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Vet Pets Magazine
December 2014
VINCE THE VET on festive treats to avoid
MALCOLM D WELSHMAN shares a Christmas tale
COMPETITION: Does your pet have the Xmas Factor?
Vet Pets Magazine
Festive treats to keep away from your pet!
It’s that time of year again when our pets as members of our families will no doubt be getting their own Christmas stockings. But, there are many supplements and other edible nasties that go into our pets’ treats. Expert holistic vet Vince MacNally BVSc. VetMFHom MRCVS - Vince the Vet - shares his thoughts on the good, bad and ugly of festive pet treats.
VINCE THE VET
Vet Pets Magazine
Christmas Day is fast
approaching, the shops are full of glittering gifts and there’s a twinkle in many a pet’s eye as they imagine the surprises Santa might spring come Christmas morning! Topping the list will be a tasty treat. The more health conscious will probably be angling for something a little more nutritious. A few might even be toying with the idea of a nutritional aid to weight loss or sachets of detox powder, as they dust off bikinis and trunks in anticipation of the holiday adverts!
Pets have a great knack of
letting us know what they want,
so no problem there. They do
struggle to read labels however,
so let’s help them discover what’s inside the supplements
and other edible gifts that
might be jockeying for a place
on their festive wish lists!
EvolutionOur pets’ digestive systems are
miracles of evolution. Over
millions of years they’ve
perfected the ability to extract from food, the nutrients
essential for good health.
These nutrients occur in nature
as rich complexes of proteins, sugars, vitamins, minerals and
many other elements. Good,
nutritious,
health-
promoting
supplements
therefore, contain these
multi-nutrient
complexes in
abundance.
Nitty grittyTo learn how
good a
supplement is,
you have to ignore the
wrapping and
product
description and
get straight to the nitty gritty of
the ingredients label.
Here the components that
make up the product can be found. Beware being led astray
by heart-tugging pictures of
happy pets and wonderful
testimonials!
The Good, The Bad and The UglyNext, the fun bit; a game you
might both like to play in the
what-do-we-do-now post-prandial lull after the turkey,
pud and sprouts! With
smartphones at the ready,
grade the supplement as good,
bad or ugly, based on the guidelines that follow.
Try not to fall out if you can’t
agree, no matter how much
sherry you’ve had! Extra marks
can be awarded for the most credible evidence produced for
a particular point of view,
following a Google search. That
should settle it!
Remember, it’s what’s on the
ingredient label that counts.
Quoting descriptions loses
marks!
The GoodTop of the tree are supplements
rich in health-promoting
nutrients, as they occur in
nature.
Vince with Dog
Vet Pets Magazine
Look for:
● premium quality
● pure or organic
● whole foods
● natural plant and animal
extracts
Tip: these supplements
generally contain a relatively
small number of named plants,
or natural plant and animal extracts. They cost more to
produce and so command a
higher price.
Bonus points: organic ingredients are a definite plus,
so the more the merrier!
The BadNot so good, are supplements containing indigestible
ingredients or synthetic
‘nutrients’.
Look for: ‘Fillers’ or ‘bulking’
agents, which are used to dilute active ingredients. They can’t
be digested by dogs and cats
and so go in one end and out
the other:
● cellulose - plant cell walls
● microcrystalline cellulose - a
smaller version of the above
● silica - mainly found in rocks
and sand
● silicon dioxide - as above
Claim bonus points for
unearthing and naming other
fillers, and giving reasons why
they’ve been included!
Synthetic additives are used
because they are cheap
compared to naturally
occurring nutrients. A number are manufactured from
industrial raw materials, such
as petrol, coal tar and
hydrogenated sugar treated
with acetone (ascorbic acid or vitamin C).
● synthetic vitamins
● synthetic amino acids
● genetically modified
organisms
Tip: synthetic additives appear
as E numbers or individually
named ingredients, such as: ascorbic acid; vitamin C;
vitamin A; vitamin D; vitamin
E; niacin; folic acid; biotin;
lysine; vitamin B12; methionine
etc. Double points for whoever finds the supplement with the
longest list of additives!
The UglyBottom of the ladder are products containing potentially
harmful chemical additives,
used as lubricants, glues,
preservatives, artificial colours
and flavours:
Examples are:
Titanium oxide - a pigment.
