Newsletter

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the first newsletter on our new practice website. In this section we will aim to provide you with regularly updated information on new products, seasonal topics, interesting cases and generally any new developments in our practice and the wider pet health care sector in general.

I/D CHIPPING

Although we generally I/D chip more and more young dogs and kittens, we still experience that a large proportion of lost animals handed in at the surgery have no I/D chip or collar-tag and this often reduces their chances of being returned speedily to their rightful owner(s).

I would like to emphasis that there is virtually no size or age limit for animals’ suitability for I/D chipping and the actual procedure is very quick and causes very little discomfort or inconvenience to the implanted animal. The implantation can be done during a routine surgery visit.

In the last year or so I have also had much more demand and interest for identity-chipping horses who also tolerate the procedure really well. We have recently also chipped some birds of prey for a falconer. The most unusual request for the implantation of an I/D chip however still must be the owner of a valuable collection of Teddy Bears who requested to chip her most valuable bears!

Please feel free to phone the surgery for more information or ask us about identity-chipping next time you bring your pet to the surgery.

OVERVIEW ON FLEA CONTROL PRODUCTS AND SOME NEW INTERESTING PRODUCTS FOR PARASITE CONTROL

Around this time of the year we usually still see quite a few dogs and cats with skin problems. A significant proportion of these cases are due to flea-bite allergies. This may therefore be an opportunity to remind all dog and cat owners that fleas are no longer a seasonal problem but can quite easily survive all year round in our centrally heated and carpeted houses. The only successful prevention of flea bite allergies is routine year round flea control.

Recently a number of new or improved products have been introduced onto the veterinary market. Some of these new products are:

PROGRAM-PLUS® (made by Novartis):
Designed for dogs, combining flea control and roundworm control in one easy and convenient monthly tablet.

STRONGHOLD® (made by Pfizer):
Designed for dogs as well as cats, combines flea control and roundworm control in an easy to use spot-on preparation. For cats and dogs it is also very useful to treat ear-mite infections and in dogs it is also proven to be effective against sarcoptic mange (a skin mite infection).

DRONCIT SPOT-ON TUBES FOR CATS® (made by Bayer):
Designed for cats who refuse to take tablets. It is a specific spot-on treatment for tapeworm control and is much easier to use than tablets. Particularly hunting cats are often those cats that regularly get reinfected with tapeworms and yet are very difficult to give tablets to.

In fact for these cats a combination of Stronghold and Droncit spot-on will protect against all common parasites in cats which require regular control. The use of this combination should significantly reduce stress levels for owners and cat alike compared with the struggle of giving tablets!

This large range of choice of flea control preparations can easily lead to confusion and to make matters worse a number of preparations are now also copied by supermarkets and petshop products who may look very similar but often contain far less efficient and reliable active ingredients. Reliable products should have a sign with POM on the packaging. This means the product is classified as Prescription Only Medication. This is your guarantee that the product has been tested to the highest pharmaceutical standards and proven to be safe and efficient.

Generally we can subdivide flea control preparations in 2 main groups: 1] ADULTICIDES: generally applied directly onto the pet and aimed at quickly killing all adult fleas present on the treated animal. Examples are: ADVANTAGE® spot-on; FRONTLINE® spray or spot-on; STRONGHOLD® spot-on or NUVAN TOP® spray.

2] ENVIRONMENTAL TREATMENTS: this group also includes the newer so-called Insect Growth Inhibitors. These products are used to break the life-cycle of the fleas and are often large spray cans to treat the animal’s home (examples are NUVAN STAYKILL® and VETKEM ACCLAIM 2000®) but can also be treatments which are given directly to the pet such as PROGRAM® tablets, suspensions or injections for cats which uses the pets blood as a vehicle to get the active treatment into the flea’s system and in doing so stop the flea’s reproductive capacity.

The best way to treat an existing flea infestation is by combining the use of one preparation from each group. The adulticide will kill all adult fleas on the animal quickly and the environmental treatment will prevent reinfestation from the environment by breaking the life-cycle of the fleas by tackling the problem of flea eggs, larvae and pupae in the bedding, carpets and general home environment of the pet.

Which combination is selected can vary from one pet to another and from one home to another. We are happy to advise you at the surgery which combination may be most appropriate for your pet in your home situation.

RABBITS

Rabbits are quickly catching up with dogs and cats in the popularity stakes for house pets. Unfortunately we still regularly encounter a number of problems due to inappropriate diet or mistakes in husbandry.

Many people are also not aware yet that 2 potentially lethal and contagious diseases (HVD=Haemoraghic Viral Disease and Myxomatosis) are perfectly preventable by annual vaccinations.

We have compiled an information pack for rabbit owners and potential rabbit owners to give current and practical information on a whole range of topics such as diet, housing, neutering, vaccinations and many more. These information packs are available for all interested at the reception of the surgery.

It is perhaps also worth knowing that some pet health insurance companies now offer health insurance cover for rabbits.

GERIATRIC HEALTH SCREENS FOR DOGS AND CATS

Unfortunately as our canine and feline companions become older so do their chances of developing internal disease increase significantly. Indeed particularly kidney, liver and pancreas disease and sadly also certain types of internal cancer become more prevalent with ageing pets.

To be able to offer specific treatment for these conditions early detection is of vital importance. Unfortunately many of these conditions will only show obvious clinical signs quite late in the disease process when treatment options are often already limited.

For these reasons we would like to recommend routine 6 monthly health check-ups for our older canine and feline friends and yearly more comprehensive health checks by means of a health-profile blood test. This test can give us valuable information on kidney, liver and pancreas function and can detect early warning signs for lots of potential health problems. Unfortunately even modern blood tests cannot diagnose every single condition and therefore in some cases additional specific tests may also have to be carried out if indicated from the first set of results.

When do our pets become senior citizens? This may vary between breeds but as a general rule dogs older than 7 years and cats over 10 years are regarded as more at risk for metabolical and degenerative diseases.

These blood tests are now routinely carried out on a daily basis in our in-house laboratory which allows the results to be available to the pet owner on the same day the sample was taken.

Why not ask Liesbet or Luc about this health profile blood test next time you are at the surgery? It can be often combined with the annual booster vaccination, although 2-3 hours of starving before the blood test is required.

ACUPUNCTURE

Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese art of inserting fine needles at selected points in the body. The Chinese believe that energy flows through the body along channels or meridians.

By inserting needles at points along the meridians, the energy flow can be stimulated, sedated or balanced. This is the basis for treating a whole range of diseases. It is particularly applicable to arthritis, back problems and muscular and nerve disorders, but can be used to treat almost any condition.

Most animals tolerate acupuncture sessions very well, and feel little or no discomfort. The number of sessions varies according to the problem being treated. An average course of treatment for a chronic arthritis might be a weekly session for 3-4 weeks, then “top-up” sessions once every month or so, depending on response to treatment.

Needles are sterile and are used once only, so that there is no risk of infection to the patient. The needles are left in place for anything from 5 to 20 minutes, depending on the problem being treated.

Response to acupuncture therapy is usually good, approximately 75% of patients receiving acupuncture show improvement in their symptoms.

I hope our first edition of this newsletter gave you some useful information. Please feel free to contact our surgery for any additional information on health concerns or information on any of the new (and older) products available.

I would also actively encourage all our clients to check out the client information leaflets available in a dedicated section of our website.