Anything For Animals

posted by admin on Apr 9

Do you have a rabbit? And want to know more about their needs and requirements?

Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW) is just what you are after.  No longer are we happy to leave bunnies in tiny hutches out in the garden with nothing but the odd carrot top to entertain them.

Studies have shown that rabbits are very intelligent animals that thrive on stimulation and enjoy playing games.  We also know a lot more about their dietary requirements and what other rabbits and pets they are most likely to get on with.

However, their behaviour is an area that is only just beginning to be explored by owners.  Apart from the odd foot thumps, digging in the garden and their habit of eating every cable in the house, many rabbit owners know little more.

So, RAW are hoping to shed some light on their peculiar habits and help you see your pets in a new and interesting light!

Housing Requirements:
Rabbits are very social animals - as you can tell from the number of rabbit holes over nearby fields and farmland - so why keep just 1 on it’s own? 

I know that certain breeds of rabbit require very large hutches and runs, so having 2 in there might make a ’small animal’ into a very large pet responsibility - but think of the scale.

If you look at how long an average pet-shop hutch is in ‘rabbits’ (in length) they are around 4 rabbits long and just over 1 rabbit wide - now lay that out for a cat, dog or horse!  It would just be unacceptable.

So why do we think that it is OK for a rabbit to live alone in such a small space?  And to only be handled a few times a week in summer and hardly at all in winter?

Also, rabbits talk ‘rabbit’ not ‘guinea pig’ - so why we ever thought that these 2 animals should live together in a confined space is quite strange?  And with rabbits being so much bigger and having giant thumpy feet - that poor guinea pig could get quite squashed! 

Free Health Checks:
Also as part of the RAW drive - vets across the country are opening their appointment schedule up for free bunny check-ups where you can discuss all sorts of lagomorphic queries (thats things relating to bunnies to you and me!).

Whether you are concerned over their fussy eating, worried about vaccinations or just think your bunny could lose a few pounds - take a few minutes to talk to your local vets and vet nurses about it for not a single penny!

You can also talk about housing requirements, handling, teeth checking, nail clipping and neutering at the same time.

Hop on over to their website for more great tips, a chance to enter your bunny pictures and to find the dates of rabbit-related events in your area.

Happy Bunny Week!

posted by admin on Oct 26

Should You Buy Products Online - Or Through Your Vets?

You mights be saving some money by buying your wormers and flea products online - but could a visit to your vet spot a health problem in your pet that you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise?

Sometimes doing something from home saves you a lot of time - as long as you don’t have to be in for the postman - but does it really save you anything in the long run?

Your Vet:
We all know that a trip to the vets can cost a fair bit of money - but they do more for you than you might think.

When you pet has it’s annual check up or a booster, the vet will also be looking for signs of other illness or aging that you might think is just ‘normal’ as you only have that 1 dog and you see it every day, so can’t always spot changes.

It is possible that you vet could spot something that needs a closer look, or can identify some problems that can be easily rectified to make you pet healthy again.

If you have pet insurance anyway - then a trip to the vets shouldn’t be a worry!  Yes, you have to pay the first so much for the consult - but any problems they find will no could be claimed on your policy - so shouldn’t be a worry - and means that you can make sure your pet gets the best treatment without worrying about the cost!

And this means that you can spot things early and get them treated, rather than catching them when it’s too late and having to try much more aggressive or expensive treatments at the last minute!

Why They Cost More:
And don’t forget that the vets have overheads!  I mean - how will they see you for a vaccination appointment if they don’t have a surgery building? 

How will they treat your pet in an emergency if they haven’t got staff on site overnight or the latest equipment?

Just in the same way you need to pay a bit more in a local store than supermarket prices to keep your local store open - you really need to buy your pet products from your vets if you want to keep that open too?

It’s almost like a membership fee.  You pay that little bit more for basics to make sure that your vets has enough money in the kitty to keep trading.

And just in the same way that only the strong survive on the high street - only the vets that make enough money will be able to stay open and treating your pets.

So, if you value your vet surgery and want it to stay just around the corner and taking care of your pets every needs - then isn’t it worth that little bit extra on a packet of Drontal or Frontline?  They need you and you need them!

