Click on one of the sub-heading links below to jump directly to that section.
Our web site has been created as another way to provide that service to you and your pets. We designed the site to be informative, fast and easy to navigate. The menu bar on the left provides quick access to the main areas of the site.
Under the Pet Health and Newsletters links, you will find a wealth of information to help you to care for your pets. There's also a special section devoted to First Aid and Emergencies. Check out what's new at our hospital, on our website, and elsewhere in the world of pets. Follow the relevant links to find out more about us and about our range of products and services. You'll find the site quite comprehensive. In fact there are already over 50 separate pages. We've included copies of all of our previous newsletters, as well as our client handouts on various pet care topics, with more to be added in time.
We've already had some very positive feedback from some of our clients who've seen the site:"It's great to see a business who go out of their way to help clients."
"I found it very easy to navigate around and find the relevant information needed. You have put a lot of work into it and it's a great credit to you."
"Fantastic web site, very informative, it is very rare to find a web site with so much useful information on it, congratulations."
"Another part of your great service: well done."
We invite you to browse through our site, and welcome all comments. In fact, the continued development of the site will be dependent on the level of interest the site generates from you, our clients. So please visit regularly, and use the Feedback form on the site to let us know what you think, as well as suggestions for improvements. If you'd like us to keep you informed of any new additions to the site, as well as to any other news from our hospital, then you can also use the feedback form to sign yourself up to our e-mail mailing list. We hope you find the site useful. Happy surfing!
Thank you to those of you who responded to our recent client survey. We were pleased to see that once again over 90% of people rated our overall service as either Very Good or Excellent. Here are some other findings:
Newsletter – Here again we found that 90% of people rated our newsletter either Very Good or Excellent and most comments were very positive (but there were more Very Good than Excellent responses so we'll work on that!). The majority of respondents preferred a 2-page to a 4-page newsletter and we will be retaining the 2-page format for the majority of our newsletters. Occasionally (like in this issue) when we have a lot of current topical material to include, we will expand it to 4 pages.
There was a lot of interest in most of the topics that we suggested for future newsletters. The most popular request was for articles on First Aid / Emergency Care. We've written most of the material for these articles, but there's a lot of it and we didn't have room to include it in this issue. Lookout for these articles in a future edition. For those with Internet access, you'll find this material already available on our web site.
Internet Web Site – About 50% of respondents had Internet access at home. As you'll see above, our web site is already up and running, and we hope you find it useful. To those who don't have Internet access, you will not be left out. We will continue to print our newsletter and mail it to you every 3 months.
Related articles: Survey
70% of respondents had one of our free reward cards. (We should have noted that the pensioners are given a discount automatically at each visit, and so do not need a reward card.) Most rated the scheme as either Very Good or Excellent value. Over half of people carry the reward card with them, and to get the best value from the scheme, we encourage you to do the same.
In the past 12 months alone, we have given away rewards worth over $11,500 in veterinary products and services to 140 different clients. Several clients have filled 2 or even 3 reward cards in this time. One client, who buys pet food from us regularly, has filled 4 reward cards in the past 12 months. These clients have really made the scheme work for them and ensured themselves of discounts on all our veterinary products and services.
Several people suggested we could improve the scheme by tracking the rewards on our computer, and do away with the card entirely. We are still considering this, but would like to explain why we have not done it before.
There are 2 major reasons:
i) To reward our regular clients for their business;
ii) To encourage more people to become regular clients,
and come to us for all their pet care needs.
The card itself is the main form of advertising for the
scheme, with people being reminded of the scheme every time they use the card. Without
the card, we'd simply be giving money away, whilst encouraging little new business
and the scheme may not be viable for us to run.
We're not saying that we will never computerise the scheme. We are considering other ways to promote it, but for now we encourage you to either keep the card in your purse/wallet, or remember to bring it with you.
Related articles: Pet Care Reward Card Scheme
September is the time when most councils (including Campbelltown) send out reminders for your dog's annual registration. This year is the last time they will be doing that. Annual registration has slowly been phased out since the introduction of the new Companion Animals Act in July 1999. It has been replaced with a lifetime state-wide registration scheme for all dogs (and all new cats). This new scheme requires that you:
Even if you have paid the annual registration fee every year, you will still have to pay the same lifetime fee when the annual scheme finally ends next year.
Our advice: Get your dog microchipped now and don't pay the annual registration. Pay the lifetime fee this year instead. (Unless your dog is very old, and you doubt whether he/she will live another year.)
Here are 2 recent cases that you might find interesting:
Jarba, a 7 year-old Miniature Fox Terrier with a severe weight problem. Jarba has been overweight for some time and her weight problem was worsened by drugs (needed to treat another disease) that made her hungry. In late April this year, Jarba had to be hospitalised for treatment of pancreatitis – which was probably caused by being overweight. At that time she weighed 11.8kg.
