Welcome to our Summer newsletter
An end to the sneezes for Florence...Florence, a lovely little cat belonging to one of our receptionists Alyson, had a throat problem and came to see Sam, one of our primary clinicians.
Three year old Florence had been sneezing a lot, coughing and retching like she was trying to bring something up, and was suffering from bad breath. Although she was still eating and drinking, she was not feeling herself.
Clinical signs indicated that a foreign body was stuck in her upper respiratory tract, so Florence was anaesthetised to allow examination of her throat and upper airway. Luckily for Florence, a grass blade was found stuck in the back of her throat, which Sam was able to remove quite easily with some forceps. Florence was given some anti-inflammatory medication to reduce the inflammation in her throat, and she made a very good recovery.
Cats and dogs will sometimes eat grass when they are feeling nauseous to make themselves vomit, and occasionally this will lead to the grass becoming stuck in the back of the nasal passages or throat. Most of the time this can be retrieved with the patient under general anaesthesia, although sometimes requires use of an endoscope to guide removal.
Willows offer a reduced price mid-year health check, 6 months after the annual booster vaccination, so we can check your pet is in tip-top condition and discuss any concerns you might have.
Call us on 0121 712 7070 to book an appointment.
If you would like to receive this newsletter and other information from Willows by email, please subscribe to our mailing list at: www.willows.uk.net/signup
Willows Welcomes Georgina to the Primary Care Team!
Georgina graduated from the
Royal Veterinary College in 2012.
Before joining Willows primary
care team, she spent 2 years in a
rural companion animal practice
followed by a further 2 years in an
extremely busy small animal clinic
in the Midlands.
Georgina enjoys the variety that
general practice has to offer, but
some of her favourite aspects
include; working with nervous
dogs, working up complex
medical cases, and meeting a
wide variety of animals and their
owners. She is currently working
towards an RCVS Certificate in
Small Animal Medicine (RCVS
CertAVP(SAM)) and hopes to
push the boundaries of her
knowledge and experience by
joining the Willows team and
working alongside some of the top
Specialists in the country.
In her spare time Georgina shows
and breeds Donskoys (a Russian
breed of hairless cat), she enjoys
show jumping with her rescue pony
Joey, and has recently taken up
agility with her Italian greyhound.
Allergy season is here!Willows have again started to see our usual annual upswing in the number of animals
being presented with skin complaints. During the spring/summertime it is common
for allergic skin conditions to manifest, and for those animals that have year round
problems it can get noticeably worse during this period.
Owners of dogs with allergies
will be only too familiar with the
thump-thumping of a hind leg on
the floor, or the sound of constant
head shaking or foot chewing. The
impact on the animals concerned can
range from mild itchiness to severe
discomfort, which can have a real
impact on their general wellbeing.
Allergic dogs and cats do not always
present with classic ‘scratching’ –
it is important to also watch out
for chewing of feet, rubbing of
faces, recurrent ear infections and
(especially in cats) more time spent
grooming than is usual.
The reason for the seasonality which
is often seen in this type of condition
varies between individuals, depending
on what triggers their skin problems.
Sometimes there is a very clear
allergy to, for example, grass or tree
pollens, but in other cases it will not
be quite so straightforward.
In dermatology it is often useful
to think of an itchiness ‘threshold’
above which an animal will start
to show clinical signs; a number of
different factors can bring an animal
over this threshold. For example, a
seasonal grass allergy could combine
with a sensitivity to fleas, and if
a dog subsequently develops an
overgrowth of yeasts in the skin, this
might be the trigger for the start of
clinical signs.
Treatment therefore ideally needs to
be tailored to the individual and aims
to address their specific needs. The
best way of doing this is usually by
investigating different factors which
may be playing a part, although
it is also often possible to treat
more symptomatically.
One of the first things we generally
need to do is to treat any bacterial
or yeast infections, and also make
sure that broad-spectrum parasite
treatment is up-to-date to exclude
this as a factor. Depending on the
case we will sometimes then also do
skin scrapes or other tests to look for
specific mites and organisms.
An exclusion food trial is the most
reliable way of excluding any dietary
allergens, which are another common
trigger for skin issues. The diets we
use for this are either ‘hydrolysed’,
which means the proteins are treated
in such a way that they should not
be able to trigger a reaction, or
‘novel protein source’, which means
finding a protein and carbohydrate
combination which the animal
should not have been exposed
to before.
Specific allergy testing can also be
considered, if desired. This is done
either using serology (a blood test) or
intradermal testing (injecting small
amounts of allergens into the skin
and monitoring the development
of little bumps, which indicate a
reaction). This will generally give a
very accurate picture of the things
the animal is allergic to and, as well
as hopefully allowing avoidance
strategies to minimise exposure to
these things, can also be used to
formulate a type of ‘vaccine’ which
aims to desensitise the animal to the
allergens over a period of time.
Treatment of some allergic dogs may
only be needed during certain seasons,
but in others has to be year-round. The
options we now have available range
from omega-3 and -6 supplements
to reinforce the skin’s barrier against
allergens, through antihistamines and
other anti-itch medications, all the
way up to immunotherapy vaccines,
which are given by injection over
several months and are continued
at intervals lifelong if they seem to
be effective.
