Halifax Vets for Pets

13/01/2025

🎀 I N D I A N A 🎀

Today’s office dog was none other than the wonderful Indiana, or Indy to her pals!

Indy belongs to Sally’s sister and is a regular visitor at the vets for her blood taking. Last year Indy underwent very invasive surgery to remove a Mast Cell Tumour from her anal gland region. Following its removal it grew back quite rapidly and despite electro-chemotherapy afterwards, Indy required further surgery to remove it.

Indy is now taking an immune suppressant drug to try and keep any nasty cells at bay. As with any immune suppressant drug it is vital to monitor Indy’s white blood cell production to ensure they’re not dropping too low!

Indy is over 10 years old and I am sure you will agree she looks wonderful for her age! 🎀

09/01/2025

The weather is continuing to stay below freezing. Please make sure any outside rabbits and guinea pigs are brought into a sheltered area, garage or shed. Or well insulated with lots of fresh hay, changed regularly and that their water is not able to freeze.

Puppy paws! We've had a few cases of sore paws recently due to the weather. Although the snow is fun, ice and grit is not, and can cause sore pads. Wash your dogs feet when they come in from a walk to help wash away and grit or salt residue.

Cat care! Even outdoor cats are not keen on the snow! If possible, keep a litter tray inside to give them the option to keep warm. Be mindful of de-icer poisoning as this can be fatal to cats. Any signs of;
Lethargy, Uncoordination
Excessive drinking and urination, Seizures, Rapid, shallow breathing with a racing heartbeat, Retching and/or vomiting, Lack of appetite or
Drooling please contact the practice ASAP!

09/01/2025

Puppy Pile!! 🐶

Lula the dachshund brought her x6 beautiful pups in today to be weighed and wormed 🐛 All snuggled together keeping warm in this cold weather 🥶 Boy power as she had only boys!! Go Lula, you did a fab job! 🥇Don’t you agree they are adorable?!!! ❤️

06/01/2025

WE ARE OPEN.

We are open today and all appointments booked will be going ahead as normal. If you are unable to make your appointment, please contact the practice on 01422 383 000 to rearrange. Thank you.

Send a message to learn more

03/01/2025

𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙖 𝘿𝙖𝙮! - 𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲

𝐈𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚.

𝐆𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟎 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬! 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬...????

𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝟐 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝟏𝟎 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫!
𝐖𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨...

𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤!

30/12/2024

𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑌𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 :

Tuesday 31st Dec(new years eve) - 8:30am-3:30pm
Wednesday 1st Jan (new years day) - closed
Thursday 2nd Jan - normal opening hours - 8:00 - 7:00pm

If you require any assistance or Out of Hours Care out of these times, please contact Birstall VetsforPets on 01924 441144.

30/12/2024

𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 🥳

Unfortunately for pets, New Year’s Eve isn’t as enjoyable as it is for us humans! It can be a time that causes a lot of stress and anxiety, but we are here to help…

Here are a few top tips to de-stress your celebrations:

🎇 Fireworks, one of the main pet related issues on New Year’s Eve. While some pets may not be affected by these, it can be a real nightmare if your pet is afraid and for a time like New Year’s Eve you can be sure there will be a lot of loud bangs and flashes.

- Building your pet a safe den so they can hide away in the comfort of their own home can really help with them feeling safer and discard the noises/lights.

- 🐰 🐹 Bringing outdoor pets inside. Pets such as Guinea Pigs and rabbits ideally would be best brought inside through this time but if you are unable to do so, putting blankets over their hutch can give them extra comfort and warmth.

- 📺 📻 Background noice… having the TV or radio on can massively help discarding the sounds of celebrations and fireworks aswell as pulling curtains where possible to eliminate the light pollution.

- 🦮 Dog walks. Try to avoid taking your dog out for a walk later on in the evening, therefore the chances of fireworks going off are much less. Alternatively if you cannot take them out earlier, making sure they have toileted before the night, then having an early night without a walk isn’t so bad! Walks with a lot of distractions and anxiety can cause a restless night, so making sure they are as calm as possible before the night starts is crucial for a stress free night.

