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Suites 17-19Ocean Village Shopping CentreKilpa CourtCity Beach WA 6015
PhoneFaxEmailWeb
08 9245 1977089245 [email protected]
Our Vets
DR NEVILlEROBERTSONBVSc(Syd), MVS(Murd)
DR AlAN WADEBSc, BVMS(Murd)
Our Nurses
Debra and Tammy are our full timequalified and registered nurses. We alsohave three veterinary students, Brooke,Jenna and Leah, who work as nurses onthe weekends and holidays. Our nursesare all caring and compassionate peopleand are committed to looking after youand your pet.
Our Hours
Monday to Friday 7.30am to 7pmSaturday 8.30am to 4 pmSunday 1Oam to 1pm
Consultations are by appointment.
We are closed on Public Holidays.
After Hours
Forurgentattention after hours includingPublic Holidays contact either MurdochPet Emergency Centre (MPEC) on 1300652 494 or Northern Suburbs EmergencyCentre on 9345 4644.
New WebpageCity Beach Veterinarians has a new webpage' Visit the site for information aboutyour pets health, us and many otherinteresting items. Let us know what youthink.
AUTUMN 2008
~?jOlAr ~Pla~ ahead when bringing baby homeThe arrival of a new baby in the family is
a joyous, amazing affair. But with this joycomes a degree of chaos and upheaval. Thetiny new person requires huge adjustmentsto the normal routine, which may leavethe furry members of the family feelingbewildered and anxious. There are lots of
little ways to make the transition to a largerfamily a little easier for your pet.
In true Boy Scout fashion- "Be Prepared".Anticipate problems and start making yourpet's routine baby friendly long before thebaby arrives. This way the baby should notbe directly associated with any undesirablechanges.
1. Exercise. If your dog is used to frequentregular exercise, and you anticipate thiswill be impossible once baby arrives, startweaning the dog onto a more realisticexercise program -long before the babyarrives home. Make the most of small
windows of opportunity- 10 minutes ofintense stimulating ball throwing or arough and tumble with a furry friend inthe back garden is better than no exerciseat all. When baby is home make surethat the baby is present during exerciseand other pleasurable experiences. Thedog will then associate the baby with thegood times.
2. Living areas Decide where your pet'sliving areaswill be and set limits. Ifpetsare to be restricted to outdoors only,evict them early- long before the babyarrives. Make sure your pet has adequateshelter and is content outdoors. Provide
toys, chews and even a small sacrificialpatch of garden for digging. Indoorsor outdoors your pet needs a bolthole,
a safe haven away from small stickyfingers where they can rest undisturbed.Baby gates are useful barriers for keepingbabies and pets separated- often for thebenefit of both!
3.lntroducing the baby. As the big dayapproaches your house will be crammedwith tonnes of baby paraphernalia.Hopefully your pet will have had plentyof time to sniff and get used to thestrange shapes and smells of cots, prams,highchairs and soft stuffed furry mammalsof all species. The final smell to get toknow is that of baby itself. Bring homefrom the hospital some used blanketsthat have been in contact with your babyso your pet can become familiar with itsscent. Always supervise contact betweenthe baby and the pet.
The majority of pets dote on the newarrival and can become quite protectiveand bonded with "their" new baby. The keyto this happy relationship is to have madeall the necessary changes long before thebaby arrives!
Big is beautiful with bird cagesLike many things in life, when it comes to Birds are messy housekeepers. Removable
buying a birdcage, big is better. Choose the trays at the base of the cage make the tasklongest cage you can afford so that your of cleaning out droppings and seed husksbird can stretch its wings and fly. Birds far less tedious.are not helicopters and cannot utilise tallnarrow cages.
Ideally the cage should be metal. This iseasier to clean and can't be destroyed by aparrot's sharp beak. Remember that parrotsenjoy gnawing, so avoid old cages paintedwith lead paint or with lead welds. Thesepose the threat of lead toxicity for your bird.Similarly new aviaries often use galvanisedmesh. The zinc coating on the wire can beingested and cause toxicity, so it's best toscrub new wire with a vinegar and watersolution prior to introducing the bird.
There's anotherkind of griefManypetowners have experienced the
sorrow that goes hand-in-hand with thedeath of a much-loved pet, be it cat, dog,horse or budgie. The classic 'five stages' ofgrief may often be experienced with sucha sad loss.
What many people do not realise,however, is that pet-owners oftenexperience a different kind of grief. Thisoccurs when a pet runs away, or simplygoes missing. It is known as an 'ambiguousloss'.
