I'm a vet, AMA!

[KarlDilkington]

I am a co-director of quite a large practice with 7 small animal branches and a central hospital, plus farm, equine and exotic clients. I mainly do small animals but also do some farm and equine. Happy to answer any questions, but please don't expect me to diagnose anything or advise on treatment plans over the net

My cat has been diagnosed with idiopathic cystitis and now has Royal Canin Urinary biscuits which seems to have made a big difference. He is 11 and hasn’t had a bout in the last five years, which is when he started on the bisuits. Before, I had capsules that I had to sprinkle on his food, water fountains, Feliway and about two trips per year to the vet for antibiotics. Do you think there is anything other than these biscuits that is cheaper that would work as well? We have half a dozen cats, with the other five not having cystitis, so they all have to eat the same biscuits and they have big appetites!

I find the service at the Vets really good. One stop shop. Why can’t humans be treated in the same way?

@AnnabelC answering as I work in the NHS. Demand is insanely high for human healthcare (hence the wait for appts) and often we struggle to get staff. Radiologists are in short supply for example, as are theatre staff (certainly where I am). Lots of specialties do have one stop shops, but also sometimes you need a multi-disciplinary team to review results and often they only meet once or twice a week. Sadly one stop shops are not always efficient either, and it is much more cost effective to have patients waiting around than expensive medical staff. We are at a point where we are redesigning pathways to push as many patients through as efficiently as we can, and that's not always in a shorter timeframe hence less ideal patient experience wise. Urgent appts, such as where cancer is suspected, are treated differently though.

Thank you so much for your reply Orcinus. It just seems so efficient at the Vet. Medicines, tests, operations all together but as you says there are other considerations for humans and so many of us. Thank you for what you do.

I have a dog who is mixed breed (not sure what, rescued and Mum was pregnant stray), he’s 15 months old and we are having a baby in September, anything we can do to help prepare him for the change?

I'd work on his training. Get it ship shape. Stuff like instant recall, sit, drop etc. Gives you more confidence in him and reminds him of your leadership. I find that the first few days the baby seems so new and interesting to the dog, but before long the baby just smells like you and the rest of the pack so all is good. Just don't leave the dog out - he still needs his mum too

How do you know when it’s time to let a beloved pet go? We have a nearly 13 year old (in 2 weeks) lab who doesn’t (can’t) walk far any more but is happy in herself. I do think she has a touch of dementia (is that possible?) as she can’t work out the back door is open if she’s around the side of it! But to me she seems happy to see us every morning and can still walk around the garden, I fear letting her go on and on because we all love her so much, will I know when she’s had enough?? 😢

It's the impossible question often but I do tend to say a day too soon is better than a day too late. With my dogs, there's been a light in the eye that seems to go out and then I know.

I’m thinking of getting a dog, I have a nearly one year old and nearly 4 year old, do you think I should wait until they are older and which breed would you recommend?

One and 4 year old children? I'd probably wait until you are confident the kids will listen when they are told to leave the dog alone - let it sleep, don't pull it's tail etc. Otherwise you can be asking for trouble. Breed wise probably something like a labrador... But I always reccommend them ha.

Do you find yourself making different decisions depending on whether the animal is a pet or a commercial animal i.e. child's pony versus a racehorse?

Yes a lot of decisions do vary depending on the owners and what job the animal does. Often a pony can be nursed along as it's just used for hacking, but a racehorse can only raced when it is 100%. There is so much variation so hard to put down in one reply!

How are you finding time to answer all these questions?! Great thread! All the vets I know are too exhausted to do much after work!

Haha I am doing it in bursts as you can see - I only really get time to sit with my laptop a couple of times a week. Not only due to work but due to children and horses and other pets also!

@mononoaware1907 Oh I see! No, lots of cats are so fussy - if she will only eat the wet then so be it! Better than nothing.

ever seen Vet Ranch on Youtube?

Can't say I have

how do you deal with allergies? a relative wanted to be a vet but during an internship discovered they reacted badly to the environment (previously only hayfever was known). I know that allergies can strike anytime.

