by cats only | Mar 22, 2019 | News
Max is a free-ranging cat, coming and going as he likes through a cat flap. He lives in typical suburbia, with rows of semi-detached houses each having their own enclosed back gardens. Max enjoys spending time in Barbara’s garden. He jumps up onto the back wall, visiting a few of the neighbours, but he doesn’t go far, and will always come back if Barbara goes out and calls his name. Like many cats, Max is a hunter, bringing back small rats as “gifts” for Barbara. She would rather that he didn’t bring these home with him, although she is relieved that he helps to control the rodent population in the area. He occasionally catches garden birds too, which Barbara finds difficult: she enjoys watching the birds in her garden and it’s upsetting when Max kills them. Barbara has always felt that Max lives a safe lifestyle: he stays in the local patchwork of back gardens, never venturing near the danger of busy roads. Many of her neighbours keep cats, so Max enjoys a busy social life, and up till now, he’s never got into trouble of any kind. A couple of weeks ago, Barbara was watching television in the evening. Max came in through the cat flap soon after 11pm, looking for attention as he often does. Barbara petted him absent mindedly; he seemed OK at first. Then she noticed that there was something strange sticking out of his cheek. She tried to examine him close up, but he was wriggling, and it was difficult to see. It looked like some sort of rivet or metal stud. She didn’t...
by cats only | Mar 15, 2019 | News
Cosmo lives an active life, enjoying the outdoor world: he’s a keen hunter of rats and mice. He doesn’t have a cat flap, so he comes and goes through windows and the same doors as the humans in the house. As part of the daily routine, the last person to bed in John’s home always ensures that Cosmo has come back from his evening wanderings. One evening last week, it was 1.30am when John was finishing some desk work. As he prepared for bed, he opened the back door, and called Cosmo. As the cat came in, John put out a small bowlful of food for him, and at first all seemed well: Cosmo tucked into it hungrily. But when he’d finished eating, and was walking away from the dish, John noticed that there was something amiss. Cosmo staggered unsteadily, instead of walking normally, and he seemed to be looking into the distance, as if he was hallucinating. If he’d been a human, he would have been accused of being drunk. There was something very wrong with him. John phoned the after-hours veterinary service, and he was advised to bring Cosmo in to the clinic at once. Even though it was the middle of the night, it sounded as if Cosmo could be suffering from some type of poisoning. Urgent treatment could be lifesaving. There was no time to waste: John put Cosmo into his pet carrier and set off in the car on the twenty minute drive to the emergency centre. Cosmo has never been a good traveller, and it probably didn’t help that he’d managed to scoff...
by cats only | Mar 8, 2019 | News
Maura took on Tom as an adult rescue cat when she was living in Cabinteely fifteen years ago. He became a much-loved pet, and had been with the family ever since, including a three-year stretch living in France. Tom had settled comfortably with Maura and her family in Enniskerry for his retirement. As an elderly cat, he didn’t do any more than strolling around the front of the house, then back inside to his favourite sleeping place. He ate well, but had begun to lose weight, and Maura suspected that he might be nearing the end of his days. Just after Christmas one year, on Wednesday 28th December, Tom went missing. Maura and her family searched in all his usual haunts, but there was no sign of him. He had vanished. Maura was told that cats sometimes wander away to die, and she presumed that this is what Tom had decided to do. Her family quietly grieved for their pet, and time moved on. Meanwhile, on Thursday 29th December, a kindly lady from Enniskerry had arrived at our vet clinic holding the motionless body of a cat in her arms. She had found the animal outside, lying on his side. He could barely lift his head. She had never seen the cat before, but she knew at once that he needed help. When I examined him, I could see that he had three immediate problems: starvation, hypothermia and some other, as yet undiagnosed, underlying disease. The only way that the cat could be properly helped would be by carrying out a complex work up including blood tests. But this...