- 👫🏼👭🏼 New people visiting. Having new people over or a large crowd in your house can be very overwhelming for pets. It is important not to force your pet to socialise if they don’t want too and allow them be alone some where comfortable if they feel to do so.

Overall, this time can be extremely fun but also very challenging. We hope you can take some information away from this to help your pets this new year.

All of us at Halifax Vets4Pets cannot wait to see what 2025 brings for us; meeting your new pets, welcoming old ones back and caring for our regulars ❤️

Halifax VetsforPets 🐾

30/12/2024

❣️…..so this is love…….❣️

Brontë really did fall in love with Spyros on her recent visit to us 😍

XL Bully or no XL Bully she will forever be a sweet angel that thinks she’s the size of a chihuahua to us 😆

29/12/2024

Are you comfy Django? 🤪

Django belongs to Sally and he is forever sleeping in the most obscure positions!

Do your pets sleep in strange positions?

Post below pictures of your pets in their craziest positions, let’s have a laugh 😆

28/12/2024

💫 I S S Y 💫

Issy and Sally have known each other for all of the years Issy has been coming to the vets, which is all of Issy’s life since she joined her humans 💓 As you can probably tell from the kisses of wisdom around her eyes , that’s a fair few years (over 11 actually) and yes Sally has been here for that long too 😱

Issy recently underwent extensive surgery to remove a large abscessed lump on her back. Issy was a little trooper and took it all in her stride! 💪🏻

Here she is with Sally having her blood pressure taken, and as you can see, posing for a photo is not something she finds difficult 😍

It’s really lovely for our patients to have a relationship with their nurses, it makes their stay with us so much more pleasant 🐾

24/12/2024

❣️ J O N E S Y ❣️

Madam Jonesy was referred to us from our friends at Vets4Pets Dewsbury following Jonesy’s human, who is also a Registered Veterinary Nurse, noticing she was struggling on one of her back legs. Jonesy suffered an injury when she was younger where she dislocated her hip joint. The joint was successful relocated and Jonesy made good a recovery, however some years later this hip started to bother her again…..

In we enter 🙌🏻🦴⚒️

Today James and the “Hip Team” which comprises of the same 3-4 people each time, performed a total hip replacement on Jonesy, which was a complete success 🙌🏻⚒️🦴

We look forward to watching Jonesy’s recovery and we know she’s in the best hands with her human!

Sister Gertrude (pictured below) is very keen to have Jonesy back out walking soon! ❣️

23/12/2024

Everybody needs a Piglet to their Pooh ✨

Some days in our jobs it is really hard. Today was that day for us. We lost a wonderful soul who we all loved so dearly and we will never ever forget him 🐾

It’s important to remember the people as well as the patients, as we spend all of our time loving and doting on animals every single day, we sometimes forget that we’re all human too.

This time of year brings so much happiness for so many families but we also see an awful lot of sadness regardless of the happiness around us.

So today I want to say thank you and I appreciate you to all of my team. You are all wonderful humans who give this job your heart and soul, and I feel honoured to work alongside you all. ✨

May all of your Christmases be as wonderful as they can be. And for those that can’t, know you’re thought of and loved ❣️

I’ll happily be the Piglet to your Pooh whenever that’s needed 💫

Love and Best Wishes, Sally ✨

20/12/2024

🎄𝑽𝒆𝒕𝒔𝑭𝒐𝒓𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒔 𝑶𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 ❄️

𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑.

𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑢𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝐵𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑉𝑒𝑡𝑠𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑃𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑛 01924 441144, 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑃𝑒𝑡𝑠𝑎𝑡𝐻𝑜𝑚𝑒, 𝑆𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑅𝑎𝑚 𝑅𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑘, 𝐵𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙, 𝐿𝑒𝑒𝑑𝑠, 𝑊𝐹17 9𝐴𝐷.

18/12/2024

𝙲𝙷𝚁𝙸𝚂𝚃𝙼𝙰𝚂 𝙼𝙴𝙳𝙸𝙲𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝚁𝙴𝚀𝚄𝙴𝚂𝚃𝚂:

𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚠𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝚗𝚘 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝙵𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝟸𝟶𝚝𝚑 𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛. 𝙳𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚌𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚍 🎄❄️

18/12/2024

Just going to leave this little newborn here to brighten your day ✨

17/12/2024

🪷 L I L Y 🪷

Little Lily was diagnosed with a disease of her hip joint called Perthes.

