Hooray!! The warmer months are upon us. Now is the time to ensure your pets enjoy the Spring and Summer months, but to stay fit and well at the same time.
Cats are great sunbathers – something that does not usually cause many problems – unless your cat has white ears. Cats with white ears and pink noses are very prone to sunburn and repeated episodes of sunburn can lead to localised skin cancer on the ear tips or the nose. You can reduce the risk by keeping them out of the sun or by applying special sunblock to their ears during the hot months. If your cat has white ears and shows any abnormal skin changes, please let us check them for you.
For dogs it is time to get out the lead and head to the park for some exercise. Remember that now is the time that grass seeds are on the rise and easily work their way into pads, toes, ears and eyes so if you have a long coated dog now is the time to get the coat clipped back short, especially the feet, so that after a walk you are able to check easily between their toes for any lurking seeds. You may not like the look of a short clip, however, it will grow and it could save you much expense in the long run. Remember that Groomers get very busy at this time of year, so now is the time to make a booking.
Click here for a list of recommended Groomers and for more information on grooming your pet.
Boarding and Christmas Holidays – yes, time is creeping up and in no time Christmas will be here. Now is the time to make that booking for your pet for your holiday break. Dog and Cat Boarding facilities fill up very early, so we encourage you to get your plans organised and make that booking. Again, click here for a list of recommended boarding facilities.
Fleas are back already, so make sure you start applying the spot on treatments monthly if you have let it lapse. Recently, we have seen the return of these nasty critters and in some cases huge proportions, so if your pet is showing any signs of increases scratching or bald patches on the skin, then let us have a check to ensure that your pet stays flea free over these warmer months.
BBQ’s – don’t we love them! BBQ’s however, can present dangers to our pets, particularly dogs. Onions are poisonous to dogs and cats causing a server type on anaemia, so do not feed them the leftovers or allow the more nimble pets to get up to the BBQ to eat what has been left! Cooked chop bones are a prime candidate for getting stuck in dogs mouths, causing gastroenteritis or even worse an intestinal obstruction, so as nice as they smell and as good as they taste they really should not be given to dogs. Give them a steak instead! Another nasty is skewers – greedy dogs will swallow these leading to perforation of the intestine. The great difficulty here is that wooden skewers are not visible on x-ray and thus can be a challenge to diagnose that your dog has indeed swallowed one – keep them away from your dog! For more information on toxic food and household items click here.
Remember that older pets who suffer from arthritis and needed special attention over Winter, may get some relief now that the weather is warmer. They still however, have the condition so in many cases they need to stay on their current medication, even if they appear to be moving more freely. If you are at all concerned about the comfort of your pet or the level of medication they are on, then come in and we will assess them for joint soreness and advise you of the many treatment options available.