Often when we hand over a bottle of pills for a cat who is a little under the weather, we are confronted with an expression of dread on the part of an owner contemplating the prospect of having to actually administer those pills. We know what you're thinking: it's easy for us, after years of [...]
Often when we are in the process of investigating a patient’s illness, we may recommend to you that we perform blood tests to help us in reaching a diagnosis. In veterinary practice many of the tests that are available to us are much like the ones you would be familiar with from your own experiences [...]
Who me...???? Urinary incontinence is the inappropriate passage of urine. It can be caused by congenital abnormalities, which the animal is born with, or acquired disorders. Signs of urinary incontinence include the involuntary dribbling of urine, which may be noticed as puddles left behind particularly when the dog has been sitting or sleeping [...]
What are mast cell tumours? Mast cell tumours are one of the most common type of skin tumours in dogs. They arise from mast cells, which are a special type of cell which play a part in the animal’s immune system. They are primarily found in the skin and play a part in inflammatory [...]
The thyroid gland is a small pink gland that lies in the neck to either side of the trachea. It produces hormones called thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which play an important role in energy metabolism in the body. When the thyroid gland becomes overactive and produces too much of these hormones, the condition is [...]
Skin growths are one of the conditions we see very commonly. Because the skin is such a complex organ and contains so many different cell types, we can get a fascinating variety of primary skin tumours, cysts and so forth in the skin. There is also the potential for the skin to develop secondary tumours [...]
The stifle joint has the same structure as the human knee and the cruciate ligaments are located inside the knee and join the femur, in the thigh, and tibia, in the calf area, together. They are called cruciate ligaments because they cross over each other inside the knee. The cranial cruciate ligament limits twisting and [...]
Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s disease) is a reasonably common disease of middle-aged to elderly dogs. It affects both male and female dogs equally but tends to occur more commonly in smaller breeds. Cushing’s disease results in an ongoing overproduction of cortisol (a natural hormone that is normally produced in times of stress) from the adrenal glands which [...]
What is the pancreas? The pancreas is an organ in the abdomen which produces both insulin (needed for control of blood sugar levels) and also digestive enzymes which are needed for the normal digestive processes of the animal. The pancreas is one of the most underrated organs of the body. It is just as necessary [...]
Pre anaesthetic testing helps us to care for your pet. We recommend it before placing your pet under anaesthetic. As in human medicine the anaesthetics available are extremely safe and as a result the risk is greatly minimised on a healthy animal. However, if your pet is not “healthy” complications can occur both during and [...]