Thankfully fixing joints is what James does best! 🙌🏻

Lily underwent a total hip replacement, which was a complete success 😍

25/02/2024

When Kelly from our Colton store's Pets Grooming salon discovered a lump on the tail of nine-year-old Rufus she suspected something wasn't right, so alerted his owners Les and Andrea so they could get it checked out. They brought him to Vets for Pets Leeds Colton where it was confirmed he had a cancerous tumour which needed surgery.

Les, who adopted Rufus from Dogs Trust in Leeds as a puppy, said: “Rufus is such a big part of our life; we’re absolutely besotted with him. We probably wouldn’t have noticed the lump if not at the groomers as the tail isn’t somewhere you would usually stroke and feel. Kelly loves Rufus and really looks after him, so we want to say a big thanks for spotting it. Who'd have known what would have happened if she hadn’t noticed.”

Rufus had to have his tail removed, but is now making a good recovery. He's been visiting Kelly for a groom every six weeks for the last three years. She said: “You get to know everything about a dog as you groom them. I’ve discovered similar things before on other dogs so I mentioned it to the owners so they could get it checked out. Dogs are my life and you do worry; I’m so pleased they caught it. Now he’s got a fully docked tail like a little bunny rabbit. It’s lovely and suits him – when he gets washed he wiggles his bum.”

21/02/2024

Arthur's owner Louise says he "looked like a brand-new tortoise" after having his beak filed at Sutton in Ashfield Vets4Pets.

Louise adopted the four-year-old Horsefield Tortoise from a family member in October. Although she has had other pets, Arthur is her first tortoise, so she has been doing some research on how to best care for him.

Louise said: "I noticed Arthur's beak was unusually long, so I brought him in to Vets for Pets; I bring all my pets there. When he came out, I thought 'you beautiful boy, look at you – you look so handsome!"

Vet Steph, who looked after Arthur, says that tortoise beaks continuously grow and normally grind down themselves while they're eating. She said: "Arthur needed a little help as his jaw isn't perfectly aligned; his lower jaw is further out than his top jaw, so I filed it around half a centimetre. He was really good; a real cutie."

18/02/2024

Owner Claire says she couldn't be more grateful to Vets4Pets Hamilton after their quick diagnosis saved the sight of six-year-old Alba.

Claire knew there was something terribly wrong with her miniature dachshund cross when she called her in from the back garden last summer and Alba ran headfirst into a closed patio door. She rushed her to the vets, where investigations led the team to diagnose her with uveitis – an eye condition which causes inflammation of the middle layer of the eye.

Claire said: "It all happened so suddenly; Alba must have heard my voice and guessed where to go. It was quite scary seeing how bad she was. We couldn't be more grateful for the team in Hamilton spotting the uveitis as quickly as they did, otherwise Alba would have gone blind within a matter of days. Their knowledge saved Alba's sight. I still can't believe it happened. It's taken months of treatments, but it's such a relief to have our girl back to being her funny, bossy self."

Vet Neil, one of the team who treated Alba, said: "Alba's pupil was really narrow and wouldn't respond to light properly, which can be a sign of uveitis. Once we had ruled out other conditions, we were able to get her to an eye specialist for ongoing treatment. She's now doing really well."

16/02/2024

Ducky's owner Antonia was in a state of panic when she saw a fox had dug its way into the field where she keeps him – killing two of her other ducks and chickens.

Antonia was about to move her brood into their pen for the evening when she saw what had happened and noticed that Ducky had severe bite wounds under his wing. She rushed him to Vets4Pets Vets Milton Keynes for emergency surgery – and after having his wound stitched up the one-year-old duck is now making a good recovery.

Antonia said: "I was so worried. You don’t often hear of ducks recovering from fox attacks, but there is something about Ducky and the way he was so brave. I'm sure he was protecting a lady duck, as he's a bit of a romantic. It's the first time we've gone to Vets for Pets, and the team were amazing; they've done an incredible job."

Vet Becca, who treated Ducky, said: "He's a really lucky duck, as it was quite a big wound. When he first came in, he was understandably subdued and quiet but when he came back for his stitches to be taken out, he wanted to explore and tuck his head into everyone’s shoulders."

