Saturday, December 24, 2011

Andrew talks to Clive Anderson

Just found this transcript out on the 'net... Happy Christmas one and all!

Andrew Prentis is a veterinary surgeon with a practice just a sticks throw from London’s Hyde Park, and when I called in at his surgery, he had his hand in a dogs mouth, performing a spot of canine dental work.

Andrew Prentis “So you can easily get in under the lip there, and brush the outer surface of the teeth.”

Clive Anderson “So this is ‘Haggis’, a Whippet, having her teeth cleaned. What would you say generally about the condition of the dog of today in the 21st century. Are they being treated well?”

Andrew Prentis “A big issue is dental hygiene. There are many, many dogs and cats out there who’ve got filthy disgusting teeth with very, very bad breath.

Clive Anderson “I can see Haggis is quite used to this - what flavour toothpaste have you got?”

Andrew Prentis “This is chicken flavour.”

Clive Anderson “They don’t go for mint?”

Andrew Prentis “No, it’s not recommended to use human toothpaste on dogs, a) they don’t really like the taste and b) the fluoride levels are completely different and human ones are designed to froth up, which dogs find rather hard to cope with.”

Clive Anderson “Well of course they do because then people decide they’ve got rabies.”

Andrew Prentis “Yes, (ha, ha,) exactly.”

Clive Anderson “Now why do they get bad teeth?”

Andrew Prentis “Primarily because their teeth are not getting cleaned by the food that they eat. A dog out in the wild, or a wild animal is going to spend quite a lot of it’s time tearing up carcasses, chewing through meat, crunching up bones, and that has a natural cleaning effect on the teeth, and very many of our patients are not fed like that, and are fed on dry, sticky crunchy biscuits from a packet, or squidgy pate-type food from a tin, which, in many cases does not have an adequate cleaning action on the teeth”,

Clive Anderson “So you’re not entirely buying into that?”

Andrew Prentis “Actually, I’m a fan of bones. I think dogs should be fed - dogs and cats - should have at least a proportion of their diet coming from raw meaty bones.

Clive Anderson “Yeah - and this thing about what to feed dogs, is this quite a lively matter of discussion”.

Andrew Prentis “It does provoke some fairly spirited debate - there is an Australian vet, a guy called Tom Lonsdale, who is one of the loudest voices within the profession, for the raw meaty bones diet”

Clive Anderson.........And Tom Lonsdale’s enthusiasm for raw meaty bones and his criticism of processed pet food has kicked up quite a storm in the pet food world. He has, you might say, put the cat amongst the pigeons. Dog food - bad for dogs! James Spratt and Charlie Cruft will be spinning in their graves. But what does he give his own dogs?

Tom Lonsdale “As often as I can I give them a whole carcass. If I find a rabbit run over on the road, or now and again maybe a kangaroo, down here in Australia, then I’ll feed them that. It’s that physical form of the food which cleans the working parts - the teeth and the gums - trouble is that we’ve divorced pet cats and dogs from their origins, and of course the cats and dogs, they don’t have a voice, so they carry on pretending they’re well - what else can they do”.

Clive Anderson “If I go in to my local pet shop, or maybe a shop attached to my veterinary surgery, I can see a whole range of dog foods that I can give my dog, some that have been scientifically worked out, others that have been devised by vets - all that stress of working out what to give your dog has been removed from me.”

Tom Lonsdale “OK well, sadly you’ve been exposed to the propaganda too, and you’ve tended to believe it - you’ve said ah, well there’s a stress involved in working out what to feed your dogs. Mr & Mrs Caveman had no difficulty, they just chucked out a whole carcass, or the remnants of a carcass to their camp followers. The endless trips to the vets, the mountains of dog pooh in the garden, that washes away into the waterways. These are not conveniences at all.”

Clive Anderson “Let me jump in on the dog pooh, as it were. You’re saying you get better dog pooh if the dogs are fed on meaty bones?”

Tom Lonsdale “Oh, much better dog pooh, yeah, yeah, it turns chalky white in the sun.”

Clive Anderson “I though that was just a joke that we no longer had white dog pooh - you’re saying this is because of the food that they’re given, there’s more dog pooh?”

Tom Lonsdale “About three times the quantity.”

Clive Anderson “Why is that?”

Tom Lonsdale “They’re fed as if they were herbivores - they’re fed grains, and you know yourself that herbivore excrement is pretty copious, isn’t it? And it smells. It’s about time that they started to ‘fess up’ and admit that they’ve been misleading the community.”