After successful treatment for the pancreatitis, Jarba was sent home on a strict diet of Hill's Prescription Diet – Canine R/D. We have been monitoring her progress. Within 4 weeks, Jarba was down to 9.0kg but was still very overweight. By the end of July she had reached 7.9kg. At this time, her owners described her as a different dog, much happier, jumping up, and having much less problems with her arthritis. We have set Jarba an ideal target weight of 6kg. That's almost half of her original weight! We have seen lots of animals that could benefit from a similar weight-loss program. If your dog is overweight, we hope that this case report inspires you to consider how much healthier your dog could become.
Related articles: NL12 : Is your pet overweight?Lucy, an 18-month-old Cattle Dog was presented to us at the end of June having just jumped out of the back of a ute. She was dragged on the road by her lead before the driver was able to stop. Lucy was fortunate not to have sustained any fractures or internal injuries. However, she had severe skin wounds and friction burns to large parts of her body. Lucy's wounds have been regularly cleaned and dressed by our vets and nurses, as well as by her owners. We have taken photographs of these wounds at various stages. They can be viewed on our web site, along with a more detailed case report.
Related articles: Lucy's Photos & Case Report
"Gourmet parasite protection for dogs with impeccable taste".
We've been waiting a while for this one! Sentinel has for a long time been our number one recommendation for parasite control in many of our canine patients. It controls heartworm, roundworm, hookworm and whipworm as well as fleas, and comes with a 100% guarantee. And now it comes in a beefy flavoured tablet, that 90% of dogs will eat out of your hand. (And for the other 10%, it's exactly the same size as the previous tablet form, so you can dose it as normal.) We have the Large and Very Small sizes in stock now, with Medium and Small coming soon.
We've been using this for several months now. It's the latest and most effective vaccine available against parvovirus and also protects against distemper, hepatitis and parainfluenza virus. The price is the same as our previous C4 vaccine.
Related articles: Dogs - Vaccination
These are the latest cat vaccines available. Both are inactivated vaccines (no live virus) and incorporate protection against feline enteritis and rhinotracheitis & calicivirus (cat flu). The Fel-O-Vax 4 vaccine replaces our previous 3-in-1 vaccine and also includes protection against Chlamydia at no extra cost. The Fel-O-Vax 5 vaccine goes one step further, incorporating Feline Leukaemia Virus as well.
Chlamydia is a new vaccine. Leukaemia vaccine has been available (separately) for many years, and a lot of our patients are already vaccinated with it. The new Fel-O-Vax 5 vaccine will make it slightly cheaper - and easier for your cat who will only need to be jabbed with one needle! The following articles are provided to help you decide if your cat needs to be vaccinated against Chlamydia and Leukaemia.
These new vaccines also allow an easier and cheaper vaccination course for kittens. The traditional 3-shot vaccination course can now be replaced with a 2-shot regime. The first is given at 8 weeks of age, and the second at 12 weeks. Annual boosters are still required.
Related articles: Cats - Vaccination
Feline Leukaemia is a serious disease of cats caused by feline leukaemia virus. The virus works by attacking the cat's immune system, making them more susceptible to other infections (just like AIDS does in people). The virus also makes them more susceptible to developing cancer. Because the virus attacks the immune system, cats may become sick or even die from other diseases they have been vaccinated against.
Clinical signs of infection are thus very varied. They can include reduced appetite, weight loss, lethargy, anaemia, vomiting, diarrhoea, reproductive problems, pale or yellow mucous membranes, leukaemia and tumours. Chronic infections such as persistent abscesses, gingivitis or respiratory infections may be associated with Leukaemia infection. Some cats may be infected and show no signs at all.
The virus is contagious and can be shed in saliva, tears, urine, faeces, milk, semen, and vaginal and nasal secretions. This means it can be transmitted by any (even occasional) close contact with other cats including mutual grooming, fighting and mating. It can also be spread via litter trays, food bowls and even by flea bites!
Leukaemia can mimic lots of other diseases, and can only be diagnosed by laboratory tests. For this reason, it's hard for us to assess how common the disease is locally. Research has shown it to be the biggest killer of cats worldwide. The prevalence rate in Sydney is thought to be fairly low, but it certainly does occur.
If your cat has any direct contact with other cats, then vaccination is recommended. If you haven't had your cat vaccinated against Leukaemia in the past, the new Fel-O-Vax 5 vaccine may give you cause to reconsider.
Chlamydia psittaci is a virus that predominantly causes conjunctivitis in cats. It has been described as "one of the most important ocular pathogens and has been isolated from approximately a third of cases of conjunctivitis in household cats."
Two major forms of the disease are seen:
Arthritis, lung disease and reproductive problems occur less commonly. Persistent sub-clinical infection is common, leading to a "carrier" state, which may last for many months.
There are different strains of C.psittaci. The cat strain appears to be specific for cats and is rarely isolated from other species (eg. Birds). Although this strain has not been proven to cause disease in man, precautions should be taken in dealing with infected cats.
