PET..NEWSSpring 2019

IN THIS ISSUE

• How to protect your Pet from Parasites.

• Patient Profile: Rudi the Greyhound

• Five Feline Friendly Transport Tips.

• Spring Time Dangers.

• 8 Quirky Cat Facts.

• Have You Heard About Whisker Fatigue?

Cats are often seen as inde-pendent animals who don’t need to visit the vet if they aren’t showing any symp-toms. But this is not true. One cat to every five dogs are being taken to the vet on this belief. And unfortunate-ly, cats are good at hiding illness and in many cases it can be too late by the time you’ve noticed anything un-usual in your cat’s behavior.

Minimal to no vet visits means those issues can go undiscovered and untreat-ed longer. By completing an annual checkup, which can include a blood test for a wellness screen, this can help us with early identifica-tion of any problems before they have done silent, irre-versible damage.

The main concern for a lot of pet owners is that their cat experiences so much stress when visiting the vet that the negative effects of going often outweigh the benefits. Here’s some tips to help re-duce the stress of your visit:

1. Train your cat to see the

carrier as just another piece of furniture with a favorite blanket or toy inside. Make it comfortable and inviting for them instead of simply pulling out the carrier from storage the day of the ap-pointment.

2. Introduce the carrier a week before your visit or do some dry runs to the vet with your cat to get them used to the car ride.

3. To help reduce stress for the physical examination, you can perform a home ‘ex-amination’, where you ma-nipulate paws, inspect ears, inspect mouthes and comb your hands over the body and legs. This way your cat will be used to these actions and won’t have undue stress.

4. Cats can be sensitive to loud noises and bright lights, so to avoid visual stimuli at your visit, placing a blanket over his carrier could help to calm him down. Another tip could be to ask to wait out in your car if there is too much going on in the clinic at the time of your appointment.

Cats require annual checkups just as much as dogs but un-fortunately they don’t see the vet as often as they should. Here are some tips on how to make sure the vet visit is easier for your cat.

Reducing the stress of your cats annual health checkup

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Patient Profile: Rudi the GreyhoundMeet the new receptionist and official treat taster at VetEnt Queen-stown! Rudi, the retired racing greyhound was adopted by one of our lovely vets, Orla Fitzpatrick, and brought into the clinic for a routine scale and polish to get rid of his stinky breath! He went under general anesthetic for the procedure and came out with a pearly white smile. Now he will be following that up with regular tooth brushing to keep plaque buildup off his large teeth and keep a minty, bright smile on!

Prevention is always the best protection for your pets where parasites are concerned. Part of being a good pet parent is being able to identify when your pet has a parasite problem. However, we can assist you in choosing the best preventative care for your pet by following these easy steps:

• If you notice your dog or cat scratching excessively, this could be a sign that they have fleas. You can look for small dirt-like specks which is actually blood, as the fleas feast on your pets’ blood. You will notice the scratching more around the neck, armpit, and tail end of your pet as that is where the fleas like to party the most.

• If worms infect your pet, you may notice they are hungrier than normal. With dogs you may see them scooting their bottoms along

the ground while with cats, if you look at their bottom, you may even see small white specks that look like cucumber seeds – these are tapeworm segments. Tapeworms are very long and as they move through your pets intestines, they break off and come out like this. Roundworms look like spaghetti and can be very irritating to your pet.

• If your cat is a regular hunter, they are likely to come into contact with mice and birds, and can become infected with lungworm. Lungworm is easily treated – and we will ask you some specific questions about your pets’ nighttime habits to be sure we help you choose the right product.

• It is vital to make sure your personal hand hygiene is vigilant, and make sure if

• Regular worming and flea control is recommended,

there are some excellent products out there now that can work for a longer period. you have children that they wash their hands well after playing with the dog.

Preventative tips:

• Follow a year round parasite control program.

• Discuss options with your vet for the best products to prevent parasites.

• Regular check-ups at your local clinic.

• See your vet or veterinary nurse as soon as you spot any symptoms of infestation.

Protection for your pets is a key part of being a good pet owner. Here we have a few preventative tips for parasite protection that will keep your pet safe all year round.

Protecting your Pet from Parasites

Five Feline Friendly Transport Tips

1. Make the pet carrier part of your furniture. This can be done by leaving the carrier open intially and then popping the top back on with treats/bedding/toys in it.

