Kitten with feline infectious peritonitis or FIP

LEFT: radiography taken, the intestines are not distinguished, which may suggest some abdominal fluid is present despite there are no clinical signs of bloating.

A 7 m.o. kitten presented as a transfer from his vets after having another episode of incoordination and abnormal behaviour. 

For some unclear reason the breeder did not want to keep this kitten and contacted a charity to give him. The kitten was obviously underweight, was not a good eater, with occasional inappetance and mild diarrhoea.

He had recently been seen for the same conditions, wobbly but not seizuring or collapsing. The rest of his litter seemed healthy though.

Splenectomy

This is the case of a 14 year old, male, neutered West Highland White Terrier who presented in emergency on a Sunday after he collapsed at home. Only 4 days before he had been seen by his vet after an episode of seizure, and he was currently on anti-epileptic drugs (Epiphen) twice a day, and on  tramadol and gabapentin for his arthritis, also twice a day.

On arrival, the dog was tachycardic, his mucous membranes were very pale, and his capillary refill time very prolonged, all signs of shock. Apart from that, his breathing was heavy, body temperature was slight low, his abdominal palpation was uncomfortable, although he did not seem to be bloated, and he was unable to stand up yet. He was immediately admitted to start on aggressive fluid therapy to counteract the shock. It was hard to place an intravenous catheter, but we finally managed to get one into his vein and start the therapy.

Splenic tumor

Fat tissue attached to the splenic mass.

I recently got an unexpected finding when I went to remove a foreign body from the stomach of an elderly dog, and would like to have your advice.

Briefly, a 11 y.o. boxer presented to his vet ambulatory, bright, alert and response, but his owner did witness him eating several pieces of a fly curtain.

The dog had been induced vomit by his normal vet, and did manage to vomit some pieces of the fly curtain, but a radiography revealed that there were still a lot of them sat in the stomach five hours later. 

Brexit and EU vets working in the UK

I'm often asked how are thing s going on in the new Brexit-UK for us the EU veterinary workers?

Concern. There is concern. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, RCVS, is working on answering all the questions on the impact of the Brexit as best they can.

Open pyometra case

HISTORY 

A 9 years old Female West Highland White terrier presented as an emergency from one of our member practices. She had been quieter than usual for a week, with polyuria, polydipsia, and the owner’s main concern was that she started vomiting that morning. There was no recent change in her diet, not known exposure to any poison, she was not a scavenger nor she used to chew toys. 

PHYSICAL EXAMINATION 

On arrival she was ambulatory, quiet but alert and responsive, with some purulent vaginal discharge that started the same day. Some moderate skin tent was noted. Her abdomen was distended -this fact was confirmed by her owner having noticed that today- and painful on palpation, which limited its manipulation in the consult. Her body condition score was 5.5/9, and she was 9.30kg. The remainder of the clinical examination was unremarkable. 

Canine leishmania

Cutaneous signs of leishmania, phto by
Merck Veterinary Manual

CLINICAL SIGNS AND PRESENTATIONS

Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan parasites of Leishmania spp, transmitted to humans and animals by vectors. Canines are susceptible to acquire a visceral (L. infantum) and cutaneous form (L. panamensis, L. braziliensis). Some dogs or some breeds seem to be more resistant to the development of the disease.

It is endemic in several countries in the Mediterranean countries, where dogs are the main reservoir for Leishmania infantum, the causative agent of the visceral form in humans.

The disease is transmitted to mammals through female sand fly bites naturally infected, Phlebotomus, in Europe, Asia and Africa. In domestic environment felines, equines, bovines, birds, rabbits, and rodents are also susceptible. Epidemiologically and clinically, the importance lies in the canine as main reservoir.

Real world: caesarian and no money. What do we do?

A 6 years old female pug whose owner called us initially at approximately 2:00 am. According to her owner, she had been panting for 4 hours, and whelping for 2h without successfully producing any puppy, and now she was showing signs of tiredness. Her owner was concerned there was some vulva discharge (read more).

A dog with liver failure

HISTORY

Photo from www.excelcpd.co.uk

A 5 year old neutered female crossbreed presented as an emergency on a weekend. As she was coming referred from her current practice as their out of hours provider, the access to her history was limited to as much as her owner could provide. 

