Story County Veterinary Clinic

03/31/2025

Some folks are uncomfortable with the RETURN part of T-N-R. Here's an explanation of why we do what we do to help others understand.

There are an estimated 50-80 million homeless cats in the United States alone. Kitten season has begun and millions more will be born this spring. 🌷😔

It's heartbreaking. 💔 But, here is the fact:
👉 There are not enough homes for all of the cats and kittens. 👈

Well-intentioned followers will ask, "Why don't you find that cat a home?". Because there is no space available. 😞 There are THOUSANDS of adoptable cats at all of our local shelters who could potentially die without a home. But people want us to keep pulling any and every cat from outdoors to find it a home. Current population numbers make this an impossible task. But there is hope through spay and neuter‼️

We are grateful our shelter accepts ✅ young kittens. They also do wonderful work for ✅ sick and injured community cats. We are blessed they provide space for those who need it most ❤️‍🩹 and we utilize this resource to the fullest! They have the largest foster program in the area, but even they have limits. Space is not unlimited. Fosters are not unlimited. Funds are not unlimited.

If you are an individual who comes across a homeless cat (or even a whole litter) and you are willing and able to take them in (socialize them, if needed), we encourage you and applaud you! We WANT you to do that, as long as you are able to get those kitties fixed. But if you are that person who was fortunate enough to be able to do that and CHOSE to do that, please don't pass judgment on those who are not able to do the same.

To us, a healthy fixed cat who is returning to a caretaker outdoors is not a failure. We are in rural Virginia 🌳, so when we return, it's not exactly "to the streets". We return to *caretakers* with farms, yards with sheds or porches, houses with trees, etc. They have a home in their familiar outdoor space. They have a caretaker to monitor for sickness and injuries and we are always there should those caretakers need us. ❤️

The RETURN part of T-N-R is necessary for combating the overpopulation problem. Right now, they can't all have an indoor home, but if more people understood the importance of spay and neuter, it could definitely be a goal for the future. 🎉

03/24/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/15zpDJdVtT/?mibextid=wwXIfr

03/19/2025

A medication that does one thing for people does not necessarily do the same for our pets. 🚫💊🐶🐱

During , discover common human medications that can be unsafe for your pet and how you can keep them safe by following these simple guidelines. If you suspect your pet has been poisoned, time is critical! Immediately call your veterinarian or a pet poison hotline. https://bit.ly/2Wfs1Zi

03/19/2025

RECALL ALERT - Savage Pet of El Cajon, CA is recalling 66 Large Chicken Boxes 84 oz. and 74 Small Chicken Boxes 21 oz. with the lot code/best by date of 11152026 because it has the potential to contain H5N1, also known as bird flu.

Savage Cat Food Large Chicken Boxes and Small Chicken Boxes were distributed to retailers in California, Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington. Read more: https://bit.ly/4hjMMsF

03/15/2025

Dont be the problem

03/09/2025

Officials say all 11 confirmed cases involve unvaccinated dogs.

02/19/2025

We found this interesting.

02/13/2025

01/29/2025

https://www.facebook.com/groups/386160091972478/permalink/1668306360424505/?

12/12/2024

Please read this important warning for dog owners to keep your pup safe this holiday season!

Gingerbread House Dangers For Dogs, by Margit Maxwell

Look at the photo. Funny stuff, right? Nope. Why is this situation not funny? - Because gingerbread dough often contains cloves, nutmeg, and allspice.

If your dog eats your lovely decorated gingerbread house, the clove, nutmeg, and allspice content of the dough could make your dog very sick or in some cases, it could even be fatal.

Most gingerbread dough recipes can include these common spices: ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, coriander, and nutmeg.

Clove, nutmeg and allspice all contain the compound eugenol which can cause irritation of the GI tract, and when ingested in larger quantities, could cause liver damage. Nutmeg also contains a toxic
compound called myristicin, found in the oil of the nutmeg seed. A problem dose of nutmeg = 1 tsp of ground nutmeg. A toxic dose of powdered nutmeg is thought to be 5 grams.

The oil myristicin can cause severe disorientation, agitation, high blood pressure, and possible seizures.
A toxic dose of ground clove would need to be quite large - half a gram of powdered clove per kg of body weight to be fatal.

Allspice contains less of the eugenol compound than the other two mentioned spices so it tends to be less lethal but it can still make your dog very sick. An allspice lethal dose would need to be quite large, 2.5 grams per 10 kilos of dog weight.

Symptoms of clove, nutmeg, or allspice ingestion (other than a missing or partially eaten gingerbread house):
-vomiting
-diarrhea,
-excessive drooling,
-loss of appetite,
-disorientation and in serious cases,
- seizures are possible.

The seriousness of the ingestion of the gingerbread problem will depend on:
1. The size of the dog. - the smaller the dog mass, the more serious the toxicity levels.
2. How much of the gingerbread house was eaten? One bite? One wall? The whole building? The more gingerbread that was eaten, the more serious the problem.
3. Gingerbread dough that contains all three of the mentioned spices is delivering a triple dose of eugenol in the case of nutmeg, myristicin. Know the ingredients that are in your gingerbread dough.

Courtesy of: The Labrador Club

12/11/2024

Give your dog a healthy life for Christmas. Stop overfeeding!!!

Obesity is the #1 health problem in dogs and people.

Most veterinarians can go a month without seeing a single well-conditioned dog, but cannot go an hour with seeing two morbidly obese patients.