cat dental disease

CAT OF THE MONTH APRIL 2022

We would like to announce Tilly as our cat of the month!

Tilly is one of our golden oldies who loves to sit and watch the birds and the neighbourhood and has two very doting humans catering to her every whim.

We have grown very fond of Tilly who although can be a little nervous of strangers (especially those who smell like veterinary staff!) she has always treated us with only very casual disdain and never tells us off with the sharp bits.

Tilly recently had some digestive problems, and was a very brave girl for her bloodwork and an abdominal ultrasound. We are happy to report she is now back to her normal self.

Our wonderful runners up are Dotty and Gamora.

Stunning Dotty has been a Vet2Cat patient for some time. Recently her owner contacted us as Dotty was not being her usual self. Upon examination it was discovered she was suffering with arthritic and abdominal pain. Dotty had also been vomiting which made her very depressed. Once the Vet2cat team got their paws on her she is now a different cat. There is a relatively new medication called Solensia which is a monoclonal antibody. It is an injection given once a month for arthritic pain. Her mom can’t believe the difference! Dotty is now running about like a kitten, pain free! Go faster medicine is the tip of the day from Dotty!

Last but certainly not least is the gorgeous Gamora (aka Fluffy Bum)

Gamora was adopted from a rescue centre along with her sibling, (not related but they have always been together) Harley Quinn. Adapting well to a multi cat household, she has fallen on her paws with her new hoomans. On a routine check and vaccination with Vet2Cat, Claire highlighted that Gamora had some dental disease known as resorptive lesions. This is where the tooth is destroyed which can leave a visible hole. This can be a very painful condition so the Vet2Cat team performed a dental procedure, extracting the affected teeth. Now Gamora has shiny white teeth making her a much happier cat!

CAT OF THE MONTH FEB 2022

After a slow start to the year in January, February has had the Vet2Cat team being busy busy busy!

We have seen a wide range of patients this month – from long standing regulars, some we haven’t seen for quite a while to several newbies! Everything from spaying & chipping one of our youngest patients, Starlite, to having to let go of one of most favourite old boys – the winner of Cat of The Year 2021 our lovely Bob; gone from our sight but never from our hearts.

Out of all the furry felines of February we have narrowed it down to three contenders for Cat of the Month – Barbara, Belle and Thug.

And the winner is….

BELLE

‘Belle’ means beautiful, and she sure is! 16-and-a-half-year-old tabby & white Belle has had a bit of a year of things – she lost her most favourite feline company Sox last year and has been missing him. On top of this, some shady catty characters in the ‘hood are making it a bit scary to go outside these days, so she started using the bathmat to pee on! Some behavioural advice particularly about litter trays soon curtailed this fortunately. Belle also has hyperthyroidism which has been rather up and down for a while but hopefully is levelling out now, and she had rather bad teeth requiring a dental. Her male hooman went to the dentist on the same day, so the 2 of them recovered together in the evening – A few fillings! Pah! Belle had 13 teeth extracted! I wonder who moaned the most…?! Belle still welcomes the Vet2Cat team at the door with a chirpy meow, which we believe means ‘Come on, get the treats out!’

RUNNER UP – BARBARA

Cute 4-year-old Torbie & White Barbara is a new patient on the Vet2Cat books. She’s had quite a few hoomans in her short life already, so we are hoping she will settle in with the latest one! Having had a rather migrant lifestyle we were half expecting to find a nervous scaredy cat, but she strutted around the room with style and confidence, what a little diva! Nurse Ally even got a cuddle in!

RUNNER UP – THUG (real name Gavroche!)

Thug is another very confident cool cat. He practically mugs nurse Emma for treats at our visits! A lovable black & white rogue of nearly 8 years, he has been passing his health checks with flying colours, including blood pressure assessment and urine testing – fortunately he does pee in the special litter, unlike his counterpart Javi.

Cat of the month January 2022

Every month we take great pride and often a great deal of deliberation to choose one of our client’s cats for our Cat of the Month award.

For January we have selected Katie, Lulu and Romeo, and the winner is…

Lulu

On the way back from her dental, vet Claire could stroke her paws!

Despite her young looks, Lulu is 11 years old. This lovable tortoiseshell feline recently had to have a dental. Lulu is a great fan of the Vet2Cat team and didn’t hide the fact. Even though most cats are very stressed about being transported to a veterinary practice, this was not the case for Lulu! This beauty relished the attention, even though she had several teeth taken out. There was purring from collection, during the induction of anaesthetic and on recovery! The most well-behaved lady and travel companion to date!