07/02/2024

Well done to the team at Vets4Pets Guildford who've been awarded a silver level certificate for being a rabbit-friendly clinic.

After head veterinary nurse Ella noticed that more customers were bringing in rabbits the practice took a series of steps to give them as stress-free an experience as possible. Ella, who also fosters rescue dogs in her spare time, said: "There was a long list of things that we needed to prove that we did from making sure the rabbits are kept separate from other animals and not booked in at the same time as barking dogs, to providing heated kennels for those who need to stay in, and using special equipment made especially for rabbits."

Practice manager Kevin said: "All of our vets have plenty of experience with rabbits we have some real rabbit geeks here, so it was a big thing to us. There are so many good people in this world and I'm so proud to be around them."

28/01/2024

Beautiful Bear was born deaf, so he's learned to follow his owner Lisa's visual commands.

Lisa, who shops at our Tamworth store – "it's my second home!" – got two-year-old Bear as a kitten and suspected he was deaf when he didn't respond to her voice. She had it confirmed by her vet soon after. She said: "He was very scatty, and scared of people he didn’t recognise. He wasn’t bothered by loud noises like my other cat Emily and when I came home from work he wouldn’t hear the door open.

"He's doing really well though. I try to do some sign language with him – I point at him and do a solid hand sign at him to stop. He picks up on vibrations and scents too. He meows, making a really loud chirping sound which I’ve never heard a cat do before, and he’s always rubbing his head against my legs and following me everywhere. I was advised not to let him out because he wouldn’t hear cars or other dangers, so he comes outside with me every morning to have a sniff around the garden and always comes straight back in." Bear and Lisa's other cat Emily are on Instagram as

27/01/2024

Ten-year-old Dutch rabbit Alfie has been visiting vet Kate at Vets4pets Wolverhampton for dental treatment for the last eight years – and she says he's such a loveable character that he's become "part of the family".

He's one of the oldest rabbits treated by Kate and the team, and she says his longevity is down to the care and love he gets from his owner Tracy and her family. Kate said: "Alfie is famous in this practice – everyone knows him. We and his family are dedicated to making sure her little old man is happy. The beautiful thing about being a vet or vet nurse is you build these relationships with the owners and their pets – they become your surrogate pets."

Tracy's been keeping rabbits all her life, and says that having space and routine is key. She said: "Alfie is an old man now and has a routine. He goes into a hutch at night and is let out in the morning. He's out all day and has his favourite spots in the house. We clean him out every day and give him a lot of attention. When he was younger he would follow us around; if I was clearing a cupboard out he would be in the cupboard to help. Now he's old and wants to be warm and watch instead. I can't thank Kate and the practice enough. Kate's been fantastic with him."

26/01/2024

Eight-year-old Winnie the Schnauzer cross is running around like a puppy again thanks to laser treatment and physiotherapy after two successful knee operations at Vets for Pets Basildon.

Worried owner Tracy brought Winnie in to the practice after she collapsed on a walk last year – and the team discovered the cruciate ligament in a knee had ruptured. She’s since had ops on two knees and is on a recovery plan led by vet physiotherapist Izzy.

Tracy said: "Winnie has had a tough year with 15 teeth removed, two cruciate ligament operations and two bouts of pancreatitis but thankfully she's hardy. She’s treated fabulously at the Basildon practice. Izzy is great with her – she totally relaxes in her hands and does little snores with her eyes open. Winnie has a new lease of life again and is running around like a puppy."

Izzy said: "When pets have surgery or injure themselves they move differently which causes them to be sore in other places. Winnie has laser therapy then a massage to help the healing process. Laser treatment is a specialist service that not enough people know about – it can help in so many ways after an operation.”

19/01/2024

The team at Vets4Pets Cramlington say greyhound Frank was "an absolute gentleman" when he came in for some dental work.

