PET&PRACTICE SPRING EDITION CATS WHY DO CATS MEOW AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN? HEDGEHOGS EMERGING FROM HIBERATION. SPRING IS HERE. NEW LAW ON IS GREAT NEWS FOR OWNERS AND PETS ALIKE.
SPRING 2016 In this edition Chips are good for pets and now a legal requirement for dogs. HEDGEHOGS Emerging from hiberation. Spring is here after a long wet winter. CATS Why do cats meow and what does it mean? Important cat questions answered. The personal pet assistant app ANNOUNCEMENTS All the latest news from the practice, our clients and our furry little Reminders Pet Profiles Your Vet Parasite & antibiotic treatments, boosters & important dates Store important pet details and track their weight Link to your vet for practice information and quick contact friends. WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO Download free from your app store www.itsajungle.co.uk/petlife Registered Trade Mark of Bayer AG. Bayer plc, Animal Health Division, Bayer House, Strawberry Hill, Newbury RG14 1JA. Tel: 01635 563000. Bayer Ltd., Animal Health Division, The Atrium, Blackthorn Road, Dublin 18, Tel: (01) 299 9313. Apple, the Apple logo, ipad and iphone are trademarks of Apple Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play is a trademark of Google Inc. Kindle Fire and the Kindle Fire logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. BAYER PLC
NEW LAW ON DOGS IS GREAT NEWS FOR OWNERS AND PETS ALIKE. Microchip identification is a permanent method of safeguarding your pet should it go missing and is now a legal requirement for all puppies and dogs from the age of 8 weeks. The microchip is the size of a grain of rice and is implanted under the skin between the shoulder blades rather like an injection. It takes just a few minutes but lasts a lifetime. The chip contains a unique code that identifies the animal and the owner. The registered details, including the owner s name, address and contact phone numbers are logged and held centrally on a data base. This data is compliant with the Data Protection Requirements and the information stored is available only to authorised persons. We register all of our microchips implanted via a secure portal on the microchip organisation s data base who will, once your pet has been
How a microchip works Implantation Registration Lost Rescued Identified Reunited registered, forward you all the details held. It is important that should you move house, change phone number etc or if you rehome your pet that you contact them to update your data. Should your pet unfortunately go missing or even worse be stolen, again it is important that you contact them to inform them of this as if they are then subsequently taken into a veterinary practice, rescue centre or picked up via the dog warden they will be scanned to identify if there is a chip and allowing you to be reunited. Under the new compulsory requirements which became legal from 6th April all puppies over the age of 8 weeks must be microchipped and registered with an approved microchip data base. This means that all puppies rehomed should now come fully microchipped and hopefully with either their initial vaccinations or full Course of vaccinations (puppies require 2 vaccinations 3-4 weeks apart). Under the new regulations if a dog is found not to have a microchip the owner has 21 days to get it microchipped, failure to do this may result in a 500 fine. It is also a legal requirement to ensure that records are kept up to date. again, failure to do so could result in an enforcement action for non- compliance. Often owners of cats have them microchipped when they come in for neutering. We have had, over the years, many cats and dogs that have been reunited with their owners due to a microchip and we recommend it to our clients. At only 11mm. Microchips are some of the least invasive methods of safeguarding your pet. We at the Crickmore Vets understand the heartache and sadness should your pet go missing. Below are a number of hints and tips that hopefully will help reunite you with your pet. - Have your pet microchipped.it is a legal requirement under the Control of Dogs order 1992 that all dogs wear a collar with a tag with your current contact details on it. As it is a legal requirement for dogs from the 6th April then a tag identifying the dog has been microchipped can act as a deterrent to would be potential dog knappers and contains all the essential details (if kept up to date) regarding your pet. - Crickmore Vets would recommend that you take regular photos of your pet. These can not only be useful for updating the family album, your phone or computer screensaver etc but can be used for the Pet Passport and if unfortunately your pet goes missing or is stolen. - If your pet should stray or be stolen put up posters in prominent places with a photograph, do a leaflet drop, offer a small reward, contact local radio (they often have a lost and found) and inform us at the practice (we have a facebook page that links to organisations and other vets and acts as another alert). Contact Animal Shelters, other vets including those in neighbouring towns ( if someone is not local they may if it is unfortunately hit by a car take it to their own vets or one that is in a more familiar area. Some animals will also travel a wide geographical area especially if frightened. If you have recently moved to a new area always alert your previous area of this as sometimes they try to find their way back to more familiar territory. - A tip for cat owners that have movedwhen letting a cat out for the first time take them out in your arms initially and when you do let them out on their own do this when the cat is hungry not just after they have been fed as food is a great motivator to stay close to home and not to stray! - Physically go down and visit local Rescue Centres to check if they have been taken in unfortunately descriptions of animals brought in can vary and there are a number of ways to describe a cat or dog and its size. - Local authorities do have scanners and if unfortunately they come across a deceased animal they should scan it for a microchip. It may be a sad thing but at least it does allow an owner to have some sort of closure rather than be left worrying what happened to them. - Add your pet s microchip details on to your mobile phone but do not hand these out to anybody unless needed. (If your pet should stray, get lost or be stolen we would recommend you identify that it is chipped but not give out the microchip number.) All vets, local authorities and rescue centres have microchip scanners and all animals should be scanned if taken to one of these places. - Take sensible precautions ensuring you never let your dog out on its own or leave it unattended in a public place. - Ensure garden fencing is secure and escape proof. - For cats we would recommend ensuring your cat is neutered can be done from 14-18 weeks of age and does reduce the incidence of straying and fighting. Ensure your cat is kept in at night or when it is dark. - Keep looking, we have pets that have been reunited long after they went missing! Should you require any additional information or advice please do not hesitate to ask.
