Boness E-Newsletter - June 2010 What's On and Coming Soon... Tea Party - in aid of the Blue Cross on Friday 4th June at the Hospital, 125 Bedford Road, from 10:00am to 3:00pm. - free Nurse checks for your pets - limited spaces so please book soon... - Fancy Dress for the Kids - Tea or coffee and cake for all - Win 100 of M&S Vouchers - Raffle Regular's... Buster's Pet Health Club - for a simple monthly direct debit we offer Buster's Pet Health Club which provides two checkups per year plus continual vaccinations, worming and flea treatment AND saves you 10%. Call our team at any time to discuss the benefits to your pet's health. Puppy Parties - Don't forget our regular Tuesday evening Puppy Parties - if you know of someone who has just acquired a new puppy, please let them know our Puppy Parties are FREE - please phone to book your place, but be quick as they are usually busy and puppies must start the parties before they are 12 weeks old. Fantastic Felines - we also run Cat focused evenings for our kitty friends. If you would like to come along and spend an hour or so with Linda Horn to learn more about your cat, please just give us a call to book a slot on the next evening. Julia On Tour Julia recently attended the first VEPRA conference in Zagreb... Over 100 delegates attended this inaugural conference of the newly set up Veterinary European Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Association. Guest speakers from both Europe and the USA presented papers on the latest treatment techniques for doggy knee joints. Julia is a founder member of this association and was very pleased with the organising committee's tremendous efforts to get delegates from 17 different countries to attend this exciting meeting. Julia lectures in Sweden and Norway... In May, Julia has been lecturing to Vets and Nurses in Gothenburg and Oslo on the application of hydrotherapy in veterinary practice. These day long talks include lectures, practicals and case studies. You can find out more about Hydrotherapy on our physiotherapy web site at: www.physiovet.eu
Pet Photo Competition Starting right now you can send pictures of your pets and the reason why they are the greatest, loveliest, friendliest pets in the world and enter our new Pet Of The Month competition. One lucky family each month will receive a 30 voucher to use at any one of our clinics within 6 months. In addition, we will have a new page on our website where we will showcase your pet if you win. If you want, you can enter every month. So come on, send us your favourite image and a few words to: mypet@vetlinks.co.uk Please only send one picture per pet - otherwise our email gets clogged up! Travelling Abroad With Your Pet Diseases Encountered Outside the UK In previous newsletters we have talked a little about the Pet Passport Scheme which enables us to take our pets on holiday abroad. The legislation regarding microchip identification, rabies vaccination and blood testing ensures that dogs and cats are well protected against rabies and keeps the UK rabies-free. If you need any more information about the Pet Passport, please do not hesitate to contact us but remember it is too late to take your pet abroad this summer unless he or she already has a passport. However, animals travelling abroad will potentially be exposed to a number of other diseases not seen or only rarely seen in the UK. Many of these are transmitted by insects such as ticks, mosquitoes and sandflies. Thankfully there are some excellent parasite control products available which can help protect our pets against these conditions. This article will give a brief guide to the most important exotic diseases to be aware of, together with some advice on how to prevent them. Tick borne diseases: Ehrlichiosis and Babesiosis Ehrlichiosis is caused by the bacteria Ehrlichia canis and Anaplasma phagocytophilia, both of which are spread by ticks as they suck blood from dogs and cats. The disease is most prevalent in southern Europe, particularly Italy, Spain and Portugal. Infection can also be seen further north, for example in France and Germany, and outside Europe in the USA and Africa. Some of the ticks responsible for disease transmission have become adapted to indoor environments and can be found in cars, kennels and houses as well as outside. Ehrlichiosis can affect both dogs and cats. The main clinical signs include fever, lethargy, weight loss, lymph node enlargement, spontaneous bleeding and severe eye disease. Neurological signs and lameness are also possible, especially in long standing infections. Babesiosis is caused by the protozoan parasites Babesia canis, Babesia gibsoni and other more recently identified species. Again, these infections are spread by ticks. The disease is seen all over Europe as well as in the USA and Africa. Babesiosis is seen mainly in dogs, but cats can also be affected. The parasites infect and destroy red blood cells, causing a severe anaemia. The main clinical signs are fever, lethargy, weakness, red urine, jaundice and collapse in severe cases.
Figure1: Babesia canis under the microscope the arrowhead points to a single Babesia organism inside a red blood cell As you might expect, prevention of Ehrlichiosis and Babesiosis is by aggressive tick control. This means preventing your pet from picking them up, not just picking them off. Prescribed tick preventative treatments should be started well before entering an area where the diseases are prevalent and repeated regularly in accordance with your vet's instructions. For dogs, Advantix is the most effective treatment. For cats, the only licensed tick treatment is Frontline. Tick treatment will also need to be given 24-48 hours before return to the UK as part of the Pet Travel Scheme regulations. It is important to examine pets closely for ticks every day whilst abroad. Any ticks discovered should be removed immediately using a tick hook. Leishmaniasis Leishmaniasis is caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania infantum which is transmitted by sandflies. Direct dog to dog transmission may also be possible. The disease is very common in coastal areas in countries surrounding the Mediterranean and can also be seen further north, for example in Germany and the Netherlands. Outside Europe Leishmaniasis is common in South America and has also been reported in the USA and Canada. The disease mainly affects dogs and is extremely rare in cats. It can also transmit to humans adults with compromised immunity and children are particularly at risk. Leishmaniasis is a chronic disease and infection may be present for months to years before clinical signs are seen. Skin lesions, weight loss, lymph node enlargement, bleeding, eye disease, arthritis and kidney damage are all possible. Treatment is possible but prolonged medication is required and it can be difficult to completely clear the parasite - some dogs remain infected for life."
