Diaries of Lab Tests and Cat Scans

11/07/2021

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jul/10/raw-dog-food-may-be-fuelling-spread-of-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria?fbclid=IwAR2-XIcGluCrErOAWDTK7_1iVcmiRYE05icaAlydJ7rWna6PtuqZvhM3gXs

Researchers warn of international public health risk and urge authorities to raise awareness

21/06/2021

UPDATE
Wilko cat foods now also being recalled. Really worth checking your cat feed as a precautionary measure

20/06/2021

Some of you may already have seen that FoldHill pet food manufacturers have voluntarily, in conjunction with other agencies, issued a recall on some cat food products made at one of its production sites. Those foods currently include;

All Applaws dry food from the GB factory (no longer based on dates)
All Ava dry
All Sainsbury’s hypoallergenic dry
All Wilko dry **new**

The code to look for is: GB218E5009
That’s the factory code.

Also, the same factory produces quite a few cat treats and dry cat food sold at Lidl. These haven’t been recalled but it may be safer not to feed them until more is known.

This applies to cat food only and is due to a POSSIBLE link to several cases of pancytopaenia in cats. Pancytopaenia is a lack of cells produced in the bone marrow which include platelets (necessary for clotting) and white blood cells and can therefore lead to severe anaemia through blood loss and an inability to combat the presence of every day normal bacteria, never mind levels and types of bacteria that can cause disease. Sadly, many of these cats have not survived. This is tragic and sad but does not mean everyone should panic.

If you feed these foods to your cats check the packaging for the factory code above. If you have any at home you can return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. If the packet is open and your cat has been fed any, or if you have finished packets with no way of checking the factory code etc please contact your vets for advice. They will be happy to help. Please be kind and patient though. Vets are already struggling with massively increased workloads and all things Covid related, as are many other sectors, and dealing with this on top is another service to fit into already full diaries. We are there for you though and we will do our level best. For those with cats with no signs of illness who are fed these foods owners can request a blood test to measure the red and white blood cells. This is quick (so long as your cat is compliant 😂) and results can usually be reported within 24 hours. If you have a cat fed any of these foods who is showing any signs of being unwell please tell your vets immediately.

A LOT of research and testing is happening behind the scenes. This takes time. Hopefully we will have further information and answers soon.

04/04/2021

. Cropping ears has no benefit whatsoever to dogs and is done for aesthetic purposes. This makes it mutilation. It is illegal here and it causes unnecessary and significant pain.
You may already have seen press releases about this and you may already have signed this petition. If not, please do. We should not be supporting this practice in any way, shape or form and that includes importing dogs from overseas who have had their ears cropped.

8️⃣0️⃣ 0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ signatures! Let's get the petition to 100,000 so our call to end ear cropping for good is considered for debate in parliament.

Alongside veterinary and animal welfare organisations, we want to see the Government close the legal loopholes that allow dogs to be sent abroad to be cropped and for dogs to be imported and sold with cropped ears in the UK. Help us achieve this by signing and sharing our petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/574305

Focus On Animal Law - FOAL

01/04/2021

Look after your vet’s workload and your bank balance this year and ensure pets don’t eat any Easter tragedies!!

🥚 A reminder that Easter can be a potentially dangerous time for your pets and that it is not just chocolate that can prove a hazard

Keep these things out of reach to avoid an unwanted trip to the vet this weekend:

▪️ Raisins or sultanas
▪️ Foil or plastic wrappers
▪️ Xylitol Sweetener
▪️ Chocolate
▪️ Bones
▪️ Lilies

16/01/2021

Please check whether this may affect yours if you feed Pedigree.

Attention Pet Parents!

Consumers who have purchased affected products have been asked to cease feeding it to their pets immediately.

Today, Mars Petcare UK is announcing the proactive recall of a limited number of products, including CHAPPIE® Complete, PEDIGREE® Dry Mixer and PEDIGREE® Complete Dry Chicken and Vegetables products.

Consumers who have purchased affected products have been asked to immediately cease feeding it to their pet and to contact the Mars Petcare consumer care team for more information.

10/12/2020

New news just out.

As of today there is confirmation that the UK will become a Part 2 listed Country with regards to Pet Exports.

This means;
1) Pet passports will no longer be accepted as valid travel documentation for dogs, cats, ferrets travelling from the UK to Europe.
2) Pet owners will need to apply for an Animal Health Certificate, or ask their vets to apply via a government Gateway, for travel certification. This must be certified by a vet holding the appropriate Official Veterinarian status no more than 10 days before travel and is valid for onward travel in the EU for 4 months and return to the UK within 4 months
3) Rabies vaccination requirements remain essentially the same; vaccination must be given and a standstill period of 21 days before travel observed. If boosters are given on time there is no additional standstill period. There is NO NEED for a Rabies antibody titre test and 3 month standstill
4) It may be advisable to have Rabies boosters completed annually as some EU member states may insist on this and not accept vaccinations boostered at 3 years, regardless of licensing indications.

