Welcome to our Summer newsletter

An end to the sneezes for Florence...Florence, a lovely little cat belonging to one of our receptionists Alyson, had a throat problem and came to see Sam, one of our primary clinicians.

Three year old Florence had been sneezing a lot, coughing and retching like she was trying to bring something up, and was suffering from bad breath. Although she was still eating and drinking, she was not feeling herself.

Clinical signs indicated that a foreign body was stuck in her upper respiratory tract, so Florence was anaesthetised to allow examination of her throat and upper airway. Luckily for Florence, a grass blade was found stuck in the back of her throat, which Sam was able to remove quite easily with some forceps. Florence was given some anti-inflammatory medication to reduce the inflammation in her throat, and she made a very good recovery.

Cats and dogs will sometimes eat grass when they are feeling nauseous to make themselves vomit, and occasionally this will lead to the grass becoming stuck in the back of the nasal passages or throat. Most of the time this can be retrieved with the patient under general anaesthesia, although sometimes requires use of an endoscope to guide removal.

Willows offer a reduced price mid-year health check, 6 months after the annual booster vaccination, so we can check your pet is in tip-top condition and discuss any concerns you might have.

Call us on 0121 712 7070 to book an appointment.

If you would like to receive this newsletter and other information from Willows by email, please subscribe to our mailing list at: www.willows.uk.net/signup

Willows Welcomes Georgina to the Primary Care Team!

Georgina graduated from the

Royal Veterinary College in 2012.

Before joining Willows primary

care team, she spent 2 years in a

rural companion animal practice

followed by a further 2 years in an

extremely busy small animal clinic

in the Midlands.

Georgina enjoys the variety that

general practice has to offer, but

some of her favourite aspects

include; working with nervous

dogs, working up complex

medical cases, and meeting a

wide variety of animals and their

owners. She is currently working

towards an RCVS Certificate in

Small Animal Medicine (RCVS

CertAVP(SAM)) and hopes to

push the boundaries of her

knowledge and experience by

joining the Willows team and

working alongside some of the top

Specialists in the country.

In her spare time Georgina shows

and breeds Donskoys (a Russian

breed of hairless cat), she enjoys

show jumping with her rescue pony

Joey, and has recently taken up

agility with her Italian greyhound.

Allergy season is here!Willows have again started to see our usual annual upswing in the number of animals

being presented with skin complaints. During the spring/summertime it is common

for allergic skin conditions to manifest, and for those animals that have year round

problems it can get noticeably worse during this period.

Owners of dogs with allergies

will be only too familiar with the

thump-thumping of a hind leg on

the floor, or the sound of constant

head shaking or foot chewing. The

impact on the animals concerned can

range from mild itchiness to severe

discomfort, which can have a real

impact on their general wellbeing.

Allergic dogs and cats do not always

present with classic ‘scratching’ –

it is important to also watch out

for chewing of feet, rubbing of

faces, recurrent ear infections and

(especially in cats) more time spent

grooming than is usual.

The reason for the seasonality which

is often seen in this type of condition

varies between individuals, depending

on what triggers their skin problems.

Sometimes there is a very clear

allergy to, for example, grass or tree

pollens, but in other cases it will not

be quite so straightforward.

In dermatology it is often useful

to think of an itchiness ‘threshold’

above which an animal will start

to show clinical signs; a number of

different factors can bring an animal

over this threshold. For example, a

seasonal grass allergy could combine

with a sensitivity to fleas, and if

a dog subsequently develops an

overgrowth of yeasts in the skin, this

might be the trigger for the start of

clinical signs.

Treatment therefore ideally needs to

be tailored to the individual and aims

to address their specific needs. The

best way of doing this is usually by

investigating different factors which

may be playing a part, although

it is also often possible to treat

more symptomatically.

One of the first things we generally

need to do is to treat any bacterial

or yeast infections, and also make

sure that broad-spectrum parasite

treatment is up-to-date to exclude

this as a factor. Depending on the

case we will sometimes then also do

skin scrapes or other tests to look for

specific mites and organisms.

An exclusion food trial is the most

reliable way of excluding any dietary

allergens, which are another common

trigger for skin issues. The diets we

use for this are either ‘hydrolysed’,

which means the proteins are treated

in such a way that they should not

be able to trigger a reaction, or

‘novel protein source’, which means

finding a protein and carbohydrate

combination which the animal

should not have been exposed

to before.

Specific allergy testing can also be

considered, if desired. This is done

either using serology (a blood test) or

intradermal testing (injecting small

amounts of allergens into the skin

and monitoring the development

of little bumps, which indicate a

reaction). This will generally give a

very accurate picture of the things

the animal is allergic to and, as well

as hopefully allowing avoidance

strategies to minimise exposure to

these things, can also be used to

formulate a type of ‘vaccine’ which

aims to desensitise the animal to the

allergens over a period of time.

Treatment of some allergic dogs may

only be needed during certain seasons,

but in others has to be year-round. The

options we now have available range

from omega-3 and -6 supplements

to reinforce the skin’s barrier against

allergens, through antihistamines and

other anti-itch medications, all the

way up to immunotherapy vaccines,

which are given by injection over

several months and are continued

at intervals lifelong if they seem to

be effective.

