Covid-19 Update. September 2021.

At last, you may think, back to normality. Well, the good news is there is a big improvement in the experience of taking your pet to the vet, the bad news we’re not quite there yet.

New cases of Covid-19 are still very high, but the chances of hospitalization and serious illness has reduced, especially for those who are vaccinated.

The “pingdemic” is now over which means that if one of the practice team tests positive, we no longer have close the surgery.

We can finally let owners back into the consulting rooms with their pets, we can now ask owners questions as we notice abnormalities during the examination, fantastic! The clinical examination is the cornerstone of good diagnostics, not having the owner in the consulting room has made this process less efficient and less effective.

We do like face-to-face contact to our clients – the social benefits of being able to see and talk to real human beings has been highlighted during this pandemic. We still ask that you continue to wear a mask inside the surgery, working with a pet over a table does bring us into close contact.

Remember vaccination yourself against Covid-19 is the single best way of protecting yourself and everyone you encounter from this terrible infectious disease. The principles of using vaccination for protection against a disease remain the same, for both humans and pets.

This has been a very challenging time for all of us and I want to thank you all for your patience and continuing support. Hopefully the situation we find ourselves in will continue to improve.

Best wishes,

Alan and the team.

Covid 19 and Consultations

Covid Update

Consultations throughout the Covid period has been difficult for our patients, our clients and our team. We have moved from emergency video and telephonic consultations to routine procedures being allowed, to now at least being able to speak to our clients and physically examine our patients. As much as we are all waiting for the day where clients can accompany their pets into the consulting room, the moment has not yet arrived, despite the promise of “freedom day”.

The simple reason is that new cases of Covid are very high at the moment. If we invite clients into the consulting room and they test positive in the following days, we are likely to be closed down for up to 10 days, clearly this would not be in the best interests of our patients, clients or our team. This is why we have decided to delay allowing clients into the consulting room until the “pingdemic” is over, which we hope is mid-August.

We thank you for your understanding.

Stay safe,

Alan, René and the team.

Update on travel to the EU and Northern Ireland

An update on Pet Travel to the EU and Northern Ireland.

Pet travel to the EU now that the transition period has ended.

The UK, for pet travel, has been granted Part 2 Listed Status. This has important implications for travel with your Pet to the EU.

The UK Pet Passport is no longer valid for travel. A pet passport issued in an EU country is valid for travel but a UK vet cannot update any sections except health check and tapeworm treatment.

All dogs, cats or ferrets which need to travel to the EU must be microchipped and vaccinated for Rabies (after 12 weeks of age) and must then wait a minimum of 21 days before they can travel.

Every time the pet travels to the EU they must get an Animal Health Certificate (AHC) from their vet. It can only be completed more than 21 days after a Rabies vaccination. This is a multi-page, official document that takes the vet about 45-60 minutes to complete and certify. Once completed it is valid for 10 days for travel out of the UK into the EU and for 40 days for ongoing travel in the EU and return to the UK.

Blood tests for Rabies serology is not required.

Tape worm treatment requirements remain unchanged

Travel to the EU with your pets is still possibly but has become more time consuming and costly to arrange.

Please always check the requirements, before you travel, on the APHA website.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pet-travel-to-and-from-great-britain

Best wishes

Alan

Covid19 Vaccination and Neutering

An update on Covid-19

The government has announced that new cases and deaths due to Covid-19 are on the decline, that is good news. We are now waiting to see what the new regulations will bring.

In the meantime, we are in the position where human safety outweighs animal welfare and we have to apply social distancing and do our very best to keep people safe and still look after animal welfare – a challenging task.

Clients at our practice are asking questions based around vaccination and neutering. This is understandable as vaccination dates start to pass and puppies and kittens get older and become more likely to have their own puppies and kittens!

Our advisory body has put together a guidance sheet for the public to indicate how decisions are made both on vaccination and on neutering. Our vets are currently calling the owners of pets whose vaccinations have lapsed and individually assessing them. Please call and ask to speak to a vet if you are in anyway unsure of what to do, or feel your pet’s vaccination is overdue, please be patient.

I’m afraid it’s still not business as usual, but hope that the interpretation of these important questions is a little more clear.

Best wishes

Alan

Urinary problems in cats – Villager Article March 2016

Dear Alan
My cat, Ronnie, has always been clean in the house but now he is very unsettled and urinates in the bath and on the carpet. What can I do? Claire

Dear Claire,
This is very common and can be caused by behavioural issues, lower urinary tract disease or kidney problems.

Kidney problems make the urine more dilute so he may need to toilet more frequently. Behavioural issues may cause him to mark in odd places. Lower urinary tract disease makes the bladder very sensitive so he feels like he needs to go all the time, even if his bladder isn’t full. Idiopathic Cystitis is an odd condition where the bladder gets sensitized to stress hormones and hurts when he is stressed (for whatever reason). Occasionally the urethra can block with crystals or debris causing the bladder to over fill, which can be very serious.

Different treatments are required for each of these conditions and good clinical examination, blood and urine tests can normally diagnose them. If the condition recurs or does not respond as expected, imaging (x-ray and ultrasound) may be needed.

More often than not we can help cats, like Ronnie, to feel much better with medication, diet and some behavioural help.
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