I mean what good is a local pharmacy or a giant Tesco going to do for you when your dog becomes ill or needs an x-ray?

posted by admin on Apr 26

There are dozens of veterinary surgeries in your area - but how do you choose the best one for your needs?

All vets have to be fully qualified to run a surgery, and all nurses have to be in training or fully qualified, but receptionist don’t have to have any training or qualifications at all - but then neither do ‘dog trainers’, ‘dog walkers’ or ‘dog sitters’.

So it is important to make sure that you are happy with everyone in the veterinary team.  But what else should you consider?

Price:
I put this first - although many would say that it was the least important.  If you have pet insurance, then cost of treatment is virtually irrelevant as all costs - bar your excess - will be covered by the insurance company.  So no need to worry about anything other than getting your pet the best available medications and treatments.

However, it is always worth knowing the cost of the basic routine things as these may be too low for the insurance to cover - or not covered at all, like vaccinations, neutering, nail clipping, tail docking and wormers etc.

Location:
Proximity to your vet is very helpful in case of emergencies or if you just want to nip to the vets in your lunch break for a routine appointment - but you need to think about what that surgery can offer.

For example, not all surgeries offer overnight care or specialist care, and some don’t invest in larger machinery - so if you take you injured puppy to your nearest vet, they may then need to send you to a more distant vets to get the work done - and this may be a different company too.  Therefore, if might be wise to register with a vets that has everything onsite in the first place.

24-hour treatment isn’t offered by all surgeries either - they sometimes share with other vets.  So you could call your normal surgery (5 min drive) at 2 am and they recommend their emergency surgery which happens to be a 45 minute drive away - when if you had checked a vets that is 10 minutes from your house may have their own 24 hour emergency vet!   

Your Pet:
The above 2 examples are more likely to affect you if you have a dog or a cat, but if you have an exotic pet like a skunk, snake, parrot or tortoise, then you may be best to find a vet that specialises in that species rather than take you chances with a ‘normal vet’.

Although a ‘normal’ vet is qualified to medicate and treat all animals, they may not have the continued training in exotics that a specialist has, so might not be able to offer the best solution to your problem - no matter how close they are to your house!

And, they may not have the equipment necessary to deal with it anyway - for example - a boa constrictor wouldn’t last too long in a dog pen, and I know for a fact that most vets do not keep glass tanks and humidistats in their back rooms!

Same goes for horses and goats - I can’t imagine you can just walk into your local surgery with one of those!

posted by admin on May 7

The Feline Leukemia Virus is also known as FeLV and can infect any cat that hasn’t been vaccinated for this virus.

The virus is associated with lympho-sarcoma (lymph gland tumours) but can also affect the thymus, spleen and gut wall.  As the lymph glands are affected, this can lead to a form of immuno-suppression, making the animal prone to other infections.

Symptoms of Feline Leukemia:
An un-vaccinated cat will start to show symptoms of feline leukemia only after about 3 years!  It has a very long incubation period - although laboratory tests before this time can confirm the disease.

If your cat started showing symptoms they would probably include a high temperature initially, with noticeable lethargy (sleeping more than usual or not wanting to play and chase as normal).  It is possible that there would be a noticeable lack of appetite, although this could possibly be very difficult to spot when many cats are feeding from the same bowls.  

It is possible you will notice swollen lymph glands, but this would only be found with a proper check of the appropriate areas - they wouldn’t be felt with just regular stroking!

Persistent dental problems and gingivitis are common with this type of long-term infection.

If the virus remains active in the cats body, then the cat will be at risk of developing further disease.

Noticeable (clinical) signs of Feline Leukemia vary depending on where the Feline Leukemia virus is replicating - making more of itself - as this organ will be most affected and will probably develop a tumour.  The Feline Leukemia virus usually also involves the red blood cells in some way and can lead to related signs such as anaemia and immuno-suppression. 

If only found present late on in a cat, symptoms may well be secondary infections like bladder problems (cystitis) or other infectious diseases as the cat’s body can no longer defend itself from attack.

A positive diagnosis would need a blood or saliva test in a laboratory.

Is Feline Leukemia contagious?
Yes, and multi-cat households and breeding farms are most at risk.

A persistently infected cat can pass it on to all other cats in the household, and the only effective action is to permanently remove the infected cat from house. 