HEDGEHOGS EMERGING FROM HIBERNATION. SPRING IS HERE AFTER THE LONG WET WINTER. CATS WHY DO CATS MEOW AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN? IMPORTANT CAT QUESTIONS ANSWERED. Spring is finally here and hedgehogs are just emerging from hibernation and are hungry and will soon be looking for a potential partner. Hedgehogs in the garden are helpful in reducing slugs and snails and can live quite happily in a garden (or several gardens). If you consider encouraging them into the garden then you may also be fortunate to be able to see them rearing their offspring. Hoglets (baby hedgehogs) are born around June, with them coming out to forage with Mum in the evening and at night from July onwards. Hoglets become more independent from Mum at about 6 weeks so one hedgehog may become more should they decide to stay! Below are some hints and tips on hedgehog diets; - Hedgehogs will eat commercial Cat/ Dog food. Try to avoid those with cereals, or chunks in gravy, both can upset their stomachs. It is best to stick to super meat or chunks. - Spikes Dinner is a specially made commercial food for hedgehogs, it comes in both tinned and dry biscuit varieties it can be ordered via the practice or is available in some pet superstores. - If feeding a dried food, you should make sure the hoglets have access to water. If you wish to offer this, a shallow heavy dish is best, nothing that is easily tipped over. If you have a pond in your garden this is a good source of water, but please make sure they can get out easily so they do not fall in. - Please DON T put out bread and milk. Bread only fills them up and has no nutritional value for them. Milk will make them very poorly as they re unable to digest cows milk. Should you require any additional information or advice please do not hesitate to ask. The meow and talk of a cat is quite distinctive. It is however a sophisticated and complicated means of communication used by our domestic pets as well as larger Big Cats such as tigers and lions. Cats and kittens use their voices predominantly as a means of getting attention. The meow differs according to the situation. The talk can be broken into different categories according to the situation The meow- If it is around feeding time then they may become more vocal using their voice as a method of reminding you that it is their food time! The chirrup- This often sounds like a high pitched trill. It is used a form of greeting If you have just come home then the meow may be a quick hello, here I am please speak to me. QUESTION 1- What is a group of cats called? QUESTION 2- In which south American city, did a cat run for mayor in 2013? QUESTION 3- True or False? Cats sleep for around 70% of their lives? QUESTION 4- What is the technical name for a hairball? THE CURIOUS CAT QUIZ The purr- The purr comes from deep within the cats throat. A contented cat can almost purr continuously whilst breathing in and out. However cats that are stressed, frightened, sick or in pain can purr as well. It is unclear why they do it if they are in pain but one school of thought is that it is self hypnosis or self medication having a calming effect. It is important to look at the cat as a whole and the situation to decide if it is contented or not. The hiss- The hiss or wailing is not used by cats to talk to humans rather it is a female cat using her voice to advertise to male cats she is looking for a mate and a male advertising his presence in the neighbourhood! The chatter- When a cat is hunting it can seem to chatter whilst stalking prey. It is made by moving the jaw but keeping its body still. It is thought it may be a way of exercising its jaws prior to catching and killing its prey! QUESTION 5- How many cats did President Lincon keep in the White House? QUESTION 6- True or False? The first cat in space was French? ANSWERS QUESTION 1 - Clowder QUESTION 2 - Mexico City QUESTION 3 - True QUESTION 4 - Bezoar QUESTION 5 - Four QUESTION 6 - True
EASTER COMPETITION A FANTASTIC RESPONSE TO OUR SPOT THE EGG COMPETITION, GAVE US A GREAT EASTER. We loved hearing from our clients during our easter competition, and look forward to running more competitions in the future due to its success. A special congrutulations must go to Kirsty Stevens for correctly guessing the number of eggs hidden in the picture. We had over 3000 people in Cheltenham view our competition, making it one of our biggest competitions so far. Kirsty was just one of many people who entered, and unfortunately we couldn t have more than one winner. ANNOUNCEMENTS BOY OR GIRL? THE TRANSGENDER PUPPY. CRICKMOREVETS GOLF CHALLENGE Recently, we were routinely checking a six month old dog before speying. This turned out to be slightly different to what we were expecting. New for 2016. We are considering the possibility of establishing a CrickmoreVets golf challenge. This will be a fun but competitive day for our clients to show off their skills on the course. On examination the puppy had a rudimentary penis within an externally normal looking vulva. This is highly unusual, but a good reminder of the importance of having your pets routinely health checked. She has just been speyed with one of the ovaries looking more like a testicle. If this is something that you would be interested in getting involved in, please see our facebook page or let one of our team know and we can book you in. With great prizes on offer and a day of sunshine (hopefully), we look forward to seeing you on the course. OUR FAVOURITE CLIENT PICTURE RUBYe.-reception@crickmorevets.com THE SPRINGER t.spaniel (01242) 580709
Albion Lodge, 1 Gloucester Road Cheltenham, GL51 8LN 01242 580709 www.crickmorevets.com reception@crickmorevets.com