Yes it can be an issue for many but often people love the work so much they just battle through it. We have a couple of nurses who have constant colds due to allergies but love their jobs so they just get on with it. I've been lucky I don't seem to have any reactions.

and pregnancy? can you practice during pregnancy or do you deal with too risky substances?

I can't do large animal or equine when pregnant as this is too risky, so stick to small animals. You can't go into x rays of course, try to avoid any obviously infected faeces stuff like that.

When dealing with overweight pets do you judge the owner, especially if they too are overweight? One of my cats is 7.1kg and has been advised to lose weight. She isn't so much fat as muscular and strong

Ermmm maybe you sometimes think you are wasting your time when an owner clearly doesn't think their animal is fat. But you put your point across and after that it is up to the owner. If the pet becomes exceptionally obese then obviously it is a welfare concern. And I hate to say it but soooo often we hear 'hes just muscly!'

@HollieBobs

Sorry, at least a 3 hour drive away!

I recently lost my dc to cancer. I have another cat same age but different litter. He seems to be doing ok in fact he's a better behaved cat now but feel like he needs company or someone to knock into shape!! He's nearly 14 is it a wise idea?

Cats can get very stressed with another cat in the house. You know yours best - would you be prepared for potentially several months of turmoil and spraying? This happened to me... it was not pleasant! Relative harmony now though!

More sadly why is there such a high suicide rate amongst vets? Can nothing be done to help reduce vets stress levels? Sorry to ask that question if you don't want to answer that's ok

We have reduced vets working days to 4 a week, which I think helps. But it's a stressful job and there's not much getting away from that. I think if vets didnt have to deal with owners and just worked on treating animals it would be excellent for them, as we aren't all people-persons. But I'm not sure what realistically can be done.

. Lost my beautiful dog about 6 weeks ago and we are all missing her hugely. We need a dog in our lives and fancy a labradoodle but some of my friends are less than enthusiastic - are cross breeds a bad idea? ( and, thank you - if you are anything like my lovely vet, she made a terrible time bearable with her kindness, understanding and professionalism)

Crossbreeds are a good idea actually. Less genetic problems, cheaper insurance fees... I like labradoodles. Just make sure you brush them every day as so many don't and they get very painful matts.

I have a Netherland dwarf doe who is about 2 years old. She has enlarged mammalry glands and is not spayed as vet advised it will never go if I spay her. So far these glands have not changed in size. What is your opinion on this? Thanks

Why does my dog keep eating grass? Every time I let him out he eats grass, to the point he has spent the last hour barking to go out, when I let him out, he eats grass, I’m now sitting here putting up with the barking rather than let him eat more grass.

If he's not doing it to make himself vomit then he's potentially lacking fibre, or has worms, has poor digestion, or is just greedy and likes eating. Make sure he is wormed monthly and perhaps try spreading his meals across the day to combat hunger.

@Nixee2231 All of us at our practice care immensely about all animals and would certainly be upset at the things you talk about. But you do have to have a certain practicality when it comes to death. I would recommend applying to the PDSA or local vets to shadow the nurses and see how you get on. Are you realistically going to be able to assist the vets in putting down an animal, then bagging it and slinging it into a freezer? It's not an easy job and features a lot of death and hurt animals.

@MinorRSole I concur with the E&L / PetPlan consensus.

@EdWinchester There's a bit on this upthread.

I read today that 90% of owners do not want to be in the room when their dog is PTS (understandably I guess) which results in most dogs final moments frantically looking for their owner as they die. Is this true?

Usually we sedate the dog whilst the owner is there. They say goodbye and leave, and then we administer the euth. So the dogs are pretty much asleep by the time they actually pass away.

What sort of clients do vets most enjoy dealing with? E.g. those who clearly love their pets, listen to advice and who don't tell the vet what to do?

Just those who trust me really. Who don't think that because they googled it they know better, or who look down on my younger vets for "looking about 12". Lots of people lack very basic courtesy!

@branleuse

Unfortunately I really can't advise that over this thread. I would strongly recommend speaking to your vet though

What are your thoughts on when to spay larger dogs? I’ve got a 10 month old golden retriever and have heard for breeds prone to hip problems later is better.

I'd say a year for a retriever is about right. Like I said upthread, hips problems are mainly down to genes and over exercising as a juvenile IMO.