Category: Animal Welfare

Coming Soon to Britain’s Streets

Without diagnostic monitoring and management, feral populations place homed cats at risk of infection with FIV and FeLV, infestation with external parasites such as fleas and mites, and internal invaders including bacteria, viruses and intestinal or respiratory worms.

Understanding the Risk that Feral Felines Pose to Britain’s Pet Cats

Cat welfare charity, Cats Protection, is promoting the UK’s first major census of Britain’s stray and feral cat population. Cat Watch isn’t just a counting exercise; it’s a serious attempt to monitor the health of an estimated 1 million homeless and abandoned cats living on Britain’s city streets. The shared social nature of homed pet and homeless strays makes total separation of the parallel populations practically impossible, underlining the need to know and understand the risk that feral felines pose to Britain’s 7 million pet cats.

The Cat Watch project, tested on the streets of Nottingham, Bradford, Luton, and the Everton district of Liverpool, and supported a wide spectrum of organisations including the Liverpool University Veterinary Practice, will give a clearer view of UK feral cat health and include a neutering and welfare programme.

Uncontrolled Breeding and Abandonment of Homed Cats

Cities such as Rome, Paris and Liege are famous for their more or less successful attempts to manage the health and numbers of their feral cats. The 2010 Liege project provided important data on the risk of pet cats to strays infected with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV), while an earlier trap-neuter-release project in Rome was undermined by the uncontrolled breeding and abandonment of homed cats.

Veterinary diagnostic testing kits for such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Rotavirus, Chlamydiosis as well as a combined diagnostic for FIV/FeLV provide the early detection essential to effective treatment and containment of disease in managed cat environments such as breeding centres and catteries. Veterinary laboratory tests also provide detection systems for external parasites including. The same tests provide an efficient resource for monitoring the health of feral and stray populations.

Three in Five Owned Cats are now Microchipped

Pet animal welfare charity BlueCross advises that most apparently stray cats do in fact have a home. Before any cat wandering into your home or garden is treated as a genuine stray, BlueCross suggest a few simple actions toward uniting the wanderer with their true owner. Talking to neighbours is a good start. Posters, press ads and local social ads will also spread the message. Attaching a paper collar to the cat with your contact details gives the cat’s owner an opportunity to confirm ownership. Pet charity, the PDSA, estimates that three in five owned cats are now microchipped. So a quick microchip scan at your local veterinary surgery or pet charity re-homing centre might well identify a cat’s owner, even the cat has travelled some considerable distance.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

Constitute a Powerful Lever for Change

As significant an event as the Boat Race, Grand National, Trooping of the Colours and The FA Cup Final, Crufts Dog Show has become embedded in British National Culture.

Founded by pet food marketing genius, Charles Cruft, The Kennel Club’s flagship – and the world’s largest – canine showcase has established a leading role in raising the standards for breed health and welfare in dogs.

First ‘all-breeds’ dog show

Joining Spratts Patent Company Ltd at the age of 14, Charles Cruft showed great flair and imagination as a salesman for the company which, in the 1860s, made everything from lightning rods to dog biscuits. Cruft’s idea of using dog shows to excite the imagination, and attract public attention to Spratt’sproducts, became reality in his first ‘all-breeds’ dog show at the Royal Agricultural Halls in 1891.

Dubiously pitched as ‘the biggest dog show in the world’, the first Crufts attracted an alleged 2,437 entries. The 22,000 to 24,000 dogs showing over today’s 4-day event, is evidence of the show’s phenomenal growth. In 1939, the organisation of the show passed from Cruft’s second wife and widow, Emma Cruft to The Kennel Club.

Evidence from breeders and experts in genetics

In 2010, The Kennel Club together with Dogs Trust jointly funded an enquiry by Sir Patrick Bateson FRS into the effects of dog breeding on dog health and welfare. The Inquiry took evidence from breeders and experts in genetics as well as from animal welfare and veterinary professionals. The work of the Cambridge University-based team included visiting dog shows.

In the conclusions to his inquiry, Sir Patrick said that he was “persuaded that showing and judging [dogs] constitute a powerful lever for change”. Acknowledging that judging at shows cannot be an exact science, Sir Patrick proposed that shows such as Crufts could become a mechanism for rewarding excellence and educating both breeders and show-goers.

Proposals included educating owners and prospective owners

The inquiry featured contributions by The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and the British Veterinary (BVA) aimed at preventing extreme breeding problems before they occurred. Proposals included educating owners and prospective owners to change their preferences and expectations of breed characteristics and buy only from accredited dog breeders.

Sir Patrick suggested that making these improvements could be especially successful if dog show judges picked up on specific health or welfare problems – such as difficulties with movement or breathing – in particular breeds of dog.

The Legacy left by Charles Cruft is more than just another date on the national calendar. Crufts Dog Show is a positive and ongoing contribution to progress in the breeding health, welfare and veterinary care of dogs worldwide.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

While summertime staples like backyard barbecues and walks on the beach are a lot of fun, they can pose health risks for some pets. It is important to know how to keep your animals comfortable during the summer months, including what vet supplies to use, so that you can prevent any serious conditions, including life-threatening heat stroke.

