Vets Blog - September/October 2011
Facts about Cats
"Dogs have owners, Cats have staff" – anonymous
"Dogs come when they're called, Cats take a message and get back to you" - author Mary Bly
Sir Isaac Newton is not only credited with the Laws of Gravity, but also with inventing the first Cat Flap. Newton was experimenting in a pitch-black room. Spithead, one of his cats, kept opening the door and wrecking his experiment. The cat flap kept both Newton and Spithead happy.
A domestic cat can run at speeds of up to 30 mph. Wow
Bagpuss, the saggy cloth cat, was invented in 1974 by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin. Only 13 episodes were ever made about this lovable old cat , even though it was on air for 26 weeks a year over 13 years. Bagpuss and his friends lived in a fictional shop which did not sell anything but was filled with lost items found by seven-year-old Emily, Mr Firmin's real-life daughter.
5th October 2011
Good news week!
Well it’s been a good week in the practice; we had some results back from the lab and its all good news! The mammary masses on the Westie (see blog 13th September) all came back as benign and we heard that a potentially nasty skin tumour on a Husky dog has been successfully removed and is unlikely to recur.
Last Friday Julie did major surgery to repair what we call a perineal hernia on an old male Weimeramer. This is caused by a defect in the muscles around the tail area and causes fat and intestines to bulge out of the body. It is more commonly seen in old entire male dogs. He came in as the owners noticed a lump just to the side of his tail and he was straining to go to the toilet. The repair went well and he is well on the road to recovery!
Today Lucy removed an 11cm long grass blade from a cat called Billy’s throat which was causing it to cough and gag when eating! (see happy stories)
Lovable Labrador dog beats the odds
13th September 2011
Good news update! At Abbeyfields we are thrilled to report that the lovable Labrador dog seen with the very rare condition of Infective Bacterial Endocarditis is doing really well and is still alive despite all the odds against him! His owners say that he is back to his normal bouncy self, chasing around the garden, trying to steal scraps of food - typical of his breed! We are all extremely pleased that he has coped with this complex medical condition, making great progress and feel very optimistic that he will continue to make a full recovery.
Also seen this week - 2 good reasons why to insure your pet!
Case 1 - young labrador with a cruciate problem. This is a condition like footballers get when they tear one of the cross shaped ligaments inside their knee joint. In medium-large breed dogs this requires specialised bone surgery to stabilise the knee joint, and so prevent severe arthritis and pain developing in the joint. These cases are often referred and surgery can cost up to £3000! This condition is very common in Labradors and Rottweilers but can occur in any breed of dog. So make sure you get your pet insured and check that your pet insurance policy limit is more than £2000 per condition!
Case 2 - 7 year old Westie, not spayed (neutered) found on routine examination for another problem to have lots of masses in her teats. These are called mammary masses and similar to breast cancer in people, and like in women it can be just as aggressive in female dogs. This poor little dog had multiple masses and required extensive veterinary surgery to have them removed, and so try to avoid recurrence. Luckily for this client, they were insured! We have sent off the masses to find out if they are nasty cancers and if they are likely to have spread. Fingers crossed for her it will be good news from the laboratory.
Mammary masses - just one of the reasons of why to spay/neuter your bitch when she is young ; it can greatly reduce the risk of mammary masses developing. 99% reduction in risk if spayed before their 1st season and 90% before 2nd season, and 66% before 3rd season. If spayed after 3rd season their is no reduction in risk.