She had had a first seizure early in the morning of which she did not fully recover. On her way to our hospital, she had two more seizures lasting approximately three minutes each. During the two previous days she had been vomiting part of her food, no blood was noticed, and her drinking was increased.

Caesarian/cesárea

Uterus of a pregnant bitch, caesarean

A 3 y.o. pug had been whelping for 12 hours, without successfully producing any puppy, and now she was showing signs of tiredness. Although she had a previous litter of 6 without any of the issues she was having this time, her owner wanted some phone advice as to what she could do at home. Because Matilda was still pushing, I advised her owner to keep her in a quiet place, not to stress her to prevent any dystocia, and close monitoring if there was any progress. In case no puppy were produces in half hour, my best advice was to bring her down to our hospital (read more)

Polycythemia vera, a rare disease/policitemia vera, una enfermedad rara

A 4 y.o crossed labrador presented after being vomiting and passing soft faeces since the day before. He is not himself, and nothing remarkable is found on his clinical examination. Initially, the case is treated as a gastric problem. However, 2h later he collapsed, and is hospitalized, giving fluids, and starts with mild seizures shortly afterwards. Now his mucose membranes are congestive, and on a blood test his hematocrit is extremely high. Even after 6h on fluids, his hematocrit stays very high. Why is this dog producing more much more blood than he needed? (read more)

The dog who ate a carpet/la perra que comió moqueta

This month I'm bringing the case of a 5 y.o female neutered Jack Russell who presented depressed and inappetant. She had been vomiting for two days, and in her stools she passed some bits of the carpet she chewed 3 days before. Now she was also vomiting bits of carpets, and had a very fluidy diarrhoea as well 

Este mes traigo el caso de una Jack Russell de 5 añosque nos llegó deprimida y sin apetito. Había estado vomitando durante 2 días, y en sus heces habían trozos de una moqueta que había mascado 3 días antes. Ahora, también vomitaba trozos de moqueta, y tenía una diarrea muy líquida (read more)

The dog who ate a plastic bag/el perro que se comió una bolsa de plástico

1st xray with barium (contrast)

A 18 months old, naughty cocker presented at our out of hours emergency hospital, on a Sunday after being vomiting since the previous day. His owner is 100% sure he has not eaten anything he shouldn't except a plastic bag, but that was 9 days ago. So far, he was doing okey, eating, going to the toilet, bright. My vet colleague had seen him and treated him with some antibiotics, pain relief and antiemetic. Only 5 weeks ago he went through a surgery to remove some rubber toy from his intestines!

Un travieso cocker spaniel de 18 meses se nos presenta durante las horas de urgencias de un domingo, después de estar vomitando desde el día anterior. Su dueña está totalmente seguro que no ha comido nada que no debiera, excepto una bolsa de plástico, hace ya 9 días. Hasta ahora no estaba mal, comiendo, haciendo sus necesidades, y activo. Un compañero ya lo había visto y dado unos antibióticos, analgésicos y antieméticos. ¡Hace sólo 5 semanas se le extrayó quirúrjicamente un juguete de goma del intestino! (read more)

Septic arthritis in a senior dog

On a freezing winter evening we got the visit of a senior female dog who had had a lump on her right hock for about 7 years. Up until now it did not give her any problem and never was investigated.

Al anochecer de un frío dia de invierno recibimos la visita de una perrita mayor con un bulto en su tobillo derecho desde hace 7 años. Hasta entonces no le había dado problemas ni nunca se examinó.

However, within the past 3-4 weeks she had gradually become more uncomfortable, cannot weight bear and, on initial presentation, there was no obvious heat or swelling around her hock, but a very marked bone enlargement which was not painful on palpation.

Sin embargo, en las últimas 3-4 semanas la ha estado molestando cada vez más, no se puede apoyar en el tobillo, y en la consulta no estaba caliente ni hinchado, pero sí un muy marcado cayo óseo que no le dolia en la palpación.

Feline kidney cancer/cáncer de riñón felino

     On a Sunday evening, a 7 years old, male neutered British shorthair cat presented with anorexia, weight loss, drinking and urinating more than usual for several days, and now he was also vomiting. 