With an ambiguous loss, the whereaboutsor cause of death of the pet is unknown.This can occur when the pet has been lostduring a walk, or has run away during astorm or fireworks. The owners mightsuspect the pet has been stolen, or it maysimply have gone missing, as is so oftenthe case with cats. They may fear that theanimal has been killed or injured.
In addition to grief at their own loss theymay feel enormous guilt that they are notwith their pet, and that it may need them.i.e. 'I wasn't there for him when he needed
me'. They may have fear that their pet feelsabandoned by its owner.
The same feelings of grief can occurwhere the animal has been surrendered
to a shelter, for whatever reason. Manyowners love their pets, but simply cannotkeep them anymore. It should never beassumed that someone surrendering his orher pet does not love it.
In some cases of 'lost' pets there is addedguilt because owners don't know whento stop searching for their pet, whetherthey should ever get another, and whento actually start the healthiest part ofgrieving.
Owners can be caught in the denial,anger and sadness phases of grief, butnot move into acceptance. Friends orfamily experiencing this kind of pain havespecial need of our love, patience andunderstanding.
While it is easy to budget for our pets'annual vaccinations and preventativetreatments which, depending on where youlive, might include de-sexing, heartwormprotection, intestinal worming or tickprevention, how many of us really planahead for the 'worst case' scenario?
Many veterinarians working in practicehave been faced with heartbroken owners
who have to 'put down' a much-loved petbecause the cost of treating them is beyondtheir means. In times gone by, veterinarianswere sometimes able to offer short-term
credit to selected clients. Sadly, however,this is now much harder due to bad-debt
accumulation and the high cost of runninga veterinary facility.
As a result, more and more pet ownersare investing in pet insurance as a meansto guarantee that their pet receives theveterinary care they need, when they needit, and without compromising the familybudget. With some 'trauma only' insurancefrom $25/month, and 'full' coverage from$40/month, this begins to look like asensible precaution for the average familywith an adored pet.
We asked a consulting veterinarianat Murdoch University's Pet EmergencyCentre (MPEC) to estimate some initial
costs with a typical trauma case. Using anexample of a cat hit by a car (at midnight),and sustaining minor chest injuries anda simple limb fracture, the costs wereestimated as follows:· initial examination: $190· 12hrs pain relief: $30· 12hrs oxygensupport: $152· once-off chest draining (thoracocentesis):
$75
· 12hrs intensive care: $250· x-rays of chest and limb: $208· intravenous fluid therapy: $175
Thus the immediate overnight expensewith this 24-hour care facility wouldbe in the region of $1080. Assuming asimple limb fracture was located on x-ray,requiring 'internal fixation', one couldestimate at least another $1000 on top ofthis for surgery in private practice.
Veterinary medical care is advancingrapidly. Animals that in the past that wouldhave been euthanased on humane groundscan now be treated aggressively, andwith success in many cases. But the costsincurred can be very high. So if you fear atraumatic decision based on finances, itmay be worth considering pet insurance asan alternative. While vets are not legallyallowed to recommend a specific brandof pet insurance, we can supply you witha number of brochures from different
companies, allowing you to choose theplan that best meets your pet's needs, andprovides you with peace of mind.
Mammary tumours in mice and ratsIf you examine your small rodent's tummy mammary tumours they experience are
you will notice that female ratsand mice have aggressive cancers. These have a tendency6 nipples associated with 6 mammary glands. to grow quickly and spread easily. It mayThe males of thesespecies do not have visible only take weeks for the tumour to becomenipples - a handy hint when decidingwho's almost as large as the mouse itself, so getmum and who's dad! The mammary tissue, any mousy mass checked out by your vethowever, extends far beyond these areas, as soon as you notice it. Unfortunately,reaching right up to the neck and down to the because of the aggressive nature of theseback of the thigh. This means that any growth tumours, euthanasia is often the kindestalong this area is likely to be a mammary option.
tu~our .even if it is not directly associated Rats get a better deal. 80% of theirwith a nipple and mammary gland. mammary tumours are of the more benign
Mammary tumours in rats and mice are variety. Their tumours tend to grow moreextremely common but the prognosis slowly and are less likely to spread. Thesebetween the two species is very different. neat round tumours are easily removed,Unfortunately for mice the most common making rats good candidates for surgery.
When it's more than a stomach acheOwners of 'pleasure' horses are becoming
increasingly aware of a medical problem thatwas previously thought to be limited to horsessuch as racehorses and high-level eventers inhigh stressand high fitness 'occupations'.
Gastric ulcers (stomach ulcers) are nowknown to occur far more often than vets
previously thought, and in a wide variety ofhorses, including pony club mounts, showhacks and pleasure horses. It seems that itnot so much the amount of work horses
have to do that predisposes them to ulcers,but the style in which they live. Evidencesuggests that horses who are managed inthe most 'natural' style possible will be lessprone to ulcers than those kept in 'highintensity' housing such as stable blockswith limited foraging.
