Alfie was a young male cat, he’d put on a bit of weight since his castration 18 months ago and his energy levels weren’t the best, he enjoyed lazing on the sofa more than the outdoor life. His owners noticed one day that he was in and out of his litter tray by the minute and seemed unable to get comfortable. Alfie was normally a very clean cat but that day his owners found him sat straining to toilet in all sorts of unusual places around the house, they also found several small spots of blood but could not work out where they had come from. They thought nothing of Alfie’s strange behaviour. Two days passed and Alfie was becoming very quiet and not wanting his food. He stopped coming for cuddles and became very Read the rest of this entry »
Last week, Flopsy came to me for her 6 monthly myxomatosis vaccination. During her clinical examination I noticed that she had a terrible build up of dandruff which the owner assumed was normal for Flopsy.
In actual fact, Flopsy had been suffering from a mite known as Cheyletiella. This mite is extremely common in rabbits and has the nickname, ‘walking dandruff’ as it causes scaly, flaky skin, which can sometimes be quite itchy for the rabbit. It is believed that Cheyletiella can be found on healthy animals in low numbers, however at times when the rabbit may be unwell, during a heavy moult or in milder Spring weather, the parasite increases in numbers and causes disease.
The vet diagnoses this mite by the clinical signs and looking at skin samples under a microscope. The most effective treatment is ivermectin (antiparasitic medication) on 3 occasions, 10-14 days apart.
After each treatment, the hutch and bedding should be fully cleaned out and any in contact rabbits should also be treated. It is also worth remembering that Cheyletiella can spread to dogs and humans so care must be taken to observe good hygiene during treatment.
Sophie Jones
The building work goes on, and with the steel frame in place now our new veterinary hospital is really taking shape. The drains are going in this week and the concrete floor slab will go in soon after. We’re on schedule at the moment for a New Year opening. Watch this space for more news next week.
 Crewe vet hospital steel frame erected
 Poppy and Floppy When I travelled to Market Drayton last weekend, I noticed a rabbit in the middle of a big roundabout. I returned with a pet carrier and after a few attempts I was able to catch this rabbit. The rabbit had puffy swollen eyes, along with swollen lips, ears and testicles. In fact, the rabbit had become blind because of the severe swelling of his Read the rest of this entry »
After searching for years for a suitable site for our new veterinary hospital in Crewe, we eventually found and negotiated the purchase of a site on Macon Way earlier this year. Planning permission has just been granted and work is about to begin shortly. Below is an artist’s impression of what our new surgery will look like. The estimated build time is six months, so we should be opening the doors to all our clients, both old and new, in early 2011. See you all there!
Sox accompanies his owner when she goes to work in an old peoples home. The residents are very attached to him, and he runs from one person to another to gain attention. As playful as he is, one day he managed to got hold of one of the old ladies’ pop socks, and before his owner could stop him, he ran off and swallowed it.
The following morning Sox vomited, would not eat and was very quiet. The owner did not waste any time and came to see me.
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Arriving at the practice in the morning, my first patient was already awaiting me: Moss, a border collie that had just eaten a plastic bag. To prevent the plastic bag getting stuck in his bowels, we decided to make him sick. To our surprise not only did he vomit up the plastic bag with a whole lot of food, but also three slugs and a round worm!
Round worms look like small pieces of spaghetti. They live in the dog’s bowels and consume partly digested food.
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Rocky, a young Yorkshire terrier, was involved in an unfortunate and rather unusual accident: he had fallen off a skateboard and consequently broken both his forelimbs. This is not an uncommon fracture, in fact fractures of the radius and ulna (the bones in the foreleg) are the third most common fractures in dogs. The incidence of these fractures is particularly high in small and miniature breeds of dogs, like Yorkies.
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Lungworm infection in dogs is spreading across the UK and leads to a disease called Angiostrongylosis. It has a wide range of symptoms which can make it difficult to diagnose. However, with the increasing appearance of the parasite causing this disease, vets are on the look out for the condition before it progresses to a stage where it becomes fatal.
The lungworm parasite spends part of its lifecycle in slugs, snails or even frogs. The danger to dogs arises when small slugs or snails are either purposefully or accidentally eaten while rummaging through undergrowth, eating grass, or taken up when drinking from puddles or an outdoor water bowl.
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