Clive Anderson “Are you a hero in the veterinary profession - how has it gone down with your fellow professionals?”

Tom Lonsdale “Now that’s a bit of a mischievous question, if I may say Clive.”

Clive Anderson “Thank you.”

Tom Lonsdale “I haven’t gone down very well with my fellow professionals at all.”

Clive Anderson “Now why should that be? Why aren’t you being heralded as the John the Baptist of the veterinary world.”

Tom Lonsdale “Well look, I can’t know their motivations really, can I? I get about 10% of the vote for Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons elections - that’s the governing body of the veterinary profession in the UK. The majority though, I suspect, are voting through their pocket books.”

Clive Anderson “And when you say pocket books!”

Tom Lonsdale “The reality is that if we introduce a natural diet across the board, then the need for veterinary services will go into rapid decline.”

Clive Anderson “That’s quite a charge if you’re basically suggesting that vets are, I don’t know, conspiring with the dog manufacturers to allow the animals to get ill just so they get their regular, um, patients attending their clinics, and they can apply their charges.”

Tom Lonsdale “Whether it’s witting or not, that’s what’s happening. Eventually, governments will understand the extent their people have been dumbed down and exploited. In the UK there’s been an Early Day Motion tabled in the parliament there and at the last count 43 MPs had signed that motion.”

Clive Anderson “All right, well, we’ll put our faith in the Early Day Motion in parliament as that’s going to improve the early day motions of the dogs..... Now this is something I’ve noticed before. People who tell you how to feed your dog are always certain that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Tom Lonsdale seems certain that complete dog foods are completely wrong. The manufacturers, and the majority of vets, say that he’s wrong. Is there no room for compromise? Let’s go back to Andrew Prentis in Hyde Park.

Clive Anderson “Is this your little dog here - the Jack Russell?”

Andrew Prentis “The brown and white one.”

Clive Anderson “Called Bruno?”

Andrew Prentis “Called Bruno, yes.”

Clive Anderson “According to physician heal thyself, vet, keep your dog healthy, is Bruno fed on all natural products - where would you put yourself on the spectrum?”

Andrew Prentis “A sort of moderate, veering towards the raw. Bruno’s fed a mixture of things, he has a wide variety, I do feed him some commercial diets, there are different types, varying brands. He has raw bones, chicken wings, all that sort. I’m not at the same time, suggesting we should throw the baby out with the bath water and say, well, the last fifty years of commercial dog foods is actually barking completely up the wrong tree. Erm, ‘cos there is a good deal of value in that. We do understand a great deal more about the minutiae of pet nutrition now than we ever did. What I’m saying is that I think there’s room for a balance, and I think there is room for more variety and adding in these elements of raw meat, raw bones, raw vegetable can make a big difference.”

Clive Anderson “And raw vegetables - they can go for that as well!”

Andrew Prentis “The issue on vegetables is that they have carnivore teeth, designed to be able to tear through meat, crunch through bone, so if you’re going to feed vegetable matter to dogs, the best way is simply chuck it in a liquidiser and reduce it.........”

Clive Anderson “That’s the carrot into a liquidiser, not the dog!”

Andrew Prentis “Yes (ha ha) if you look at wild dogs attacking their prey, one of the first things they will do is tear open the abdomen and eat the stomach contents, and what they’re eating there is vegetable matter that has been reduced to a semi-liquid consistency.”

Clive Anderson “As I say, dogs will eat anything.”

Andrew Prentis “Dogs will eat anything, there’s no accounting for taste.”

Clive Anderson........But whether we give our dogs dried kibbles, dressed tripe, kangaroo carcasses or raw meaty bones, we don’t want to spoil them.

Andrew Prentis “The old adage is you are what you eat.”

Clive Anderson “You are what you eat but you giving him raw carrot doesn’t make him into a carrot, obviously what a ludicrous thing to ..... (ha,ha,)............ END

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Older cats - what should you look out for?

For domestic cats in the UK, their three-score-years-and-ten is about 14 years, but many of them now live for a great deal longer. We certainly have many patients at the clinic who are in their late teens and still going strong, and just a few who make it into their early to mid twenties.

So what are the particular health problems these senior citizens might face?