by cats only | Mar 1, 2019 | News
Eva’s family rescued Maggie from the Wicklow SPCA Sharpes Hill animal sanctuary when she was just a kitten. Eva was only two at the time, so as far as she’s concerned, Maggie has been around for ever. Maggie is a gentle, tolerant animal, and she’s the perfect children’s pet. Eva loves playing with her, and even Eva’s younger sister, Robyn, who’s just 15 months old, enjoys petting the cat (obviously under close supervision). The little girl and her cat are the best of buddies, but like all friendships, there are a couple of challenging areas. For Eva, the most annoying thing about Maggie is that she keeps stealing Eva’s toys. In particular, Eva enjoys making pompom pets – small colourful fluffy toys, made from bits of wool. They resemble the pompom on top of a woollen hat. Eva keeps these in her bedroom, but Maggie sneaks in, picks them up in her mouth, and runs off with them. Perhaps she sees them as small mouse-like prey: a cat has strong chasing and hunting instincts. As a result of this behaviour, Eva keeps finding half-chewed pompom pets scattered around the house. For a five year old girl, this is very irritating, but she still loves Maggie, and the two of them spend a lot of time snuggled up together, enjoying each other’s company. Last Saturday afternoon, Maggie came indoors after an excursion into the back garden. She jumped up onto Eva’s lap, and as Eva petted her, she noticed that something odd was sticking out of Maggie’s foot. She called her Dad, and he took a closer look. At first...
by cats only | Feb 22, 2019 | News
One of the reasons that Bonnie is an indoor-only cat is that it’s a safer place to be. The outdoor world can be dangerous. Studies have shown that cats that are kept indoors all the time live longer, healthier lives. Cats that venture outside are at risk of road accidents, fights with other animals, and viral infections carried by other cats. Bonnie has lived indoors since she was a kitten, and so far, she’s been healthy and contented. THE ACCIDENT The accident happened just after New Year. Natalie was drinking coffee with friends in the sitting room, watching Bonnie play. The young cat had taken a small decoration off the Christmas tree, and she was chasing it around the room, batting it in front of her, then pouncing on it. Bonnie often plays enthusiastically like this: it’s her way of burning up energy indoors, and it’s entertaining to watch her. Bonnie was getting increasingly energetic with the Christmas decoration, throwing it into the air, then jumping after the toy to grab it with her paws, twisting and gyrating as she leapt. After one particularly dramatic jump, she let out a yelp as she landed awkwardly, and she immediately stopped playing. She fell over on her side, curling her leg up beneath her. Natalie rushed over and picked her up to comfort her, but she continued to cry, and when she tried to walk, she couldn’t put any weight on her right back leg. Natalie rushed her in to the emergency vet, who reassured her that it seemed to be a nasty sprained joint: at least nothing had been broken....
by cats only | Feb 15, 2019 | News
Pumpkin came into in Ciaran’s life as a kitten two years ago: it was the day before Halloween, which explains her seasonal name. She’s been a healthy cat up until now, enjoying the freedom of living in the Wicklow countryside. She has a set routine: breakfast with Ciaran first thing in the morning before heading off for the day on her own, then returning for supper in the evening. She is a gentle, friendly cat, enjoying attention from humans and purring almost continually. PUMPKIN WENT MISSING On the Sunday before Halloween, she had her breakfast as normal, but this time, she didn’t come back in the evening. When she still hadn’t returned the following morning, Ciaran was seriously worried: he spent the whole day searching the local area, looking for her. He knocked on neighbours’ doors, asking if anyone had seen her, but she seemed to have completely vanished. As darkness fell in the evening, Ciaran had just come home when he heard a noise at the back door: Pumpkin had returned. Ciaran could see straight away that she had been injured: she was dragging her back legs behind her rather than walking on them normally. She wasn’t crying as if in pain and she seemed comfortable, so Ciaran got her settled in a warm bed. She slept deeply that night, as if she had been utterly exhausted after her adventure. PUMPKIN WAS TAKEN TO SEE THE VET The next morning, she was still unable to get up on her back legs, and she had refused to eat or drink anything, so Ciaran brought her in to see me....
by cats only | Feb 8, 2019 | News
As an older cat, Bluebell lives a calm, quiet life. She spends her day snoozing in the sunshine or strolling around the garden, never venturing far from the house. She usually stays in at night too, although she is free to come and go as she pleases through the cat flap. A CAT FIGHT The family live in a bungalow, and last Monday night, Marguerite was woken at three in the morning by the sound of a fearsome cat fight immediately outside her bedroom window. The caterwauling of the two animals was astonishingly loud, with screeches, wails and screams. Marguerite opened the window, and Bluebell jumped straight in, as if she had been waiting for an escape route. The security light outside had been activated by the cats, and Marguerite could clearly see a large, well-fed, grey tabby cat skulking off into the night. He looked like a pampered pet cat rather than a lean hungry feral animal, but he was obviously no less aggressive for his posh background. At first, Bluebell seemed completely unfazed by the incident: she was in good form, behaving normally, with a good appetite. It was as if nothing had happened. But thirty-six hours later – the morning after the morning after – she developed a dramatic lameness. She was unable to put any weight on her left foreleg, and she was limping around the house, holding it in the air. Marguerite brought her in to see me. A DIAGNOSIS WAS MADE The story of the cat fight gave me a useful clue about the cause of Bluebell’s lameness: cat bites are the most...