Among the symptoms and signs of gastriculcers are:
· repeated bouts of colic
· poor or finicky appetite· crankiness at feed time
· wood-chewing
· 'girthiness' when saddling
· a reluctance to move forwards off the legwhen being ridden
And just to confuse us, some horses willhave gastric ulcers in the absence of anyrecognised clinical symptoms at all!
Definitive diagnosis requires access toa 'gastroscope', which is a specialisedmedical camera 3 metres long. It has toreach from the horse's nose, through itsthroat into the oesophagus (gullet) withinthe chest and onwards into the stomach.
It is much longer than the 'scopes' used toinvestigate ailments of the respiratory tract(usually 1.5m). The extra length allows theveterinarians to visualise the stomach liningand locate and characterise any ulcerativelesions. Unfortunately these 'scopes' arehighly specialised, and for financial andpractical reasons are not routinely carriedby most veterinarians.
As a result, a 'working' diagnosis ofgastric ulcer is often made on the basis ofa clinically positive response to therapy.The most commonly used veterinarymedications are the drugs omeprazo/eand ,both oral preparations. Howevermany people swear by herbal medicationssuch as comfrey leaf, marshmallow root,liquorice and slippery elm. It is importantto remember that herbal remedies are notwithout potential side effects, and have notbeen subjected to drug standards testing.
As with many medical conditions,prevention is always better than cure.Management tips for horse ownersinclude allowing the maximum grazingtime possible. Horses are designed to beon the go and grazing for the bulk of theday. Their stomachs are designed to ingestfrequent small amounts of poor qualityfood. In these circumstances grazingstimulates the production of alkalinesalivary juices. These blend with stomachacids, partly neutralizing them. Horsesthat cannot graze close to 24 hours a daycontinue to produce gastric acid, but it isnot neutralized, thus increasing the risk ofgastric ulcers developing.
If no grazing is available, maintaining asmuch fibre/forage in the diet as possible(given any working constraints or otherhealth problems) may go some way towardspreventing this painful problem.
Avoiding the frustrationof lawn burnMany frustrated gardeners despair at after 12 hours, watering may actu.ally increase
the brown circles of dead lawn indicating the urine scald on the grass.where their dog has urinated. 5 I
.th d
.t h home c aim at le ary c anges, suc as
The grassis killed by the high concentration an increase in salt, a decrease in protein, orof nitrogen in the urine deposited onto a consuming large amounts of tomatoes willsmall area. help. The easiestway to combat this common
Watering the area (if water restrictions allow) problem is to avoid it in the first place. Teachwithin eight hours of urination will dilute the your pet to urinate in a designated area of theurine and help prevent burning. However garden that is sand or gravel.
The Autumn YearsBetter quality veterinary care means that
many pets now live longer than in the past.Their owners have to deal with the 'quality-of-life' issues that come with that increasedlife span.
In the 'autumn' of their lives our cats anddogs may suffer from osteoarthritis andother mobility problems, dementia, kidneyfailure, liver disease, cardiac disease andincontinence. As part of our commitment toour furred family, we need to be guided inmaking the best health and lifestyle decisionswe can forthem. Unfortunately they can't tellus how they feel about these problems.
Most vets agree that regular healthchecks (at least 6-monthly), and in somecases annual blood and urine tests, mayimprove the rates of early disease detectionand therefore management in our olderanimals. Veterinary management andpalliative care (in pet-care 'palliative' isnot restricted to the care of the dying) caninclude the following:· weight management and control (for
arthritis, diabetesand heartdisease)· special diets (diabetes, kidney, liver and
heart disease)
· lifestyle management (continenceissues, arthritis, heart disease)
· medical management using drugs whererequired (arthritis, heart disease).
Most pet owners would not hesitate touse medications to improve quality of lifefor their human family. 50 it should be forthe fur-family.
Unlike in human medicine, when our petsare in their autumn years we start to worryabout decisions on euthanasia. When is theright time? What are the best circumstances(at home or in the hospital)? What are thebenefits to our pet of euthanasia versus a'natural' death?
Answers, or at least a step towards theanswers, can befound during a consultationwith your regular vet. Appropriate veterinarysupport can vastly improve the quality oflife for your older pets. Do not hesitate tomake an appointment to discuss theseissues. Autumnal management can bevery fulfilling for vets, and we will not besurprised by your questions.