The commonest problems we see are:

- dental problems

- kidney disease

- over-active thyroid glands

- heart disease

- reduced mobility and joint pain

- cancer

Dental disease
Most cats don't brush their teeth regularly and in combination with a soft diet, they often develop a buildup of thick yellow calculus on their teeth. This calculus contains a lot of bacteria which (quite apart from the smell) can cause painful inflammation of the gums and can spread around the body causing infection elsewhere. Keeping the teeth clean is very important: food supplements such as Plaque Off can help soften and loosen the plaque and calculus, and daily applications of oral hygiene products like Logic Oral Hygiene gel can help control bacteria in the mouth. Where the calculus is very thick, tooth cleaning can only be carried out under an anaesthetic.

Kidney disease
The kidneys are vitally important organs that help control the water balance of the body, excrete waste products from the blood, balance the levels of body salts and regulate blood pressure. The kidneys often start to fail in old age, resulting in increased urine output and thirst, reduced appetite, weight loss, nausea and anaemia. Early detection of kidney problems with regular blood and urine tests helps us guide you on the best diet and choose appropriate supplements and medication to keep your cats healthy and comfortable for as long as possible.

Thyroid problems
The thyroid hormones help to regulate the metabolic rate of the body. Many older cats develop over active thyroid glands, resulting in them always feeling hungry whilst losing weight, becoming restless and agitated and developing secondary heart disease. Treatment is available, either as daily medication, surgery to remove
the affected glands or a form of radiation treatment. Successful treatment can massively improve an older cat's quality of life.

Heart disease
The commonest heart problem in older cats is a thickening of the heart wall. This reduces the size of the heart chambers and the heart has to compensate by beating faster all the time to avoid fluid buildup in the lungs. Early detection and management to control the heart rate, blood pressure and to support the damaged heart muscle is vital to slow the progression of this disease.

Mobility issues
We all know that older cats often do less and sleep more, but for many cats that inactivity is simply because their bones and joints ache. If your older cat is less active than before, if he or she is grooming less with obvious matted fur or more dandruff than before, is more grumpy or irritable or hesitate before jumping up onto furniture, it might be due to aches and pains. If you ask your vet to carry out a full mobility assessment, you may find that a great deal can be done to increase their comfort.


Cancer
No one really wants to mention the word, but it's a common problem in older cats. Get used to running your hands over your elderly companion looking for any unusual bumps or swellings, and make sure that your vet carries out a full examination at least twice a year. Many types of cancer can now be treated effectively with minimal distress, so early detection is vital.


We are often asked whether annual booster vaccines are really necessary as cats get older. The issue is not about vaccination: it is about protection from potentially fatal diseases at a time when their natural immunity may be fading a little. We
strongly recommend that older cats have a simple blood test to see how well they are already protected. If they have high antibody levels, no vaccine is needed, if not then we can give a booster in the knowledge that it is really needed.

Are there any particular feeding requirements for older cats?
Cats with these kind of old age problems will often have quite specific dietary needs, so you really should discuss this with your vet, but just remember that older cats, like older people often are not so interested in food and will only take smaller amounts at a time. Make sure that there is always plenty of fresh water easily available for them to drink.


Remember - old age itself is not a disease: there is a great deal that we can do to improve the quality of life of our older companions

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Rare dog breeds - all over Hyde Park

Reading a short piece in that esteemed journal the Veterinary Record tonight and saw that the otterhound is the officially the UK's rarest dog breed, with only 21 puppes being registered so far this year.

Closer to home is the Cardigan Welsh Corgi (we have one at the clinic) with 89 and the Coton de tulear (we have 3, called Magic, Pants and Knickers) at 140, up from just 10 last year.

Pugs, oh dear the pugs, the breed that surely makes their owners laugh more than any other breed, had 5726 registrations this year, a staggering 557% increase on last year. I thought we were seeing more than ever...

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Heart disease in dogs

Heart disease in dogs is most often due to the heart's valves becoming distorted until they can't close properly. When the heart then beats, some of the blood is pumped forwards (which is good) and some leaks back through the valve (not good at all), creating turbulence in the blood flow. With a stethoscope, this makes a sound known as a murmur.

There are various stages of this type of heart disease: the task for us at the Hyde Park Veterinary Centre and for you as the owner of an affected dog (and of course for the dog in question if only they knew it), is to find out which category is your beloved hound in and what we are going to do about it.