by cats only | Feb 1, 2019 | News
As she grew older, like many cats, Persia stopped being so thorough about grooming herself. She no longer spent as much time licking and nibbling her coat: she preferred just to sleep. As a result, her coat became matted and unkempt, and she wouldn’t let Patricia go near her with a comb or brush. Professional grooming, with electric clippers to remove the clumps of fur, was the only answer. Persia is a feisty cat, and she wouldn’t let anyone go near her with noisy clippers: she needed to be sedated. Sedation can be risky if a cat is suffering from low grade heart disease or other hidden illnesses, so as part of her pre-grooming preparation, she was given a thorough veterinary check-over. THE “SENIOR PET” CHECK This “senior pet” health check came up with some interesting findings: Persia had three “hidden” problems. First, she had dental disease, with sore gums and teeth which were discouraging her from using her mouth to groom herself. Second, she had signs of arthritis, so she was no longer as able to twist and turn as she needed to do to reach her underside and extremities if she did groom herself. And third, she had an enlarged thyroid gland, indicating that she was suffering from hyperthyroidism, a common disease of older cats which can cause a range of signs, including an unkempt coat. We went ahead and gave Persia a thorough grooming under sedation, but we used the opportunity to tackle her other problems at the same time. First, we deepened the sedation to a full general anaesthetic, and we gave her a dental...
by cats only | Jan 25, 2019 | News
If anyone is unlucky enough to get a mouse or rat infestation in their home, one of the obvious suggestions to control the pests is to “get a cat”. Unfortunately for Amanda, the reverse situation has taken place. She didn’t have a problem with mice, but she did have a cat. And thanks to the cat, 3 year old Ruby, Amanda’s home developed a problem with residential mice. Ruby has a strong hunting instinct. Amanda can see this from the way that she plays with toys. If Amanda dangles a string with a feather on the end in front of Ruby, she’ll stalk it, crouching along the ground as she moves slowly towards it. Then she’ll pounce, grabbing the feather in her mouth. Despite her love of the feathery toy, she’s shown no interest in hunting birds, but she has learned to enjoy hunting mice. She waits patiently outside their nests, pouncing on them as soon as they appear. She carries the live mice around by the scruff of the neck, occasionally dropping them to play with them, batting them backwards and forwards with her front paws, then picking them up again in her mouth. She also enjoys bringing them back into the house through the cat flap, so that she can play with them some more in the company of her owners. Amanda is horrified when this happens, and she does her best to take the mice off Ruby, releasing them outside while locking Ruby up until they’ve made their escape. I’m often asked why cats bring their prey back into the house: it’s something to do with...
by cats only | Jan 18, 2019 | News
One Saturday morning, Boots started to behave strangely. She had difficulty walking properly on her back legs, and when Maria went up to her, she rolled on her back in a peculiar way. She started to make strange noises, like a cross between purrs and miaows. She sounded more like a bird chirping than a cat. Something strange was going on and Maria called her sister because she was worried. Just over a year ago, the family’s elderly cat Tabs had also started to have difficulties walking. Sadly, she was diagnosed with a blood clot in the main artery to her pelvic area and in the end, she had to be euthanased. When Boots started to walk strangely with her hind legs too, Charlotte and Maria feared the worst: Boots was only 10 months of age, but could she have developed the same problem? When they brought her to see me, I asked a few questions. Boots is an indoor cat, so she never goes out and about, and never meets other cats. She has not yet been spayed. She was still eating hungrily, with no other signs of being unwell. Charlotte and Maria had noticed that she was licking herself under her tail more than normal, but they hadn’t seen anything else unusual other than her odd way of walking and her peculiar behaviour. When I examined Boots, she had a strong, healthy pulse in her back legs, and the legs were normal, with no weakness or paralysis. If a cat suffers a clot, the pulse is absent, and the hind legs are completely floppy. As I ran my...
