Summer Newsletter 2010

SPECIAL OFFER - Senior Health Checks for Cats  

We generally think of any cat over 12 years old as a “senior” cat. As with people cats do age at varying rates, especially if they have pre-existing health issues, but by the age of 12 most cats will be beginning to show some signs of ageing.
Signs may include reduced activity, stiffness and reluctance to jump, reduced vision or hearing, changes to sleep patterns, appetite or thirst and weight gain or loss. These signs are often subtle and easy to miss especially when you are with your cat every day. In most cats these changes are not diseases per se but can be early signs of trouble ahead.

We are now running Senior Health checks at a special introductory offer of £49. Please ask for a leaflet for more information. To take advantage of this offer, telephone 01903 200187 and ask to book a Senior Health Check for your cat.

 Travel Sickness 

Summer is on its way and we’re sure everyone will have holidays in mind. If you are considering bringing your dog along on a trip, have you thought about how long journeys can affect them? Some dogs really feel unwell in the car, especially over long distances. There is help available and medications that can stop travel sickness in its tracks. Cerenia has been specially formulated for this condition. Ask us for advice or you can check out this website for more information www.dog-carsickness.co.uk for things to look out for and tips on what can help.

Anxiety on journeys

The dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) can be used in a spray or collar form and can be used to calm dogs on car journeys. Feliway spray works in the same way for cats. These products are available at our surgeries.

Heat Stroke

Summer is here and hopefully the sun will stay out longer than usual. Take a few minutes to think about how your pet feels in the sun. Does your cat stretch and soak as many rays as possible? Most do. Dogs aren’t always so keen. There are some important rules to follow where your canine friends are concerned.

• Avoid walking them during the hottest time of the day (11am – 5pm)
• Never leave them in a car
• An area to shelter out of direct sunshine is essential when outdoorss 
• Make sure they have water available at all times.       

Dogs should never be left in cars. Vehicles can turn in to hot ovens extremely quickly. Even with a window open and a bowl of water, dogs can die in these conditions.

Fleas

Believe it or not, fleas are not just a summer time problem. It is so important to keep up to date with your monthly flea treatment.

Prevention is far easier than cure. Flea infestation can get out of control very quickly in the home whether you have carpets or not. If a flea jumps on to your dog or cat they can start breeding within a few hours. Once a flea has taken a blood meal, they can lay up to 50 eggs per day. Each egg can develop into an adult flea within 2 weeks. If you do the maths, it’s terrifying!

Although you may not see fleas, they may still be laying dormant in your house till ideal conditions occur. If you see 5 fleas on your pet, there will be around 95 immature fleas in your house. By treating your pet monthly with Advocate and treating your house annually with a household spray that stops the life cycle, you should stay flea free.

If you are having problems, please ask us for advice. We’ll be happy to help.

Open Day

To all who attended our Open Day on Sat 17th April, thank you so much! The day was a huge success and over a period of 3 hours we had nearly 300 people come and have a look round our newly refurbished surgery which gave our clients an opportunity to see “behind the scenes”. We were joined by Andrew Denning, our consultant ultrasonographer, Monica from Ceva who make Feliway and DAP diffusers, Clarissa from Hills pet foods, Richard from Idexx our Veterinary lab and Chloe from WADARS.
Our raffle raised £88.50 for WADARS and £165.40 for Save the Rhino international. After very positive feedback from our clients, we are considering making this an annual event.

Tea Party in aid of the Blue Cross

We held a cake sale in May and raised a grand total of £62 in aid of the Blue Cross animal charity.