they’re being restrained. I think the theory…

  • Mr T and me

    Mr T and me

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    I’ve had a secret I’ve not told you all – a little project I didn’t want to tell anyone about until it was successfully completed. It’s taken a little longer than planned but, as it is such a cold and wet day, I feel now is as good a time as any to reveal all.…

  • Lost and found: why microchipping is a must

    Lost and found: why microchipping is a must

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    One of our cats – Doogle, a home-loving feline who rarely sets foot outside the garden – recently got himself caught under my mum’s car, only to drop out when she’d driven along a few streets and run, startled, across the fields toward the next village. Posters, local press coverage and Facebook shares resulted in…

  • Interrupted labour in queens

    Interrupted labour in queens

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    Interrupted labour is common enough in queens, especially primagravida and domestic breeds, as to be a normal occurrence. The interruption, which may last as long as 24 or even 36 hours, may be triggered by a disturbance or may be attributable to no changes at all. After one or more kittens have been born, the…