     Una tarde de domingo se presentó un gato "british shorthair" esterilizado de 7 años, con anorexia, pérdida de peso, bebiendo y orinando en exceso desde hacía varios días, y ahora estaba vomitando.

     During his clinical examination, it was noticed his high dehydration, based on his skin tent, as well as his emaciation, his very pale colour, some pain on his abdominal palpation and what seemed a mass in his belly (read more). 

Anal sac tumour in a dog/Tumor de la glándula anal de un perro

Patient ready for surgery

     I was welcome to witness the surgical removal of an anal sac tumour in a crossbreed senior dog with a history of anal sac infection and blockade, going on for several years. Although his owner used to home empty his anal gland, on a routine check up it was noticed a mass behind his right gland, consistent with a tumour (read more). 

Peritonitis in a cat/peritonitis en un gato

Lateral view, small intestines are not neat

     Although a cat peritonitis is mostly associated to the viral infection "Feline Infectious Peritonitis", aka FIP, cats can also get this infection as dogs or other species get it. A peritonitis, or inflammation of the abdominal cavity, is a life threatening condition. Surgery is needed when the abdominal infection is due to a rupture of the stomach or intestines. The content and flora bacteria leaking from the gastrointestinal truck to the abdomen needs to be repair. However, at this stage, the infection has already occurred, and even after an aggressive abdominal lavage, flushing and a complex antibiotherapy, the prognosis is still guarded for 3 to 5 days (read more)

When it's time to let them go.../cuando se tienen que ir...

Pet cemetery at Durham castle

     One of the hardest decision we have to make as an owner, is deciding when enough is enough for our pet's suffering, long term disease, or poor quality of life. After years practicing veterinary medicine I can tell that no matter how strong you think you are, how "cold" and pragmatic others see you, how muscular, or introvert, or grumpy... if you did love your pet, you are likely to cry (read more). 

Surgical wound complication/complicaciones de heridas quirúrgicas

Image from http://www.askavetquestion.com/

A very typical post op complication, and one of the most worrying consults presented during check ups, is some sort of lump that appears just underneath the surgical suture. The vast majority are a mere hematoma or seroma, and no further treatment or surgery is needed, as the body will reabsorb it with time (read more).

Hooked!/¡Anclado!

This month's case is a very typical problem on a summer night. 

El caso de este mes es un problema muy típico de las noches de verano.

This dog presented with a three end hook within his nostril, that his owner tried to remove unsuccessfully. In fact he needed a very deep sedation and cutting the three ends to be able to remove it. The deepest one, which cannot be seen in the photo, could be removed only after incising the skin (read more)

Tail amputation/ amputación de rabo

     In our out of hours night shift, this middle age male Scottish terrier presented with a skinless tail after it being caught by a garage door. As you might guess, the only we can do about it is amputating the piece of tail unprotected by the skin (read more).

Spine disorder/problema espinal

Radiographies were unremarkable.

On a weekend OOH service a 5 years old dog was presented unable to stand up or walk on his own, and needing to be carried by his owner. After a throughout exam we realized that he had several bruises and wounds in his skin but, most notably, he had paraplegia on his back legs.

Abnormal sitting position 

Durante el servicio de urgencias de un fin de semana, un perro de 5 años nos llega incapaz de levantarse o sentarse por sí mismo, requiriendo que su dueño lo llevase. Tras un completo examen nos damos cuenta que tiene varios rasguños y heridas en la piel pero, lo más notable es que presenta paraplegia en sus patas traseras (read more)

Grapes and raisins/uvas y pasas

Here is the case of a young springle spaniel, who was induced emesis, after eating some grapes. As some dogs, he loves fruit, and his owners are very careful not to let him reach grapes. Unfortunately, this time (and it was his second time) he succeeded in smuggling some grapes, just to be seen chewing them (read more).

Tear gland/glándula lacrimal

Eye corner: infected tear gland.

Most of our pet's fight end up with some nasty wound in the neck, paws or back, or a painful scratch in the cornea. In this case, the third eyelid and the tear gland of this little girl was torn out by the fangs of another dog. 