Seven-year-old Frank was brought in by owner Harriet to get rid of some plaque which had built up and to treat a gum inflammation. Veterinary nurse Vicki said: "Frank was a very good boy and left with clean, fresh and sparkly teeth. It's so very important to get your dog's teeth checked and we advise pets to have an annual dental check. Eighty per cent of dogs over the age of three have dental disease. Prevention is much better than cure and regular checks and routine cleaning keep your pet's mouth healthier for longer and can help to prevent extensive extractions later in life. We are always happy to offer advice on maintenance and dental care at home such as teeth brushing or dental supplements."

18/01/2024

Veterinary nurse Mel from Vets4Pets Bristol Longwell Green loves cats so much she's helped the practice make a number of improvements to give cats as stress-free an experience as possible when they're brought in.

Mel, who has an Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour for Veterinary Professionals, helped introduce facilities like a separate feline waiting area and cattery and the use of quiet clippers – and the practice now has a silver level certificate for being a cat-friendly clinic. She said: "I love dogs but I'm really a cat person. Cats can be misunderstood which can lead to them having quite a stressful life, so if we can make things easier for them and help people understand what cats need then everyone will be happier.

"As animal lovers there's always more to learn and understand about what makes them happy. Enrichment at the home is important for a happy cat – and as cats are naturally solitary animals if you live in a multi-cat household it's important to understand what they need. The rule is to have a resource per cat, plus one spare. So if you have two cats you should have three feeding stations, three litter trays and three scratch posts spread around the house so they have the opportunity to move around to wherever they want to go. Scratching is as natural a thing for cats to do as going out hunting is, so if they're unable to go out it's about providing the chance for them to behave as naturally as possible."

07/01/2024

Four-year-old Sebastian the Jack Russell is back to his usual boisterous self after being treated at Vets4Pets Abingdon for a condition that was causing the knee caps on his back legs to dislocate when he walked.

The condition, known as medial patellar luxation, would cause him to hop or skip when exercising. It's quite common in terriers and small dog breeds, but Sebastian's case was quite severe and he was given surgery by orthopaedic surgeon Joe to deepen the groove his patella runs in on his right hind leg, and also to move and reattach his patellar tendon.

Sebastian is owned by practice vet Hannah who said: "After the operation he just wanted to get back to normal straight away but he couldn't ... and that's where we struggled. He wanted to be out and about, charging around and playing with his toys but he needed to rest." Hannah had to give him medication for six weeks to give his knees time to heal. She said: "He's absolutely fine now – he's fully recovered and running around like a lunatic again!"

05/01/2024

When 11-year-old lurcher Jess was brought into Vets for Pets Leeds Birstall 24/7 Small Animal Hospital on Christmas Eve feeling very poorly with pyometra – a life-threatening uterus infection – the team knew they had to act fast; so vet Emily and nurses JD and Hannah headed straight in to perform emergency surgery on her in the early hours of Christmas morning.

The operation went so well that by lunchtime nurse Krishna was able to call her owner Beth to say she was well enough to come home to recuperate – and Beth made the hour-long drive from her home in Keighley so she could bring Jess home before the family sat down for their Christmas dinner. Beth said: "It was a stressful start to Christmas, as we were worried about Jess because of her age and because she's never had anything wrong with her before. We're so grateful for everything – it was so nice of them to come in on Christmas Day to operate on her, to look after her so well and to get her home on top form. The vets were fantastic from start to finish. Jess is recovering nicely – you can see the happiness is back in her!"

Krishna said: "Our night team always do an amazing job, and performing serious surgery like that at that time of night and on Christmas Day of all days is just brilliant. Jess did amazingly well to bounce back so quickly, and it was amazing being able to call her owners to say that she could come home to spend Christmas with them. It's the sort of call we all love to make, but doing it on Christmas Day was extra nice."

03/01/2024

Six-foot-long boa constrictor Astrix was the centre of attention when he called in for a routine "top to tail" health check at Vets4Pets Penzance.

Astrix, who's four, is part of a menagerie of six snakes, bearded dragons and six dogs belonging to veterinary nurse Lowenna, who works at the practice, and her partner Mark. The team looked at Astrix's eyes and mouth and checked his breathing to rule out any respiratory infections and also checked his scales.