In general this is pretty good news for those wishing to travel with their pets.

27/10/2020

This was sent to me today by a friend on the basis that it’s pretty funny. I presume it’s an American thing given the style. Regardless, I think it deserving of a good chuckle.
Underlying the humour however there is always a serious side. Obesity in pets is a very common thing with some pretty big health risks. Most owners don’t even realise their pet is overweight because society is so used to overweight dogs, in particular, that the concept of a “normal weight” is now very warped.
I will never forget the conversation I once had with a client who came in with a dog worried it may have a hormone inbalance because it literally wouldn’t go anywhere or do anything.
My first port of call was not a hormone problem. The Jack Russell weighed in at a whopping 18kg - more the weight of your average healthy sized Collie and, whilst hormones can have an impact on weight, there is a far more obvious cause.
So, we discussed diet. At length. The dog was apparently fed only half a tin of wet food twice a day. “What about treats?” I asked. “Oh no. She doesn’t get any treats. We don’t buy those”. My obvious concern was that the weight was coming from somewhere and I encouraged the owner to think long and hard about everything that may pass her dog’s lips on any given day because, trust me, doggy diet boot camp is a hell of a lot cheaper than a potentially major diagnostic work up (you see, vets aren’t “in it for the money” after all).
After some time and discussion with her daughter the owner finally latched on to the real problem. Whilst she may not buy dog treats, and therefore her perception of the answer to my question had been that she didn’t get any treats, it turned out the dog loved beer, cider, ginger nut biscuits, cheese crackers wth cheese and was unable to get through her day without her bowl of ice cream. This conversation held many lessons for me; not least the need to explore a topic from all angles because my idea of “treats” encompasses anything that isn’t dog food meals. This owner interpreted it as being only commercially produced dog specific treats thus leading to a temporary communication block.
Anyway, the dog went to stay with the owner’s daughter for boot camp and, just 4 weeks later had lost 1.2kg and was already showing more interest in life. Over time she did very well and her story was a positive one.
Obesity is a real problem though. Activity levels aside it puts a real strain on many major body system functions. It can increase the risk of developing certain cancers, heart disease, diabetes, osteoarthritis (and increases the severity of symptoms), high blood pressure, overheating or heat stroke, it increases anaesthetic risk in pets needing surgery and, for brachycephalic breeds it puts even more strain on an already struggling respiratory system. Studies have also demonstrated the negative effects of obesity on longevity. In just moderately overweight labradors life span was a whopping 2 years less than for those of an appropriate weight. That’s basically 1/8 or more of a dog’s normal life expectancy.
It is problematic in cats too. Diabetes in cats is massively weight linked. In cats obesity makes tissue insulin resistant leading to diabetes. In some cats this can be reversible with weight loss but they will initially need insulin treatment. This is twice daily injections for most and is a time consuming, stressful process with an inherent cost associated. Much cheaper to spend less on buying smaller quantities of food and keeping them at an appropriate weight! Other risks in overweight cats are pretty much the same as dogs; heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, some cancers, urinary stones....
My motto for my own animals has long been “I may be overweight but my pets aren’t allowed to be”. After all, what I do to myself is my problem. What I do to my animals becomes their problem and that ain’t fair.

27/09/2020

So, I am aware I’ve been a bit quiet recently. Recovering from the drain that was working during Covid lockdown and everything that’s come after has been tiring. I think the whole profession has come under a lot of strain. I’ve loved working in my practice and we have all supported each other exceptionally well and this is something I shall always be grateful for. Nevertheless, these unprecedented times have affected all of us and brought a great many challenges.

Today I thought I’d talk about our recent experience with TB testing the cows. In the main to encourage people not be be “that” client, which I was 🤦🏼‍♀️

Last Monday we had our TT1 scheduled. This is basically where the TB tester comes and measures skin thickness of two patches on the cow’s neck, one above the other, and injects an avian TB strain derivative into the upper patch and a bovine strain derivative into the bottom patch. The mechanism is probably boring to most people so I won’t go into it except to say that, in theory, if a cow has been exposed to the bovine TB mycobacterium the bottom skin injection will produce a “lump”. The top, Avian derivative, is used as a control to compare with as certain things can cause a cross reaction.