We are always happy to
discuss different management
options with you if you think
your dog may be affected -
0121 712 7070
Hannah Jones BSc(Hons) RVN
Veterinary Nurse
This year saw the 10th anniversary of the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund’s RAW campaign. Rabbit
Awareness Week (RAW) occurs annually during the month of June and is supported by leading animal
organisations including the RSPCA, Wood Green Animal Shelters, Burgess Pet Care, Panacur Rabbit, Blue Cross
and PDSA.
Rabbits are the third most popular pet
in the UK, however research has shown
them to be the countries most neglected
pet with over 67,000 entering rehoming
centres every year. Although rabbit owners
love their pets, the huge amount of
misconceptions regarding rabbit care
can mean that despite a loving owner’s
best intentions, welfare can be
inadvertently compromised.
Thanks to the fantastic work of charities
and the nationwide campaign of
‘Rabbit Awareness Week’, knowledge
and understanding of the true needs of
rabbits has grown amongst the general
public by getting up-to-date and accurate
information out to rabbit owners, therefore
allowing their bunnies to live a long, healthy
and happy life!
The theme of this year’s campaign was
#buddiesforbunnies – in the past, it has
been deemed acceptable for rabbits to
be kept alone in a small hutch at the
bottom of the garden, but we now know
that this is inadequate on many levels and
causes suffering. Rabbits are highly social
animals who, in the wild, live in groups. It
is therefore recommended that they are
kept in neutered pairs or groups in spacious
accommodation so that they can run and
play together.
As 57% of UK rabbits live alone, the Buddies
for Bunnies campaign aims to encourage
more owners to find suitable companions
for their furry friends.
Rabbits are known to be picky when it
comes to selecting a partner, and so both
should be vaccinated and neutered before
they meet to give them the best possible
chance at making friends! They then have to
go through a period of ‘bonding’ with a new
rabbit before they live together to make
sure they will get along, but once bonded
they tend to be friends for life! Many
rescue centres are very knowledgeable on
the bonding process and may be able to
provide bonding sessions so you can be sure
that your newly adopted rabbit will be a
welcome addition to your home.
For more information on bonding rabbits
and other rabbit care tips such as ideal diet,
housing and healthcare visit:
www.rabbitawarenessweek.co.uk
Willows currently has a number
of RWAF’s ‘Hop to it’ booklets
available FREE to our clients*.
The booklets are a full guide
to keeping rabbits and contain
information on everything
‘bunny’ from diet (including free
treats you can pick from your
garden) to housing, and health to
behaviour. Just ask at reception
or your primary vet if you are
interested in a copy.
*Subject to availability
Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service
Highlands Road Shirley Solihull West Midlands B90 4NH
Telephone: 0121 712 7070
www.willows.uk.netFollow us on Twitter @willowsvets
Find us on Facebookfacebook.com/willowsvets
Above:
Billy before surgery - the arrow
indicates the benign fatty lump
Right:
Billy showing his shaved back
and scar recovering at home
If you have a senior dog, you
may be interested in reading
our series of information
sheets on Looking after your
Dog - there are lots of useful
tips and information relating
to the different life stages:
www.willows.uk.net/pets
Hot Tip for Summer! As the weather starts to warm up it becomes a popular time for adder bites! The snakes are present all over the UK, with the South-East of England being a particular hot spot.
The adder is the only venomous snake native to the UK. The adder has a black-brown zig-zag pattern and a V or X shaped marking on the head. They can be confused with the non-venomous grass snake. One distinguishing feature is that adders have a ‘slit like’ pupil whereas grass snakes have a round shaped pupil (you will have come pretty close to see this, of course!).
Adders are actually very timid and non-aggressive, usually only biting when they are provoked, and preferring to stay hidden. For this reason bites are most common on the face or limbs.
If you suspect your pet has been bitten by an adder, you should phone your vet and arrange to take it to them immediately. In some cases a drip or antivenom may be required, depending on the severity of the bite.
Avoid bites by keeping dogs on leads during the warmer months in adder hotspots!
Double trouble for Billy!Billy was brought to see Will, one of the primary care clinicians,
as his owners were concerned that he had a large mass behind
his left shoulder which had been slowly getting worse.
This had already been previously diagnosed
as a benign fatty lump known as a lipoma.
Normally these fatty lumps don’t need to be
removed, however due to the location of the
lump, it was felt that removing it gave Billy
a good chance of feeling more comfortable
and would allow him to move more freely.
Will suspected the lump was underneath a
large muscle and as it was a very large mass,
Billy had a CT scan performed to evaluate
whether it could be removed and what would
be the best approach.
Completely by chance the CT scan also
picked up a mass on his spleen which was not
palpable on examination of Billy’s abdomen.
Without evidence that it had bled, there was
a 50:50 chance that it would be benign or
malignant. Sampling techniques can often
be unrewarding when dealing with the spleen
and considering most dogs can cope very well
without a spleen, it was decided that it should
be removed and sent to the lab for analysis.
Billy had both surgeries performed, the first
via his abdomen to remove the spleen and
then he had the large fatty lump removed via
a separate incision. He was kept in overnight
for monitoring and to ensure he had enough
analgesia and subsequently has made a great
recovery. After the laboratory had evaluated
the mass on his spleen, it was confirmed
that it was benign and that surgery should
be curative. This was great news for everyone
– especially Billy, who despite his old age, is
back to feeling more lively these days.
Billy is a great example of how well an old
dog can cope with quite considerable surgical
procedures despite his age and come through
to make a full recovery.