On presentation, her tear gland was so swollen, infected and, despite of her eye discharging, it was so dry that its function and healing was compromised. Although she seems to be very bright and alert, it was too painful for her to check up her wound without any sedation (read more)

Peritonitis in a young cat/peritonitis en un gato joven

Abdominal ultrasound (scan)

During our OOH emergency service we receive a 1 year old, female cat whose owner reports us that, for several days, she has not been eating, and now she stopped drinking. On our clinical examination we notice that her gums, her eyes, and her skin are yellow (jaundice), her mouth is very dry, her skin seems leather, and her body is emaciated. She weighted half of a normal weight for her size. However, her abdomen was very bloated and painful (read more).

Pneumothorax in a kitten/Pneumotórax en un gatito

Radiography showing pulmonar collapse

     This little kitten was not even 2kg when he was attacked by a neighbor's dog. At his presentation, no wounds or fracture were found, but he was obviously distressed and struggling to breath. His breaths per minute were really high, and a radiography showed what we know as "pneumothorax", which is basically an accumulation of air between the ribs and the lungs (pleural space). This air prevents the lungs from expanding, and consequently they collapse. In severe cases, this air is pressing the main veins and arteries in the body, compromising the blood flow (read more)

Cloacal prolapse in a tortoise/prolapso cloacal en una tortuga

ACKNOWLEDGE to Vet Surgeon Michal Chrustek, for giving me the chance of taking part in this case 

Tilly is a 7 years old tortoise. Her owner called us on an evening worried about some kind of "blood sac" popping out of her bottom. Apart from that, she had been eating, drinking and behaving as usual. Apparently, that had happened before in the past... (read more)

Tilly es una tortuga de 7 años. Su dueño nos llamó una noche preocupado porque una especie de "saco sanginolento" salía de su trasero. Aparte de eso, comía, bebía y se comportaba como siempre. Al parecer, este problema ya lo había tenido antes... (lea más)

Understanding your vet's clinical notes

Recalling an anecdote I had with a client, after transferring her dog back to her vet, and handling her some history for her vet. Basically, the misunderstanding was something like this. At the notes, on my veterinary notes I had written down something like "So&So might have a FB...". On a second visit, back to our OOH service, and with more confidence, my client commented that her dog has no "facebook". We had a bit of laugh after I explained her that FB meant foreign body, not facebook. That made me realize that pets owner would appreciate a little bit of help on understanding their vet's notes.

Un poco de humor

¿Quién no ha querido compartir una anécdota graciosa alguna vez? Os dejo este enlace a un hecho ocurrido en una feria de Sevilla, que se emitió en un programa de Onda Cero cuyo tema era "¿Qué te han vendido que no te hacía falta?" Espero que lo disfrutéis.

Compra-venta de un caballo 

TECA (total ear canal ablation)/Ablación del canal auditivo

TECA needs general anaesthesia

TECA, or Total Ear Canal Ablation, is a common surgical solution to chronic ear problems in most pets and some breeds. Shar pei's owners do know how stressful a dog with chronic otitis can become. 

Some breed of dogs are very prone to get this infections, due to their anatomy. The narrower the canal, the more likely to retain debris, yeasts and bacterias, the more difficult to treat with ear drops, and once we have a chronic infection, treating it is a challenge.

This month's case is a middle age, male shar pei whose owners agreed in surgically removing the "inner walls" of his ear canals. Thus, both the infective and inflammated tissue is removed, his ear canals are enlarged and further infections are more unlikely to sit again (read more).

Working as a vet in the UK/Trabajando de veterinaria en el Reino Unido

 TEXTO EN ESPAÑOL al final del artículo 
Nobody prepares you to work in a UK vet practice. Pets get about the same problems than anywhere else. If anything, I'm missing quite a few parasites from my sunny Spain, I learnt to perform flank spays, and got used to seeying more rabbits and exotics.
The key to succeed in the UK lies in understanding the British system. Basically you need to learn that: 

• You must be registered to the UK vet college, or RCVS, and pay their annual fee. 
• The RCVS will not work to protect you, but to ensure that you fulfil their professional standards, understand the Code of Professional Conduct, follow their advice and are fit to work as a vet. 
• It is compulsory for all vets to have a professional insurance to practice in the UK, such as VDS. (read more)

Pyometra: Is there any option to surgery?