The virus is passed on through close intimate contact such as intercourse, saliva and blood.  So cat fights, same dish feeding and breeding can all spread the disease.

Feline Leukemia Treatment:
There is no cure for Feline Leukemia, and surviving Feline Leukemia is likely to be treatment that is symptom related, so removal of tumours, a course of anti-biotics for infections, etc.  The cats life will no doubt be shortened and possibly filled with illness.  It can sometimes shorten the cats life to just a few years after initial symptoms were spotted.

Sadly, the readily available vaccination would have prevented initial infection with the virus anyway, but not everyone vaccinates regularly, thinking it ‘won’t happen to them’.

In addition, make sure that any new cats entering your home or breeding cattery have been tested clear for FeLV and are vaccinated before putting your own cats at risk.

posted by admin on Apr 19

Traveling with your cats or dogs can be fun, but taking them into another country needs careful planning.  However, travel around Europe just got much easier with the PETS Travel Scheme - and here is a quick run down….. 

If you are thinking of entering the UK with your cat or dog, you have 2 options to legally do so:

1) 6-months Quarantine
2) A PETS Passport

Basically, the UK is rabies-free and they would like to keep it that way - so they make sure that all possible carriers (mainly carnivorous mammals) are regulated on entry.

This includes both domestic and wild animals that enter the country (by human intervention) and as a result cats and dogs are included in these regulations and as a result need to be proved to not carry the virus.

The only way to guarantee this is to successfully vaccinate the animal and wait 6 months before giving it the ‘all-clear’.

Why 6 months?
The incubation period for the rabies virus (the time it takes from infection to the animal showing symptoms) is around 6 months.  It can be shorter or a bit longer - but 6 months is the accepted incubation period for governmental legislation.

Therefore, if the dog had contracted rabies the day before it entered the UK, it will very likely become symptomatic within 6 months.  As it would have been in quarantine kennels all this time, there is no risk of that dog having passed it on to any other dogs, cats or other mammals.

So Why Is There No Quarantine With The Passports?
The reason is simple.  To acquire the PETS (Pet Travel Scheme)Passport, the cat or dog still needs to wait for a 6 month period to elapse before being allowed to freely enter the UK.

This means that if you find a stray do in Spain and want to bring it to the UK, you have to obtain a valid PETS passport - which takes over 6 months.  Basically the period of ‘quarantine’ is still there, but the dog or cat doesn’t have to spend it in a kennel.

How To Get Your PETS Passport:
Obtaining a PETS passport is very simple and involves 5 simple steps.  Basically you are individually identifying your cat or dog permanently and then proving it has enough rabies anti-bodies in it’s blood to protect against a new rabies infection.

The first 4 steps are to get the passport in the first place and will take at least 7 months from start to finish:

1) Get your cat or dog micro-chipped
2) Get you cat or dog vaccinated against rabies
3) Get a blood test result to prove you pet is protected
4) Obtain an official PETS passport from a qualified vet

The final step needs to be carried out within a 24-48 hour window on your entry or return to the UK:

5) Obtain official Tick and Tapeworm treatment

What Next?
To travel around other countries in the EU does not usually require the PETS passport, but many have their own regulations for transporting your pets.  And these guidelines are mainly for your entry to the UK, so always check the current legislation with DEFRA (UK) or other national body before traveling with your pets.

The PETS passport is valid for as long as the rabies vaccine is in date, so make sure that you do not let it expire by even 1 day - otherwise you will have to start the process all over again!

posted by admin on Jun 19

What are the distemper vaccine side effects?

Unfortunately, as with every vaccine in the modern world, there can be side effects. There is no way of knowing whether an individual animal with react to a given vaccine, so if the chances of coming into contact with a life-threatening disease or serious virus are high, a vet will always recommend the vaccine.  On the other hand you could well say that the side effects of the vaccine was to extend the life of your pet.

Although distemper will not normally cause the death of your pet, if they become infected - they can be left with some serious and permanent disabilities when older.

If it’s a toss up between your dog getting either distemper or the vaccine side effects, you would be wise to choose the vaccine. Not only should the vaccine keep your dog safe, it should also protect the local dog population of where you live. The more dogs that contract distemper, the more likely it is to mutate and become more aggressive.