2. Encourage the idea that the carrier is a good place to be. Try placing a familiar blanket or favorite toys in the carrier.

3. To create a safer feeling atmosphere, you can spray a calming product, like Feliway, in the cage, put some bedding and a favorite toy or treat in the carrier, or

when placing your cat in the carrier make sure to back it into the carrier, tail first.

4. When travelling, secure the carrier by placing it on the floor well of the backseat of the car where it is quiet and darker.

5. Place a towel over the carrier, so as little visual stimuli occurs as this can sometimes upset your cat.

Feline Friendly ClinicsA visit to the vet can be a stressful situation for a cat. Cats are quiet and often

Helpful tips to ensure your cat is travelling comfortably for a stress free vet visit.

1. Ticks and fleasFleas and ticks can be life-threatening if not caught soon enough so it is wise to complete regular check-ups for parasite prevention.

2. AllergensPollen and dust can affect your cat and can cause skin irritation, hair loss, and vomiting. If any of these symptoms arise, it is best to contact your vet.

3. MoultingWith the warmer weather, cats will start to lose their winter coats and during this period can be in danger of ingesting too much hair when they groom them-selves. Two effective ways to prevent this is by adapting their diet to have a higher fibre intake and a regular brushing of their coat to low-er the amount of hair they are grooming.

4. Breeding seasonWith spring comes breeding season for a lot of cats and can lead to more tom cats out at night. We strongly recommend having your cat desexed as soon as they are old enough. This will prevent unwanted litters and fighting - leading to abscesses, risk of diseases and costly trips to the vet.

solitary animals who struggle with bright lights, odours and loud noises. In order to make vet clinics more cat friendly and stress free, clinics around the world are working towards accreditation for Cat Friendly Clinics.

VetEnt Queenstown and VetEnt Gisborne have been accredited cat friendly clinic status. Here are some photos from Gisborne’s recently opened cat friendly area, which allows cats to have a stress free vet visit.

Spring Time Dangers

Have You Heard About Whisker Fatigue?

At the end of a cat’s whiskers there is a sensory organ called a proprioceptor that sends ultra-sensitive tactile messages to the brain and nervous system. Because of these proprioceptors, a cat’s whiskers can detect the slightest change in direction of a breeze or can help in response to vibrations in the air, such as when chasing flying prey.

For example, if you place a cat in a dark room that they have never been in before, they can walk around the room and use their whiskers to detect where the furniture

is by using the direction of the air currents. Cats are also naturally farsighted, so their whisker sensitivity helps them to “see” objects up close. Whiskers can also serve as a way to judge width, as they are about as long as your cat is wide, so your cat can tell if they will fit into a space or box.

Unfortunately, because your cat’s whiskers are so sensitive, they can have a sensory overload by unnecessary contact when they eat out of their bowl. If you own a pet bowl that is small or has high sides, the whiskers of your cat will rub

against the sides of the bowl causing your cat to be in discomfort as they eat.

A simple solution to this is to make sure your cat’s food bowls are low and shallow and her water dish is wide. For best practice going forward, make sure the bowls are also separate, as cats don’t like their food near their water. These easy solutions will spare your cat a lot of discomfort and keep her happy and well fed!

Visit petfirstwellness.co.nz for more information

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10% Discount on Professional Services by

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10% Discount on Parasite Prevention

10% Discount on Food and Merchandise

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Top 8 Quirky Cat Facts1. Cats make more than 100 different sounds whereas dogs make around 10.

2. Cats have inferior daytime sight, but during the night they need seven times less light than humans to be able to see something.

3. Cats spend 70% of their day sleeping which means a cat that is 9 years old has been awake for only three years of its life. When awake, a cat will spend more than 30% of its time grooming.

4. A cat purrs 26 times every second. This is equivalent to an idle diesel engine.

5. A cat can’t climb head first down a tree because every claw on a cat’s paw points the same way. To get down from a tree, a cat must back down

6. A cat can travel at a top speed of approximately 49 kph over a short distance.

7. A cat can jump up to five times its own height in a single bound.

8. In just seven years, a single pair of cats and their offspring could produce a stag-gering total of 420,000 kittens.

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