Yes, sometimes, and in short term. 

A pyometra is a "womb infection", where the uterus is full with purulent fluids that can be as much as several kilos. As it is a bacteria infection, we may think that a course of antibiotics will solve the problem. Then, How come no vet will send any pet home with just some antibiotics and, perhaps, some pain relief? Why?

VAGINAL CYTOLOGY SMEAR: coccacea 

bacteria (red arrow), neutrophils (yellow star)

and parabasal cells (green diamond), from a 

7 y.o. dog, 2 weeks after her season.

     On the one hand, we are dealing with quite a lot amount of pus within the abdomen. In best scenario some pus will drain through the vulva, in what it is called an "open pyometra". Most complex cases are "close pyometras", in which the cervix remains closed, the pus stay in the uterus, and its diagnose may be a challenge... (read more)

To vaccine or not to vaccine?/¿Vacunar, o no vacunar?

Let's cover this complex subject by answering to these basic questions: what, how, why, which, when an where to vaccine.

WHAT IS A VACCINE?

It is a preparation aimed to improve our immunity against a disease. It contains the whole agent, or part of it, that provokes the disease we want to get immuned.

Image: www.immense-immunology-insight.blogspot.co.uk

HOW DOES IT WORK?

You may wonder if we vets are mad because we inject the same virus or bacteria that will make our pet sick, and why they don't develope the disease. The trick is injecting this agent once it is dead (killed vaccines) or badly wounded (attenuated vaccines).

Why should my cat have a litter before being neutered? / ¿Porqué mi gata debería tener crías antes de esterilizarla?

 EN ESPAÑOL AL FINAL DEL TEXTO 

Because everybody thinks so. Everybody but the experts, to be honest.

According to the magazine Veterinary Records of 26th April 2014, 85% of litters are unplanned!

RSPCA is lauching a campaign to dispel this "one litter myth". Here are few facts (read more):

Hip dislocation

A hip dislocation is, basically, a very painful condition, due to the abnormal work of the pelvic-and-femoral joint, because the "head" of the femur slips out of the "socket" in the hip. The pets are limping constantly, and most of the time they are able to use the affected back leg. It requires a visit to the vet urgently, as sometimes, just with manipulating the bone back to its place, or replacement. 

However, this procedure has to be done under anaesthesia, and the longer it is left, the more likely the pet will need surgery to solve the problem.

Here is the case of a neutered, adult cat, who was missed for several weeks, and came back home limping very dearly and a "crackling" hip (read more)

Dental problems in rabbits/problemas dentales en conejos

Rabbit's teeth are growing and wearing against each other constantly throughout their life. For genetic(1), malocclusion or diet reason, this wearing out may fail to keep short front teeth (incisors), or a relatively flat surface in molars

Incisor can be easily checked by the owner. 

Molars will have to be checked by a vet, including head radiographs. When molars grinding is incorrect, molar spurs develop. These spurs will ulcerate or even stab the gums (read more)

Top reasons for canine visits

Typical ear drops 
in pet stores

External otitis

Basically, we can find three causes for ear infection or otitis in our dog: yeast, bacteria, and mites. It is essential to investigate which one is causing the infection in our pets for several reasons, and a cytology ear sample smear is a must.

On the one hand, most of the ear infections are not due to mites, and the only ear drops that can be bought over the counter are only effective against mites. Although using them while the problem is another kind of infection, will not harm our pet, not only it will not solve our problem but also will prolong it, wasting our time, our money, our pet's patience, and risking ending up with a more dangerous and complicated internal ear infection (read more).

Fracture in a 9 weeks old puppy/fractura en cachorro de 9 semanas

The check up of a puppy's radiography may become more challenging than those of grown-ups. There are lots of lines in puppies' skeleton from where their bones are still growing, are not sealed yet and, therefore, could be mistaken with fractures.

Revisar la radiografía de un cachorro puede ser más complejo que la de un adulto. Hay varias líneas en su esqueleto desde las que el hueso está creciendo, noestán cerradas, y se pueden confundir con fracturas (read more).