We are always happy to

discuss different management

options with you if you think

your dog may be affected -

0121 712 7070

Hannah Jones BSc(Hons) RVN

Veterinary Nurse

This year saw the 10th anniversary of the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund’s RAW campaign. Rabbit

Awareness Week (RAW) occurs annually during the month of June and is supported by leading animal

organisations including the RSPCA, Wood Green Animal Shelters, Burgess Pet Care, Panacur Rabbit, Blue Cross

and PDSA.

Rabbits are the third most popular pet

in the UK, however research has shown

them to be the countries most neglected

pet with over 67,000 entering rehoming

centres every year. Although rabbit owners

love their pets, the huge amount of

misconceptions regarding rabbit care

can mean that despite a loving owner’s

best intentions, welfare can be

inadvertently compromised.

Thanks to the fantastic work of charities

and the nationwide campaign of

‘Rabbit Awareness Week’, knowledge

and understanding of the true needs of

rabbits has grown amongst the general

public by getting up-to-date and accurate

information out to rabbit owners, therefore

allowing their bunnies to live a long, healthy

and happy life!

The theme of this year’s campaign was

#buddiesforbunnies – in the past, it has

been deemed acceptable for rabbits to

be kept alone in a small hutch at the

bottom of the garden, but we now know

that this is inadequate on many levels and

causes suffering. Rabbits are highly social

animals who, in the wild, live in groups. It

is therefore recommended that they are

kept in neutered pairs or groups in spacious

accommodation so that they can run and

play together.

As 57% of UK rabbits live alone, the Buddies

for Bunnies campaign aims to encourage

more owners to find suitable companions

for their furry friends.

Rabbits are known to be picky when it

comes to selecting a partner, and so both

should be vaccinated and neutered before

they meet to give them the best possible

chance at making friends! They then have to

go through a period of ‘bonding’ with a new

rabbit before they live together to make

sure they will get along, but once bonded

they tend to be friends for life! Many

rescue centres are very knowledgeable on

the bonding process and may be able to

provide bonding sessions so you can be sure

that your newly adopted rabbit will be a

welcome addition to your home.

For more information on bonding rabbits

and other rabbit care tips such as ideal diet,

housing and healthcare visit:

www.rabbitawarenessweek.co.uk

Willows currently has a number

of RWAF’s ‘Hop to it’ booklets

available FREE to our clients*.

The booklets are a full guide

to keeping rabbits and contain

information on everything

‘bunny’ from diet (including free

treats you can pick from your

garden) to housing, and health to

behaviour. Just ask at reception

or your primary vet if you are

interested in a copy.

*Subject to availability

Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service

Highlands Road Shirley Solihull West Midlands B90 4NH

Telephone: 0121 712 7070

www.willows.uk.netFollow us on Twitter @willowsvets

Find us on Facebookfacebook.com/willowsvets

Above:

Billy before surgery - the arrow

indicates the benign fatty lump

Right:

Billy showing his shaved back

and scar recovering at home

If you have a senior dog, you

may be interested in reading

our series of information

sheets on Looking after your

Dog - there are lots of useful

tips and information relating

to the different life stages:

www.willows.uk.net/pets

Hot Tip for Summer! As the weather starts to warm up it becomes a popular time for adder bites! The snakes are present all over the UK, with the South-East of England being a particular hot spot.

The adder is the only venomous snake native to the UK. The adder has a black-brown zig-zag pattern and a V or X shaped marking on the head. They can be confused with the non-venomous grass snake. One distinguishing feature is that adders have a ‘slit like’ pupil whereas grass snakes have a round shaped pupil (you will have come pretty close to see this, of course!).

Adders are actually very timid and non-aggressive, usually only biting when they are provoked, and preferring to stay hidden. For this reason bites are most common on the face or limbs.

If you suspect your pet has been bitten by an adder, you should phone your vet and arrange to take it to them immediately. In some cases a drip or antivenom may be required, depending on the severity of the bite.

Avoid bites by keeping dogs on leads during the warmer months in adder hotspots!

Double trouble for Billy!Billy was brought to see Will, one of the primary care clinicians,

as his owners were concerned that he had a large mass behind

his left shoulder which had been slowly getting worse.

This had already been previously diagnosed

as a benign fatty lump known as a lipoma.

Normally these fatty lumps don’t need to be

removed, however due to the location of the

lump, it was felt that removing it gave Billy

a good chance of feeling more comfortable

and would allow him to move more freely.

Will suspected the lump was underneath a

large muscle and as it was a very large mass,

Billy had a CT scan performed to evaluate

whether it could be removed and what would

be the best approach.

Completely by chance the CT scan also

picked up a mass on his spleen which was not

palpable on examination of Billy’s abdomen.

Without evidence that it had bled, there was

a 50:50 chance that it would be benign or

malignant. Sampling techniques can often

be unrewarding when dealing with the spleen

and considering most dogs can cope very well

without a spleen, it was decided that it should

be removed and sent to the lab for analysis.

Billy had both surgeries performed, the first

via his abdomen to remove the spleen and

then he had the large fatty lump removed via

a separate incision. He was kept in overnight

for monitoring and to ensure he had enough

analgesia and subsequently has made a great

recovery. After the laboratory had evaluated

the mass on his spleen, it was confirmed

that it was benign and that surgery should

be curative. This was great news for everyone

– especially Billy, who despite his old age, is

back to feeling more lively these days.

Billy is a great example of how well an old

dog can cope with quite considerable surgical

procedures despite his age and come through

to make a full recovery.