Lowenna said: "He got a clean bill of health, he was absolutely fine and everyone had a turn holding him. Asterix is quite reserved, a little bit shy usually. He did really well when he came in as everyone wanted to touch him and he was like 'okay I quite like the attention.' Astrix has got a lovely big set-up at home. He's quite a big boy, weighing in at nearly 10 kilos, so the vivarium is more than seven foot long. We have a reptile room and he has the run of it. He has a large bucket of water too if he ever wants to submerge himself."

02/01/2024

This brave girl is collie-cross Sherpa, who the team at Vets for Pets Livingston say was "impeccably calm" when she was rushed in for emergency injury after hurting her eye in a freak accident.

Sherpa's owner Caroline was taking Sherpa for a walk when Sherpa caught her eye on a stick as she went exploring a bush. She was quickly admitted into surgery where she received X-rays and, after a two-hour procedure by practice owner Dr Adam, aided by nurse Erin, the stick was removed. Adam said: "Sherpa was amazingly tolerant following an extremely random occurrence. It was astonishing." Sherpa didn't lose her sight and is now making a great recovery.

Caroline said: “We were suddenly thrown into the worst living nightmare, it was absolutely horrifying. It’s truly a miracle what Adam and the team achieved from the moment they answered our call for help. They gave us hope."

24/12/2023

This little Christmas cracker is Molly, who survived against the odds and gave birth to three premature puppies after being brought in to Vets for Pets Cirencester as a pregnant stray with severe injuries from a fight with other dogs.

Martina, who owns the practice, said: ”It was really touch and go and we thought Molly might not make it. The team treated mum first, got her on a drip and stabilised her before successfully managing to deliver the puppies – two boys and a girl – by caesarean section."

Molly, who's a Cairn Terrier, and her three pups are recovering well at home with Martina. “As they needed 24/7 care I took them home and emptied the whole spare bedroom so there was a nice, warm and comfortable quiet place for Molly and her puppies. I was attached to her for the first five days – my husband Matt even brought food up to the bedroom for me as I stayed there all the time. It was really hard work but it was all worth it. They’re absolute darlings and doing really well now – mum is already brave enough to go on dog walks.”

Martina says Molly will continue living with her in the future, and the puppies will be adopted when they are stronger.

19/12/2023

This beautiful buzzard is on the mend after undergoing surgery on a broken wing at Vets4Pets Newmarket after he was hit by a car.

A member of the public rescued the buzzard and brought him in to see if the team could help. After a successful operation and five days of recuperation he's ben taken to The Raptor Foundation rehabilitation centre to continue his recovery.

Practice manager Natalie said: "We put him under general anaesthetic and performed orthopaedic surgery. We'll see him again next month to see how he's progressing and then hopefully he'll be released back into the wild. We wish him a speedy recovery as he's such a handsome chap.”

17/12/2023

Here's a salutary tale in the run-up to Christmas Day ... the story of poor little Tego, who had to be rushed to Vets for Pets Morpeth for emergency treatment after snaffling 48 Quality Street chocolates, their wrappers and part of the box.

Owner Sarah realised chocolate was toxic for dogs so phoned the vets who told her to get the five-year Tibetan Terrier there immediately. Sarah said: "They were brilliant with him. The chocolates were a birthday present for my daughter Olivia, and they were all wrapped up and put in the lounge with the door shut. I went to work and when I came back Tego had somehow managed to get in the room and rip into them."

Vet Eleni and the team helped Tego cough everything up and took blood tests and put him on medication before he was allowed home. Eleni said it's a useful reminder to keep chocolates well hidden – and to act fast if your dog eats any and induce vomiting within one to two hours to prevent the body from absorbing the toxins.

16/12/2023

Five-year-old Buddy will be thinking twice about picking up sticks in future after one pierced his tongue and he had to be taken for treatment at Vets4Pets Lisburn.

Owner Danielle says Buddy doesn't normally play with sticks but one day he saw other dogs having fun with sticks and ran over to join in. "We heard a loud yelp and he came sheepishly over to us, with his tail between his legs, and we realised he was in pain. We took him to the practice where Becky the vet found the hole under his tongue and treated him with dissolving stitches, antibiotics and painkillers. Becky was so lovely."

Danielle says: "Buddy is doing absolutely great now and we are keeping an extra eye on him – we've even bought him a fake fabric bendy stick from Pets at Home!"