Cats (please scroll down to see advice notes for dogs and rabbits)

Vaccination

New kittens should be presented for a full health check as soon as they are acquired. Vaccination should start from 9 weeks of age with a second part of the course 3-4 weeks later. All kittens should be vaccinated against ‘Flu and Enteritis and it is recommended that they also be vaccinated against Leukaemia.

Going Out – strictly speaking, the vaccines will not be fully effective until 1 week after the course has finished. In practice, provided animals are attended and that there is no chance of them coming into direct contact with other cats, then they may go out 10 days after the first injection. Boosters are required once a year to maintain protection against these diseases. Boosters should continue throughout life, though lifestyle may mean that old cats no longer require leukaemia boosters.

Limitations to vaccination – no vaccine is ever 100% effective, but vaccination will prevent or greatly reduce clinical disease. It is possible for vaccinated animals to carry viruses without themselves showing signs of infection. There are rarely side effects to the Flu and Enteritis vaccine. About 5% of patients may be subdued for 2-3 days after the Leukaemia vaccine. There has been an association between vaccine injections and the development of tumours, but the incidence is extremely low and at present the judgement is strongly in favour of vaccination.

Worming

Kittens should be wormed monthly from 1 to 6 months of age and thereafter every 3 months. We currently use Milbemax tablets and Profender spot-on preparation. It is important to treat for both round and tapeworms, although roundworms are the more important for the first 3 months. Stronghold may also be used for roundworm control.

Neutering

Neutering should be carried out from 6 months of age.

Flea control

Monthly treatment with Program, Frontline or Stronghold is recommended. Frontline is active against both fleas and ticks and is a Spot-on preparation. Stronghold is active against fleas, roundworms and ear mites and is a Spot-on preparation. Program is an oral product for flea control and is also available as a 6 monthly injection. Prevention is as important as control, since the fleas on the pet are only 5% of the total flea life cycle burden and the adults produce 20-30 eggs per day. The remaining 95% consists of the eggs, larvae and pupae which will be found around the areas the pet frequents. Hence the importance of monthly preventative measures.

Food

A good quality kitten food should be fed up to the age of 6-8 months depending on the manufacture’s recommendations. Wet or dry food may be fed, but the latter has clear advantages for the teeth and should be at least 50% of the diet. Quality brands include Hills and Eukanuba.

Microchip Identification

Should be done at the earliest opportunity and is endorsed by the leading rescue charities.

Senior Cats

Several interrelated common conditions affect senior cats. These include those of the heart, kidneys and thyroid gland. Symptoms will often be similar so care has to be taken to check for the development of all of them on a regular basis. Regular monitoring is necessary if the full benefit of treatment and management is to be achieved. Although weakness of a major organ may sound sinister, many problems can be well controlled for a long time making for a happy pet. Remember old age is not a disease so proper care is justified to do the best for old friends.

The following checks are recommended:

  1. Heart problems - 3 monthly check ups with 6 monthly checks on blood profiles, thyroid and blood pressure.
  2. Kidney problems - 6 monthly check ups to take blood profiles and test thyroid and blood pressure.
  3. High Blood pressure - check every 2 weeks until control is achieved, then every 3 months. Blood tests every 6 months.
  4. Thyroid over activity - 6 monthly checks once stable to monitor blood pressure and to take a blood profile.

Blood profiles check the red and white cell numbers to detect signs of weakness and anaemia. Also checked are the liver and kidneys and the presence of diabetes.

High blood pressure can be devastating by causing blindness. The delicate blood vessels of the retina are very vulnerable.

NB 6 months is a long time in the context of an older cat. New conditions have to be checked for because symptom on their own are inconclusive.

 

Dogs

Vaccination

Puppies should be presented for a full health check as soon as they are acquired. Vaccination should start from 6 weeks of age with a second part of the course at 10 weeks of age or 2 weeks after the first injection, whichever is later. Puppies are vaccinated against Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Parainfleunza and Parvo Virus.

Going Out – Puppies may go out 1 week after their second injection. They are best kept away from unvaccinated dogs until then. They may socialise with fully vaccinated dogs prior to this.

Boosters are required once a year to maintain protection against these diseases. Boosters should continue throughout life. A full booster is given every 3 years against all the above diseases, and a smaller booster in the other years against Leptospirosis and Parainfluenza.

Limitations to vaccination – no vaccine is ever 100% effective, but vaccination will prevent or greatly reduce clinical disease. Despite various scares over the years, there is no convincing evidence that vaccination brings about other diseases.

