SimplyCats Vet Clinic Blog

We named this little cat “O’Mally” when he was brought in as a stray by a member of the public from the Penshaw area. Approximately 3 years old and according to the member of the public who brought him to us, he had been living rough for quite some time

His tail had an open fracture on arrival at the surgery which was causing him a considerable amount of pain and distress. This wound had originally alerted the member of the public that something was wrong with him. After phoning the RSPCA, he was instructed by them to bring the cat to us here at SimplyCats Vet Clinic for initial treatment.

However, after examination by Sarah, our vet, the tail had to be partially amputated to limit the risk of infection, leaving a cute stump of about 4 inches. She also castrated him whilst under anaesthetic, and he is now looking for a new home.

Unfortunately the local branch of RSPCA’s rehoming centre was full, and unable to take him from us, leaving the majority of our vet’s work in this case to be a goodwill gesture….

On a brighter note we have now managed to secure him a place in a foster home until he finishes his recuperation, organised through Cats Protection Gateshead Branch

All the local rescues, including Cats Protection are full of cats like O’Mally needing a second chance. If you feel you would be able to offer a loving home to a cat in need, please contact the surgery on 0191 385 9696 and we will give you the relevant rescue contact details for your area

One of our clients had a cat called Iffy due to give birth at any time. Watching her closely for signs of labour, her owner phoned us to say she had started with her labour.
After some hours had passed, poor Iffy had given birth to two kittens but was growing steadily tired.
Iffy’s owner brought her down to SimplyCats to see if there were any other kittens still inside. After an examination and ultrasound it was determined that there was at least one other kitten left still to be born.
As Iffy was so tired and had not progressed within a certain timescale, it was decided that she should undergo a caesarean section.
The kitten was born, very weak and cold – and unlikely to survive due to being in distress whilst inside Iffy.
Iffy was, however, an excellent mother who recovered quickly and was able to feed successfully all three kittens. At her post operative check we took some photographs – the kittens are SO CUTE!

As you can see from the picture, Caroline’s fat cat – Dubby had a great Christmas dinner. After a couple of glasses of wine and his willpower dulled, Caroline’s husband fell victim to the ‘feed me’ face and threw down a yorkshire pudding onto the floor. Dubby immediately leapt onto the pudding, steadying it with his paw.

He actually looked rather funny as he tore off strips, much like a lion on the savannah eating its kill !

To follow he ate a sprout in one lick….needless to say Caroline had a few sharp words to say to her husband as she looked in the litter tray later on…..ewww

The moral of the story is “if your cat is on a special diet, don’t feed him extras, such as yorkshire pudding and sprouts as

a) he will put on weight and
b) you would not like to see / smell the litter tray afterwards, and
c) cats are not meant to eat human food”

Last week I noticed Megan had a sore eye and didn’t seem herself so I brought her in to see ‘Aunty Sarah’
Sarah gave her an examination and said she had a viral infection so gave her tablets, Metacam and some eye drops. She has suprised me by taking her tablets better than I thought……well I had to wrap her up in a towel but there you go. A couple of times the tablets ended up stuck on my dressing gown but they went back down and all was well. I found her one morning, drinking the cold remnants of my coffee from breakfast time…..her head was almost lost in the mug bless her ! Anyway all is well with her I am pleased to say.
Maisie, my oldest girl is very well at the moment – she gave herself a fright the other night though. I was watching TV and all of a sudden I heard a great commotion. Megan was asleep with me on the settee and suddenly Maisie came hurtling down the stairs and into the sitting room attached to a Primark carrier ! She has been snuffling about in it and got it stuck so she had taken off with it attached and came downstairs like a whirlwind. Poor Megan got the fright of her life and followed Maisie all over until I could get it off her. No one was hurt I am pleased to add. Just one very perturbed pussycat, one startled younger sister and one now wide awake Mam

We have a selection of Pet Odour Eliminator Candles on sale at SimplyCats in time for Christmas. They are great for all household pet odours. The enzyme formulated candle attacks and removes the odours when burning – and left unlit without the lid on provides a gentle scent to refresh any room in the house.

Available in a variety of scents and colours such as festive ‘Mulberry & Spice’, ‘Creamy Vanilla’, ‘Watermelon Slices’, ‘Pineapple & Coconut’, ‘Clothesline Fresh’, ‘Vanilla & Rose’, ‘Hot Apple Cobbler’, ‘Fresh Strawberries’ and ‘Lavender’ – they burn for approximately 70 hours and are great value at £9.18 each. Buy one for yourself and one for a friend for £16.00 and SAVE £2.36 !

We had an unusual customer the other day in the back yard at SimplyCats – a very hypothermic snow cat. It remains in quite a critical, frozen state, but will hopefully make a full melted recovery if we ever get a thaw!!

