Winston’s Whiskers

02/03/2025

🚨AVIAN FLU UPDATE🚨

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has released a statement on avian influenza (H5N1) and the effects on domestic animals. It is important to note that we are seeing H5N1 in other species as well, including livestock.

Link: https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/animal-health/avian-influenza/avian-influenza-virus-type-h5n1-us-dairy-cattle

01/13/2025

01/09/2025

Ever wonder where your donation dollars go? Here is one of our success stories that our donors made possible! Dr. Laura tube fed Neelix until he could eat on his own, then a staff member fell for his ginger charms and took him home for the rest of his foster journey - and beyond! He now has a loving forever home and we are so proud to have been able to help him.

01/09/2025

What is H5N1?
H5N1, commonly known as avian influenza A or bird flu, is a highly pathogenic strain of influenza virus that primarily affects birds, but cases have recently been reported in wildlife, cattle, cats, and humans.

What do we know about the latest outbreak?
Recently H5N1 influenza cases have been reported in cats that have consumed contaminated commercial raw food diets, unpasteurized milk, or had contact with wild birds and cattle.

Precautions:
Consider discontinuing your pet’s raw diet. Even if their raw food is human grade, frozen, or freeze dried, this does not prevent the potential spread of pathogenic bacteria, parasites, or H5N1 that may be present in the food. Consider cooking your pet’s raw food and/or consulting your veterinarian about diet change.
Limit your pet’s access to wild birds that may be carrying the virus and avoid giving them raw milk.

What are the symptoms to watch out for in our pets?
Clinical signs in pets may include the following:
• Loss of appetite
• Lethargy
• Fever
• Neurologic signs (ataxia, circling, tremors, seizures, sudden blindness)
• Copious oculonasal discharge
• Difficulty breathing
We recommend seeking veterinary care if your pet shows any of these signs. If they are having any life-threatening symptoms (neurologic signs, seizures, difficulty breathing, or collapse) seek veterinary care immediately.

Can this cause illness in humans?
Yes, H5N1 can cause illness in humans. Current human infections have been linked to contact with infected cattle and wild birds. There is no current evidence of human to human transmission.

What is being done?
The CDC, FDA and USDA are closely monitoring cases as they develop. One voluntary product recall has been issued for contaminated raw food diets for cats & dogs. We are continuing to monitor this emerging virus.

Follow our animal health centers' social media accounts for regular updates.
https://hubs.la/Q031WZ2g0

01/07/2025

Winston hopes you are staying warm and cozy in the cold weather

12/24/2024

Oh gosh, someone opened a present! 🙀

12/24/2024

Carlisle wants to remind you not to peek at your presents. It is not time to open them yet!!!

12/22/2024

Meory christmas tree
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Cre: Lim Heng Swee Ilovedoodle

12/21/2024

Carlisle hopes you get everything you could wish for this Christmas. Like he got this paper ball! (If you want to donate towards his care he could get even more stuff to smack!)

12/18/2024

Carlisle is feeling much better and is here to help you keep your tail up and give you some supportive bops

12/11/2024

He’s a lion! Roar!!!

12/11/2024

Carlisle is very good at helping me work! He is an excellent su-purr-visor

12/07/2024

We recently met Carlisle, a cute little guy who had a bad kitty cold and stopped eating. His blood sugar and temperature were both way too low! We gave him fluids and food, and warmed him up. While he isn’t out of the woods yet, he is feeling much better and really enjoys being syringe fed. We couldn’t have saved him without the heating pad so generously donated by Bridget Burger, we really appreciate it! He sends purrs, biscuits, and thanks to you 😸

12/05/2024

Mr. Pie has decided that he is done with his recovery kennel and that he will be free range at the clinic now. And currently that means in this cat tree. He will not be taking questions at this time, thank you.

12/05/2024

Pumpkin Pie very politely let me know he wanted out of his kennel tonight and he went on an adventure through the living room. But the real excitement was in the kitchen where he found a bowl of food that was WAY more exciting than the bowl in his kennel. For the first time he had a snack on his own! So he is making huge progress and may be able to have his feeding tube removed soon!

11/28/2024

We wish you a very happy Thanksgiving! This year Pumpkin Pie (the senior orange kitty) is joining us as a medical foster since he is having trouble eating at the shelter. He has some jaw trauma (we think he got hit by a car) and we are tube feeding him until he heals. We are especially grateful for your donations that allow us to help out kitties like Pumpkin Pie, thank you!!!

11/22/2024

We are so excited to finally be able to make our big announcement… we are the stewards of the brand new Little Free Library in place and open at Stafford County Animal Shelter!!!
The installation was a bit more challenging than expected, so we quite literally couldn’t have done this without the help of Captain Bice and Sergeant McCall.
And we really appreciate the donation of the materials and mentorship from Macie’s Little Free Library.
This was a group effort and we are so grateful to everyone involved. Happy Reading!

11/21/2024

The Fred SPCA Locke Community Medical Center will be holding a vaccine clinic this Saturday, 11/23, from 9am-1pm. Book your vaccine appointment and get more info on prices and offerings at fredspca.org/clinic. **Please note, the vaccine clinics fill up very quickly - if there are no appointments available, that means all spots have been filled**