Worming

Puppies should be wormed monthly from 1 to 6 months of age and thereafter every 3 months. We currently use Milbemax tablets. It is important to treat for both round and tapeworms, although roundworms are the more important for the first 3 months. Stronghold may also be used for roundworm control.

Neutering

Neutering should be carried out from 10 months of age. It is best done either 2-4 weeks or 3-4 months post season in bitches.

Flea control

Monthly treatment with Program, Frontline or Stronghold is recommended. Frontline is active against both fleas and ticks and is a Spot-on preparation. Stronghold is active against fleas, roundworms, Fox mange and ear mites and is a Spot-on preparation. Program is an oral product for flea control. Prevention is as important as control, since the fleas on the pet are only 5% of the total flea life cycle burden and the adults produce 20-30 eggs per day. The remaining 95% consists of the eggs, larvae and pupae which will be found around the areas the pet frequents. Hence the importance of monthly preventative measures.

Food

A good quality puppy food should be fed up to the age of 6-8 months depending on the manufacture’s recommendations. Wet or dry food may be fed, but the latter has clear advantages for the teeth and should be at least 50% of the diet. Quality brands include Hills and Eukanuba.

Microchip and Identification

Should be done at the earliest opportunity. It is a requirement for the Pet Travel scheme and endorsed by the leading rescue charities.

 

Rabbits

Vaccination

Rabbits should be vaccinated annually against Myxomatosis and Viral Haemorrhagic Disease.

Fly Strike

Rabbits are very prone to having flies laying eggs around their rear ends. These rapidly hatch into maggots, which then have a devastating effect eating through the skin. Daily inspection of the pet rabbit around the tail region is essential. It is advised also to treat with Rear Guard every 10 weeks from Spring through to autumn. In addition, correct nutrition is essential to avoid faecal soiling around the anus.

Neutering

This reduces aggression between rabbits and other antisocial behaviour (urine spraying) and is recommended as from 5 months of age.

Parasite control – rabbits are very susceptible to a microbe called E. cuniculi. This can cause serious disease affecting the brain and kidneys. It is advised to treat with Panacur every 3 months to try and prevent this disease.

Rabbit Feeding

Guidelines to prevent Dental Disease

Rabbits' teeth have evolved to grow continuously throughout life. They need to do this to overcome the wearing away of tooth structure that occurs when eating herbivorous plant material. It is vital that pet rabbits are fed a diet that requires long periods of chewing to avoid teeth becoming overgrown. The rate of tooth growth must equal the rate of tooth wear. This means that grass and hay should form the bulk of the diet. Fresh vegetables are also suitable.

Great care should be taken when feeding cereal based diets. There is a tendency to slip into the habit of feeding these exclusively. This gives rise to serious dental disease for 2 main reasons:

  1. Inadequate grinding action leading to overgrown teeth, particularly the back molars.
  2. Selective feeding of certain parts of the "Complete" diet.

Many rabbits will just pick out the bits they like and leave the remainder. Owners then either top up the hopper or discard what the rabbit has left. This can give rise to severe nutritional deficiencies since the rabbit will leave the parts that contain vital Calcium and Vitamin D.

Overgrown teeth frequently develop sharp edges which act to lacerate the tongue and cheek. The rabbit will stop eating and drawl. The back molar teeth cause the most damage. These cannot be checked out by owners since a special mouth gag is required to examine theseadequately.

Give a vitamin and mineral supplement to incorrigible selective feeders and to rabbits with dental problems.

Feed good quality hay ad libitum as a source of Vitamin D and fibre in the winter. Feed good quality grass in the summer. If the rabbit is not eating its hay, then reduce the cereal ration.

Don't allow the cereal ration to become more than a quarter of the total diet. Preferably use a nugget preparation such as Supa Rabbit Excel where there can be no selective feeding.

Feed plenty of green stuffs daily, 1 cupful /kg bodyweight/day. Dandelions and clover are good sources of calcium.

Allow the rabbit access to natural daylight every day, even during the winter. This promotes Vitamin D production by the rabbit.

Feed sweet smelling Hay, Fresh Vegetables (Most vegetables, fruit and herbs are suitable Eg. Broccoli, sprouts, kale, cabbage, mint, parsley, spinach, carrots, celery ). Avoid light coloured lettuce, maize, potato sprouts, rhubarb leaves, tomato leaves, dandelion leaves, groundsel, beans and peas.

Never collect plants from the roadside or parks (dangers of lead pollution, fertilizer, dog's urine) Never give grass clippings as they wilt and go moldy very quickly.