SimplyCats Vet Clinic Blog

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.

We are pleased to announce our July winner of a £10.00 voucher is Poppy Wilson !

Our kitten lineup is as cute as ever! These three all started their vaccination course within the month of July and one lucky kitten will win a £10.00 voucher to spend on any product or service here at SimplyCats. Book your cutie in for August and be in with a chance of winning!

We are pleased to announce that Mr & Mrs Dickson will be offering this doorstop / draught excluder cat a new home! It was handmade and donated by a staff family member in order to raise funds to support the treatment of a local registered charity – Cats Protection, Durham Branch. We are pleased that we managed to raise nearly £50.00 for them.
Many thanks to all those who purchased tickets.

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

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”

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???

Take a look at this gorgeous cat, she was thrown out of a car when she was 5 weeks old. She was then taken on by a local riding school and were much loved by everyone. She now lives on a farm after the riding school closed down.

Lynne

If you have ever had a cavity or dental work done, you know how uncomfortable and inconvenient it can be. For humans, caring for our teeth is something we do almost automatically. Since cats are unable to brush their own teeth and, like humans, do not have a natural, built-in way to keep teeth clean, it falls on you to maintain your cat’s dental health.

Veterinary research indicates that dental disease, in its various forms, is the number one health issue in feline medicine and about 70% of cats over the age of three have some kind of dental problem. Fortunately for your cat, dental disease is preventable!

When I got Piglet she had slight tartar on her canines and molars, and ideally needed a scale and polish. I decided to let her settle in first before undergoing any dental work.

Scale and polish is the most common dental procedure performed on cats. Generally, the process takes about an hour. General anesthesia is required for any kind of veterinary dental work.

Piglet is currently fed Purina Housecat dry food and she loves it, I can’t get it into her bowl quick enough I also use Logical Oral gel on her teeth once daily, or as often as I get a chance to do it. 8 weeks later I checked her teeth and the tartar has almost all gone from her teeth and she now doesn’t need a dental.

Not all cats will be as lucky as Piglet and find their tartar breaks down completely but it just goes to show that  a dental routine really does make a difference to your cat’s oral hygiene.

Claire

The Sphynx is a rare breed of cat known for its lack of a coat. The skin texture resembles that of Chamois leather.

I’ve always loved the breed and finally managed to find a rescue Sphynx in need of a good home in Fife.

I’d arranged to visit and see how the kitty ‘took’ to me, if we got on. I nervously arrived hoping the cat would accept me, and I couldn’t have been more relieved when she jumped onto my lap purring then after plenty of fuss and attention she fell asleep. If that wasn’t acceptance I’m not sure what was

So I took her home. She travelled fantastically all the way home and has so far settled in without a hitch, although she did walk across my laptop last night and delete my internet connection…she’s too cute so I’ll forgive her for that

She loves nothing more than being fussed and being close and cuddled into you. She slept curled up next to me and she’s like a little hot water bottle.

I’ve named her Piglet after much deliberation. She is a white odd-eyed Sphynx with one yellow eye and one blue eye. She will be 2 years old in August 2010.

Having grown up with cats my entire life and worked with cats for all my working life, I’ve met some characters along the way but I think it’s fair to say that Piglet is the most mischevious cat I know! She’s a little minx. They have been known to have referred to as ‘part cat, part dog and part monkey’ and that statement hits the nail on the head!

Because Sphynx cats do not have fur to absorb the natural oils from their skin they require bathing. The build up of oils in their coat will collect dirt and dust from their surroundings making them dirty. Sphynx’s ears are hairless and produce a large amount of earwax they also require regular cleaning.

For more photos please click here.

Claire

SimplyCats would like to thank everyone for their kind donations towards Garfield’s treatment.

The donations have been so generous and we cannot thank you all enough.

Please click here to see Garfield’s full story and for more photos.

Claire

Published in The Advertiser week ending February 6 2010

http://www.theadvertiserseries.co.uk/archive/2010/01/29/News%3A+Local+%28Chester-le-Street%29/4881288.Hopes_for_a_golden_ninth_life_for_old_cat/

Claire

Published in Sunderland Echo, Friday 5th February 2010

Claire

Monday 9th November proved to be a full house at SimplyCats. We had cats in all of the kennels in our recovery area, not including Grub who was in Hospitalisation for the day

All of the cats settled well into their temporary accomodation for the day. Especially Pudden (top right) who has become somewhat of a resident at SimplyCats, following a road traffic accident she dislocated her hip and has been resting, until last Thursday when Paul performed an operation to repair the joint and she has been recovering well. She particularly enjoys lots of fuss and attention.

Claire