The TT2 happens 3 days later when the TB tester comes back to assess whether there is any skin reaction and/ or to re-measure the skin thickness.

We had that typical 1 cow who refused to go in the pen for the TT1 test on Monday. When the others had their TT2 on Thursday she went in the pen with them so she had her TT1. This is extremely unusual because it meant she had to have her TT2 today, Sunday. Clearly this is not ideal and is not usually possible because it’s a routine thing which an on call vet shouldn’t be eager to do. Especially not when the practice earns about £50 for testing 4 cows and this has involved 3 visits, instead of two, with one being on a Sunday and about 45 minutes from the vet’s house.

I was extremely lucky that I work with a fantastic team and they were prepared to push the boat out and give up their time on a Sunday for no reward. In an ideal world I would never be “that client” and I am privileged that it was all ok because of the people I work with.

TB testing is important for a range of, mostly polictical, reasons. It helps to protect you, the public, from a nasty disease although pasteurisation has largely rendered it a problem of the past for human health, except possibly for those working closely with infected animals. However, TB status affects our ability to trade and export and affects our farming reputation as viewed by other countries and this is why it is a politically important disease. It is what is known as a “notifiable disease” so that any animal found to be infected must be reported to the Animal and Plant Health Agency. There are penalties for not completing a TB test by the specified date.

TB is also a disease that can infect any mammal, including cats and dogs, so it is potentially relevant to people who don’t keep cattle as well.

Anyway, my troublesome cow wouldn’t go in the pen today either but, thankfully, she would come to the fence for a bucket and wasn’t put off by the vet being present so he was able to accurately complete her TT2 today. All four cows tested clear so I am relieved today that I have four clear cows and that I am not at risk of financial penalties for an incomplete test!! The joys of keeping livestock!

I am most grateful to my work colleagues, particularly to today’s on call vet, for giving up their time to accommodate me and my pain in the proverbial cow! Don’t be me. Don’t have cows or, if you do, get your pen and crush together quicker than I did so that they get used to the routine of being put in daily!

The cow in question, demonstrating a lack of skin reaction lumps in her clipped patches;

14/08/2020

Did you know that our Registered Veterinary Nurses are an exceptionally highly skilled part of the team? They are unquestionably the most hands on element of the majority of your pet’s care. They monitor anaesthesia, give medications prescribed by vets, handle and restrain, take blood samples, put in and sort out catheters, drip pumps and syringe drivers, they provide hands-on nursing care, create and implement feeding plans, attend to toiletting needs (and accidents!) provide invaluable weight clinics, nail clips, grooming, post op checks, second vaccinations, are on hand for general advice and many many more things besides. They also mop up after us vets when we leave a whirlwind in our wake, despite our best efforts, and you know what? They don’t complain about doing so. I don’t tell our nurses often enough how grateful I am for their support and help. I try to be as tidy as possible to give them a break and help them out but sometimes I fail and when I look back a nurse fairy has picked up behind me.
So, what I want to say is this; I’m all for changes that allow our RVNs to use their skills to the max but I’m also very keen that the public understands the difference between a Registered Veterinary Nurse and an unqualified nurse. Each has a very different role and the RVN status is hard won and hard work. They are amazing people who are qualified and competent. Much love to the RVNs of the world! ❤️

Performing cat castrates, prescribing some POM-V medicines, creation of advanced status and encouraging development of the “district nurse” role are among the changes proposed by the RCVS.

16/07/2020

Life as a vet can certainly be stressful. The ones we can’t help are bad enough at times. With the added stresses of sometimes very unfair criticism of the profession, practices and individuals, this is happening far too often. We do care, we wouldn’t be in the profession otherwise. But we are also human.
One of my colleagues made a comment to me about the positive posts online supporting several businesses in making a charge to cover their PPE costs and how, if it were vets doing so, that positive attitude would likely be a negative one instead. With people complaining about paying for a consultation by telephone I have to say I suspect she may be right. It seems we are always likely to be accused of trying to fleece people for just wanting to make a reasonable living in return for our highly professional skills and pretty significant responsibilities. Please be kind. YOU can make a difference.

Another young veterinarian from another hospital was lost to su***de this week. James did not work at PRVH but was a valued member of the veterinary family.

This problem continues to plague our profession.

Please be kind. Think before you share some viral post about how some vet has done some stranger wrong. There are always two sides and sometimes the side you are not hearing is the vet that is hanging on by a thread. We can’t defend ourselves.

Realize that we are "not in it for the money". Running a practice, having top of the line equipment, paying staff is not cheap.

Realize that we are human and may forget to call you back or may not have enough hours in the day to squeeze in one more, while you are here request.