Our January 2022 runner up is…

Katie

With years comes wisdom and Katie is certainly no fool. Not a huge fan of the Vet2Cat team at the start, Katie is now far more relaxed after regular visits and gentle handling. Pushing her way through to be over 18 years old and still opinionated! This loveable senior was diagnosed with high blood pressure and severe arthritic pain. Both conditions are manageable and are very common within the senior feline community. We love Katie even if it’s not entirely reciprocated!

The second January 2022 runner up is …

Romeo

Maine Coon stunner Romeo is one of our largest cat patients! Being a Maine Coon, he is considered quite senior at the age of just over 12 years. With age comes the inevitable health concerns. Romeo has quite severe arthritic changes which made life very uncomfortable. With the most current pain medications, Romeo is feeling so much more himself. In addition to his medications, Romeo also has regular acupuncture carried out by Susan Andresier owner of https://acupaws.co.uk/

Recently, his hoomans found a funny looking lump on his inner thigh. Initial tests indicated it might be a nasty type of skin cancer, so an operation was planned. Fortunately, thorough analysis of the removed lump showed it was a more benign type of lump! What a relief!

Its time for our monthly appraisal of the cats we have seen, so we can pick out three special kitties. They’re not necessarily ‘favourites’, as we all know we shouldn’t have favourites, more so that they have made us smile, laugh, or sometimes even cry, with their personalities, antics and stories.

This month we have Starlite, Beau and Bruce, giving us the whole range of cat ages from kitten to super-senior.

And the winner is…

STARLITE

Well, who can resist a tiny kitten! Black, white and a tiny bit of ginger, this little bundle of fur and energy certainly keeps her hooman on her toes! She was so dinky at our first visit, and with a slightly dicky tum, we had to postpone her 1^st jabs to make sure she was fit enough for it. Tummy much improved after worming and a change to good quality Royal Canin & Hills kitten foods, Starlite has now had her first vaccination, and will get a second in a few weeks. Its so lovely to watch our new little patients grow and develop and be able to guide new kitten owners about all aspects of cat ownership including nutrition and behavioural advice, not just the medical bits and bobs!

RUNNER UP – BEAU

Our next cat takes us to the ‘Mature Adult’ lifestage. At 8 years old Beau the bodacious British Shorthair has lived a blessed life in the countryside, spending most of his time out and about terrifying small things. His observant housekeeper noticed his front incisor teeth seemed to be missing and had noted weight loss. Previous visits to the vets in a carrier had been met with much wailing and gnashing of teeth – as well as panting, peeing and pooping – and probably some weeping from the housekeeper-cum-chauffeur-cum-nursemaid. Lament no longer, as Vet2Cat is here to take away all that stress! Beau ended up needing a rather extensive dental procedure due to advanced periodontitis and tooth resorption. All 4 fangs had to come out and a few others, and vet Claire had to identify and remove multiple retained roots – that’s when the crown is completely or partially missing but the roots are still present – they can cause ongoing pain or infection if not removed. Beau has recovered well and even gained weight again. Whether the local wildlife can now rest on their laurels with Beau partially de-weaponised; we shall have to wait and see.

RUNNER-UP BRUCE

At 17.5 years old Bruce falls into the ‘Super-senior’ category of cat lifestages. With the typical story of the stress of going off to the vets, it often gets to the point where us cat-owners feel its actually causing more harm than good! We’ve only just started seeing Bruce, and right from the start we could tell there were going to be multiple issues to address, and we have to tread lightly with such cases as they are often living on a bit of knife-edge, certainly until we can bring at least some of their conditions under control. Our primary concerns with Bruce were pain, and hypertension (high blood pressure) so we started our focus on those. Within days of being on a pain killer Bruce was already up to some of his old tricks. We are now waiting on some blood test results and tinkering with his BP tablet dosing. He does find even a home visiting vet’s check up rather exhausting, but at least no carrier & no car ride. We just hope we can make his twilight part of his life as comfortable as possible.

September Cat of the Month

Every month we choose 3 cats that we think have shown some incredible resilience with health issues or they are just a bit special. This month we have chosen Toby, Ralph and Buffy, and our winner is……

Buffy

Buffy is a senior lady at the age of 19! Don’t let her age fool you though, as she has the mind of a 5-year-old as the bath mat can testify to.

With being an older lady, a visit in a carrier to a veterinary practice was incredibly stressful so her human sought the services of the Vet2Cat home visiting team.

With age comes the inevitable health issues and for Buffy this was in the form of hypertension (high blood pressure) and osteoarthritis. With close monitoring and medications Buffy has resorted back to feeling young and can still go in a “huff” as her human calls it.

Our first runner up for September is…

The scrumptious Toby!

