Moggy the elderly cat
Bobsie
Hedgehog
Hugh operating
Eye surgery for cat
News
July 2007
In July we were busier than ever. We have recruited more staff to help with the number of cases we are seeing. These vary from routine pre-booked appointments to complex on-going medical problems and of course emergeny cases that come in immediately.
We also have people dropping animals in to us that are found. Here is a picture of an elderly black cat we have called 'Moggy'. She is a neutered 12 year old girl with hyperthyroidism. She has lived in the surgery for months seeking a new home. Her hyperthyroidism is kept under control with tablets taken twice daily. We are prepared to give any new owner her medication for free if someone can give her a loving home. She is very lovable and likes to go outside, which she has not been able to do since being at the surgery.She tolerates other animals but has been used to living as an only pet. Please let us know if you wish to be her new owner.
Here is a similar photograph of 'Bobsie'. She is 14 years old with no detected health problems. She is a female neuter and is very affectionate. She is sociable with other animals, a real character who likes to curl up on someone's lap. She also needs a new permanent home. Bobsie has also been with us for several months waiting for a new owner to appear.
There were two kittens dropped off at our Warwick surgery after they had been found abandoned at the side of the canal. Luckily for us a member of staff's mum has taken them on as her own.
We have an awful lot of unwanted or abandoned animals brought into our surgeries. We are hoping that by promoting neutering this should decrease the number of 'spare' animals around to be rescued. The sad fact of the matter is that rescue centres are full and our veterinary surgery is suposed to treat sick animals and prevent illness, not a rescue centre for unwanted animals.
Another good way to try to prevent unwanted animals being created is to tell the RSPCA, Cats Protection or the Dog warden if you know someone who is not being responsible about breeding pets. These agencies are here to help and will contact anyone and help them not create unwanted pets in the future.
Meanwhile-let us know if you are looking for a new pet, you can have one of our spares or we can put you in touch with many, many rescues to choose a new pet from. We can also give you advice on choosing the right sort of pet to fit in with your lifestyle to avoid problems for the future.
We also get handed in a great deal of wild-life. Here is a photo of a hedgehog that is staying with us. This little guy has lung worm and mange. He is under treatment and should make a full recovery. He will then go to the Nuneaton Wildlife Sanctuary to be rehabilitated and ultimately released. We had a call from Sue Greenwood (a local vet who helps us out)to report that the hedgehog she took home that was blind and had three legs, has just surprisingly had 3 babies!
We see all sorts of wild animals, including this month a bat. Unfortunately the bat was very badly injured and did not survive the night. Most wild animals do thrive if brought in to us, with the exception of baby birds who should be left where they are found so that their mothers can protect them, feed them and teach them. If they are handled at a young age they are likely not to thrive. This is a bigger threat to their lives than being taken by a predator.
Here is Hugh operating again, another hip replacement. This is most commonly needed in large breed dogs caused by problem breeding rather than caused due to accident. If you intend to acquire a large breed dog like a labrador, German Shepherd or Mastiff, please check the parents' hip scores as this is the best prediction we have of their offsprings' likely hip health. Hip replacements are also hugely less common on cross-breeds.
Here is another cat that was rescued by a client of ours. She is sweet and gentle with no problems other than with her eye. This has troubled her for a while and she has been used to regular eye-drops. Finally it was concluded that the only way to permanently repair the problem was to perform entropion surgery. This is where a narrow sliver of the lower eye-lid(in this case) is surgically removed and the remaining edges rejoined. This allows the lid to pull the eyelashes out into their proper place rather than them poking in and scratching the eye surface. This is more commonly seen in dogs, and again of certain breeds. It is however correctable by surgery in most cases by just one operation. It is very fiddly and the measeurements have to be taken accurately, too much and the animal's eye will still be uncomfortable and too little and there is no improvement. Our surgeons wear special surgical spectacles to ensure they can see under magnification-much better than normal eye sight. This helps with inticate surgery as they can see to make the tiniest of incisions and sutures. Straight after her surgery this cat was feeling much better and was rolling on her back wanting to play.
Finally a it of news about the Rugby Polo Club during the Casa Loco Tournament. The Animal House team played here and came, well lets say, not first. It was the unusual nice weekend in the midst of all the rain and there were lots of people in attendance. This is a good example of how nice it can be sitting on the grass with your dogs having a picnic and watching the play on a nice summer's day.
More news in August when we will be very excited about our own polo Tournament the Miller Cup.
For more news visit the news archive.