Cat fight abscess

Poor old Kingston has had a run-in with a local bully. Here he is showing off the swelling on the side of his face and waiting for the vet to anaesthetise him and lance it.
We have already given him a long-lasting antibiotic.
Fortunately he has had an FIV vaccination against cat AIDS. The virus is spread by cat bites.
A latex drain, called a penrose, will keep the wound open for a few days to prevent further pus build up. Once that is out he will heal rapidly.
Hopefully he will steer clear of trouble in future!

Cats only!

Thank you for listening Hall Vet Surgery!

From Wednesday 24th April we are trialling a cat-only consultation time from 6 - 8 pm every Wednesday evening. This will be a quiet, dog-free period so that cats are stressed as little as possible before seeing their vet.

Most cats find the vet surgery waiting room a stressful place. They can smell and see dogs and strange humans. Doors bang, dogs bark, people laugh and talk, cages clang.

On ordinary days we find that by the time cats reach the exam table many are very wound up. Vets and nurses find a tense cat hard to examine and results from blood tests are skewed by the body’s stress response.

While cats are hunters they are also prey. In their natural or familiar environment they are very efficient at defending themselves against perceived threats. 

When they are unable to act because they are trapped in a carrier or unable to hide they get ready to flee or attack.  The vet visit becomes very unpleasant for the cat, the owner and the veterinary staff.

Hall Vet Surgery wants to minimise your cat’s stress and make the vet visit a more relaxed and comfortable experience for your cat and you.

Look at the vet visit from your cat’s point of view and book your next visit for a Wednesday evening.

All in the family

Cleo grooms her daughter Cinta

Are the cats in your household stressed by each other? 

In their natural state cats live with their relatives - their mothers, siblings and offspring. We expect them to live in close quarters with total strangers and then wonder why they mark indoors, have bladder problems and overgroom - all signs of stress.

You know your cats consider each other family if they sleep together and groom each other, paying particular attention to each other’s heads. When all the cats in your household think of each other as family stress levels are low. 

More often in multi-cat households each cat considers the other as just another tenant of the house and would rather not share dining, toilet and rest areas. When forced to share tension levels between the cats will rise and fall. Occasionally we see outright aggression between housemates. Sometimes the only sign is the occasional spray of urine up the curtain or recurrent cystitis (inflammation of the bladder).

Check out your cats’ sleeping arrangements. If they are sleeping separately and not grooming each other with complete ease then make sure you have multiple resources available so that each ‘family’ can eat, drink and toilet in private. If you have three cats who do not groom each other then you will need feeding and water bowls, and a litter tray in three separate areas.