Figure 2: A sandfly, the main disease vector for leishmaniasis Leishmaniasis can be prevented is by protecting dogs from exposure to sandflies. A prescribed parasite control product with repellent activity against sandflies should be started before travel and repeated as directed by your vet. Advantix applied every 2 weeks is suitable. There are no safe fly repellents available for cats. In addition, animals should ideally be kept inside from one hour before dusk to one hour after dawn to limit exposure to sandflies. Fly screens and household fly repellents can also be used, but check safety to dogs and cats first. Heartworm Heartworm is caused by the roundworm Dirofilaria immitis, transmitted by mosquitoes. The disease is common in southern Europe, particularly around the Mediterranean, but can be s een worldwide. Heartworm can affect both dogs and cats but is more common in dogs. The disease usually has a chronic course and it may be months to years after infection before symptoms are seen. The most common clinical signs are coughing, breathing problems, a reduced ability to exercise and weight loss. Heartworm is prevented by using a product licensed for the control of heartworm larvae. Advocate is suitable in both dogs and cats. Treatment should be started 2-4 weeks before travel, repeated every 4 weeks and continued for one month after return to the UK. In addition, a mosquito control programme should be instigated. This may include using plug in mosquito repellents indoors, particularly in the pets sleeping areas. In dogs, Advantix can be used as this product has repellent activity against mosquitoes as well as sandflies and ticks, but applications of Advantix should be separated from Advocate by at least a week. Travel Clinics For a few years now we have been offering Travel Clinic appointments at the Veterinary Hospital, ideally arranged at least a month before your departure. During these sessions we will provide more specific advice on disease prevention and design a parasite control protocol tailored to your individual pet when travelling abroad. We will also check your dog or cat's microchip, and double check that your Pet Passport is up to date, as well as addressing any other queries you might have. Please take full advantage of this and don't forget to book your appointment well in advance! Jennifer Donaldson MRCVS FREE Pet Travel Clinic Offer Starting right now, book your travelling pets into one of our FREE pet travel clinics. Just call our reception team on 01582 612604 and book an appointment. Rabbit Neutering The most common reason for which we are asked to neuter (spay or castrate) rabbits is so that owners can keep more than one rabbit without them fighting or causing a population explosion. But there are other advantages too. Most important are the health benefits: - Over 80% of unneutered female rabbits over the age of 4 years develop uterine cancer - Unneutered male rabbits tend to fight and become aggressive and keen to escape and this can lead to injuries. - Neutered rabbits are less aggressive and territorial, and are more easily litter-trained which has advantages if you want to keep your rabbit as a house rabbit and makes cleaning out of rabbits that live in hutches much easier. We recommend routine neutering of rabbits from 6 months. Male rabbits Male rabbits (bucks) make responsive pets, but have the same drawbacks as tom cats if they're not castrated. Most are territorial and frequently spray urine, and aggression is a common problem. They cannot be housed with other male rabbits and sometimes will even attack neutered females so they will have to live alone, which isn't fair on an animal that needs company. Neutered males are much happier and more relaxed. They can enjoy life without constantly looking for a mate and are less aggressive and smelly! Nearly all neutered males will stop spraying urine even if the operation is performed later in life. Castration is a relatively minor operation which can be performed around 6 months of age. Female rabbits Having female rabbits (does) spayed is even more important. Most females become ter ritorial and aggressive from sexual maturity onwards (4-6 months). Unneutered females can have
repeated false pregnancies, and may growl at, scratch and bite their owners as well as attacking other rabbits. Keeping two females together - even if they are sisters - can make things worse. Spaying reduces and sometimes eliminates these behavioural problems. Spayed females are likely to live longer than their unspayed sisters. Recent studies have identified uterine cancer in female rabbits as young as 2 years of age and spaying eliminates this risk. If you have two rabbits If you have two rabbits of the same sex living together, have them neutered at the same time and keep them together. If you have a male and a female, you need to be a bit more careful. Male rabbits can become fertile as young as 8 weeks of age and may remain fertile for up to 4 weeks after castration. Females must be kept away from males for abo ut 14 days after being spayed. It's best to keep them separate (but in adjacent cages) except when you can supervise them very closely. When you book your rabbit in to be neutered, we will ask you to come to the hospital between 8 and 8.30am. It is important that they have food and water available at all times, so please feed as usual right up to your appointment. Following the operation, your rabbit will be allowed to come home once he or she is eating and passing faeces. We keep them with us until this time so we can monitor them, as the anaesthetic and surgery can result in temporary loss of gut movement is so important in rabbits. This can sometimes mean they need an overnight stay after the procedure. One way you can help us to get them eating sooner, is to let us know what food your rabbit normally eats and which are his/her favourite fresh treats, or even to bring some in with you on the day. The recovery time at home is usually just a couple of days at home and then they get back to normal. Females can sometimes try to chew their wounds and it is best to keep an eye out for this. We do not like neutering rabbits in the very hot weather as flies can become attracted to the wounds which can cause flystrike. Please see last month's newsletter for more details on this horrid disease. Heather Fordham MRCVS Tell A Friend - If you liked our E-Newsletter or you have enjoyed the service we provide, please tell a friend or forward this email to your contacts. Finally... Please let us know what you think. Email your views on any veterinary topic or the Hospital and websites etc to feedback@vetlinks.co.uk