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For us, cats are part of our extended family with whom we share our love and even our home! But, not everything we do as humans can be shared with them. For example is giving paracetamol to cats . This is not an uncommon case that we encounter as vets, as cat owners attempt to treat their cats for pain or fever without first consulting a veterinarian Cats face a greater risk with a single dose of paracetamol than dogs do Parecetomol, in the human body is broken down to non toxic substances by the glucoronide pathway in the liver. Cats inherently lack this pathway making them vulnerable to acetaminophen toxicity Signs of toxicity may be seen 1- 4 hrs or sometimes 24 hours after ingestion of acetaminophen. The cats may experience rapid breathing, depression, drooling, swelling of the face and paws, dark urine and muddy gums. Sometimes the first sign of acetaminophen toxicity is death Cats with paracetamol ingestion is definitely an emergency. Prompt veterinary treatment is es...

Every month I come across pets with nerve disorders and it's heartbreaking to see them living with it. This post is dedicated to all pet lovers to minimise their pets from getting neuropathies  A Nerve disorder is the layman term to any disease or illness involving the nervous system. In medicine these are called a neuropathy (plural: neuropathies) Reasons for neuropathies  1. Congenital  2. Genetics 3. Contagious diseases - canine distemper, rabies, feline herpesvirus 4. Non contagious diseases - cognitive dysfunctions, dementia, brain or spinal trauma, systemic illness  Congenital neuropathies are uncommon while the rest of the reasons are equally common in pets Ways to avoid neuropathies in pets 1. Do not breed dogs with genetic neuropathies  Breeds such as Rottweilers are prone to genetically derived nerve disorders. Those who have been diagnosed with such conditions should not be used for breeding purposes  2. Vaccinate your pets routinely ...

What a kick-start already? Apologies for not keeping in touch with the folks for two days as I was working hard on my patients and was too tired to blog I had four critical patients right on the 1st of February; three of them were down with dog tick fever and one with viral diarrhoea Talking about tick fever in dogs, it's raising its head again these days due to the hot weather here in Sri Lanka. The ticks who were less active during the cold weather are now more active and are laying more eggs. There will be an increase in the dog tick population in the months to come as it will be more hot outside Every week from January to until now, the number of both contagious and non contagious diseases have increased due to the prevailing hot weather and all you have to do now is to protect your pets from these diseases and illnesses  Here are some important tips: 1. Vaccinate your pets on time Give space to your veterinarian to explain to you the importance of routine a...

Add caption Just like for your dog, your cat too has two must-give annual vaccinations which is the ARV and the Tri Cat The ARV is given against Rabies to protect your kitty cat. This assures your protection as well The Tri Cat vaccination is active against three cat viral diseases namely, feline panleukopaenia ("cat parvo"), feline herpesvirus and feline calicivirus (both called "cat flu") Make sure you give your best to the cat by giving these two vaccinations Vaccinations can be initiated at 6 weeks of age and by 16 weeks it's recommended that your cat's vaccinations course for the first year are over

If you want to make your pet live longer remember not to give acetaminophen ever!!! Acetaminophen toxicity is not an uncommon clinical condition that is encountered and is mainly caused due to ignorance and lack of awareness by pet owners. Although this drug is not toxic to owners up to a certain level, dogs and especially cats do not resist. Symptoms of toxicity may occur within 24 hours of drug administration. You may identify an affected cat or dog by the following signs: Lethargy Swollen face (facial edema) Bluish tongue and gums Drooling Difficulty in breathing The reason for toxicity in dogs and cats is that they lack the glutathione conjugating enzyme which converts the toxic acetaminophen to non toxic glutathione sulfate. Animals affected by acetaminophen toxicity need emergency and critical care by a veterinarian.