Sodium benzoate - a
preservative which can convert
to benzene, a known
carcinogen.
Magnesium stearate or stearic
acid - a lubricant which a published study showed may
suppress the immune system.
Unethical animal products -
may not be harmful, but who
wants to encourage the use ofIngredients like chondroitin
which may come from
inhumanely harvested shark
cartilage or battery hens?
Triple points for an online
search and adding a few more
to this list.
That’s it! Your pet will have a much better idea now of what
to ask Santa to bring.
So good luck with the glass of
milk and hanging up the
stocking!
Vince MacNally BVSc. VetMFHom (1998) MRCVS is an expert holistic vet. He qualified as a veterinary surgeon from Liverpool University in 1983. He went on to gain the VetMFHom qualification in 1998. Vince has 30 years experience of using a wide range of natural remedies, therapies and supplements in pets, including acupuncture, homoeopathy, herbs and nutritional supplements. He is currently a Partner in Vince The Vet® https://www.vincethevet.co.uk
Vet Pets Magazine
CAT LOVER AND owner David Cliff, MD of Gedanken, a company specialising in coaching-
based support and personal development, reviews two purrfect gifts for cat lovers.
I was delighted to be asked to review two new offerings from Polly Horner. Polly is an artist and an illustrator known for her precise yet quirky paintings that capture the essence of cat personalities. Based in Rye in East Sussex she won the book trust early years award with her children’s book Polly and the North star published in 2002 (Ryan).
Her two current offerings include ‘Cats: Best in Show – a trump card game’ and ‘Cat Postcards’. Best in show is a card game of cat breeds where one acquires cards by trumping different cat attributes by breed. Everything from identifying the grooming level through to the intelligence levels, independent personalities and size of cats, form criteria for winning the game. It’s simple enough to play. It does give one pause for thought and the potential to
pick up a considerable amount of detailed knowledge for one immersed in the cat field. Each card gives the player a general overview of each pedigree breed’s key attributes accepting of course, there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ cat, of any breed.
At £8.95 including vat, this is a wonderful stocking filler for those who want to know different cat breeds better and have a bit of fun on the way.Cat Postcards draws from Best in Show images and provides a selected number of postcards drawn from the best in show series.
These 21 postcards retailing at £8.95 come in a block pack and are tastefully enclosed in a protective cover. Inside the cover is a key to all of the postcards which are just ready to tear off and send to your friends. The reality is, I feel only a minority will actually make it to the post-box and instead will find their way onto notice boards and cherished walls of fame ably supported by blobs of bluetack! Some may
find their way into small frames to stand on tables for posterity.
These subtle images of cats drawn true to life and with no background have the simplistic quality of allowing you to reflect on the nature of each breed, rather than see these cats placed in some sort of picture based context however fun or endearing that may be.As with Best in Show, there is a little bit of sophistication about all of this and this makes for a thoughtful gift to and from cat lovers everywhere.
Don’t tell Pets Magazine’s editor, but I shall not be returning these anytime soon!
Especially for Cat Lovers
READER OFFER: Please
visit the following page of our
blog to get both products direct
from the retailer for a discount
using our special code: http://www.petsmag.co.uk/blog/
reader-offer-cat-postcards-
trump-cards.
Cat Postcards
Vet Pets Magazine
The chatter of voices
emanating from my waiting
room one early December
afternoon stopped abruptly as
I entered and ground to a halt
self-consciously. Eight little faces peered up at me from
the circle that surrounded Mrs
Jennings, a teacher from the nearby primary
school. It was a very seasonal looking circle. Five
lads were in dressing gowns, with red-checked tea
towels wrapped round their heads. A couple of
girls had white cardboard wings attached to their
backs. And the remaining lad was virtually
invisible, swamped by an oversized sheepskin
coat, inside out, with its sleeves hanging down to his knees and the collar over his head - shepherd
or one of his flock, I couldn’t quite decide.
‘We’ve just been doing a dress rehearsal for our
nativity play,’ said Mrs Jennings, by way of explanation.
A Christmas Crisis for Gerry the Gerbil
MALCOM D WELSHMAN is a retired vet and author of three pet novels. The first, Pets in a Pickle, with a foreword by James Herriot's son, reached number two on Kindle's bestseller list. The third, Pets Aplenty, has just been published. The Sun says: 'It’s perfect for animal lovers the world over.' Malcolm shares with Pets Magazine readers this festive short story, one of many stories based on his years as a vet.