Caroline’s youngest cat, Maisey enjoys ruining a game of ‘pop up pirate’ by patting the dice and playing pieces away from the board with her paw – but the question is – is it really Maisey or some strange alien cat in disguise???

Taliah enjoyed dressing up as a witch for Halloween. She looks so cute !
If anyone has any cute pictures of their cats, send them attached to an e-mail to: caroline.pallister@simplycats.net and we would be pleased to include them in our future publications and on our website blog.

The Young Ones winner this month is Pippa Magee – a lovely tortie and white queen. Pictured below Pippa are the other lovely kittens – Fifi, Tom & Jojo who also visited us in September. Book your kitten in now to commence its vaccination course and he or she could be in with a chance of winning October’s competition to win a voucher worth £10 to spend on any product or service here at SimplyCats!

This month at SimplyCats one of the main topics of conversation amongst the vets has been a shift in our approach to vaccination. In the ongoing battle to protect our pets against disease, our understanding of vaccination protection is constantly changing as new technologies emerge to combat new viral strains and their changing behaviour. To keep in line with the latest thinking we will now be using the PUREVAX feline vaccination range at SimplyCats.
 
We thought this would be a good opportunity to touch on the subject of what your vet is actually doing when you bring your pet in for a health check and vaccination.
 

Often referred to as a “booster”, we think it is important to impress that this annual visit to the vet is for more than just an injection. We should be thinking of it more as an Annual Medical Exam AND a vaccination.
 
Your vet does not get to see your cat very often (hopefully!) so this maybe the only opportunity to have face to face time with you and your pet and to perform a hands-on clinical examination.
 
This is important:

to detect the early signs of any health problems that your cat maybe hiding from you

to discuss any routine health issues commonly associate with ageing (such as weight gain and dental disease)

to monitor any ongoing health problems if your cat is under regular treatment

to allow your vet practice to dispense vet-only medicinal products (such as vet-only flea and worm treatments) throughout the year.
 
It is also a great opportunity for you to bring up any issues or oddities concerning your cat’s well being or behaviour, that are maybe nothing to worry about, or that may require further attention.

Just a quick photo to share with you of Oliver, our vet Sarah’s new baby. He went to Caffe Nero in Durham for his first family meal out. I think he would prefer his milk to coffee though! He’s so cute!

Claire

I have just returned from a lovely holiday to USA. We went to Memphis to visit the home of Elvis Presley (I am a HUGE fan) and have previously been in 2007. We had planned to go back again this year with my Mam and Dad but very sadly, I lost my Mam last July so we decided that my husband Keith, my Dad and myself should still go, as that is what Mam would have wanted. It was strange without her but we managed to have a good time and remembered her every day. We moved onto Las Vegas after Memphis and that really was something to see…..an experience you could say . We also went to the Grand Canyon, which was spectacular.
I have eaten too much but I suppose that’s what holidays are for and I am now trying to lose the extra pounds I have put on.

My best friend’s Mam and Dad looked after my two cats and my Dad’s cat while we were away. They only live 3 doors down from my Dad so she just came up to the house to feed and clean them all.

When we arrived back, my Dad’s house looked like a bombsite!  My Dad’s cat Tibby had broken through the cat flap and my oldest cat, Maisie had followed him out…problem being, Maisie is a house cat and dosen’t go out. Anyway, when my friend’s Mam came the next morning and discovered the cat flap broken, she panicked, but to everyone’s suprise Maisie came trotting up the garden path and straight into the house.

My kitten, Megan had been such a good girl and hadn’t made any attempt to go out, she was just curled up on the settee. Only problem was they had been in Dad’s cupboard and pulled all sorts out, there was ornaments all over and hairs on everything….oh well the joy of being a c at lover I suppose.

Joanne sitting outside the house where Elvis was born

Joanne and Dad in Las Vegas

Joanne

Cats will drink water from the strangest of places – puddles, the toilet, bath, sink, even the shower tray.

Being guilty of all of the aforementioned, Caroline decided to purchase a cat water fountain for her cats.

This was especially for Maisey who is the worst offender, climbing into the sink while Caroline was getting washed and licking the water from the tap as it is flowing.

Here is a picture of Maisey licking the actual fountain, rather than drinking out of the reservoir itself.

Caroline can now get washed in peace and can recommend the use of water fountains for similar offenders.

Caroline

I’m off to pastures new…so to speak.

I’m joining a multi-discipline veterinary referral practice, to expand my nursing knowledge and skills. I will be working at a practice we often use for our out of hours cover if Sarah and Paul are unavailable.

I will still be working at SimplyCats a couple of days a month. So I’ll still be at SimplyCats just not as much as usual. You can’t get rid of me that easily.

I’ll still use my SimplyCats e-mail daily as usual, even on my days off so please feel free to still e-mail me and bend my ear if you have any queries as I’ll still be available as usual for all of you.

Claire