Caulfield Veterinary Clinic

He's Just Fluffy!

Did you know that obesity in cats and dogs is a common yet under-recognized problem despite the serious secondary consequences it can have on health? Obesity, just like in humans, can cause diabetes mellitus, arthritis, cardiac and respiratory disease, decreased activity as well as lower urinary tract disease. Carrying excess weight can also shorten the life expectancy of your pet.

Our modern lifestyle is largely to blame for obesity problems. Our pets are pampered and lovingly over-fed, and the food we provide tastes good!

This is why we have implemented our Royal Canin Slim Fit program - to help you and your fur-baby have a longer, happier life together.

Penee, one of our nurses here, runs this program at the vet clinic. Penee has a diploma in Veterinary Nursing and has been trained by Royal Canin to conduct these slim fit classes. Together with you, she will help you implement a healthy and easy lifestyle change. We regularly record and document your pets weight loss and results are rewarded when target weights are reached. 

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

Please remember, if you would like to make an appointment for a free Slim Fit consultation or are after more information please don't hesitate to contact Penee at Caulfield Veterinary Clinic on 9527 7740.

Welcome Jurrah

We would like to introduce you to the newest addition to Rachel's furry family, Jurrah. Having moved into an apartment recently and not being able to take her dog Jedda with her, Rach was feeling the need to adopt a kitten. Jurrah is a black domestic medium hair male, named after Melbourne footballer Liam Jurrah. When Rachel laid eyes on him at The Lost Dog's Home, it was love at first sight. Jurrah has an adorable personality, even non-cat people love him! He is an eating, purring and licking machine.

He comes into the clinic regularly where he is being exposed to all sorts of noises, people and animals! At first he was quite frightened, especially of the big dogs, but he has really settled down and now walks around as though he owns the clinic. Sitting on top of the front desk eating doggie liver treats is his favourite!

It's important for new pets to be exposed to different stimuli, the earlier you start doing this the better. Cats can and should be trained to come to their owners. The best of way of doing this is by calling them for meals instead of letting them graze all day. If you would like any tips about kitten or puppy care and training please do not hesitate to call and chat to our experienced nurses on 9527 7740.

We have had a terrible flea season this year!

The flea has a very complex life cycle and so it is important to attend to all stages of the life cycle when trying to control flea infestations. Only 5% of the flea life cycle are the adults, which you will potentially see on your pets. This means that 95% is in the environment, which we cannot see.

Here are a few tips to help treat flea infestations and reduce the risk of flea re-emergence and re-infestation:

• Apply a monthly spot on flea treatment. We recommended frontline and revolution.
• If live fleas are seen on your pet, we also use tablets which are the fastest way to kill live fleas
• All animals in the household must be treated, even if fleas are not seen on all animals
• Vacuum/steam clean regularly - this will help with removal of flea eggs and stimulate fleas to emerge (which will then be killed by the products on your animal)
• Wash pet bedding and blankets - in water above 60 degrees for at least 10 minutes
• Place items that come into contact with your pet but cannot be washed (e.g. rugs, door mats) in direct sunlight every few days
• Prevent access to areas of potential flea contamination - e.g. block access to under house, sandpits, keep moist shady areas free from debris
• Where possible, prevent untreated animals (e.g. stray cats) from entering your home environment
• A fogger for the house may be necessary if there is a heavy flea burden inside the house

Please feel free to call us and discuss any flea or other issues with our lovely nursing staff on 9527 7740.

New staff at Caulfield

Click here to meet Penee, our newest staff member at Caulfield Vet.

Jager & the icy pole

Saturday afternoon was a warm and sunny day, and my partner and I were eating icy poles. There were multiple flavours to choose from, so we ate quite a few. My partner came across a not so tasty flavour and since my Great Dane, Jager, was sitting near by, he threw him the icy pole and went inside to get another flavour. I immediately jumped up in horror and ran to grab the ice pole before Jagger swallowed the ice pole stick. Unfortunately, I was seconds too late, and with the icy pole went the stick!

Normally I am very chilled and calm, but this was not a normal situation.

This was my baby so I went into panic mode.

In a different house, Dr Rachel was preparing herself for an evening out with friends when she received a panicked text message. The message read "OMG Jager just ate an icy pole stick! What do I do? Do I make him vomit? What do I use? OMG". She replied "Yes!" and gave me a list of items to go purchase from my local supermarket. So off I went.