There is only one place to begin, and this is with overheating. It is easy to underestimate how quickly an animal can react to overheating. Simply leaving your pet alone in a vehicle for a few minutes can be dangerous, as temperatures can go up by ten degrees in about ten minutes, even when the windows are left open. Pugs, bulldogs, and other brachycephalic dog breeds are most susceptible to overheating. You need to recognise signs of dehydration, including lethargy, shallow breathing, sunken eyes, and dry gums. If the symptoms don’t clear once you have given your pet plenty of water, you will need some specialist UK vet supplies.

Not all dogs are natural swimmers

There are also water dangers to bear in mind. Not all dogs are natural swimmers so don’t leave yours unattended. Plus, you should check their ears afterwards to ensure they aren’t waterlogged. Dogs are very prone to ear infections, which will also require vet supplies for them to be cleared. Also, your animal will require skin protection, just like we do, during the summer months. Pets can develop skin cancer and sunburn, especially those with short and light-coloured hair.

If you use human-formulated sunscreen, your pet may be tempted to lick it off. This can cause vomit and bloody diarrhoea. Instead, purchase sunscreen that has been formulated specifically for pets from a vet supplies UK store. Another thing that can easily cause diarrhoea, vomiting, and gastrointestinal irritation are the rich, fatty foods that are eaten at barbecues, including corn on the cob and onion. Make sure you keep this away from your pet.

Summer allergies

Pets can also develop summer allergies. You need to watch out for ear infections, paw and skin irritations, as well as watery and itchy eyes. If you notice these symptoms, you should either try Benadryl or seek advice from someone at a specialist veterinary consumables store. Aside from this, you need to make sure your pet does not drink stagnant water, as this can harbour bacteria that causes leptospirosis. This is a disease that can also enter a pet’s body through broken skin, the mouth, nose, and eyes. There is a vaccine to prevent it, so it’s a good idea to consider this.

As you can see, there is a lot that needs to be considered during the summer months when it comes to the health of your pet. However, it’s important to shield them from the soaring temperatures and other risks that can cause harm. Plus, having vet supplies in the home just in case something goes wrong is always a good idea.

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2018 opened with yet more confirmed cases of Alabama Rot in UK dogs. With a fatality rate of 80%, the kidney disease, characterised by ulcer-like skin sores, has now affected over 100 dogs countrywide since the disease first appeared in the UK in Hampshire in 2012.

Suggested link between Alabama Rot and a micro-organism 

New research, carried out at a specialist fish health laboratory, may have found a link between Alabama Rot and a micro-organism known to infect fish. Dr Fiona MacDonald, founder of Hampshire’s specialist Fish Treatment Ltd, has suggested a link between a bacterial infection of fish and the tissue-destroying disease in dogs.

Veterinary laboratories and practitioners refer to Alabama Rot as ‘Cutaneous and Renal Glomerular Vasculopathy’ or CRGV, acknowledging its twin characteristics of distressing, visible skin sores and life-threatening (renal) kidney failure, both caused by destruction of the vascular (blood supply) system.

Dr MacDonald’s linking of CRGV in dogs with the haemorrhagic condition known as ‘red sore’ disease in fish comes from the discovery that the bacteria, Aeromonas hydrophila, which causes red sore disease, has been found in the kidneys of CRGV affected dogs.

What makes Aeromonas so toxic to some humans and animals?

Aeromonas hydrophila is visualised microscopically as a Gram-negative staining rod-shaped bacterium. Like other members of the Aeromonas genus, A.hydrophila is common, widespread and able to survive and grow with or without oxygen in fresh or salt water, at temperatures down to 4 degrees Celsius and resistant to many common antibiotics.

Exactly what makes Aeromonas so toxic to some humans and animals isn’t fully clear, but it’s thought that it might exploit an existing weakness or susceptibility in its host, possibly entering via the digestive system with contaminated food or water.

The microbe invades vital tissues and organs, such as the kidneys, via the bloodstream. Secreting a range of tissue-destroying toxins including the cytolytic (meaning cell-bursting) ‘aerolysin’, the microbe causes the open sores and renal failure that characterise CRGV.

Only hygiene, care and vigilance offers protection from Alabama Rot

The proposed fish connection needs further investigation and laboratory research is continuing. In the meantime, and in the absence of a clear cause, preventative or cure, only hygiene, care and vigilance offers protection from Alabama Rot.

With most cases reported in the wetter months from October to March, some vets suspect that CRGV begins with infected mud and water. Washing mud from your dog’s legs and body may be a sensible precaution, and may also help reduce the risk of other water-borne diseases.

Inspecting your dog for sores that may indicate Alabama Rot will also forewarn of other dermatological infections, and ulcerating diseases including Leishmaniasis. Reporting changes in your dog’s behaviour such as tiredness, reduced appetite and increased or reduced urination will help your vet provide early diagnostic testing and potentially life-saving treatment for CRGV and many other infections and dog diseases.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567