Don’t forget though that although individual vaccines work on only on individual animals, if a high enough percentage of animals are NOT vaccinated (as little as 15% in some diseases) then the disease could evolve to become resistant to some available vaccines.

Some people are saying that ’so-and-so disease is not so common anymore’ so you don’t need to vaccinate for it, but of course the fact is that you don’t see these diseases anymore BECAUSE people vaccinate their pets. It just obviously didn’t occur to these people to think it through.

Take the example of Polio: Do you worry about Polio anymore? No, we were all immunised as youngsters, but if we stopped vaccinating kids these days - you can be sure that it will come back!

If you don’t vaccinate your pet for fear of side effects, then not only is your pet vulnerable to that disease which you didn’t vaccinate it for, but it is also helping the disease to get a foothold in the population due to mutations and become drug resistant making hundreds or thousands of animals vulnerable in the future.

Think of the current problem we have with tuberculosis in humans - so many people did not get or couldn’t afford treatment for it or abused the medicines for it in the past 20/30 years, that there are now strains of the virus that cannnot be treated at all; the same is happening with penecillins.

Always follow the vaccination guidelines given by your vet or veterinary body of your country, and always follow the instructions correctly for any medications or treatments for your pets given to you by your veterinarians - if it doubt ask again.

There are people who swear by ‘natural treatments’ for some diseases, or ‘preventative herbs’, etc, but is it worth the risk? You wouldn’t apply a bandage to an uninjured leg, or use head lice treatment on your feet, so why would you treat a highly contagious and fatal viral infection in your dog with herbs or human medicine? Why would you give your pet one tablet instead of the 2 your vet advised? Why would you give your pet a tablet on an empty stomach when it specified to give with food - as without the digestive juices produced during eating, the tablet will not release its active ingredients and will no doubt pass out of your pet without having done what you had paid for it to do!!!!!

No wonder that it seems like your vet charges you a fortune for treatment - it’s because medicines they prescribe for your pet don’t work if you don’t administer it properly. And if it doesn’t work, you have to go back and they have to prescribe you more of something else or something stronger. Which will cost you even more money!

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posted by admin on May 31

Rabies Shots For Cats And Dogs

Preventative vaccines are widely available in the UK and the US for our pets and livestock, at a small cost. The program of vaccination depends on the type of vaccine being given, as there are several types available for different animals, containing various active ingredients and length of protection.

There are 2 main types of vaccine:

Inactivated - Contains sufficient antigens (which stimulate an immune response) and no live virus of any type.
Live - Containing a live virus of a slightly different strain which does not cause the actual disease.

There have been reports of the live vaccine causing actual rabies in cats which already have a known immune suppression like FeLV (Feline Leukaemia Virus) or FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus). Their bodies simply do not have the resources to produce a sufficient immune response to an actual virus. This can also be found in humans with weakened immune systems.

Vaccine Programs
Initial vaccination involves a single injection. Kittens and puppies of 3-4 months can be vaccinated and given regular boosters throughout their lives. Adult animals need to follow a slightly different vaccine pattern, but will be protected at the same level, if regular boosters are continued.

If bitten by a rabid animal, vaccinated animals can usually produce enough antibodies to fight off the virus before it enters the Central Nervous System (CNS), thereby ridding themselves of the attack before clinical symptoms appear. So, it is possible that you may never even know that your pet was infected.

However, once clinical signs (identifiable symptoms such as drooling or paralysis) appear in an un-vaccinated animal, the disease is already in the CNS and brain, and is nearly always fatal.

Can a dog have a reaction to a rabies shot?
As with any animal and any vaccine, there is the possibility that the additional ingredients used in the vaccine material could react with the chemistry of the animal involved; as can happen with egg and milk allergies in human vaccines.

As a result, there may well be dogs that have an allergic reaction to a rabies shot, but sometimes the result of the vaccine far outweighs the odd animal that could react to it’s ingredients.

Vaccines need to reach a certain %age threshold in a population to be really successful, so the more people that avoid the vaccine for just the minimal chance that their one pet could have a reaction, are as a result, seriously jeopordising the safety of humans around the globe.

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posted by admin on May 14

What’s the Safest Rabies Vaccine for Cats?

The answer is: the one your vet recommends.