After a messy induced vomiting session and assisted bowel movements, all we could do is wait. One hour... Overnight... (many poo inspections by torch later)...again...and again...and on the fifth day as I entered the back garden to dissect Jager's faeces, I saw something sticking up from his excrement and without a second thought I dashed my hand directly into it and removed the icy pole stick, whole, and with out a scratch on it.

So excited by this finding and overwhelmed with joy that Jager was ok, I ran through the house to my partner waiving the poo covered stick yelling "I got it...I found it!" These were the first words I had uttered to my partner since the ice pole incident began!

Luckily Jager is such a big boy, weighing in at 60kg. Had he been a smaller dog, the outcome could have been quite different! After this experience I don't think my partner will be sharing his icy poles again any time soon.

Memorial

Jerry Lee Wikramanayake   - A darling boy.

There will never be another Jerry Lee. He was born on the 15th of September 2002, and was flown down from Portland on the 24th of November 2002. Nimal and Anne Maria Wikramanayake had him for 2750 glorious days, which will never be forgotten. They used to go on holidays overseas every three years, but have not been since 2002, from when Jerry Lee entered their lives. In 2005 they went to Queensland for a holiday for 2 weeks, but after one week Anne Maria was missing 'her pudding' and they had to come back home. What more can be said about the gorgeous Jerry Lee. 

Dolly

We have introduced you to our largest patient, so we thought we should also introduce you to Dolly, one of our oldest and most certainly our smallest adult canine patient!

She is a 16year old female Chihuahua and weighs in at 1.9kg!!!

Dolly has been a patient at Caulfield Veterinary Clinic for the past 12 years and her owners have done a fantastic job looking after her over the years. 

When one thinks about food shopping for our large Irish Wolf Hound, weekly shopping for Dolly should be a cinch - but of course these little patients tend to be more fussy and sometimes can be quite challenging.

Dolly has a lot of fight for such a little dog! You wouldn't believe the strength she finds to wriggle and struggle out of being medicated. She is on a few different long term medications and she is so difficult to keep still for long enough to medicate with a tablet, we have had to have her drugs compounded into flavoured pastes and oils to ensure she eats them!

Nowadays, we can have most pet medication compounded at Compounding Pharmacies. The pharmacists compound the original prescription drug into pastes or oils -flavoured with just about anything. Most popular is fish, chicken or beef flavour at our clinic. If your pet has trouble with tablets please ask if the medication can be compounded.

Jack and Chloe

Last month we introduced you to one of our oldest patients, Dolly. We mistakingly wrote that she has been a patient of ours for 12 years, but in fact, we have been seeing her at Caulfield Vet Clinic for the last 15 years, since approximately 6 months of age!!!

One of our new clients has recently added 2 kittens to his family, Jack and Chloe. Jack and Chloe are purebred Maine Coons and are now 6 months of age. They are pure white and have very soft and silky fur and an adorable personality. Jack was the first addition to the household, followed by Chloe a couple of weeks later. They are indoor cats so it is nice for them to have each other when their owner is at work during the day!!

Maine Coon cats are an uncommon breed here in Australia. They are of American origin and are derived from Angora and non-pedigree short hair cats. They come in a range of colours and have beautiful copper, gold or green eyes. It is also not unusual to see blue or different coloured eyes in the white cat. Interestingly, Maine Coons are slow to develop and do not reach full maturity until 4 years of age. They do not get their adult teeth until approximately 6 months of age. Most other breeds, both cats and dogs, start losing their baby teeth from 4 months of age.

Mick

Please let us introduce you to our largest patient, Mick!!! You may think he is a horse, weighing in at 90kg, but really he is an Irish Wolfhound.

He is 4 years old and stands approximately 120cm tall (4ft). Therefore, one should never leave any food on any table in Mick's company as the food will no doubt disappear within minutes (as Mick's head is level with most tables!)

His owner had to buy a van to transport Mick and a ramp for easy access into the vehicle.

Last month we performed a dental on Mick. Because he is so big, and we are so small, we performed the procedure on the floor in the surgery. This was achieved by moving the anaesthetic machine, heating pad and equipment to the floor! He recovered uneventfully and walked out to the car a few hours later. We are totally committed to accommodate every need for the benefit of our patients.

You can see how big Mick is standing next to our lovely nurse Kylie.