Henry

Henry is a 6 year old male cat who came in to see the out of hours vet on New Years Day as he had been very quiet and dull and wasn’t eating or drinking. On examination Henry also had a very high temperature, which is likely why he felt so poorly. He was given some medication to go home with however he didn’t improve so the following day was admitted for treatment.

Henry was placed on IV fluids and given medication to make him feel better. Over the following 24 hours Henry did not improve and so he was anaesthetised for x-rays, an ultrasound scan, blood tests and a feeding tube was placed. The feeding tube allows us to give all the food an animal needs daily without them having to eat.

The tests revealed that Henry had a condition called Cholangiohepatitis. This is a condition, which causes inflammation of the liver and gall bladder, which is very uncomfortable for the patient and can make them feel sick. It is treatable but once an animal has had the condition they more be more prone to it in the future.

Henry stayed with us for 13 days in total while we treated his condition. It seemed a long slow process waiting for Henry to recover. He was nursed intensively and had regular vet checks through the day. His owners visited him regularly to try and make him feel better. Eventually Henry started eating again and he quickly perked up and his feeding tube was taken out a few days later before he went home.

Henry is quite a feisty character making examinations and blood tests difficult however he went through a lot with us and tolerated everything really well considering the amount of treatment he had. Everyone came to love Henry and felt his bravery deserved the ‘Pet of the Month’ award! Henry is now recovering well at home.

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Guiness 

Our award this month goes to a very brave cat called Guiness who has had to overcome a nasty attack. Guiness is a young male cat that loves to go out however on Sunday 13th November he was attacked by possibly a dog, fox or badger. He had been gone several hours when his owners found him on the back doorstep unable to stand and with several nasty wounds.

The emergency vet saw guiness immediately. He was too weak to use his front legs and had wounds on his tail, legs and a severe wound on his right hind. Guiness was too shocked to anaesthetise that evening so he was put on IV fluids and given medication to keep him comfortable. An x-ray was taken to check for internal damage, this was luckily fine.

The following day a very sore Guiness was anaesthetised so we could explore and clean his wounds and stitch any areas we were able too. Due to the bacteria in others animals mouths and the extent of the injuries we were unsure if Guiness would make it.

Guiness stayed with us for the remainder of the week so we could give him the medication and treatment he needed. He then underwent a sedation on the Friday to re-dress his leg as he was too sore to do this consciously. The wounds did not look great and there was a lot of air under the skin so we cleaned and dressed them as best we could.

Guiness went home that day for the weekend and continued to have regular dressing changes under anaesthetic or sedation until he was comfortable enough to have them done consciously. Guiness had to have areas de-brided and re-sutured a few times to keep the tissue healthy.

Guiness turned a corner and the wounds started to heal and he was much more comfortable. He was using his leg and raring to get out of the house! The decision was made to leave the dressing off at the start of the month and since then Guiness has done fantastically well.

Guiness is now recovering really well at home and is slowly getting back to his normal self. He is such a brave cat that obviously went through a nasty trauma which is why we feel he deserves to be ‘Pet of the Month’. We hope he continues to recover so well!

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Prince Gizmo 

Prince Gizmo is a young kitten that had only been living in his new home for a few days when disaster struck. On Sunday 27th November Gizmos owner woke up to find Gizmo licking some lily leaves and sitting under the plant. Not knowing if lilies were poisonous Gizmos owner phoned us to check and we told her to come down immediately.

A lot of cat owners do not realise that lily pollen is one of the most poisonous things that a cat can come into contact with. We have poison leaflets that inform owners of this but unfortunately when buying lilies there are no warnings. The pollen causes in coordination, lethargy, vomiting and eventually kidney failure if not treated.

As Prince Gizmo had only just eaten the pollen we gave him some medication to make him sick to hopefully reduce the amount of pollen absorbed. Gizmo was then put onto IV fluids and settled into a kennel. As it was so soon after ingestion the kidney levels would be normal on a blood test so it was a waiting game.

Price Gizmo was monitored closely over the following 48 hours for any strange signs however he remained bright, happy and mischievous! On Tuesday 29th November Gizmo had a blood sample taken to check his renal values. He wasn’t too impressed about this and had to have some anaesthetic gas to allow us to take it! The blood tests came back normal so he was allowed home later that day.