Coxofemoral luxation/luxación coxofemoral

Ventrodorsal radiography, by C. Topolski

On a Sunday morning we receive a 12 y.o. yorkshire terrier who has been limping from his back left leg for several days. His owner is not giving him any painkiller and, apparently, there is no reason to suspect of any fracture, any accident or condition. However, not only the pain is not diminishing, but he is limping more and yelping when he is touched.

The pain is so much that we need to put a muzzle on to calm him down and do a general check. His teeth are in a very bad condition and has a chronic gingivitis that may explain why he is refusing some food eventually. Under auscultation we found a heart murmur grade II, what may be a issue, as we need to perform some radiographies under sedation. Fortunately, he is not showing symptoms of heart failure (read more). 

Diaphragmatic rupture/rotura diafragmática

Dorso-ventral radiography, by vet 
nurses R. Mcilwrath and C. Topolski

Here is the case of a broken diaphragm in a 1 y.o. castrated cat. He was normally a fearless, active cat. At the time he arrived to the consult, he had not been himself for 2 days, and was not jumping from high places as he used to do. He was still eating, passing water and stools, but slowing down and very lethargic. Our main concern was his struggling to breath, despite a normal auscultation and no fever. He was active enough to need sedation to get radiographies. 

Oral tumours in dogs/tumores bucales en perros

There is a variety of oral tumours we can find in dogs. Two of them are specially common.
Hay una variedad de tumores orales que podemos encontrar en perros. Dos de ellos son especialmente comunes.

"Lion's jaw" in a 11 months old westy

1. Oral epuli or "polips" is a smooth, pink growth of tissue in the gums, that don't spread to the body (benign), but may affect the dental pieces by moving them apart, facilitating the settling of dental plaque, and making chewing annoying or painful.

1. Épuli o pólipos orales, son un crecimiento de tejido en la encía, suave y rosado, que no se extiende al resto del cuerpo (benigno), pero afecta a las piezas dentales al desplazarlas, facilita la aparición de sarro, y puede hacer la masticación molesta o dolorosa (read more)

Travelling to South Europe/viajar al sur de Europa.

Scouser dog ready to travel

During the summer most owners leave their pets in kennels or catteries. However, there are other who take them abroad with them, mainly to Portugal, Spain, France, Italy or Greece. 

It is compulsory to have your dog vaccinated against rabies at least 21 days before travelling the first time your pet is shot, and a vet health check with a treatment against tapeworm from 5 to 10 days before.

Needless to say that their wormer weather is nice, but mosquitoes, ticks and other host for parasites also think so. This is why, although it is not compulsory to have them treated against fleas and ticks any more, I strongly recommend to use some product that repels ticks as well as mosquitoes.

There is a much higher risk of heartworm disease in these countries, as well as other exotic diseases such as erhlichiosis or leismanosis. Only in Spain, there are areas where 35% of dogs are infected with leishmania.

Heart failure/fallo cardíaco

Tess is a neutered female, 9ish y.o. rescue dog who, suddenly, was weaker, loosing weight and fainting. Her owner, one of the vet nurses from our team, took herself some blood samples. We could not find any heart murmur on auscultation. Results from the lab were inconclusive. T4 slightly low, didn´t match with Tess symptoms.

Tess es una perra esterilizada de unos 9 años, adoptada que, de repente, estaba más débil, perdiendo peso y desmayándose. su dueña, una de las auxiliares veterinarias de nuestro equipo, le tomó unas muestras de sangre. Los sonidos cardíacos eran normales, los resultados del laboratorio, inconclusos. T4 ligeramente bajo, no cuadraba con los síntomas de Tess (read more)

Broken legs in rabbits/ rotura de pata en conejos.

Digital Xray of left back leg

Rabbit's bones are thinner and, therefore, weaker than those of cats or dogs. It's not so unusual having a pet bunny with a broken leg after pulling it from underneath some bed, or jumping from a table.

El esqueleto de los conejos es más fino y, por tanto, más frágil que los de perros y gatos. No es raro ver un conejo con una pata rota tras intentar sacarlo de debajo de la cama, o saltar desde la mesa.

