Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Starving the vegetarians into submission.

It was a nice walk along the river, with the potentially delectable end point of a stop at a highly suitable pub for a pint and a bite to eat. What pleasant anticipation.

Once comfortable installed in said hostelry, it was time to take a look at the menu. 'V' denotes vegetarian - an excellent start for this new phase in my life. How pleasing - not for the first time since embarking on this journey - to have a feeling of riding a wave of responsible feeding.

Apart from the fact that nothing on the menu had a 'V' against it. The simple phrase that 'V denotes vegetarian' was simply an explanatory note on the off-chance that there might be a vegetarian option on said menu at some unspecified point in the future.

On more detailed inspection we found an unlabelled 'V': a chicory, carrot & tomato fondue with goat's cheese. 

Now I have never really taken to goat's cheese, but under the circumstances ie being faced with the alternative of a full-on meat-is-murder pub menu, I figured it would be an acceptable choice. And anyway fondues are great. Chunks of crusty local bread dripping great gloopy strands of slowly solidifying cheese, washed down with gallons of white wine, as you gaze out of the window across snow-covered mountains, your bones and muscles aching after a day of perilous downhill activity. What could be better. Yum.

But then it arrived. A small saucer with some even smaller pieces of vegetable sitting in a thin cheese-like soup. And err, that's it.

I mean, come on guys, at least try to make it a little bit easier for me. There I am, trying my hardest to save the planet by eating a more sustainable diet, and then you go and offer me something whose nutritional value might just about keep me going for the time it takes to finish this sentence.

I remembered many years ago a casually misogynistic acquaintance of mine venturing the view that goat's cheese was girl's food and therefore should not be eaten or approved of by those of a masculine disposition. And there was a small guilty part of me that felt I slightly agreed, but I had always tried to keep it to myself. But now here was a supposedly respectable pub chain endorsing the myth, as witnessed by the miniscule portion that clearly was aimed at a diner trying to stay alive on less than 3 calories a day. 

I weigh 95kg for goodness'sake. I need food.

You, you pub chefs, restauranteurs, managers, bosses, buyers and decision makers, have all contributed yet further to global warming and the destruction of the ozone layer by making me eat both a starter and a sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel ice cream just to have enough energy to get out of the door, let alone walk home again.

Shame on you.

#campaignforpropersizedvegetarianandveganportionsin publiceatingplaces is not exactly trending on Twitter right now, but it should be.


Tuesday, February 2, 2016

How old is your cat?

Translating a cat's age in real years into the human equivalent often seems to make it easier to understand quite where they are in their life cycle when we're talking about age-related health problems
Everyone has been younger than they are now, and most of us know at least some older people and the health issues they're going through. So when we think of Mr Tibbles as being the cat equivalent of a 15 year old boy or a 45 or 75 year old man rather than his real 1, 7 or  15 years, his health and vitality issues can make a bit more sense.
There's far too much nonsense about each cat year being 7 human years or variations on that theme - if it were true, the average life expectancy for a cat in the UK - measured in human equivalent years - would be just over 100.
I suggest you use this: it's from International Cat Care 
 

Monday, February 1, 2016

How can we best look after our elderly cats?

    Older cats are susceptible to quite a number of aged-related diseases, many of which are treatable if caught early enough. So how often should we be checking them over to make sure that everything is going OK?
    Sometimes it's a difficult decision, particularly when they look so comfortable at home, they don't go out much any more and suddenly the whole idea starts to seem a bit stressful (for you if not for them)
    International Cat Care - formerly the Feline Advisory Bureau, one of the UK's leading veterinary cat health resources - suggests that cats of all ages should be assessed at a veterinary practice at least once a year. They should have a general physical examination and discussion of appropriate preventive health care including diet, parasite control and any vaccine requirements, and their weight and body condition score should be recorded.
    In addition to this:
• Mature cats – those aged seven years or older should come in once a year for a blood pressure and their urine concentration checked. Dilute urine can be a sign of underlying disease with the most common causes being chronic kidney disease, over-active thyroid glands and diabetes. Cats whose urine is too dilute should be further investigated by checking their urine chemistry and taking a blood sample for a blood cell count, chemistry check and measurement of their thyroid hormone levels. 
• Senior cats – those aged 11 years or older should come in at least once a year for a full examination, blood pressure check and urine & blood tests as above to check the blood cell counts, chemistry and thyroid hormone levels. The less healthy ones should have these checkups more frequently, in some cases every six months.
• Geriatric cats – those aged 15 years or older should come in every six months for a full clinical examination, weight check, body condition score, blood pressure and urine test. Blood tests should continue to be done annually unless there is any clinical reason to take them more frequently.
    If you manage to follow this protocol, you will pick up on signs of chronic disease much earlier and we'll be able to get them on the right diet and medication for them to be able to enjoy many more years of active, healthy and comfortable life. Call for your appointment on 0207 723 0453 or email us at hydeparkvetnurse@aol.com and one of our nurses will call you back.
Summary:
0-7 years: Physical examination every 12 months
7-11 years: Physical examination, blood pressure and urine test every 12 months
11-15 years:  Physical examination, blood pressure, urine and blood tests every 6-12 months
Over 15 years: Physical examination, blood pressure, urine every 3-6 months, with blood tests every 6-12 months