29/11/2008 by Arielle.

Everyday that we work as a vet in a small animal practice, we statistically will have at least one euthanasia. My day yesterday was statistically worse and I had 3 very emotional euthanasias of 3 very ill and old and loved pets - 2 cats and a dog.

One cat did something that I have never experienced before and maybe because of the strain of the day, tears welled up into my eyes when I saw it. I had to quickly wipe them away before the grieving owner (a man) noticed so that I did not appear too unprofessional.

Holly was a beautiful 15 year old silver tabby in the end stages of kidney failure. Her kidneys had shut down and all she could do was sit in front of a water bowl and drink but still she remained very dehydrated. I offered the owner the option of putting her onto a drip, but thankfully he declined as it is such a short term option with cats at the end of a very unpleasant and very common condition.

As Holly was so dehydrated and comfortable on the table (she lay down purring as her owner fussed and cried at her head); I chose to give the lethal injection into her kidney rather than her vein. It is not as quick an option as giving it into the vein, but it means no noisy clippers and holding Holly still to find a vein.

She did not even react to the injection but continued to purr as her owner told her over and over again how much he loved her. I noticed her slipping away, still purring and then she rubbed her cheek onto his hand and her head dropped and she went. It was as if she could sense she was going and she gave him a final affectionate farewell. Cats never cease to amaze me.

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20/11/2008 by Arielle.

I has a busy morning consulting yesterday and had one emergency rushed ahead of all my other clients waiting in the waiting room. It was a kitten called Freddie who was salivating profusely. Freddie is a female and cross between a tabby and Maine Coone - a gorgeous fluffy ginger big kitten!I rushed to the the hospital round the back to find that my conscientious nurses had already given Freddie the once over and taken her temperature for me. They has looked her in mouth which is the first thing I did, and noticed a red ring around the tip of her tongue - it looked very sore and Freddie felt very sorry for herself as the saliva formed a little moustache around her mouth and upper lip.

The nurses were taking bets on what Freddie could have licked. Sophie was sure that she had licked some boiling tea. I thought maybe also a toilet block that some people use.

When I called her owners through and treated Freddie with strong painkillers, antibiotics and soft food; they knew immediately what she had done - she had licked the kettle.

She is apparently the most inquisitive of their 2 kittens and they jsut couldn’t keep her off the kitchen counters. I explained that this may be the solution and she may now stay well clear of the kitchen counters altogether!

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08/11/2008 by Arielle.

Jem is a gorgeous Blue Merle Border Collie. She was a rescue dog and being a typical intelligent Border Collie, she has a slightly nervous disposition.

Her owner knows of her fear of fireworks and managed to get very organised for this season (with bonfire night on a Wednesday this year, we seem to have more fireworks then ever) and she purchased a ‘Sounds Scary’ cd months ago. Jem was made to listen to fireworks on the cd to completely desensitise her. Her owner  said it worked so well and eventually Jem was just sleeping peacefully through the cd.

Jem came in today as she had signs of a bladder infection or cystitis. She was too scared to go out and wee in the garden last thing at night as she usually did and was not going at all. This led to the urine sitting in her bladder for far longer than normal and the bacteria then multiplying happily.

I tried very hard to collect a urine sample from Jem. I took her for a walk round the back where so many dogs wee but being a typical Collie, she just wanted to look for her owner  and did not sniff the ground at all. We knew she had not emptied her bladder since 3 that morning. We did have some success just as they were leaving - she weed by the reception desk and I was finally able to test her urine.

Jem did have to be treated for a cystitis, but the cause was fireworks!

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