There's anotherkind of griefMany pet owners have experienced the
sorrow that goes hand-in-hand with thedeath of a much-loved pet, be it cat, dog,horse or budgie. The classic 'five stages' ofgrief may often be experienced with sucha sad loss.
What many people do not realise,however, is that pet-owners oftenexperience a different kind of grief. Thisoccurs when a pet runs away, or simplygoes missing. It is known as an 'ambiguous/055'.
With an ambiguous loss, the whereaboutsor cause of death of the pet is unknown.This can occur when the pet has been lostduring a walk, or has run away during astorm or fireworks. The owners mightsuspect the pet has been stolen, or it maysimply have gone missing, as is so oftenthe case with cats. They may fear that theanimal has been killed or injured.
In addition to grief at their own loss theymay feel enormous guilt that they are notwith their pet, and that it may need them.i.e. 'I wasn't there for him when he needed
me'. They may have fear that thei r pet feelsabandoned by its owner.
The same feelings of grief can occurwhere the animal has been surrendered
to a shelter, for whatever reason. Manyowners love their pets, but simply cannotkeep them anymore. It should never beassumed that someone surrendering his orher pet does not love it.
In some cases of 'lost' pets there is addedguilt because owners don't know whento stop searching for their pet, whetherthey should ever get another, and whento actually start the healthiest part ofgrieving.
Owners can be caught in the denial,anger and sadness phases of grief, butnot move into acceptance. Friends orfamily experiencing this kind of pain havespecial need of our love, patience andunderstanding.
While it is easy to budget for our pets'annual vaccinations and preventativetreatments which, depending on where youlive, might include de-sexing, heartwormprotection, intestinal worming or tickprevention, how many of us really planahead for the 'worst case' scenario?
Many veterinarians working in practicehave been faced with heartbroken owners
who have to 'put down' a much-loved petbecause the cost of treating them is beyondtheir means. In times gone by, veterinarianswere sometimes able to offer short-term
credit to selected clients. Sadly, however,this is now much harder due to bad-debt
accumulation and the high cost of runninga veterinary facility.
As a result, more and more pet ownersare investing in pet insurance as a meansto guarantee that their pet receives theveterinary care they need, when they needit, and without compromising the familybudget. With some 'trauma only' insurancefrom $25/month, and 'full' coverage from$40/month, this begins to look like asensible precaution for the average familywith an adored pet.
We asked a consulting veterinarianat Murdoch University's Pet EmergencyCentre (MPEC) to estimate some initial
costs with a typical trauma case. Using anexample of a cat hit by a car (at midnight),and sustaining minor chest injuries anda simple limb fracture, the costs wereestimated as follows:· initial examination: $190
· 12hrs pain relief: $30
· 12hrs oxygen support: $152
· once-off chest draining (thoracocentesis):$75
· 12hrs intensive care: $250· x-raysof chestand limb: $208· intravenous fluid therapy: $175
Thus the immediate overnight expensewith this 24-hour care facility wouldbe in the region of $1080. Assuming asimple limb fracture was located on x-ray,requiring 'internal fixation', one couldestimate at least another $1000 on top ofthis for surgery in private practice.
Veterinary medical care is advancingrapidly. Animals that in the past that wouldhave been euthanased on humane groundscan now be treated aggressively, andwith success in many cases. But the costsincurred can be very high. So if you fear atraumatic decision based on finances, itmay be worth considering pet insurance asan alternative. While vets are not legallyallowed to recommend a specific brandof pet insurance, we can supply you witha number of brochures from different
companies, allowing you to choose theplan that best meets your pet's needs, andprovides you with peace of mind.
Mammary tumours in mice and ratsIf you examine your small rodent's tummy mammary tumours they experience are
you will notice that female ratsand mice have aggressive cancers. These have a tendency6 nipples associated with 6 mammary glands. to grow quickly and spread easily. It mayThe males of thesespecies do not have visible only take weeks for the tumour to becomenipples - a handyhint when decidingwho's almost as large as the mouse itself, so getmum and who's dad! The mammary tissue, any mousy mass checked out by your vethowever, extends far beyond these areas, as soon as you notice it. Unfortunately,reaching right up to the neck and down to the because of the aggressive nature of theseback of the thigh. This means that any growth tumours, euthanasia is often the kindestalong this area is likely to be a mammary option.
tu~our .even if it is not directly associated Rats get a better deal. 80% of theirwith a nipple and mammary gland. mammary tumours are of the more benign
Mammary tumours in rats and mice are variety. Their tumours tend to grow moreextremely common but the prognosis slowly and are less likely to spread. Thesebetween the two species is very different. neat round tumours are easily removed,Unfortunately for mice the most common making rats good candidates for surgery.