Basically, your vet can only recommend the one rabies vaccine the world has to your cat. Obviously, for each individual animal your vet will consider it’s medical history and lifestyle and balance this against the relative risk of it coming into contact with a rabid animal. In the States, this can be quite a high chance, so the rabies vaccine is your cats only defence against the disease.

I’ve heard of cats reacting to vaccines…. 
Yes, of course it is possible that one cat in a million may react badly to the vaccine, just as humans can, but the unfortunate injury or death of one animal is nothing compared to the amount of cats that could die of rabies if they were not vaccinated against rabies.

However, for a vaccine to work, it needs to be administered to an effective percentage level, for example 85%. This means that over 85% of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to keep the disease in check.

What it means is that if the percentage of animals fall below that level, the overall vaccine program for that region or country will start to break down.

Putting it in simpler terms, if you cover 85% of your cat with a specific flea treatment, it is likely you will kill all the fleas and not see any more for some time. However, if you only use flea treatment on 50% of your cat, it is likely that you will not kill ALL the fleas, and soon our cat will be overrun with them again as they breed.

This is how all vaccines work, so your vet will always recommend it in endemic regions - it keeps you beloved cat protected, and all the other local pets will benefit from it too.

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posted by admin on May 11

Rabies injections for humans come in 2 main forms:

Pre-Exposure Vaccines - A course of vaccinations as a preventative measure administered before any possible exposure.

Post-Exposure Treatment - A course of treatments after a suspected rabid animal bite, lick or wound, with further treatment after a positive diagnosis.

The virus can remain latent for up to 4 weeks after the initial bite or contact ith the infected animal, but 3 weeks is the more common. Then clinical signs begin to show.

It all depends on the site of the infection: it will reach the CNS faster if the bite is to the head or neck; the severity of the bite - the larger the site the more exposed the tissues are and the dose of the virus - how much got in off the rabid host

Rabies Symptoms in Humans:
The first symptoms of rabies are usually non-specific and suggest involvement of the respiratory, gastrointestinal and/or central nervous systems. In the acute stage, signs of hyperactivity (furious rabies) or paralysis (dumb rabies) predominate. In both furious and dumb rabies, paralysis eventually progresses to complete paralysis followed by coma and death in all cases, usually due to respiratory failure. Death occurs during the first seven days of illness without intensive care.

Post Exposure Treatment - The most effective mechanism of protection against rabies after possible exposure is to wash and flush a wound or point of contact with soap and water, detergent or plain water, followed by the application of ethanol, tincture or aqueous solution of iodine.

Anti-rabies vaccine should be given for more serious exposures (larger wild animal bites, especially around the main veins and neck) as soon as possible according to WHO recognized regimens. All immunosuppressed patients will be treated as soon as possible after identification.

Suturing (closing the wound) should be postponed, but if it is necessary immunoglobulin must first be applied. Where indicated, anti-tetanus treatment, antimicrobials and drugs should be administered to control infections other than rabies.

Treatment should be started as early as possible after exposure, but in no case should it be denied to exposed persons whatever time interval has elapsed. There is no longer any pasteur rabies injections in the stomach, it is through a concentrated vaccination schedule that the sidease is approached now.

Where the animal is almost certainly identified as having rabies, immediate attempts should be made to identify, capture or kill the animal involved, to prevent further human risk, but also to test the animal - as it could not be infected at all, saving the human victim from further isolation and treatment.

Pre-exposure immuzation - Human deaths from rabies can be effectively prevented by vaccination, either pre-exposure vaccination or as part of post-exposure treatment.

Vaccines of cell-culture origin are preferable for pre-exposure immunization of humans, since they are safer and more effective than nerve-tissue vaccines.

Pre-exposure vaccinations should be given to all animal and health professionals who could come into contact with an infected animal, including veterinarians, animal handlers and wildlife officers, and other individuals who are living in or travelling to areas where rabies is endemic.

Periodic booster injections are recommended for persons at continuing risk of exposure to rabies, usually every 5 years although can be more regularly with those working with rabies cultures and around or with animals in endemic regions.

Rabies is currently an incurable disease once full blown, however, immediate post-exposure treatment initiated at an early stage using modern rabies vaccine can be 100% effective in preventing death.

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