Toby is a very awesome chap who is extremely polite and will tap your hand to ask for a dreamie. Recently he had to undergo dental attention which was a huge task, so much so that it had to be performed under two procedures. Being as resilient as he is, Toby will make a full recovery and will be tapping hands for dreamies in no time!

The second runner up for September is….

Ralph

Last but certainly not least is the rather dashing black cat Ralph. This young stunner has a lot of clever tricks up his paws, including giving high fives! The Vet2Cat team were called to assess Ralph due to him vomiting and having diarrhoea – all resolved with a few supportive treatments. Ralph also still had some of his deciduous (baby) premolar teeth. This is quite rare as cats normally lose these as they mature. Ralph’s human will be monitoring to see if they naturally fall out or if the Vet2Cat team need to give them a helping hand.

Cat of the month August 2021

Vet2Cat has had a very busy August! Lots of new clients and a new Vet2Cat cat mobile mark 2 was put on the road.

It has been a really hard month to choose from our lovely feline patients, but the winner and runners up were finally chosen!

Our winner of the August cat of the month is …..

Bob

This scrumptious senior chap was one of the very first Vet2Cat patients! At the grand old age of nearly 19 years Bob is living his best life! When we first met Bob, like many cats, his hooman said that medicating him would be impossible! However, his hooman had never heard of Easypill Putty! A mouldable treat that can encase any medications without feline detection! This is just as well! After his first check-up Bob was diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) which required daily medication. With the help of Easypill Putty, Bob takes his medication with no trouble or stress involved!

Bob also had a major dental procedure under the care of the Vet2Cat team, always a worry to put our little oldies under an anaesthetic. Being a mature fellow Bob suffers from arthritis and had been using the usual non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication to ease his pain. This year however, a new medication was released to target arthritic pain without the side-effects that can occur from non-steroidals.Solensia is a monoclonal antibody which targets the nerve growth factor which controls the pain messages sent to the brain. Since starting the monthly injection, Bob is like a kitten again! His owner reports running up and down the hall with the zoomies! Well done old chap!

Our first runner up this month is…

Stripes

Stripes is a 2-year-old neutered boy with some ongoing urinary tract issues. Stripes had a write up in our newsletter as due to his anxiety he had suffered from a blocked bladder which is a life-threatening emergency. Since the newsletter, Stripes re-blocked and required an operation called a perineal urethrostomy. Sadly, the blockage was all the way through to the tip of his penis, so poor Stripes lost his penis as a new surgical hole was made for him to be able to urinate. Stripes recovered very well under the watchful eye of vet Claire. Stripes is now back at home with his family and adapting well to his new anatomy!

Last but not least our final runner up is ….

Kitty

This little old lady is at the grand age of 19 years! Kitty’s owner got in touch with the Vet2Cat team as she was concerned that Kitty was eating lots but losing weight. The owner thought that there may be a thyroid problem which is common in older cats. Vet Claire however was not convinced it was a thyroid problem as clinically nothing indicated this apart from her ravenous appetite. After some discussion a blood test was taken. This revealed that Kitty had severely low B12, an indication of the less common EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) condition. The blood test for this was quite costly but the owner wanted to make sure we had ruled everything out. Claire was correct in her thinking! Kitty was positive for EPI and is now on treatment and a special diet for management of the condition. Kitty’s hooman reports that she is doing really well and enjoying life in her late teens!

Cat of the month – APRIL

April was a rather busy month for the Vet2Cat team, so it was very difficult to pick out only 3 cats from all the lovely special fluff-balls we have seen. We finally narrowed it down to Percy, Tigger and Moni, all rather lovely sweet kitties, and all with various shades of orange!.

WINNER – MONI

Moni seems to have fallen in love with Emma!

April’s winner is the beautiful calico Moni (pronounced ‘Moanie’). Moni’s owner contacted Vet2Cat because without transport, it is very difficult to get her off to a clinic, and it’s so much nicer to be examined in her own home. Being the sweet little lady that she is, she allowed Vet Claire to exam her on her own at the first visit. Moni was suffering from a rather irritating and uncomfortable skin condition that required Vet Claire’s expertise. During the examination, a couple of lumps were also found in her mammary area.

At visit no.2, with gentle handling, mild pre-visit sedation, local anaesthetic, and expert care, Moni had fine needle aspirates taken of the lumps to determine what they were. Moni was very brave and received the good news that the lumps were nothing sinister! Her skin has also vastly improved with treatment. Well done, Moni!

RUNNER-UP – PERCY

Our first April runner-up cat of the month is the stunning creamy-ginger, blue-eyed Percy. Percy is a very worried chap who finds the whole experience of new people rather frightening.

