Gladstone

Veterinary

Clinic

High Quality Care

for your pet

Newsletter Summer 2007

Congratulations !

Andrea Owens has passed her final exams and is now a fully qualified veterinary nurse. If you have a pet, which would benefit from losing some weight, please ask for her free ‘weight watcher’ appointments. She will be able to advise you on a dietplan and organise check-ups to ensure your pet slims down successfully.

Caroline Rigby will go on a long leave this summer: little Tyler is going to have a brother or sister. We wish her all the best and look forward to welcoming her back next year. Meanwhile Suzanne Davies and Caroline Worthington continue with their veterinary nursing training. We hope to celebrate some more exam successes later in the year.

Is your rabbit at risk?

Now is the time to make sure your rabbit is protected against Myxomatosis, Rabbit Haemorhagic Disease and flystrike. If your rabbit is outside for parts of the day, it will be at risk.Myxomatosis causes regular epidemics in wild rabbits and every year numerous deaths in pet rabbits. Prevention is easy with a vaccination.

Did you know that blowfly strike can cause a maggot infestation on your pet which can lead to serous illness or even death? Flystrike occurs commonly in hot and humid conditions, but the fly season generally runs from April to October. As a responsible rabbit owner you can protect your pet against the disease with a product that prevents the maggots from developing. Please contact us for more information and general tips on preventative health care of your pet rabbit.

Flea and worm treatment– the choice is yours !

Fleas are a perennial problem. Most dogs and cats have at least a few unless they are treated regularly. With most drugs that means monthly applications. The spot-on drops from the veterinary surgery are prescription-only medications. They are highly effective and very safe. Talk to us about your requirements: there are some that include wormers, others also give tick and mange treatment. The wormer we recommend for most cats and dogs is a small tablet , easily taken. One dose kills roundworms and tapeworms. And for those tigers that will NOT take even a small tablet we now have a finger-saving spot-on dual wormer!

Is that lump cancer?

You may have wondered how we can tell a malignant (cancerous) lump from a harmless (benign) lump. There are so many different kind of lumps (also called mass or tumour) that in most cases it is difficult to assess it just by feeling or seeing. In a Fine Needle Aspirate (FNA) we take literally a needle full of tissue and smear it on a glass slide. After staining the cells become visible and often allow the trained eye to tell what we are dealing with. This can be done without an anaesthetic.

It requires a general anaesthetic to take either pieces out of a mass (called a biopsy) or to take the whole lump out. The tissue is sent to a laboratory where it is fixed and very thinly sliced. Specialist pathologists then examine the samples and give their diagnosis. (histology)

At Gladstone Veterinary Clinic we are in the fortunate position that Jessica Keane has undertaken a lot of training in cytology, i.e. the science of cells. Not only will she look at Fine Needle Aspirates taken during consults, but her skills are also invaluable during operations. Samples from lung fluids, abdominal masses or blood smears can be evaluated immediately and the treatment or surgery adjusted accordingly.Not every lump is malignant, but even benign lumps can grow and get uncomfortable. It’s always best to have it checked by a veterinary surgeon.

Continuing our popular Case Studies

All names have been changed for reasons of confidentiality.

Ben the Labrador had seemed unwell for over a week. His owner thought he had an upset stomach when he kept vomiting. X-rays soon ruled out the possibility of a foreign body. Following further tests, we were able to diagnose leptospirosis as the cause of the illness. Ben’s vaccinations had lapsed and he had probably caught the infection bathing in a lake that was also home to some rats. Ben was on a drip for almost a week and received antibiotics. As the disease is zoonotic ( infectious for humans) everybody handling him had to take great care to observe rigorous hygiene standards to ensure the safety of staff and other patients. Fortunately Ben made a good recovery. It was a worrying time for the owner and emphasized the need to keep your pets vaccinations up-to-date.

Tabby Florence’s owners look tired: Her sneezing has kept them awake last night. She has a snotty nose, but the discharge comes only from one nostril. As she has had all her cat flu injections and is feeling well in herself, Claudia Niehoegen suspects that Florence has a foreign body in her nose. Florence is put under general anaesthetic and a thin rigid endoscope is inserted into her nostril: a thin green blade of grass has worked its way up the nose. It is swiftly removed with some forceps before Florence can wake up again. Her owners will get a good night's sleep now!

Birthday Cake Recipe for Dogs

We have had many requests by our canine patients to publish the recipe of our delicious anniversary cake, so that their owners can bake it at home! Here it is, courtesy of Mrs Allen who makes it for Millie and Zac.

Liquidise or finely chop liver, mix in eggs and flour, spread in a greased tin and bake at 200°C or gas mark 6 for 20 minutes. Cut up into small pieces. It freezes well.

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