This much simplified guide is to try to help you understand where your dog might be on the scale of seriousness, and to guide you through the kind of things we might be discussing or reccommending to you

Grade A:
At risk breeds such as Cavalier King Charles spaniels with no current evidence of heart disease. We will advise that you do nothing at this stage, but we should make sure to check for changes to heart sound, rate and rythmn at all health checks, or at least once a year.

Grade B1:
Dogs with a heart murmur but no symptoms or evidence of any changes to the heart shape. No medication is generally required, but at least once a year the heart size & shape should be checked either by taking an X-ray or an ultrasound scan.
There may be some benefit from nutritional supplements in the form of omega 3 fatty acids, Co-enzyme Q10, L-carnitine, L-taurine and other anti-oxidants.

Grade B2:
Dogs with a heart murmur and Xray or ultrasound evidence of changes to the heart shape but no other heart symptoms. If there is any significant increase in the size of the left atrium chamber of the heart, drugs called ACE-inhibitors help to maintain good circulation by reducing the resistance to blood flow that develops as the heart starts to fail. We will reccommend changes to the diet mainly to reduce sodium (salt) intake, plus nutritional supplementation as above.

Grade C:
Dogs with a heart murmur, heart shape changes and symptoms such as breathlessness, reduced exercise ability, raised heart rate, fluid retention (oedema) in the lungs or abdomen, or changes in heart shape and/or size. A pro-BNP blood test can help to quantify the severity of the heart disease. These dogs need urgent medication with ACE-inhibitors (see above) and diuretics to help clear fluid retention. A drug called pimobendan helps increase the strength of the heart muscle whilst reducing the increased resistance to blood flow that often occurs in heart failure and spironolactone is also commonly used to help slow the rate of deterioration in heart function.

Grade D:
Dogs with all the above symptoms but where home management with medication is not controlling the symptoms. These dogs need urgent medical help in a clinic or hospital.

All sounds a bit alarming? Heart disease is certainly no fun and it will progress over time, together we can do a great deal to keep our patients happy and comfortable for a long as possible.

Going quietly cuckoo

OK, I know I am prone to moments of nerdy obsession, but just check this out. 5 cuckoos from Norfolk being satellite tagged so that their daily movements can be followed as they migrate south.

Started in June, the British Trust for Ornithology is running a regular blog from each of the birds, who are now several thousand miles apart in sub-saharan Africa.

I've just realised there might a particular sense of resonance for me as I too was born in Norfolk and then spent 4 years living and working in Africa. Maybe I am reliving my previous life vicariously through the journeyings of Clement, Martin, Lyster, Kasper and Chris.


Now get back to work

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Parvovirus, small but deadly

There's a particularly nasty little virus out there, a parvovirus in fact, that can cause a spectacularly unpleasant and frequently fatal bout of vomiting and blood-soaked diarrhoea in dogs.

Without wanting to go into too much detail, quite apart from the pain, distress and dehydration, the parvovirus attacks the rapidly dividing cells of the intestines, breaking the barrier which normally exists between the gut contents and the bloodstream. Bacteria from the gut are then free to enter the blood, causing septicaemia.

As I said, it's nasty and if untreated, parvovirus infection kills 9 out of every 10 dogs infected.

The virus is also very resistant and can stay alive in the environment for a year or more, so it can be very difficult to eliminate once it arrives in a local area.

Treatment requires hospitalisation for intravenous fluids, antibiotics, pain relief and anti-vomiting medicines. I'm old enough to remember when parvovirus first appeared in the late 1970's - and the sight of veterinary clinics across the country overrun with these desperately sick dogs. It came as if from nowhere and within 2 years had spread across the world.

Mercifully, we now see very little of it in W2, but our colleagues at the Blue Cross in Victoria see it all the time. It's not very far away.

What should you do?

We strongly reccommend that you vaccinate your dogs against parvovirus. Because some puppies don't respond very well to their first vaccines, we also advise a simple blood test a few weeks later and then annually, just to make sure that they have become (and stay) fully protected.

Call us on 0207723 0453 if you need any more information.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Twitter & Facebook stuff

Just a reminder that you should be following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook... Don't know how to do that?

Go to Twitter and search for hydeparkvet or just go straight to this web address:
Hyde Park Vet on Twitter. Click on the Follow button and each time we tweet you'll see it when you log on.

