NEWS
Arthritis!
If your pet suffers from arthritis, we would expect to see a flare
up as the colder, wetter weather creeps in. Whilst there is not
much we can do about the weather, we can help support our
arthritic pets in other ways:
Keep exercise regular - little and often is best to keep joints
moving without over-exerting them.
A comfortable, well padded rest area is important to keep joints
happy and supported.
Joint supplements - these can help to provide the required
nutrients to the joint and can help reduce discomfort and
prolong the need for stronger, prescription medications.
Weight - if your pet is overweight, shifting a few pounds can
make a massive difference to their comfort and well being. There
are varieties of diet available to help reduce calories whilst
providing a nutritionally balanced meal.
Anti-inflammatory - if your pet
is suffering and the above
measures aren't providing
enough comfort, we may then
consider a range of prescription
medications, differing in both
affect and mode of action.
Often, with early diagnosis and
correct management, we can
prolong the requirement for
stronger, prescription medications.
Please speak to our team if you would like further information!
Have you turned on your heating yet?
CHRISTMAS HAZARDS!
As the weather gets As
colder
we arefast
all taking
the plunge
and it
Christmas
approaches,
we thought
reaching for our thermostats...
sensible to remind ourselves of the hazards
to our pets over the Christmas period:
Did you know that
increasing the
Traditional Christmas plants make great
temperature in
decorations, however, dark leaved plants
your home can
such as holly, yew, mistletoe and poinsettia
encourage fleas can be sharp edged and poisonous - not a
to hatch? Female good combination for your pet to be eating
fleas can lay up to for tea.
50 eggs per day and
Pets often chew plants to get some roughage. The Poinsettia
these can lay dormant in your homes until the environment
plant’s brightly coloured leaves contain a sap that can be
reaches the right conditions for them to hatch out....Turning on
irritating to the tissues of the mouth and digestive tract. If the
the heating can mark the start of a hatching frenzy!
leaves are eaten they can cause vomiting. In addition to this,
many of the plants may have been treated with a pesticide, and
To prevent your home from becoming a flea haven, make sure it
your pet could become ill from ingesting the pesticide. Younger
is regularly protected with a home spray (one with an adulticide
animals are very curious and are at the highest risk.
+ an insect growth regulator is ideal). All pets should be
Holly andagainst
mistletoe
are
alsousing
popular
holidaysuitable
plants. for
These
protected
fleas
also,
a product
their
plants,
along
with
their
berries,
have
a
greater
toxicity
level
lifestyle, species and size.
than the poinsettia. Mistletoe especially contains multiple
thatsome
are toxic
dogs
Symptoms of
If substances
you would like
helptoorboth
advice
onand
the cats.
best product
illness from for
ingesting
theseand
plants
vary
fromspeak
intestinal
upset,
combination
your home
pets,
please
to a member
as vomiting and diarrhoea, excessive drooling, abdominal
ofsuch
our team!
pain, to more severe symptoms including a severe drop in
blood pressure, breathing problems, hallucinations, and can
eventually
lead to seizures and become fatal.
These plants should always be kept
well out of reach of our pets, even
the dried varieties. Please make
sure that your pet is not able to
come into contact with these
plants at any time. If you suspect
that they may have ingested even
a small amount, please contact the
surgery for advice without delay. Treatment is often most
successful when administered early.
We tend to find that a great number of our pets get very involved
with festivities when the tree arrives.... in fact, if you have been
able to decorate it without assistance from your pet, you are doing
very well!
The magical branches, twisty wires and shimmering tinsel are too
much of a temptation to many cats especially.
Pets can become very involved in a game of hide and seek or chase
and a Christmas tree can prove a very attractive - yet unsafe
playground.
Pine needles can cause problems for our pet - they can become
embedded in fur causing discomfort, may cause eye injuries. If
eaten, they can cause serious damage to a pet's gastrointestinal
tract - pine needles are tough, sharp and can damage internal
structures. Artificial trees can also cause hazards - these are made
up from different materials and chemicals and could be toxic if
eaten. Any strange material that is ingested has the potential to
cause an intestinal blockage.
Tinsel is another great attraction
and is really good fun to play with
if you are a cat!
However, tinsel has been
known to be ingested and can
cause serious, sometimes
irreversible damage to the
gastrointestinal tract, as the
tinsel can cause the intestines
to become bunched up and
lacerated.
Christmas lights on the tree and elsewhere in the home
also pose a hazard to curious pets. Chewing on cords and lights will
cause electric shocks and burns in the mouth. Check cords
regularly for signs of chewing and general wear and tear.
To help keep your pets safe, we recommend keeping your pet
away from your Christmas tree when they are unsupervised.
Alternatively, you could keep your Christmas tree away from your
pet!
Please don't be lulled into a false sense of security that once
wrapped, edible presents suddenly become unattractive to our
pets!
Often presents can be found at a pet friendly height in our houses.
If your pet is left unattended in the vicinity of Christmas presents,
can you be sure they won't begin Christmas without you?! What
treasures might they find inside?!
Many edible treats that can be found in our homes at this time
of year (covered in more detail later in our list) are highly toxic to
our pets. Is your pet likely to chew at the wrapping paper or
whatever is inside? Can you put your presents behind closed
doors to keep those sensitive noses at a safe distance?
A very long standing receptionist at the surgery can recall the
time her cheeky labrador thought he would get a head start on
the rest of the household and managed to eat a whole tub of
chocolate delights!
If your pet does manage to eat something
that he shouldn't, (whether it was
originally edible or not) please contact
the surgery without delay, even if he
seems unscathed. Our staff can help to
determine whether or not what they have
eaten requires attention at the surgery
before possibly toxicity or blockage may occur.
Whilst you may presume hope or even believe that your visitors
this Christmas are harmless creatures to whom you have
developed a bond, please do not think that your pet agrees!
Visitors to a household that has already been rearranged to
accommodate Christmas can really upset our pets. Make sure
that your pet has a familiar place that he or she can feel safe,
away from the bustle of visitors and decorations. For visiting
pets, ensure that they are carefully introduced to your pets in a
controlled environment to deter fighting etc. When resting or
feeding, they should have separate areas available. Make sure
visitors know the score re tit bits, hiding places and habitual
We would like to wish all of our clients a very
Merry Christmas and a Healthy, Happy New Year!
All the best for 2017!
rituals that your pet may have!
There are pheremone diffusers and oral supplements available
to help reduce the stress levels of our pets at this time; these
can really help and should ideally be introduced before the
onset of expected stress. Cats are especially prone to stress
and should be monitored carefully for signs of stressful
behaviour.
We must also think about the other decorations in our houses
and the safety of our pets.
Tinsel, baubles, paper chains, fir cones etc can all make
fantastic toys for our pets - cats especially seem to enjoy
playing for hours with tinsel. All of these items however can
pose a serious risk to our pets, so please ensure supervised
playing and either remove the item of place out of reach when
the game has finished. If anything does get ingested, please
call the surgery for advice without delay, even if your pet
seems perfectly well at that moment - often affects can take a
while to be seen and by this time, damage may have already
occurred.
Watch out for electrical wires - festive lights often have
smaller, jaw sized wires that can be perfect for chewing please ensure that all leads, plugs and bulbs are kept away
from the floor and safe from praying jaws!
And finally; as always, we are available 24 hours each and
every day throughout the festive period. Should your pet
require veterinary attention, please call our normal number:
023 80620607
Christmas Photos!
We would love to see your festive photos! If you have any cute
or cheeky shots, please post them to our Facebook page
Riversidevets!