Vet Pets Magazine
‘I’m one of the five wise men,’
said a tea-towelled boy proudly,
peering up at me through heavy
black-rimmed pebble glasses.
‘Five?’ I queried, looking at Mrs
Jennings.
She shrugged. ‘We had
difficulty in finding parts for everyone.’
The boy with the glasses
turned to one of the angels
who was clutching a small cardboard box, her thumbs
keeping the lid firmly in
place.
‘Well go on, Emma,’ he said, pushing her forward,
crushing her wings, ‘show him
Gerry.’
‘Leave off Ben,’ said the girl, pushing him back with her
elbow in a very un-angelic
fashion.
Mrs Jennings hastily intervened. ‘Now ... Now ...
Behave yourselves, you two.’
‘Er ... let’s go through to the
consulting room, shall we?’ I
said.
‘Can we all come?’ said a
muffled voice from the depths
of the sheepskin.
‘Only if everyone’s on their best
behaviour. Understand?’ said
Mrs Jennings.
Tea towels nodded, angel wings
flapped and the sheepskin coat
wagged its sleeves, as their
teacher ushered them through,
Emma elbowing her way to the front with the cardboard box.
She lifted it on to the consulting
table and seven anxious faces
and a headless coat clustered round as I cautiously took the
lid off.
Inside, curled up on a cushion
of cottonwool was a brown and
white rodent, not much bigger
than a mouse, but with much longer legs and a long, hairy
tail. The creature lay on its side,
motionless, with no visible
signs of life.
Ben stood on tip toe and peered
onto the box, his pebble
spectacles, sliding down his
nose. ‘I reckon he’s a goner,’ he
declared, giving the box a vigorous poke.
‘Don’t do that,’ said Emma
crossly, smacking his hand.
‘You’ll frighten Gerry.’
‘Not if he’s snuffed it, I won’t,’
retorted Ben, pushing his
spectacles back up his nose.
I didn’t like to say it but I happened to think Ben was
right. But the sudden jolt made
the rodent’s whiskers twitch. So
it hadn’t passed on. Not yet.
‘He’s a very poorly gerbil,’ I
said quietly.
Carefully I lifted out the
prostrate creature. I could see a smear of blood on the
white fur of its belly.
Parting the fur, a tear in
the skin was clearly visible.
‘Can anyone tell me what
happened?’ I asked.
There was silence for a
moment. Then, a rush of words from Emma.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Furiously wiping them away,
she sobbed, ‘I went to look at the gerbils and saw Gerry was
sick. He was lying in a corner of
the cage, not moving.
‘I called Mrs Jennings and she said Gerry was injured and that
we ought to take him to the
vet’s.’
‘The other gerbil attacked him,’ said the sheepskin coat.
The creature lay on its side, motionless,
with no visible signs of life.
Vet Pets Magazine
‘Males fight. Says
so in my pet
book.’
‘They shouldn’t have been
together,’ said
Ben, knowingly.
‘Can you do anything for him
Mr Vet?’ sobbed
Emma, sniffing
back a tear.
‘Naw ... he’s had
his chips,’ said
Ben gruffly,
giving the box
another poke.
‘I’ll try stitching him up,’ I said,
pulling the box out of Ben’s
reach.
Once the children had trooped
out, I took the gerbil down to
the prep room. Once
anaesthetised, it didn’t take
long to clip the hair away from the rodent’s wound, clean it up
and insert two dissolvable
sutures.
Gerry was collected by a delighted delegation, devoid of
their nativity wear, the
following day.
‘Didn’t snuff it then,’ grunted Ben, pushing his spectacles up
his nose.
Just before Christmas, I
received a large brown
envelope from the school.
Inside were 18 hand-made
Christmas cards from all the pupils in Mrs Jennings’ class.
One card in particular made me
smile.
It was a crayon drawing of a brown rat-like creature, which I
guessed was meant to be Gerry,
the gerbil. It was asleep in a
crib with a large silver star
above it. Below was written:
‘Dear Mr Vet,
Thank you for saving Gerry. I
was very worried he might have
died or something worse might have happened.