On Facebook, just go straight to:

Hyde Park Vet on Facebook. Click on the little thumb logo to tell the world you love us!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Acupuncture: a quote from Davies Veterinary Specialists

ACUPUNCTURE IS RAPIDLY GROWING IN POPULARITY IN VETERINARY PRACTICES AND CLINICS IN THE UK, AS AN EFFECTIVE, SAFE (WHEN IN THE RIGHT HANDS) AND EASILY MANAGEABLE ANALGESIC TREATMENT OPTION.

At DVS acupuncture is now used as part of the analgesic plan in some patients undergoing spinal surgery and it is also being used with success in other conditions where a combination of several drugs need to be used to control severe pain.

Acupuncture is most commonly recognised as an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine but it has in fact been embraced by Western medicine since the 1600s as
a therapeutic tool for an orthodox diagnosis. Its main application is in pain management, but it can also help to restore normal body functions, such as gastrointestinal motility and bladder function.

Acupuncture stimulates the central nervous system to produce endorphins and other
neurotransmitters involved in pain transmission and modulation. It can have an antiemetic effect, it promotes wounds healing and has an immunomodulatory effect similar to that associated with physical exercise.

Commonly treated conditions are:
myofascial, muscoloskeletal, visceral and neuropathic pain. Acupuncture can be used when painkillers have failed or as part of the analgesic treatment. In the latter case it is not unusual to be able to stop some of the drugs, decrease the dose
or prolong the interval between administrations.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fireworks and your pets - help them conquer their fears

Q. How can you tell if your pet is becoming anxious about fireworks?

A: If they show any combination of shaking, trembling, excessive drooling, barking, howling, trying to hide, trying to get either into or out of the house or garden, temporary loss of appetite, temporary loss of bladder or bowel control, unusual destructive behaviour or diarrhoea.

Most pets hate fireworks. They don’t like the noise and the unpredictability and they are frightened by the flashing lights.

If your pet is affected by fear of fireworks, come and talk to us or call us on 020 7723 0453 for advice.

Start your preparation early with the Sounds Scary CD to slowly desensitise your pet to the sounds of fireworks or other such noises – don’t wait until the fireworks start.

Keep your pets indoors at night during firework ‘season’, with the curtains closed, the lights on and music or television to disguise the noise and flashes.

If your pets become very anxious, don’t oversympathise with them: they may see this as you approving of their nervous behaviour.

Provide a ‘safe place’ – a den or secure cover bed area where they can hide away.

Give them plenty of vigorous exercise during the day to tire them out. Don’t exercise them after dark, to avoid running into any displays.

Provide plenty of toys such as Kongs and chews to act as a distraction.

Block up cat-flaps and close doors and windows to prevent your anxious pet from running away during fireworks.

There are a number of products available that you can safely use to help calm them:

Calmex is a new non-sedating calming product that takes effect in as little as 30-60 minutes

Adaptil, the dog appeasement pheromone. This is available as a spray, a diffuser that you can plug in to the mains or as an impregnated collar. Adaptil is the most calming reassuring smell in the entire dog universe. Use it throughout the day and night.

Zylkène is a novel product that can really have a dramatic effect on stress and anxiety in dogs and cats. An extract of the milk protein casein which is given in a capsule form, it is a natural alternative to pharmaceutical medicines or sedatives. You should ideally start supplementing at least 2 weeks before the firework season.

Scullcap & valerian tablets (combined with gentian), available in tablet form, it often has a gentle and calming effect on anxious or stressed animals.

Kalmaid contains L-Tryptophan and L-Theanine which cross the blood-brain barrier and affect the central nervous system

SereneUm a combination of amino acids and vitamins with specific calming action, available in tablet or liquid form.

Homeopet Anxiety TFLN (Thunder Fireworks and Loud Noises) is a homeopathic compound: many people report this to be very helpful at this time of year.

If your pet is extremely sensitive, a mild sedative or tranquilliser may be needed to help keep him calm.

Make sure that your pet is properly identified in case he does run off during fireworks. We recommend both an identity disc and a microchip.

If you must set off fireworks, PLEASE do it as far as possible from homes with pets.

Consider asking a friend or relative that lives in a quieter environment to take care of your pet for a while, but always remember to update your pets ID tag with the relevant contact details if he’s is staying away from home.

Alternatively, you may want to book your pets into a rural boarding kennels to ensure complete safety.

It’s best for your pets if you go to an organised display rather than letting off fireworks in your garden, and NEVER take your pet to a firework display!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Kennel cough - What is it and what should I do?

