Each month our vet, Jonathan Nurse, holds an “Ask the Vet” session LIVE on our Facebook page. This gives people the opportunity to ask him anything regarding their own pets, pet health in general or questions regarding Cherrydown Vets as a whole. Unfortunately, not everyone can make the session so we decided to put all of the questions onto a blog so others can read at a later date. Hopefully you find it useful and it answers any similar questions you may have.
Question:
I have 2 x 15 week old female kittens I’ve had them since they were just 8 weeks old but they still try and suckle everything. I was wondering if this was normal and something they will grow out of or if its something to be concerned about?
Answer:
This is not that unusual and something they usually grow out of
Question:
Can I please ask your opinion? My dogs are over 11 years old – do they still need booster injections or would their immunities be okay having had 10 years worth already?
Answer:
As far as I am aware, there are no definitive studies proving how long immunity lasts in dogs dependant on how old they are and how many vaccines they have had. Therefore, we still recommend vaccination whatever their age. Alternatively, we now have the antibody tests available in house to seem they have enough immunity – See our blog HERE
Question:
Can you recommend a good dry food for small dogs? I have a 10 week shih zhu on royal canine and a 5 year old peekapoo on bakers small dog, I want to take her off the bakers but need a good replacement, ideally something suitable for both dogs.
Answer:
There really is no one size fits all with dogs and food. It never ceases to amaze me how one dog can thrive on a food and another will do really badly on it. We recommend Hill and James Wellbeloved as good standard diets but Royal Canin is also a good quality food
Question:
What treatment would you recommend for a 2 year old cat with what feel like mammary tumors. She is nursing 9 week old kittens which will now be weaned. Is it best to perform a full mammary strip or spay her first and see if the tumors are hormone induced and shrink over a few weeks?
Answer:
Impossible to say without seeing the cat. Mammary tumours are often very aggressive in cats so often need to treat aggressively. First question is do we know they are tumours? A biopsy or fna to diagnose problem may be first thing to do
Question:
How can I stop my 7 year old rescue cat from clawing my carpet. She ignores her scratching post & Bridy has clipped her claws. She don’t go outdoors.
Answer:
Sorry not found an effective solution to this problem! My cat does it all the time
Question:
Following the recent loss of one our cats, Mr Tibbs, we are planning to get a Maine coon as company for our other cat Monty as they have such good temperaments. I know we should keep them separated initially to allow them both to adjust but is there any other advice for a smooth introduction? The Maine coon will be 13 weeks when we bring him/her home.
Answer:
The key issue to successful introduction of a new cat is mixing their scents. Cats who get on live in a common social group and smell very similar. therefore, before introducing them rub them both with a cloth, put the cloths together in a bag and shake them together, then put one cloth with each cat’s environment. Do this for a few days-freshening the scent each day. Then when they mix they will often get on well. Also Feliway can help a lot
If you have any questions you do not need to wait for an Ask the Vet session. You can either call us at the clinic or you can leave a message on our Facebook page and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