Stones in bladder/piedras en la vejiga

R. Mcilwrath and A. Hawkswell flushing her bladder

On a very busy day, an emergency blockade turns up. A 10 y.o. female shih tzu  fortunately, was able to pass water on her way to our practice. Within 48h her owner had collected two stones she passed in her urine (photo with 20p coin). Several radiographies made it clear there were much and bigger stones still in the bladder. She was sent home with antibiotics and painkiller, booked for surgery early the next morning.

En un ajetreado día, nos llega una emergencia de un bloqueo urinario. Una perra shih tzu de 10 años, por suerte, consiguió orinar mientras venía a la clínica. En 48h la dueña habóa recogido dos piedras que orinó (foto con moneda). Varias radiografías dejaron claro que habían más, y mayores, piedras todavía en la vejiga. Se la envió a casa con antibióticos y antiinflamatorios, citándola a la mañana temprano para cirugía (read more)

Duct lacrimal occlusion in rabbit/oclusión conducto lacrimal en conejo

Rabbit pus is caseous or "cheesy"

Note of author: special thanks to the vet nurses who performed sedation and radiographies on this busy day.

This little rescued bunny arrived in our practice with a swollen, closed eye. She lived with other pets, and her owner couldn't say what had happened while they were alone. In her first visit she let us clean and oper her eye, check that there was no foreign body within, that anatomically it was intact. She was prescribed some antibiotics and eyedrops, after a fluorescein test that ruled out any corneal ulcer. In an oral examination with an otoscope, for a preliminary exam, it was found that incisors were being clipped at home, and molars could contact with each other.

Urinary crystals in cats/cristales en orina de gato

One of the most frequent condition seen in a vet practice is that of urinary disorders in neutered male cats and, eventually, male dogs. Unfortunately, one in four cats having this problems will also have stones in the bladder. 

Una de las consultas más frecuentes que se ven en la clínica es la de problemas urinarios en gatos castrados y, a veces, perros. Por desgracia, uno de cada cuatro gatos que tienen estos problemas también tienen piedras en la vejiga.

Mites in rabbits/sarna en conejos

Yes, bunnies can also get infected by mites, and it is not so uncommon. Unfortunately, mite is a zoonosis, that is, a disease that we human can get from our pets or other animals.

Sí, los conejos también se pueden infectar de sarna, y no es tan raro. Por desgracia, la sarna es una zoonosis, es decir, una enfermedad que los humanos podemos coger de nuestras mascotas u otros animales.

Rabbit castration/castración de conejo

Sterilization of skin by Lisa Waters.

Male rabbit neutering procedure is, basically, identical to any dog or cat castration. Depending on the area where it takes place, some surgical steps may differ. It is always carried out under general anaestesia and, therefore, there exists some risk that any sedation entails.

El proceso de esterilización del conejo macho es, básicamente, idéntico al de un perro o gato. En función del lugar donde se realice, algunas pautas quirúrgicas pueden variar. Siempre se lleva a cabo bajo anestesia general y, por tanto, se corre el riesgo implícito en cualquier sedación.

Inmune-mediated disease in a cat

Bob was a rescued, neutered, 5 to7 years old cat who had been loosing weight progressively, to the point that worried his owner very much.  Lately he had also lost appetite, and was very weak.

His mucose was very pale but, apart from it, nothing else could be found wrong in his phisical exam.
He was tested for leukemia or feline inmunodeficiency disease and his biochemical results where within the average range. However, his hemogram showed such anaemia that the diagram in the analyzer gave us its slowest result.

Running out of the limited budget to spend on tests, it was decided he would be kept under enrofloxacine for a week, hoping all his problems me be due to some

ECG in an old dog/ECG en una perra mayor

Results of the ECG in a 13 y.o. big size female dog

A 13 years old, big size female dog arrived after her owner noticed she was weaker and coughing eventually.

Una perra de 13 años, raza grande, llega a la consulta porque su duea nota que está más débil y tose a veces.

The results of her electrocardiogram, ECG, showed a a bit of arrithmia, and erratic heartbit pacemaker. This unusual rythm is also seen in dogs with a tracheal prolapse or when, for some reason, the vagal system is being activated.