Percy needed his yearly vaccination but going to the vets was not an option for his owner. Percy gets so worked up even being placed in a basket and his owner doesn’t have a mode of transportation, so she decided to call on the Vet2Cat team. With a lot of care, a pre visit calming medication, and lots of time, Percy had a full health check and vaccination without any undue stress. Nurse Emma popped back solo to do his 2^nd vac, which she had to perform with Percy trying to hide on the top of the kitchen cupboards! The things we do!

RUNNER-UP – TIGGER

Caught mid-yawn, Tigger shows us his fangs!

Last but certainly not least is the gorgeous ginger & white Tigger. This nervous nellie needed his routine health check but his hooman would much prefer the vet to come and see him at home. Vet2Cat were able to give him a thorough check over so that his owner could rest assured that he was ok for another year of being a cat!

He was given a clean bill of health aside from some plaque build up on his teeth. Now Tigger’s owner has been tasked with being Tigger’s dental hygienist. Tigger is a good boy for handling and grooming so hopefully with time and patience, regular teeth cleaning will be part of his routine ablutions.

December cat of the month

WINNER is the beautiful Nettles

Nettles enjoys our Pet Remedy sprayed cltohs at a visit

Meet Nettles, her mom’s pride and joy. At the grand age of 17 years, Nettles has had a few health issues raise their ugly heads. However, thanks to the diligence of her owner, she received care from Vet2Cat quickly. Nettles has had to have treatment for painful urinary tract infections and arthritis and kidney disease which she has managed like a trooper.

The most recent and biggest challenge of her furry life was being evacuated with her hoomans after an explosion in her neighbourhood. Nettles took it all in her stride as she was carried to safety.

If there was a feline bravery award, Nettles should be receiving it without a doubt!

Runner up is the gorgeous Percy

Poor Percy wrapped up in our ‘Kevlar’ style blanket for examination

Percy is a gorgeous ginger and white boy who came to live with his human from a rescue centre. Percy is a nervous nelly when it comes to dealing with humans, so taking him to a vet was not an option. Percy managed to injure his paw which concerned his owner. Worried about having to take this scared boy to the vets, she called on Vet2Cat to check him over in his own home. With gentle handling vet Claire was able to determine that there were no fractures or wounds and it was likely a strain of some sort. With anti-inflammatories and love Percy made a full recovery.

Runner up is the amazing Maisie

Maisie is currently in the care of a local cat rescue group – Portsmouth Cats, Lost, Found and Rehomed. She lives in a purpose-built feline home with her son Georgie.

Sadly, Maisie has been suffering from a severely painful condition of the mouth called Chronic Gingivostomatitis. This means the inside of her mouth – her gums surrounding the teeth and the angles of the mouth inside, were incredibly inflamed and sore, a lot of her teeth were badly affected as well. Imagine having to live like that all the time? To have any chance of being able to rehome Maisie, the charity decided they needed to do everything possible to make Maisie better. After treatment with steroids for the severe inflammation and expensive injectable antibiotics for the secondary infections, Maisie was booked in for an extensive dental procedure – ALL her teeth needed to be extracted. This is done to help reduce the ongoing inflammatory reaction that occurs in this condition, in response to the presence of plaque on the teeth. After many weeks of care, both pre- and post-dental Maisie is now so much better and well on the road to recovery.

Both Maisie and her son Georgie will be looking for homes in the future, so hopefully she can put her paws up and enjoy a pain-free life.

CAT OF THE MONTH APRIL 2022 – TILLY

CAT OF THE MONTH FEBRUARY 2022 – BELLE

CAT OF THE MONTH JANUARY 2022 – LULU

CAT OF THE MONTH OCTOBER 2021 – STARLITE

Cat of the Month- September 2021 – Buffy

Cat of the Month- August 2021 – Bob

Cat of the Month April 2021- Moni

Cat of The Month – December 2020 – Nettles

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COVID19:

With the relaxations on certain restrictions, vets are now no longer limited to attending urgent cases only. Routine health care checks are now back on the menu, although we still require our clients to observe social distancing and to wear face coverings.

EASTER WEEKEND:

VET2CAT IS CLOSED FOR THE EASTER WEEKEND (FRI 2ND – MON 5TH APRIL) AND RE-OPENS ON TUES 6TH APRIL.

GENERAL AVAILABILITY:

Due to staff shortage we are currently only offering advance bookings on Mondays (Tues when there is a Bank Holiday Mon) and Thursdays between 10am and 6pm.

Vet Claire is available flying solo on the other days of the week, so if you have an urgent problem with your cat please still call us on 07842570273.