His owners are still monitoring him at home and he is still having regular check ups and possibly further blood tests to ensure he has no lasting effects from the pollen. Prince Gizmo was such a brave, friendly chap while he was with us considering he didn’t know why he had to stay here! This is why we think he deserves to be ‘Pet of the Month’.

Lily pollen is highly poisonous to cats and we recommended that all cat owners do not have them in the house. Even if they are placed up high out of reach the pollen still falls and can still be ingested. For more information on poisons please pick up a leaflet at the desk.

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Tiger 

Tiger is an adult male who came to us as a stray late in 2010. He had got his leg caught in his collar causing a nasty open would under his foreleg. We nursed Tiger intensely and his wound began to heal. Tiger however got very depressed and was licking his fur off. He then had to wear a buster collar, which made him unhappier. We were faced with a difficult decision, as he wasn’t really in a state to re-home.

A wonderful family however heard about Tiger and decided that he deserved a chance. They took him on knowing that he was far from being healthy but just couldn’t resist him once they had met him!

After a lot of bandage changes and check ups Tigers wound was completely healed by January 2011. Everyone was so pleased and hoped that was the end of his ordeal. However in May his wound opened up again for no apparent reason meaning the skin was very fragile.

Tiger again endured constant bandage changes here and at home. His fantastic new owners dealt with him so well. Gradually the wound got smaller only to suddenly get a whole lot bigger! Everyone was feeling very disheartened and so sorry for Tiger.

By September the skin around the wound was looking nasty and the wound seemed to be getting deeper. After a long discussion with his owners we decided the best option was to amputate Tigers front leg.

Kathy performed the procedure, which went really well, and she was also able to remove the rest of the nasty looking skin. Tiger recovered amazingly well and was able to go home the following day. He has now had his stitches removed and is moving around brilliantly!

Tiger is such a brave cat that we have seen go through so much. He has had so much treatment over the last year and has never complained! We are so glad his owners gave him a chance and all this is why we believe he deserves to be ‘Pet of the month’.

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Hamish 

Hamish is a 2 year old male cat who was unfortunately hit by a car back in September. Hamish’s owner got a knock at the door from a distressed lady who had hit Hamish while driving her car. He ran off but she didn’t know where he had gone. After a lot of hunting Hamish was found under the neighbours shed but wasn’t coming out! Hamish’s owner called the RSPCA who came to try and retrieve him and eventually he crawled out.

Hamish was then rushed down to Green Pastures where Kathy, one of our vets examined him. It appeared that Hamish had a few superficial wounds and a dislocated hip however we couldn’t be sure he wasn’t suffering from internal injuries. A conscious x-ray was taken which didn’t indicate any internal damage. Hamish was admitted for IV fluids to treat the shock and also medication to keep him comfortable and prevent infection.

Hamish needed an intricate operation with our orthopaedic surgeon Hamish Denny to repair his hip so he was stabilised over the weekend and then operated on the following Tuesday. Hamish wouldn’t eat over the weekend, his owner even tried bringing his brother in for company but that didn’t work either! The nurse’s syringe fed Hamish and gave him lots of TLC to build his strength for the surgery.

The operation to repair Hamish’s hip went really well and just a couple of days later Hamish got his appetite back and was able to go home. He is on cage rest to allow his hip to recover but is already starting to put some weight on his leg and seems to be doing really well!

We believe Hamish deserves to be ‘Pet of the Month’ because he was so brave while he stayed with us and he is such a lovely chap! His owners have also done a fantastic job of caring for him at home. We hope he continues to recover so well and look forward to seeing him soon….for routine check ups!!

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Shrew

Shrew is a 1-year-old male cat who has had his owners very worried this month! On Thursday 11th August Shrew was hit by a car and had some nasty injuries. Despite this he managed to make his way home and was found dragging himself up the stairs. His owners rushed him into us to see the vet.

He was very sore around his back end and was very unstable. He also had scuffed nails, which can often indicate an RTA. The vet decided to admit him for medication and observations before anaesthetising him for x-rays the following day.

