Happy Thanksgiving from VACC

No matter how cute they are, don't forget to resist the temptation of feeding turkey dinner scraps............ Stomach aches aren't fun for anyone!

Quick case update....

Ollie (posting from Nov. 11th) had a recheck appointment last week to see how his cleft palate site was healing. Everything looked great, and Ollie seems comfortable and happy. No sneezing!!

To pee or not to pee..........

This is Tilly. Tilly is a 2 ½ year old female pug that was straining to urinate. X-rays revealed that her bladder was full of stones. Bladder stones are rock-like collections of minerals that form in the urinary bladder. They may occur as a large, single stone or as collections of stones the size of large grains of sand or gravel. Bladder stones form for a few different reasons. The most common reasons being dietary and bladder infections. The two most common symptoms of bladder stones are blood in the urine which occurs because the stones irritate and damage the bladder wall causing bleeding, and straining to urinate which occurs because the stones obstruct the flow of urine out of the bladder or inflame the bladder walls, causing pain and swelling. Large stones may cause a partial obstruction at the point where the urine leaves the bladder and enters the urethra while smaller stones may flow with the urine into the urethra and cause an obstruction there. When an obstruction occurs, the bladder cannot be emptied resulting in extreme pain, especially if pressure is applied to the abdominal wall. If the obstruction is complete, the bladder may rupture, which is a life-threatening emergency situation. Tilly’s urethra was obstructed so before it became an emergency, it was decided that surgery was in order. Prior to anesthesia, Tilly was able to pass the stones in her urethra on her own so she was no longer blocked. However, this is painful and there were still several small and large stones to come so she still went to surgery. In surgery, her bladder was emptied of all stones and flushed multiple times to assure that it was clear. Post op she was treated with pain medications to make sure her experience was as comfortable as possible. Everything went well and Tilly got to go home the next day.

Large single bladder stone.

Every little bit helps.......

http://www.freekibble.com/

Free kibble.com is a project that was started back in April 2008. The idea is to provide good, healthy food to dogs and cats to those shelters who are working so hard to see that none of them go hungry - they need our help. All you have to do is click on the link above and answer the bow wow trivia multiple choice question. It doesn't matter if your answer is right or wrong, it is the effort that counts. If your answer was wrong, the right answer will appear on the screen. This way you are helping out homeless dogs and cats as well as learning a bit of animal trivia. You can answer one question about dogs and one question about cats up to once a day. For each question you answer, the project will provide 10 pieces of kibble (cat and/or dog) to the animal shelters involved. 10 may not sound like a lot, but it adds up fast. Since April when the project began and as of October 17, freekibble and freekibblekat, has raised over 67,000 lbs. (33 tons!!!) of kibble. Enough to feed 200,000 homeless dogs and cats for one day! So, it only takes a few minutes out of your day, but a whole lot of purring and tail wagging in return.

Ollie is a two year old male cat that was seen for a history sneezing and constant nasal infections. Everytime he would eat, drink, or groom himself (which other than sleeping is the daily routine of a cat), he would start violently sneezing. After close examination, it was discovered that Ollie had a cleft palate. Cleft palate is a condition in both humans and animals where the two plates of the skull that make up the hard palate, otherewise known as the roof of the mouth, are not completely joined. Ollie had a hole the size of a piece of rice right in the center of his palate. This hole connected his oral cavity directly to his nasal cavity resulting in a sneezing frenzy anytime he used his mouth.

After consultation, Ollie was taken to surgery. Two incisions were made on the edges of the hard palate. These incisions provided tension release so the cleft opening could be easily closed. Surgery went very well, however, post operative healing will be the hardest part. As we all know, you can't tell a cat to leave his/her incision alone, and there are no veterinary magic tricks to keep them away. So hopefully with close monitering, a special diet, and a lot of patience, Ollie's repair can heal and keep him sneeze free.

Halloween At Veterinary Associates!