Many clients are astonished when they realise that their pet has exactly the same disease that occurs in humans. Given that as mammals we are all produced from a very similar "blue print" then it is not that suprising that we share very similar desig...
Whenever I have veterinary students seeing practice with me, I remind them never to forget that "Common things are common" when they are trying to make a diagnosis. Recently, however, I was presented with a challenging case that presented in a way th...
Everyone is entitled to an opinion...........apparently! Whilst in matters of art and the appreciation of music I entirely agree but when it comes to medical and veterinary matters the weight of an opinion usually matters a great deal. I have been re...
I think it is fair to say that we don't always get what we deserve in life. Some malevolent individuals I have met somehow manage to escape the consequences of their actions, (at present), whilst others who should be rewarded for their decency and st...
"Jack" first came to see us at Fairfield as a second opinion from another practice. The treatment he had been receiving didn't seem to be doing the trick. "Jack" had a badly swollen, inflamed toe with a rather nasty discharge at the base of his claw....
Nothing in life is ever guaranteed. Consequently, there is a significant responsibility on the shoulders of veterinary surgeons when trying to predict the outcome of a particular disease or treatment for their patients. This is especially true when d...
Once a diagnosis of a particular cancer is made the treatment options can then be discussed. Most readers will be aware that there is a very wide spectrum of options available for our patients including, under the right circumstances, euthanasia. Wha...
Most people will recognise the difficulty we have as veterinary surgeons in diagnosing problems without the patient's direct input! Consequently, we rely heavily on the owners testimony to alert us to a potential disease but also with the use of our ...
"Lily" the bulldog, had been treated at another veterinary practice for cystitis. Failure to respond to treatment had resulted in "Lily's" owners seeking another opinion. As is often the case, it isn't usually the fault of the medication. Antibiotics...
Trying to create an environment in which healing can take place is a concept with which most of this column's readers should be familiar. Whilst this is a fairly simplistic approach it can be very difficult to achieve when other adverse factors can p...
"A cat is NOT a small dog" is a phrase that our pharmacologist at University regularly tried to drum into our absorptive brains. Obvious you might think, but until more recent veterinary and medical research has been able to highlight the more subtle...
Generally speaking, cats provide a much better "investment return" than dogs! They usually cost less to purchase initially, in fact many will be given away free of charge and they usually live considerably longer! Their running costs are also usually...
Gingivitis or gum inflammation is an extremely common finding on examination of most pet's mouths. In those patients where there is a direct association with plaque accumulation a good response can be achieved by reducing the bacterial challenge to t...
"Old age comes to us all" is an adage with which many of us (including myself) are all too familiar. Unfortunately, for our pets it can arrive all too quickly. Their lives are a concentrated microcosm of our own in which middle age and senility are u...
It is relatively common for "stray cats" to be presented at our surgery. Concerned owners will often feed any cats that they consider to be homeless. The handsome silver tabby featured to-day is no exception. Unfortunately, with no microchip to ...
Even after 26 years in the job I still occasionally come across a patient or a condition that I have never seen before and leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. My colleague Geraldine examined "Bella" when she came to Fairfeld for her puppy vaccina...
When Charlie's owners came to see me it was always likely he was going to be a difficult case as he had been unsuccessfully treated elsewhere. I was however somewhat taken aback when his owners suggested that the reason why he had such a hideously ul...
Back in February of this year I drove North to Scotland to be with my mum when she recieved the news from her consultant that she had lung cancer. The consultant was very open and honest about her illness and when my mother asked the question "How lo...
Sex can seriously damage your health. . . if you are a female cat. An infection of the womb (pyometra) is a life threatening condition and is relatively common in unspayed bitches. In contrast it is relatively rarely seen in the cat. One re...
Kidney failure is one of the commonest illnesses we see in older cats. In fact it is estimated that approximately 16% of cats over the age of 15 have significant kidney dysfunction. The kidneys perform numerous tasks, the main ones being to excrete w...