Kennel cough is a highly infectious disease of dogs, spread by infected dogs coughing or sneezing.

It is only very rarely fatal but commonly causes a harsh and distressing hacking cough that frequently ends in a rather undignified retch. Many dog owners become convinced that their dog has ‘something stuck in their throat’. If untreated, Kennel cough typically lasts for 2-3 weeks, but apart from their cough, most dogs do not appear otherwise ill.

Kennel cough can be more serious in dogs that already have respiratory difficulties, such as the very short nosed dogs (eg Pugs or Bulldogs) or older dogs with heart disease or poor immune systems.

It is called kennel cough because it is very easily spread between dogs that are housed together, as they are in kennels. Symptoms start 3-5 days after exposure and dogs can remain infectious for weeks, so affected dogs should be kept away from others until completely clear.

The disease can be caused by a number of different micro-organisms, but the most important of these is a bacteria called Bordatella bronchiseptica. Where this infection occurs alongside a viral infection such as canine parainfluenza, the
symptoms tend to be more severe. Canine distemper virus, adenovirus and coronavirus have also been implicated.

Treatment commonly involves antibiotics for the bacterial infection, sometimes with cough suppressants if there is no increased volume of mucus produced. If a virus is also involved, more non-specific treatments to support the immune system and help your dogs general comfort can help.

Where dogs have a lot of contact with large numbers of other dogs (for example visits to a kennels, day care, communal dog walking, training classes or shows) vaccination in the form of drops up the nose reduces the likelihood of infection and
may reduce the severity of symptoms where infection does occur.

There are many other reasons for a dog to cough, including advanced heart disease, growths, allergies and parasites, so it is important to take your dog to the vet for a thorough examination if any coughing starts.

If you are worried that your dog is coughing, you can always call us on 0207 723 0453 for advice

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Rabies Blood Tests and Pet Passports

The Pet Travel Scheme is changing from 1st January 2012, so that dogs and cats originating in the UK will no longer need to have a blood test after their rabies vaccine to show that they have responded to the vaccine.

All in the name of EU harmonisation, and it certainly will make the process of getting a passport for your pet much easier and quicker.

HOWEVER, the official UK government laboratory that runs these blood tests confirms that 4-5% of pets FAIL their first blood tests, meaning that IF the blood tests are no longer to be required, there are potentially going to be thousands of dogs, with passports, and able to travel internationally, who might not be protected against the devastating and fatal disease of rabies.

Not good.

For the moment, therefore, we are still recommending that our patients go ahead with a rabies blood test after the first rabies vaccination, as there is no other way of knowing if they have responded to the vaccine or not.

We'd be happy to discuss this with you if you want any more information

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Feline Kidney Disease: what to do if you think your cat might be affected

Kidney failure is a common cause of illness and death in older cats, and many cats seem to begin to show symptoms as the weather starts to turn colder.

The word ‘failure’ implies that the kidneys either work fine or they fail and stop working altogether, but the reality is that kidney failure in cats tends to be a long drawn out process, and how quickly they progress to serious illness depends largely on what you decide to do about it.

1. How do you know if your cat is affected by kidney disease? 

The classic signs of kidney disease are:

- Increased thirst – draining water bowls or drinking from taps.
- Loss of appetite or increasing fussiness with feeding.
- Weight loss

If you think your cat might have kidney disease, you should contact your vet straight away. 

At the Hyde Park Veterinary Centre, we are likely to recommend checking your cat’s blood looking for rising levels of waste products (urea), a protein called creatinine, phosphorus and calcium. We will also advise a urine test to check for excessively dilute urine with higher levels of certain proteins.

2. If your cat is diagnosed with kidney failure, what should you do about it?

- maximise your cats water intake, by feeding wet foods only or adding more water or broth to the food
- try a water fountain that provides constant running water - many cats are temppted by these
- in severe cases, we might recommend giving extra fluids by injection under the skin: you will need help and instruction with this.

- Diet is the single most important factor: the right diet can double your cat’s survival time.
- feed a low protein, low phosphorus diet such as Royal Canin Renal to reduce the amount of waste products produced and control phosphate levels.
- if your cat still has high levels of phosphate in the blood, you can add a phosphorus binder such as Ipakitine or Renalzin to the food
- supplement potassium in the diet if levels are low

- we might well advise regular monitoring of your cat’s blood pressure and will certainly advise treatment it if it rises. Untreated high blood pressure can cause sudden blindness.