Happy Christmas from Emma.’
*********************
Malcolm D. Welshman is author of Pets Aplenty published by Austin Macauley Publishers 0207 038 8312 at £7.99; Kindle version £0.97 www.malcolmwelshman.co.uk.
Gerry was saved
Vet Pets Magazine
Pets Product Picks
Ruffwear Sun Shower Rain JacketRRp £50.00Stockist: Cotswold Outdoor
We’re loving this waterproof jacket for dogs. It’s perfect both in cooler months and during spring showers.
The Ruffwear Sun Shower is weatherproof rain jacket built for the trail. Waterproof fabric helps extend adventures into wet weather by keeping dogs comfortable. Non-insulated design allows for use in warm climates and can be worn over insulating layers for cold climates. Full coverage minimizes wet, muddy dog cleanup.
Beautiful tents for children & dogs!
We absolutely love the new range of
tents from The Raj Tent Club. They
are perfect for both children and fur
kids!
Visit: http://www.rajtentclub.com.
Vet Pets Magazine
Dog About TownHow to raise a happy dog in the city
By Louise Glazebrook
Illustrated by Ping Zhu.
£12.99 HB
Dog about Town, is a fun yet informative manual to your mongrel. Pooling together her years of experience, Louise will educate you on everything from puppy training to feeding schedules, understanding your dog’s tail talk to the importance of urban etiquette. You’ll learn your dog’s anatomy, the importance of micro-chipping and mental stimulation and what yummy treats to make your four-legged friend.
There’s even advice for more fashion-forward dog owners - what to wear on a dog walk! Because your doggy Instagram account needs a #OOTD (outfit of the day) pic! Available from Amazon.
Bespoke Cushions www.digilabeluk.com offers cutting edge, top quality
digital photo printing onto various home furnishings, clothing and other personal items including quilt
covers, pillows, cushions, dog beds, tablecloths, table
runners, napkins, aprons, sport towels, sports bags,
beach bags and sarongs, with new products being
added monthly.
Users can upload their own images and designs using
the inbuilt configurator and have the option on some
products of customising the size, allowing the user to
create a unique, one-off product.
Promo code: PETSMAG1 (Valid until 31/12/14)
Vet Pets Magazine
Growling Tums dog food
All Growling Tums products are hypoallergenic; natural and without artificial ingredients or additives, and are composed using quality British farm produce.
Growling Tums sell directly through their own website keeping prices to a minimum (RRP is £39.99.)
Visit: http://growlingtums.co.uk/
Festive treats for dogs & cats
From Lilys Kitchen
We’re loving the festive range of treats and dog and cat
food for the Christmas season. The Advent Calendar
contains healthy snacks for a change and the treats are
very festive with turkey and cranberry. Lily’s Kitchen also does a lovely range of wet and dry food for the season,
which are canine taste tester gave a definite paws up to.
Pictured: Advent Calendar, Lulu Fox Christmas Tree
Decoration, £6.95, Christmas Biscuits, £2.99.
Vet Pets Magazine
Does your pet have the Xmas Factor?We're searching for the most festive of pets for our #PetXmasFactor
competition. Up for grabs are three cushions from DigilabelUK that will
feature your pet.
To enter, simply take a photograph of your pet
looking Christmassy. Then, visit the Pets
Magazine Facebook Page or Twitter page
(@Pets_Mag) and post your pet photo with the
hashtag #PetXmasFactor. IMPORTANT - it must
include the hashtag #PetXmasFactor for the
entry to count.
The deadline for entries is Wednesday December 24 at 12 noon. Three
lucky readers will win one of three microfibre 20 x 20 cushions of their
pet from DigiLabelUK.com. Winners will need to email the photo they
would like to use on their cushion to [email protected].
Terms & Conditions There will be three winners for this competition - all entries sent in after the above date will not be counted. The competition is open to all pets. All entrants must be either uploaded to our Facebook page or Twitter page and must include the hashtag - #PetXmasFactor. The deadline for photos to be sent in is Wednesday December 24 at 12 noon. Three winners will be announced and contacted on Wednesday December 24 2014. This competition is only open to UK residents. By submitting this image you are allowing us to use it for marketing purposes. Winners are required to send an additional photo of their pet that they would like to feature on their cushion via email by January 31st 2015.