The virus is spread either directly by close and persistent contact between cats, or indirectly via aerosol or on objects such as feeding bowls, hands, etc. The incubation period can be anywhere from 3-14 days.
Symptoms start as a watery then mucoid or purulent eye discharge. Secondary bacterial infections are common, as well as mild nasal discharge and coughing.
Chronic conjunctivitis can develop and lead to inappetence, depression and weight loss.
Recurrent infections are more common in cats less than 2 years of age. Older cats appear to be more resistant.
Vaccines cannot completely protect against the disease. They neither prevent infection nor the establishment of a carrier state in some cats. However, vaccinated cats do benefit from both reduced duration and severity of clinical signs of disease, and will shed less virus, if infection does occur.
We will be using and recommending Fel-O-Vax vaccine for all cats. Kittens will receive the 2-shot course and will thus have protection against Chlamydia (subject to the limitations discussed above). Adult cats would also initially need 2 shots of Chlamydia to be protected. We will not be recommending the 2nd shot routinely for cats that are already fully vaccinated with a 3-in-1 vaccine. If however your cat has persistent close contact with other cats and is likely to be exposed to a high challenge situation, please discuss this with us. We will be happy to vaccinate your cat against Chlamydia if required.
Kidney failure (or renal failure) is very common in older
cats. It is the second biggest killer of cats worldwide, responsible for the premature
death of 1 in 3 cats!
(Kidney failure also occurs in dogs but is uncommon.)
Your cat has two kidneys. Their main function is to remove waste products from the blood, and eliminate them in the urine. When the kidneys are damaged and start to fail, these waste products can build up in the body, poisoning your cat.
The kidneys are also responsible for:
– preserving body water (by concentrating the urine);
– regulating the body's electrolyte (salt) balance;
– hormones that control red blood cell production.
Knowing how the kidneys normally function helps in understanding the symptoms of kidney failure and how it can be treated.
The kidneys have a lot of reserve capacity. We can survive with only one-third of our kidney cells working. That's why we can donate one kidney to someone else (or sell one to Kerry Packer!) This also means that a lot of our kidney cells can be lost, before we see any signs of disease.
When two-thirds of a cat's kidney cells are lost, the kidneys lose the ability to concentrate the urine, but the remaining cells are able to excrete the waste products from the body by producing a larger volume of dilute urine. This is called compensated kidney failure.
When three-quarters of the cells are lost, the body can no longer compensate. Your cat may dehydrate, toxins build up, electrolyte balances are upset and blood cell numbers may start to drop.
The signs may appear to come on suddenly, but it is likely that the damage to the kidneys has actually been occurring for months or even years.
There are many different causes of kidney failure. Congenital defects, bacterial and viral infections, tumours (cancer), toxins and nutritional factors may be involved. In many cases the original cause cannot be determined - we just see the damage left behind.
Unfortunately, once kidney failure starts to occur, the damage is usually progressive. Damaged kidney cells can't regenerate.
However, early diagnosis and treatment can often slow the progression of this disease, leading to a longer, healthier life for your cat.
Kidney failure usually occurs in middle-aged and older cats. Early signs of disease are often confused with normal ageing. Clinical signs can include:
We may suspect kidney failure based on your cat's history and our physical examination findings. But by then the disease is probably already quite advanced. Early diagnosis is vital! Simple screening tests are available to detect kidney disease.
We now recommend annual screening tests
for all cats over 7 years of age.
A drop of blood and a few drops of urine are all that's required. A convenient time to perform these tests may be at your cat's annual vaccination. But if your cat is showing any of the symptoms of kidney failure, it is important to consult us without delay. During October, we are running a Special Offer allowing you to have you cat examined and screened for kidney failure at a reduced cost (see box at the bottom of this page).
We can perform these screening tests and usually provide results within a few minutes. If we detect a problem, we will advise more comprehensive tests to determine how severe the kidney damage is. We will then be able to recommend the most appropriate treatment for your cat's individual needs.
Unfortunately there is no cure for chronic kidney failure. In the past, a diagnosis of kidney failure was a virtual death sentence for a cat. However, over the last few years, there have been a lot of developments in the understanding and treatment of kidney failure. There is now a lot we can do to assist the remaining functional parts of the kidney, slow the progression of the disease and help your cat to lead a longer and healthier life.
Regular monitoring is also very important. For more information on the treatment of kidney disease, come and see us, or refer to our 2-page Kidney Failure in Cats handout available from our hospital or on our web site.
*** Special Offer - Cat Kidney Month - October 2001 ***
During the month of October we are running a special offer. You can have your cat examined and screened for kidney disease for just $50.00.
The offer includes Consultation ($36.00), Urine Testing ($16.50) and blood creatinine test ($18.35). That's $70.85 total value. Phone for an appointment.