- prescription medicines called ACE inhibitors help maintain the blood supply to the kidneys, lessening the likelihood of further damage.

- we use nutritional products such as Rubenal and Essential Fatty  Acid supplements to help maintain kidney function, and high energy feed supplements such as Nutrigel or Nutri Cal can help to maintain bodyweight if your cat is not eating enough calories.


If you think that your cat might be suffering from kidney disease, now is the time to take action: go to your vet and find out what you can do now to make a difference!

PS you can call us during office hours on 0207 723 0453 and one of our vets or nurses will be happy to talk to you about how we can help you and your cat

Friday, October 7, 2011

Welcome to the hyde park vet blog...

OK, so you've seen the new clinic and are loving the calm, the comfort and the space, you already follow us on Twitter, you've been gasping in wonder at the brand new clinic website, you've heard Andrew on Radio London, what next?

The Hyde Park Vet Blog, of course.

We'll be posting bits of information here for you, medical stuff that might be relevant to your pets, things that have caught our attention or happened at the clinic. We'd be happy to receive your feedback or suggestions...

Thursday, September 15, 2011

From the Daily Mail, no less...

Meet the new age animals

by ANASTASIA STEPHENS, Daily Mail

Complementary health is booming, but these days it's just as likely that the clients booked in for a session of acupuncture or an invigorating massage will be our beloved pets.

Practices are springing up offering our four-legged, feathered or even scale-covered friends anything from homeopathy to hand-healing. We spoke to the pioneers of animal therapies - and found the results they are getting are extraordinary . . .

The osteopath

Andrew Prentis is a veterinary surgeon who specialises in osteopathy at the Hyde Park Veterinary Centre in London.

He says: 'I often see cases that conventional medicine cannot find an answer for - a dog might be in excruciating pain without showing any physical signs of strain.

'Using mechanical adjustments and soft tissue techniques, we aim to rebalance the muscular- skeletal system in a way that reduces internal stress.

'Recently, I saw a ten-year-old schnauzer called Bobby who had been hit by a car. The accident left him with so much jaw pain he couldn't chew on a bone or yawn properly. Bobby also became lame in his front right leg.

'The constant pain made him anxious, yet various vets were unable to help. Using cranial osteopathy and soft-tissue work, we managed to release the muscular stress around his jaw and in his leg. He can now chew bones and yawn, and the function in his front leg has almost been restored.'

The horse masseur
Catarina Elander-Vickers, 41, is an equine massage therapist who works in Chester.

She says: 'Just like people, horses suffer painful muscle spasms from hard work. I usually work from the head right down to the legs, using medium to light massage strokes and pressure points.

'Massage is particularly useful for horses in hard training. It helps rid lactic acid from the muscles, which can improve their performance. It also restores elasticity after an injury.

'I also massage my own horse, Salome. She's now 25 and used to go lame in her front left leg for weeks at a time. I eventually found she had a problem in her shoulder muscles. I started giving her regular massages 18 months ago and she's been better for a year.

'The wonderful thing about massaging horses is the expression on their faces. They close their eyes, start licking and make some very appreciative snorting sounds.'

The homeopath and acupuncturist

Veterninary surgeon Nick Thompson specialises in homeopathy and acupuncture at several practices in the South of England. He says: 'I help animals with chronic and immune-related diseases which conventional medicine can't treat.

'Homeopathy - which uses remedies that mirror the disease symptoms - triggers the body's own healing mechanism.

'I've cured cats with asthma, horses with hay allergies and dogs with food intolerance.

'Horses, like humans, can develop Post-Viral Fatigue Syndrome, or ME. They become exhausted and apathetic. With homeopathy, I can achieve an almost full recovery in anything from six weeks to six months.

'Because many pet foods are processed, contain additives and are fairly poor in nutrients, I often see cats and dogs with food allergies and irritable bowel syndrome.

'In these cases I treat the food allergy with homeopathy and advise the owners to switch their animals to a healthier diet of raw meat and bones, with raw fruit and vegetables mixed in.

'I also use acupuncture to alleviate chronic pain such as arthritis in old cats and dogs.

'My most recent patient was B, an 11-year-old cat who slipped a disc in his upper back 15 months ago. He couldn't walk properly and had lost control of his tail.

'After giving him acupuncture sessions every two weeks for three months, B was walking and using his tail properly.'