West Mount Vets

15/12/2024

As a practice we recommend you consider insuring your pet for many reasons.

Pet insurance can help cover unexpected costs, whether they be large one off bills or ongoing treatment plans.

Insurance will allow you and your vet to make decisions based on what is best for your pet rather than what you are able to afford.

Remember not all pet insurance is the same so it is a good idea to check the cover provided and ask if you will be paying more for claiming.

13/12/2024

Over the busy festive period, kindness has never been so important. We understand that our clients may be feeling concerned about their pet. We are experiencing a high demand for our services and are doing our best to prioritise urgent and emergency cases.
Please bear with us as we continue to provide care to all, in a manner that keeps you, your pets and our staff safe. Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

10/12/2024

Do you have enough medication for your pet to cover them over the festive period? If not, give us a call to pick up your pet’s prescription.

Please allow a little extra time to order and collect your pet’s food from us, as deliveries may be delayed due to the upcoming Bank Holidays.

09/12/2024

**URGENT NOTICE**
A young black and white entire (still able to have kittens) male cat has been brought into the practice.
He was found on Hanson Lane and is wearing a black and red collar.

Please contact the practice on 01422354542 if this is your cat

08/12/2024

There are lots of new things in the house at Christmas; decorations, wrapping paper, new toys and lots of boxes to play in.
Unfortunately, some things around the house can pose more risk than others, check out our list of pet festive risks around the house below.

For further information:
vetcollection.co.uk/health/keeping-pets-safe-at-christmas

If you are concerned about your pet over the festive period and need to see a vet, please call us.✨

07/12/2024

**STAFF PETS**

Bree! The 3 year old German Short-haired Pointer, is owned by one of our Lead Registered Veterinary Nurses Becky- Ironically named after a ✨calm✨ hobbit village from Lord of the Rings, but is in fact very much the opposite... She's the happiest ball of electricity and happy to see everyone whether you like it or not.

After a day of chaos she loves cuddles on the sofa with the cats and a good film to head tilt to ❤️. She loves her tricks and will show you all she knows in no apparent order and in a matter of 4.5 seconds (spin is her personal favourite). We've done a lot together, from charity runs to food festivals, she's happy to just be involved 🙂She is not an easy breed and we are still learning together but every day is a learning day!
I am lucky enough to bring her to work with me! So if you see her, be sure to say hello, you'll automatically be best friends.

04/12/2024

You may receive an email from Petchip.network advising that your pet’s microchip registration has expired and you need to pay for it to be updated – PLEASE IGNORE. THIS IS A SCAM. The email comes with a link taking you to a page showing your pet’s name, microchip number, your contact phone number and looks very convincing. PLEASE IGNORE.

There is a list of approved databases on gov.uk:
Get your dog or cat microchipped - GOV.UK

Typically you would only pay a fee or first registering your pet or if you contact the company to update your details .
It is important to keep your pet’s microchip contact details up-to-date including if you move address or change phone number/ email address. Please contact your microchip provider direct to update your details.

27/11/2024

**STAFF PETS**

Maeve is a Clumber Spaniel owned by Christie who recently became a Student Veterinary Nurse.

Clumber Spaniels are, unfortunately, a part of our Vulnerable Native Breeds in the United Kingdom with under 300 puppies registered in 2023 out of 92,000 gundog puppies!

They are the largest and heaviest of the spaniel family and also calmer in nature than her cocker/springer spaniel relatives, they are apart of the gundog group and originally were bred to be able to hunt better in heavy cover.

Maeve enjoys muddy walks, tummy rubs and chewing expensive items. She is very sociable and loves all dogs and humans, but is (very rightly so) scared of cats and balloons.

25/11/2024

November is National Diabetes Month. The most common symptoms of diabetes in cats are increased thirst and urination, appetite changes and weight loss (although many cats are still overweight at diagnosis).

Learn more about the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes in cats at: vetcollection.co.uk/health/conditions/feline-diabetes

23/11/2024

If you have been following us for a while, you may have seen that one of our Veterinary Surgeons, Vicky, usually found at our Mytholmroyd branch, volunteers with the Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England.

