In the interest of hygiene Simplycats has got a new hardworking piece of equipment to ensure our floors are super clean thus minimising the risk of transfer of disease …”
Our clients may find this weblink useful if they have a diabetic cat. It offers help and advice on everything relating to diabetes.
Here at SimplyCats we would like to encourage new kitten owners to give their furry friends the best start in life. As a result we have two new kitten packages on offer here at the surgery.
The first package is “Kitten Indoor Package” at £65.00
This package is recommended for kittens who will remain as indoor cats. This consists of:
* Vaccination course – flu and enteritis
* Microchip
* Worming tablet
* Flea treatment
The second package is “Kitten Outdoor Adventurer Package” at £78.00
This package is recommended for kittens who will explore the outdoors. This consists of:
* Vaccination course – flu, enteritis and leukaemia
* Microchip
* Worming tablet
* Flea treatment
Both kitten packages have the benefits of :
* 4 weeks free insurance with Petplan
* Full clinical examination and health check
* Weight check
* Advice on neutering and more
* Information pack to take home
* Photo taken for our ‘Young Ones’ monthly competition to be in with a chance of winning a £10 voucher to spend on any product or service here at the surgery
Don’t forget…we are still continuing our half price kitten vaccination course offer
Telephone the surgery on 0191 385 9696 to arrange your appointment and quote ‘kitten indoor’ or ‘kitten outdoor’ package offer. See you soon !
What you need to know if your pet is having surgery…….
Frequently asked questions:
WHY SHOULD MY PET BE TESTED ON THE SAME DAY AS THE SURGERY?
- If your pet is having dental work or surgery, it is important to run same-day blood work prior to anaesthesia primarily to ensure your pet can properly process and eliminate the drugs given to induce and maintain anaesthesia. It is especially recommended in animals over the age of 7 years, as they are more likely to have problems.
- Pre-anaesthetic testing helps us understand whether your pet’s vital organs are functioning properly and alerts us to potential underlying diseases, which can help us create an individualized anaesthetic plan for your pet and avoid potential complications during surgery.
- Regardless of why your pet is being anaesthetised, pre-anaesthetic testing establishes a baseline for their individual health, which is helpful for future reference.
WHAT INFORMATION WILL THE RESULTS OF MY PET’S BLOOD WORK SHOW?
- The blood sample is collected from a vein in the foreleg or neck and is used to check your pet’s blood cells (haematology part ), liver and kidneys as well as for diabetes (biochemistry part).
- Haematology is the check on the blood cells. Anaemia is where the red blood cells are low and this could be a worry if the operation is likely to cause a lot of blood loss. If the red blood cell level is high this is most likely a sign of dehydration so your pet is likely to need to go on a drip. A high white blood cell count is usually a sign of infection so your pet may be put on antibiotics.
- As anaesthetic drugs are mainly removed from your pet’s body by the liver and kidneys it is important to know how they are functioning.
- The liver is checked by measuring two enzymes in the blood, which are normally at very low levels. Any damage to the liver cells causes a release of these enzymes into the blood and can indicate an underlying problem that will need investigating.
- Urea and creatinine are removed from the blood by the kidneys so if the kidneys are not working properly levels rise.
- It is important to also check a urine sample to see how concentrated it is when looking at kidney function.
- Glucose is measured to ensure your pet is not diabetic (a urine sample will be required to interpret the result) and to make sure they have enough energy for the duration of the operation.
WHAT CAN I DO TO PREPARE MY PET FOR SURGERY?
- Make sure your pet has not eaten anything (fasted) at least 12 hours before surgery. Fasted samples ensure more accurate testing and interpretation of results.
- Bring any medication your pet is taking and consider taking along a favorite toy. The comforts of home can be a great help to your pet during recovery
- Ask questions if you don’t understand what is being done or why. Surgery can be complicated, so it is important to know all you can about your pet’s health.
Thanks to the generosity of local companies and some of our clients,we have amassed a great selection of prizes for the ongoing Autumn Raffle! All proceeds are going to help the local Durham branch of Cats Protection. If you can, please pop down to the surgery and help the cause by purchasing your tickets, priced at £1.00 per strip.
Many thanks.
At this point, there is no closing date for the raffle – we will keep it going until as many tickets as possible have been sold, in order to help as many needy cats as we can.
here at the surgery there are now raffle tickets on sale at £1.00 per strip. All proceeds are going to help the local Durham branch of Cats Protection. Prize so far include: an electric guitar and amp, cat scratching post, cat bed, chocolates, signed Sunderland football, 15kg bag Whiskas dry cat food, Swarofski crystal shell and florists voucher.
We are hoping to host another ‘open day’ here at the practice with the proceeds to go to a local cat charity. We are provisionally looking towards late October, early November 2011.
If you have any unwanted items that would be suitable for raffle / tombola prizes or know anyone who would be able to offer sponsorship of any kind…..ie teas, coffees, cakes, sweets and toys for kids prizes we would gratefully receive them.
Many thanks for your support.
Caroline has been out with her camera again! Wasington Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust provided some beautiful subjects in bird and flower form. Enjoy!
Dubby has been naughty again….Caroline’s son had his 9th birthday tea. Luckily only family members were present to see him jump on the table via the chair and steal a ham sandwich and take it to his lair underneath the chair. He would not part with it and hid further under the table as Caroline tried to reach him. He is pictured above re-emerging from underneath the table as he licks his lips after finishing his tasty snack !!! We’ll hold off for a weigh in at the moment as he finished off with part of a slice of battenburg cake stolen about 20 minutes later 
Spring is in the air…. well the sun is out and the grass is starting to grow and hopefully this constitutes the onset of Spring. I for one will not be sorry to see the end of the long cold dark nights and now that the clocks have gone forward it means being able to spend more time outdoors with my animals.
Also at this time of year many more cats are making a move to venture outdoors to enjoy the sun and participate in their feline adventures! As some of these outings can be very exciting and require a lot of concentration our feline friends may venture further than they intended and a lot of owners find peace of mind knowing their beloved cats have been microchipped in case they get lost.
This is a simple and relatively painless procedure which can be carried out here at SimplyCats.
Further information on the subject of microchipping can be obtained by visiting our home page, clicking the link for information sheets where the microchipping info can be found.
Carol
A few days ago we held a client evening in Durham, aiming to educate our client owners of older or geriatric cats on the best nutrition and healthcare for them.
It was a very informative evening with a talk first by Louise from Royal Canin to discuss the nutritional requirements for the older cat. This was then followed by a presentation from our resident vet, Sarah Middleton on health problems associated generally with the older cat. A lot of the symptoms described by Sarah rang true with some clients…some having ongoing problems such as renal failure or diabetes and they were able to ask further questions that they may have forgotten to ask during a consultation. They in particular found the evening very informative and it made aware the need to monitor their pet’s progress by regular check ups with the vet.
We had a ‘buffet break’ which was kindly sponsored by one of our drug reps – Mick from Novartis.
This was then followed by our Registered Veterinary Nurse, Penny Dyer who introduced her new nurse clinics aimed specifically at the geriatric patient.
As with all our client evenings it is a great opportunity for like-minded people to congregate in an informal manner and we would welcome suggestions from our clients for future topics that they would like to see covered in evenings such as this.
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
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???
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!