Whitworth Veterinary Practice

Newsletter
Autumn 2017
Whitworth Veterinary
Practice Ltd
Station Yard
Station Rd Intestinal Parasites in Dogs and Cats
Trimley St Mary Many different organisms can live in the stomach and intestines of out
Suffolk pets. Some are a helpful part of the normal flora and others are harmful
IP11 0UB invaders. Some can potentially be harmful but do not cause disease in
Tel: 01394 271112 all animals, they can be found in
healthy animals but can be shed and
whitworthvets@gmail.com infect other animals, which may be
www.whitworthvets.co.uk susceptible. Therefore, routine anti-
24 hour Emergency Cover parasitic treatment is important to
07880794327 prevent disease.
In dogs there are 4 common worms:
tapeworms, whipworms, roundworms
and hookworms. There are also other
small organisms that cause problems:
giardia, coccidia, tritrichomonas,
toxoplasma, neospora and cryptosporidia.
Also find us on Facebook and Animals with infestations may exhibit some or all of these clinical
Twitter signs:
Diarrhoea
Weight loss
Vomiting
Poor growth
Poor appearance and coat
quality

Newsletter Editor Katherine Creamer MRCVS

BVM&S
As many infections can be
passed on during preganancy or
Charity lactation it is very important to
treat new kittens and puppies.
Open Day Puppies and kittens should be
Dog Show wormed every 2 weeks until they
are 12 weeks old. Thereafter,
Aided by the warm
they should be given monthly
sunny weather this
worming until they are 6 months
years open day was a great success. We
old. Over 6 months old puppies and kittens should be wormed every 3
raised over 1300, which has been
months as with adult dogs and cats.
divided between the charities that were
If you have any concerns about your pets or want any more
present.
information about these parasites please contact us.
Thank you all for your support.

If you would like to submit a question for our Q&A section or for any other inquiries please email Katherine at
whitworthvets@gmail.com
Practice News Busters Story
v November is Diabetic Awareness Buster is a 6-year-old male neutered
Month. If you are concerned that cat who was doing very well until
your animal is at risk of diabetes May 2017. He started drinking more
then please contact our nursing water, which resulted in frequent
staff about a free kit to screen your visits to his litter tray. His
pet for diabetes. concerned owner brought Buster to
v October and November are also our practice. Tests revealed
Prostate Disease Awareness persistently high blood glucose
months. If your male dog is older (sugar) levels and Buster was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus.
than 7 years old he is eligible for a Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes) is a condition where the pancreas is
free prostate exam. either unable to make sufficient insulin or where the body is unable to
v The RSPCA has released a free respond appropriately to the insulin produced (insulin resistance).
downloadable first aid guide. The Insulin is a hormone that is necessary for the body to control the use and
aim is to help owners in emergency sugar. In diabetes mellitus the cells become unable to uptake the blood
situations. sugar. Therefore, blood sugar will be persistently elevated.
https://petfirstaidguide.rspca.org.uk Unfortunately, this is a condition that is seen regularly in our canine and
v Lucy will be starting her nurse feline patients. Animals usually present with weight loss despite a very
training in September. We wish good appetite, increased drinking and urination. The severity of these
her all the best with her studies. signs will vary. Other signs may include: poor coat quality, weakness,
v Katherine will be leaving on straining to urinate and blood in the urine. In severe cases vomiting,
maternity leave at the end of diarrhoea, anorexia, collapse and lethargy may be observed. In most
December. She hopes to return in cases blood and urine tests are needed to diagnose the condition.
the autumn. Fortunately, most cases can be successfully managed but treatment
v If your pet requires treatment for needs to be tailored to the individual
an unexpected condition and you patient. There are certain coexisting
are on benefits you may be conditions that can make
eligible to apply for financial management of a diabetic patient
assistance via the Blue Cross more difficult. In most uncomplicated
Emergency Care Fund. More cases a combination of diet control
information is available on their and insulin injections are sufficient to
website, or contact us if you need stabilise the patients. Therefore, to
other information. treat Buster we started him on insulin injections, which, along with a
special diet, slowly improved his clinical signs. His blood glucose,
however, was still not stable so we started to suspect a coexisting
disease. A urine culture did not reveal any infections but his gums,
New Rabbit Disease which were of concern from some time, were inflamed (red). His insulin
We dose was raised and he received a course of antibiotics, and he started to
would feel better. Unfortunately, he is still not fully back to his normal self.
like to Therefore, we are still considering other coexisting conditions such as
inform acromegaly a brain disorder causing changes in hormones, including
all our insulin, this makes the treatment of diabetes much more
rabbit challenging. Despite not been 100% we are hopeful that Buster will
owners continue to improve and resume all his normal activities soon.
that there is a new strain of viral
haemorrhagic disease in this area
(VHD2). The normal rabbit
vaccination protects against the
Animal Osteopathy with Jim Hurden
Jim Hurden is a well-respected osteopath who will be available to see
original strain but not the new type
patients at the practice every Friday. We are very pleased
2 strain. We have available an
that Jim will be joining us to help support all our
additional vaccination which can be
patients. If you think your animal may benefit from
given 2 weeks after the normal
osteopathy or have any questions please contact
booster vaccination.
reception or visit Jims website.
If you have any questions please
http://animalosteoeast.co.uk
contact reception.

If you would like to submit a question for our Q&A section or for any other inquiries please email Katherine at
whitworthvets@gmail.com