Vicky meets with them once a year to provide a free health check as well as administer vaccinations and parasite treatment and has been doing so for 19 years!
This photo of Dotty and her handler John, is from a meet a couple of weeks ago at Castleshaw Activity Centre in Oldham where Vicky completed a health check and vaccinated nine dogs.

So why are dogs used for Mountain and Rescue?
Every minute, you lose around 40,000 little pieces of skin (called rafts) into the air, and onto the surfaces around you. The composition of these skin rafts are unique to each person, even those from identical twins are different!
Due to their superior sense of smell, dogs can pick up the scent from these rafts from ¼ of a mile away, or more from a person, and with the right training, can guide their handler back to the source of the smell - because dogs use their nose they are able to help even when visibility is poor!

All the dogs used by the Mountain Rescue team are the pet dogs of handlers and are much-loved family members.
There are about 8.5 million dogs thought to be in the UK of which only 0.001% are Search and Rescue dogs and takes around 2-3 years to fully train a canine companion so you can understand how special they are!

To learn more about the English Search and Rescue Dog Team and how you can support them visit:
mountainrescuesearchdogsengland.org.uk

22/11/2024

Our practice is taking part in the Antibiotic Amnesty this November.
What to do if you have leftover or unused antibiotics:
- Return them to your vet practice for safe disposal
- Inappropriate disposal of unused antibiotics could contribute to antimicrobial resistance and pollute the environment through waterways, affecting our wildlife
- Don’t ever give your pet, or any pet for which they haven’t been prescribed, left-over or out of date antibiotics.

Using antibiotics when not needed could risk side effects, delay an accurate diagnosis for your pet, mean that your pet’s condition may not be treatable, and contributes to antimicrobial resistance.

20/11/2024

Advice on ‘Subtle signs of illness in rabbits’ in British Sign Language, with our Animal Health Care Assistant, Julie Beckett.

For more pet advice in British Sign Language and to use our SignVideo service visit:

All our veterinary practices offer Sign Video, a free service for deaf clients to help them communicate with our practice staff using British Sign Language (BSL).

19/11/2024

We hope you all had a wonderful snow day ❄️

Enjoy two of our staff dogs, Toby all wrapped up and warm enjoying the small amount of sun and an early morning snowy walk for Finley.

With temperatures due to drop again overnight make sure to check on any of your animals who live outside, ensuring they have lots of materials such as hay to burrow in.

18/11/2024

Parasites like fleas and ticks may be more commonly associated with warm summer weather - but the dangers don’t go away entirely.

Find out how to protect your pet here:

Parasite control is a key part of pet ownership - learn about the most common pest problems during the autumn months and how to avoid them.

16/11/2024

Ask us about our Well Pet Blood Screens 💜
Regular routine blood screening can help to detect ‘hidden’ disease early.

Your Well Pet Blood Screen will:
• Screen for conditions such as liver disease, kidney disease and diabetes
• Help us to identify early signs of disease such as anaemia, electrolyte imbalances and protein loss

Well Pet Blood Screens are designed for pets with no outward signs of disease. They are available in conjunction with routine vaccination, six month health check, or senior pet clinic attendance.

Members of the Healthy Pet Club receive a 20% discount on the cost of screening

For more information and the full list of benefits:
www.vetcollection.co.uk/health-plans-and-products/healthy-pet-club/

15/11/2024

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is common in older cats and dogs. In many pets, hypertension doesn’t have any symptoms until organ damage occurs, so routine blood pressure checks are recommended yearly for cats and dogs over 7 years old.

Find out more about hypertension at:
www.vetcollection.co.uk/our-services/blood-pressure-checks

or call us to book a blood pressure measurement today

15/11/2024

As the nights draw in, a lot of us will be starting to walk our dogs in the dark.
Check out our top tips below on staying safe whilst out and about with your pooch.

13/11/2024

Have you seen the recent rules that make it a legal requirement for everyone in Great Britain who keeps birds outdoors to register with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)?

You can find more details here:
guidance-for-registration-of-kept-birds-sept-2024.pdf (bva.co.uk)

New mandatory bird registration: what do keepers need to know – Government
Vets (blog.gov.uk)

The rules apply to poultry and other captive birds including pets and aviary birds. You do not need to register indoor birds such as budgies, parrots, cockatiels and finches if they are fully housed in a dwelling (your home or another indoor structure) and with no access to the open air.