James Weaver was a kind, compassionate, open-minded, and all around stand up guy who went to Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Once again, we are left blindsided wondering how the funniest guy in the room could harbor such profound pain. We wear our armor well.

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts and depression, you are not alone. You are loved. And life will get better. Call someone you trust and let them know you need help. You can also call the National Su***de Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Rest In Peace, James. The world and all our furry friends lost a great one today.

14/06/2020

For anyone who may have been concerned, this pulls together some data to demonstrate that essentially there is no evidence of pets transmitting COVID to humans 😊

https://www.icam-coalition.org/infected-not-infectious-how-dogs-and-cats-have-become-the-victims-of-covid-19/

Those of us who work with companion animals will be all too aware of zoonotic diseases. These are diseases that are passed between animals and people, including rabies. Using vaccination and deworming to prevent these diseases in dogs and cats, and therefore also protect people, is a constant drive....

13/06/2020

Introducing Moooslie; the friendliest of our four girls (Sorry about the rain streak).
Although I live my working life as a small animal vet I miss the farmy side a lot. Especially in better weather 😉 So I’m very glad to have the local facilities to keep a few of our own sheep and cattle. We have a little co-operative with the neighbours which works really well because it means that, Covid not withstanding, we are still able to have holidays or go away to visit family etc and know they will be looked after.
Whilst the aim is to ultimately raise our own food, for which there is an emotional side and which I fully appreciate not everyone would feel comfortable with, it is important to us to know that we have happy, healthy, well raised meat and eggs. The other way to aspire to this is to shop local at good quality farm shops such as Coombe Hill Farm Shop. We also use Wholly Gelato for our milk and, of course, their delicious gelato.
Fewer miles, less carbon footprint, happy stock, better quality. I can’t be vegetarian but I can keep my animals happy and healthy and ensure their welfare needs are more than met. Quality of life 101.

10/06/2020

Last week, the Telegraph reported on a study which found that 85 per cent of vets said they or a member of their team had felt threatened by clients who were angry at the cost of treatment.

09/06/2020

So, a personal post for today. We managed to move the cows up the road on Sunday without having a village rampage on our hands. I think we can call that success!! But look at all that grass 🙈😂
Literally, if they are up the far end you can’t see them in the grass and I’ve had a mini heart attack twice that they’ve done a bunk somewhere! Hopefully we won’t need much feed when we get to winter...

04/06/2020

Time for an information post I think, since I spent at least 2 telephone consultations on my last 3 day stint advising people about why their Brachycephalic dogs were collapsing at home after walks....

We all know that dogs can suffer heat stroke and there are a wealth of info-graphics out about pavement temperatures and the likes. Every year people still forget that the hotter days we have in the summer can be very problematic for our dogs, particularly as we tend to go from one cold extreme to another heat extreme.

Brachycephalic dogs are particularly at risk. One of the fundamental cooling mechanisms in dogs, since their ability to sweat is so limited as to be negligible, is panting and blowing off the heat through respiration. For dogs with compromised airways, which includes all of the short nosed breeds, no matter whether it’s a “better” example or not, this cooling system doesn’t work properly. They can collapse, vomit, begin to turn bright red, pale or even blue in their gum colour, breathe extremely rapidly and heavily, have diarrhoea and, in extreme cases, become unconscious, seizure and even die if not treated quickly.

It is important that dogs are not walked in the full heat of the day but go out in the early morning or late evening when it’s cooler. For Brachycephalic breeds it may best not to walk them at all but to provide mind stimulation activities at home.

Cooling mats, fans, provision of cool drinking water at all times are important. If you suspect your dog has heat stroke began to help normalise body temperature with cool, but not cold, water applied to their coats as well as fans. Provide cool drinking water if they are alert enough to safely drink but do not allow them to bolt it quickly and make sure it isn’t too cold as both of these can cause vomiting and additional problems.

Call your vet immediately if you think your dog is suffering moderate to severe signs of heat stroke (doesn’t have to be a VetsNow practice - I just stole their pretty picture 😉)

Stay safe with your dogs everyone!

03/06/2020

In these strange times we all need a boost from our friends and family!