The next morning Shrew was much brighter and trying to stand up! He was anaesthetised and put on IV fluids to support his system while the x-rays were taken. The x-rays revealed that all his organs were intact which was great news. However poor Shrew had quite a few other injuries! His left femoral growth plate was displaced, he had a hairline fracture on the right femur and also a small wound on his left hock.

The nature of the injuries meant the first course of treatment would be cage rest to allow the bones time to heal and we cleaned the wound on his hock. We decided with the owners that it was best for Shrew to stay with us over the weekend to allow him time to rest.

By Monday Shrew was eating really well, managing to stand and get into his litter tray and generally seemed much happier! He went home shortly after this on strict cage rest and seems to be doing really well!

As Shrew seems to be doing so well it looks unlikely he will need any surgery but only time will tell. He will have to remain on cage rest for around another 6 weeks to allow the bones enough time to fully heal. Shrew’s owners have reported back that he is happy at home (especially when he gets a sneaky 5 minutes out of his cage!) and seems to be recovering really well!

Shrew is such a brave, friendly little cat with fantastic owners. He definitely deserves this month’s award and we hope he continues to recover so very well!

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Holly 

Holly is a very elderly cat who was diagnosed with diabetes several years ago in January 2004. She needs to be injected twice a day with insulin to control her blood sugar levels within her body. The injections need to be administered at the same time each day and her diet needs to be closely monitored, this can sometimes be very challenging to owners and it makes a huge impact on family life. Diabetes is a very serious condition, without these injections Hollys health would deteriorate very quickly.

Holly is also suffering with a condition called hyperthyroidism, a tumour that develops on the thyroid gland in the throat causing a cats metabolism to be increased causing weight loss and hunger. This condition requires tablets each day to also keep her healthy.

Each of these conditions on there own are very serious and can be difficult to manage, so for Holly to have both is even worse. They can also both be expensive conditions to manage and are life long.

Holly has to stay with us for the day regularly for glucose curves, which involves taking a small amount of blood to test every couple of hours. She also has to have regular blood samples to be sent away along with daily medication.

We felt that Holly deserved the pet of the month award because of the amount of medicating and invasive procedures that she has had to deal with over the last few years. Hollys owners are very dedicated to her and we know she appreciates all they do for her!

We have many other diabetic and hyperthyroid patients who have to follow a similar routine to Holly. All these animals and owners deserve an award, Holly is highlighting the case for you all!

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Otis 

Otis is a 10 year old, handsome male black cat who had to have major surgery this month. After his owners returned from holiday they noticed that Otis was not himself. He vomited a few times. was off his food and had some fur loss. They brought him into us to be seen by one of our vets however at the time there were no indications of any major problems. We thought he may have been stressed and hence over grooming. He also had some dental disease so was booked in for a dental 2 days later.

While Otis was in with us we found a large soft swelling on his left elbow where there was some fur loss, which had come up since his previous appointment. We drained 25mls fluid from the lump and sent it away to be analysed. We hoped that it was just caused by trauma however the lab results revealed that Otis had a tumour.

Due to the nature of the tumour we only had the option of amputating Otis’s front left leg. After a long discussion with his owners on how fair this was for Otis they decided to go ahead with the surgery. Cats generally do very well with 3 legs and soon adapt.

A few days later Otis came in for the surgery where we also took some x-rays of his chest to check for metastasis, which are evidence of the tumour spreading. Thankfully Otis got the all clear so we went ahead with the surgery as planned. The operation was successful and Otis recovered well with us. 

He did so well that he was able to go home the following day on cage rest. Otis is now doing well at home and less than a week after the operation he is already running up and down the stairs! Otis still has a long way to go but he has made a fantastic start.

We think Otis deserves to be ‘Pet of the month’ as he has been through such a lot and has amazed us all at how well he has coped and how quickly he has recovered. His owners have also had a very worrying time and have looked after him fantastically. We hope he continues to do so well as he is such a lovely cat!

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Felix

Felix is a 3-year-old male cat who had to stay with us during May as he was very poorly. Felix had been missing for 3 days when he returned to his owner. He seemed dull and was unable to use his front legs. His owner rushed him down to us as an emergency appointment as they feared a car might have hit him.