01/06/2020

The cows’ daily walk went well this morning. Hopefully this means they’ll follow the bucket to move to the big field and not go rampaging around the village instead 😳

01/06/2020

Today was a late one. It’s now 1.10am and I’ve just about got home. It’s been a day if grateful people- at least those that I’ve dealt with, can’t speak for my colleagues- but also a few who definitely could have provided a better and more complete picture to the triaging nurses and saved themselves some time, stress and money.
Apart from that it’s also been a day of birds. I have seen and dealt with;
1) A seagull chick with a broken leg
2) A lesser spotted woodpecker that banged its head harder than the usual tree pecking impact
3) A racing pigeon with a hole in its neck from a bird of prey attack.
Two out of the three are doing well and the pigeon stitch up was a neater job than I’d hoped for. Provided it suffers no complications I can be pleased with myself.
Now it’s time to unwind and try to catch some sleep 💤

29/05/2020

On the other side of the fence, three of our cows got dehorned today, “big red” as Mike now calls her was about to barge through the fence so we’ve had to let her be for now 😂
From horns, to no horns. Except Red.

29/05/2020

Gosh. 46 people have already decided they want to hear what I have to say 😂

29/05/2020

This lengthy post was what provoked the page. I sent it to our local community Facebook group after some pretty harsh criticism was directed our way about charges for telephone appointments. I warn everyone now, it is a long read...

I work within the veterinary profession and was very dismayed to read yesterday’s post about the cost of telemedicine consultations and wanted to take the opportunity to reassure people about the service that they are receiving from the wider profession. The vast majority, if not all, veterinary practices are currently making a charge for the majority of telephone consultations being undertaken. This is in line with advice from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons who have relaxed our legal governing framework to allow remote prescribing of medications in order to safeguard everybody at this unprecedented time. At our practice it is also at a reduced rate compared to a standard consultation and I know that this is true for other Gloucestershire practices despite what some commenters seem to think. If an animal needs to be seen it is not charged in addition but the consultation charge is rolled into one despite the amount of time spent on that single patient between telephone consultation and physical examination.
I would ask everyone to appreciate that veterinary practices are remaining “open” to care for your pets at this trying time and we are doing our best to maximise our service for the benefit of those animals under our care.
Believe it or not, with our years of training, extra qualifications and vast amounts of CPD, we are qualified to make decisions about an animal’s care over the telephone and via photographs. Those decisions fall into three main categories; we can know when it is appropriate to give advice on monitoring a situation without the need for drugs if appropriate and will let clients know what to look out for and what to do if they are concerned. We can decide that an animal needs medication that can be safely given at home by the owner for very many conditions. Or we may decide that we are unable to gain enough information by telephone or that the scenario described is severe enough that the animal may need to be hospitalised, in which case we can recommend a face to face examination at the practice whilst the owner waits outside. The decision we reach and treatment path recommended is only as good as the information and quality of photographs provided by the owner and I would urge anyone in this situation to provide as full a picture of their animal’s health as possible, answer any follow up questions as fully and accurately as possible and to send in good quality photographs of physical ailments. This will maximise the value you receive and the care your pet gets.
We have all reduced the number of face to face examinations, where safe to do so, in order to protect our safety and that of our clients. No one wants to be responsible for spreading Covid. For this reason, most practices in the UK have split their workforce into teams that work separately. This is so that, if Covid decimates one team, there are still staff to keep the practice running and therefore provide ongoing care to pets. If we didn’t then practices would shut and care would not be available at all. This means, at any one time, we are working on very reduced staff and all of us are putting in many extra hours in order to get through all of the telephone consultations, physical examinations, hospitalised patients, urgent surgeries and to provide that care to you all.
Unfortunately we cannot undertake this work for free. I don’t own a practice and nor do I work in management so I could not give exact figures but I do know that it will cost many thousands of pounds to keep a practice open each month. From staff wages, business rates, extremely high electricity and water costs to run anaesthetic machines, oxygen generators, drip pumps, sterilising equipment, computers, telephones… the list goes on but you get the idea, the cost of oxygen cylinders and anaesthetic gases, medications and injectable drugs etc, it all has to be funded. We don’t take any extra pay for the extra hours we are currently working and we are all literally exhausted. I can tell you that your £30 for extremely high professional advice and care does not go far.
The British Veterinary Association are asking the public to be patient and respect your vet’s professional judgement and I would ask the same. Whatever sector we are all in, we are all doing our best and we all have our own challenges. We don’t expect gratitude but we would also prefer not to receive unjust criticism.
Well done if you’ve read this far – it’s more of a blog than a post but I hope it is informative and clarifies some concerns! Stay safe everyone and be kind to each other.

29/05/2020

So, some recent social media activity about Veterinary charges during the COVID pandemic led my husband to bully me into setting up some kind of blog about Veterinary life in general.
I think he intended that I should miraculously and instantly educate the world and dispel all criticisms but I’d suggest that would result in instant failure 😂
I have no idea how this will go or what form it will be shaped into but it’s a journey I have been convinced to start.
So here goes!