On examination it was clear that Felix had feeling and the use of his front legs but wasn’t able to coordinate them. He was also severely dehydrated and had a very large bladder. A needle was placed into his bladder and the urine sample had a lot of blood in it. The vet diagnosed a blocked bladder so he was put onto IV fluids, blood tests were ran, medication was given and he was anaesthetised to unblock his bladder.

A blocked bladder is where there is a build of crystals and debris in the urethra, which are too big for the cat to pass and hence stop the flow of urine. This causes the bladder to fill and rupture if not dealt with in time. The animal has to be anaesthetised and the urinary tract flushed to remove the blockage. A catheter is then left in place for around 3 days to allow the bladder to recover and drain properly.

The blood tests revealed that Felix had very high potassium, which is caused by the build up of urine. High potassium causes muscle weakness hence why he was unable to use his legs. Once the potassium levels had returned to normal Felix got the use of his legs back.

Unfortunately a few days after the catheter had been removed Felix didn’t seem to be doing well and had to be taken to theatre for exploratory surgery. This revealed that the bladder was so severely inflamed that urine had leaked out of the hole we had put the needle in to get the urine sample out of. This had caused peritonitis so surgery had to be performed to repair the hole. A urinary catheter was again placed to allow the bladder more time to heal and for the inflammation to go down.

Following this Felix recovered well and went home a few days later. He is now doing really well at home and has had all his stitches removed. He is still on some medication but is nearly back to his normal self! We believe Felix deserves to be ‘Pet of the Month’ as he was so brave during his stay with us and has fought his way to a full recovery!

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Charlie

Charlie is a 1 year old male cat who was unfortunately hit by a car back at the start of April. He was rushed in to us by a member of the public who had found him. Charlie was not in a good way and it was clear he had suffered severe head trauma. Charlie was put onto IV fluids to help support him, given pain relief medication and we took an x-ray of his chest. This showed he had a build up of air on his chest and it was clear he had a broken jaw. We carried out the necessary procedures to make Charlie comfortable however he needed to be stabilised before we could anaesthetise him and fully assess him.

Once Charlie was stable we anaesthetised him to take diagnostic x-rays and clean him up. After looking at the x-rays the decision was made to place a chest drain so we could easily remove the air from his chest, wire his broken jaw and place a feeding tube to allow his jaw time to heal. Charlies eye was also causing concern as it was extremely swollen however other than eye drops to keep him comfortable we needed to wait to see how it healed.

Charlie coped well with the anaesthetic and recovered well. He was intensively monitored throughout the day and night to follow as he couldn’t do anything for himself. The following evening Charlie had deteriorated and his owners were called in to see him in case the worst happened.

Charlie however is a fighter and the following day turned a corner! His chest drain was removed to make him more comfortable and he even started eating on his own! During the following days with lots of care and treatment Charlie continued to slowly improve until we were happy that he was in a fit state to go home 6 days after he initially came in.

Since then Charlie has continued to improve and he has now also had his feeding tube removed. His eye is still causing concern and he may need to have it removed along with the wire holding his jaw while it heals. However he has made it through the worst part and is now happy back at home!

While Charlie was with us he also enjoyed his 1st Birthday where he was thoroughly spoilt and loved by the nurses! We think Charlie deserves to be ‘Pet of the Month’ as he was a real fighter and overcame so much to be here today.

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Sam

Sam is a 7 year old collie who has had a lot to cope with this month and is lucky to still be with us. His owner brought him into see us at the beginning of March as he wasn’t himself, he had diarrhoea, an elevated temperature and the vet could feel a large mass in his abdomen. Sam had some bloods taken which were sent for analysis but the following day had to be admitted as he was worse.

Sam was put onto IV fluids and had further blood tests, which revealed that he was anaemic, and had very few platelets (these help the blood to clot). The vets suspected the mass in his abdomen was his spleen so x-rays were taken and he had an ultrasound scan. These revealed that Sams spleen was indeed significantly enlarged and at risk of rupturing, causing massive internal bleeding.

Sam was not in a good way. As he was so anaemic the decision was made to do a blood transfusion before going for emergency surgery to give him the best chance. A donor from our blood transfusion list was called, his name is Sparky! His owner got him to us immediately so we could collect 120mls of blood from him to give to Sam. Sparky was an angel for this and has received a ‘Bravery Award’ for his courage!

After receiving the blood transfusion Sam went straight to theatre where the spleen was removed and samples were taken to see if it was cancerous. Sam coped well with the anaesthetic considering his condition and recovered well. He stayed with us for a further 6 days where more minor problems were encountered and dealt with before he went home.

Unfortunately the samples showed that Sam has got Lymphoma, which is a cancer of a specific white blood cell (Lymphocyte). He will require chemotherapy with us over the next few months to try and stop further cancerous spread.

He is however doing really well at home and we are all keen along with his owners to give him a fighting chance. Sam has been so brave and still has a way to go which is why we feel he deserves to be ‘Pet of the Month!’

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Jet

Jet is a 4-year-old greyhound who has been through quite an ordeal in the last few weeks! Whilst Jet was on a walk with his owner he was startled by another dog barking. He backed away from the dog slipping his lead and although his owner tried to restrain him Jet pushed passed her as he was scared. Unfortunately he ran straight into the path of a car on the road and it was immediately clear his leg was in a bad way.

Jets owner rushed him to Green Pastures where he was assessed by one of our vets Nicola. It was clear from Jets vital signs that he was in shock and that his leg needed immediate care. Because he was too shocked to anaesthetise a dressing was applied to his leg as a first aid measure. He was then put on IV fluids and was given high doses of pain relief medication. A conscious x-ray was taken of Jets legs, which revealed a nasty fracture of both his radius and ulna (the 2 bones which make up the lower foreleg).

Jet was then stabilised over the weekend until the vets were happy that he was in a fit state to withstand an anaesthetic. As he couldn’t walk and was very sore he remained on pain relief and had to have his bladder drained several times per day. He still enjoyed his food though!

Due to the severity of the fracture Jet was referred to Hamish Denny our orthopaedic surgeon who operated on him. Hamish applied an external fixator, which realigns the bones and holds them in place until they have healed. Jet coped well with the surgery and only the next day was up and about on 3 legs and starting to bare weight on his newly fixed leg!

Jet went home a few days later as he was doing so well. He has been back in to see Hamish and we are pleased to say that everything seems to be healing nicely. Jet still has a way to go until he has fully recovered but he is well on his way there and has fantastic owners at home helping him along the way! We think Jet deserves to be pet of the month because he has been such a brave boy throughout all his treatment and has recovered so well. We hope he continues to do well and is back to his old self soon!

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Sniff 

Sniff is a very bold and very lucky 11 month old male cat! Sniff has always been inquisitive and likes adventures! On the 19th January Sniff was asking to go out so his owner reluctantly let him out. They had been trying to keep him in at night because he kept crossing the dual carriageway next to Green Pastures.

His owners then received a call from us at 10pm only 45 minutes after they let him out to say he had been hit by a car and was at Green Pastures. Luckily Sniff had a microchip so we were able to locate his owners immediately to discuss treatment. Sniff was in a bad way with severe head trauma and shock. He was bleeding from his mouth, nose and eyes and the vet was suspicious of problems with his chest and that he may have had a fractured jaw.

Sniff was in such a bad way that we had to carry out emergency treatment to stabilise him. He was put on IV fluids, warmed up and given medication to help reduce the swelling around his face and clear any fluid from his chest. The prognosis at this point wasn’t looking good but he was monitored closely by the on call staff that night and slowly began to improve.

The following morning Sniff was much improved so the decision was taken to give him an anaesthetic so we could x-ray his chest and skull and repair his fractured jaw. We also cleaned Sniff up while he was under the anaesthetic to make him more comfortable.

Sniff recovered well from his anaesthetic and over the following few days started to get his appetite back eating some tasty tuna and chicken! Sniff came off his drip on the 22nd Jan and went home the following day as he was doing so well and his sister Scratch was missing him!

We all came to love Sniff as he was so brave and has such a bold character! He still has a way to go until he is back to full health but he is certainly well on his way. We hope Sniff has learned his lesson and stays off the roads in future!

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