Thanksgiving Tips to Keep Your Pets Safe

Thanksgiving is just around the corner which means the folks at VSES are getting prepared to be here if you need us. Below are some pet safety tips so that you and your furry companion can avoid visiting us and instead stay home with the rest of your family on the holiday.

Turkey NO NO’s: Everybody has that relative who likes to ‘help’ prepare the meal--by telling you exactly what you are doing wrong. We too have some advice on how to prepare the turkey but it has nothing to do with how you stuff the bird. Do not feed your pet raw or under cooked turkey-it could contain harmful bacteria called salmonella.  Do not let your pet near the turkey carcass. Bones of any size could cause severe digestive tract issues if consumed by your pet.

Keep These Items Out of Reach: If your four legged friend is like any other, they are very VERY curious. To ensure their safety make sure alcohol, raw yeast dough and cake batter is not left unattended. The ingestion of any of these items can lead to a life threatening emergency requiring hospitalization.

Party Etiquette: Thanksgiving is a time for friends and family to get together and enjoy one another’s company. However, your animal companion may not share the same sediment. If you find Uncle Ben’s laugh to be roaring and terrifying, chances are so does your dog. Some animals find large groups or strangers in their house quite distressing.  If they are nervous or have a tendency to bite it is best to separate them from the Thanksgiving festivities.

 If you (or your sister’s kid) decide to feed your four legged friend a sample of your Thanksgiving feast a few small pieces of turkey, a bit of grandma’s mashed potatoes or even a lick of Aunt Susan’s pumpkin pie should not cause a problem. However, be sure not to allow your pets to overindulge, as their stomachs are more sensitive than ours. Too much of Thanksgiving’s bounty could give them some serious GI issues like vomiting, diarrhea or the worst of all- pancreatitis. To be safe, we recommend you keep your pet on their regular diet.

We understand accidents happen and we will be here if you need us. If you have a concern or think you may need to bring your furry companion in do not hesitate to call us or come in. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner which means the folks at VSES are getting prepared to be here if you need us. Below are some pet safety tips so that you and your furry companion can avoid visiting us and instead stay home with the rest of your family on the holiday.

Turkey NO NO’s: Everybody has that relative who likes to ‘help’ prepare the meal--by telling you exactly what you are doing wrong. We too have some advice on how to prepare the turkey but it has nothing to do with how you stuff the bird. Do not feed your pet raw or under cooked turkey-it could contain harmful bacteria called salmonella.  Do let your pet near the turkey carcass. Bones of any size could cause severe digestive tract issues if consumed by your pet.

Keep These Items Out of Reach: If your four legged friend is like any other, they are very VERY curious. To ensure their safety make sure alcohol, raw yeast dough and cake batter is not left unattended. The ingestion of any of these items can lead to a life threatening emergency requiring hospitalization.

Party Etiquette: Thanksgiving is a time for friends and family to get together and enjoy one another’s company. However, your animal companion may not share the same sediment. If you find Uncle Ben’s laugh to be roaring and terrifying, chances are so does your dog. Some animals find large groups or strangers in their house quite distressing.  If they are nervous or have a tendency to bite it is best to separate them from the Thanksgiving festivities.

 If you (or your sister’s kid) decide to feed your four legged friend a sample of your Thanksgiving feast a few small pieces of turkey, a bit of grandma’s mashed potatoes or even a lick of Aunt Susan’s pumpkin pie should not cause a problem. However, be sure not to allow your pets to overindulge, as their stomachs are more sensitive than ours. Too much of Thanksgiving’s bounty could give them some serious GI issues like vomiting, diarrhea or the worst of all- pancreatitis. To be safe, we recommend you keep your pet on their regular diet.

We understand accidents happen and we will be here if you need us. If you have a concern or think you may need to bring your furry companion in do not hesitate to call us or come in. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

The "Blocked" Cat

Feline Urinary Obstruction

Feline urethral obstruction (urinary blockage) is a medical emergency and requires immediate attention. If this condition is not recognized and treated promptly it becomes life threatening. Our staff frequently provides emergency treatment to cats who have developed a urinary obstruction; this is why we feel it is important that feline owners have information that can help them recognize signs of this emergency at home.  Dr. Sarah Brawdy, an Emergency Doctor here at VSES, has provided an informative article which discusses the condition, how it is treated, and how to care for your feline companion after they return home.

So what exactly happens if my cat becomes blocked?

First, let's get back to the basics and review some anatomy and physiology. The kidneys filter the blood, remove excess fluid from the body, and aid in maintaining normal electrolyte balance in the body. the kidneys make urine,which travels down the ureters to the bladder. During urination, urine leaves the bladder and hopefully into the litterbox via the urethra.

When a cat becomes "blocked" or develops a urethral obstruction, they are unable to pass urine through the urethra. As a result, the bladder becomes very large, hard, and painful. Pressure increases in the upper urinary tract and the kidneys are no longer able to filter metabolic waste products and maintain normal electrolyte balance. The build up of these waste products and electrolytes makes the cat feel sick. Left untreated, these changes will ultimately become life threatening. This is due to high potassium levels in the blood that eventually result in a slow heartbeat and can lead to cardiac arrest.

How do I know if my cat may be blocked?

Urethral obstruction is a diagnosis that is made on physical examination by you veterinarian. However, there are important signs that you can watch for at home. These signs may include the following:

• Straining to urinate and with the absence of urination or production of only tiny amounts
• Licking excessinvely at the genital region
• Attempting to urinate in inapproproate places
• Vocalizing or crying
• Vomiting
• Lethargy
• Hiding
• Anorexia 
• Acting painful and restless

You may only see some of these signs if your cat is blocked at home. Even if you do not see your cat straining, it is important to follow up with your veterinarian if any of these signs are noted.  

So what causes a urethral obstruction?
The signs of a urinary blockage may look very similar to signs of a urinary tract infection or feline idiopathic cystitis (inflammation of the bladder). On physical exam these cats will have a large, firm, and very painful bladder (peach to small orange in size). A normal bladder should be small and soft to semi-firm. There are many possible causes of a urinary blockage.
 These include the following:

• Crystals or 'sand" in the bladder resulting in a urethral plug
• Small bladder stones (uroliths) that have become stuck in the urethra
• Tumors within the bladder and/or urethra or outside the urethra
• Scar tissue causing a stricture (or narrowing of the urethra)
• Urethral spasms
• Muscos plug (mucous/inflammatory cells) resulting from inflammation of the bladder or urethra
• Blood clots

How do you treat a urethral obstruction? 
Immediate treatment involves stabilization and relieving the obstruction. This procedure may be uncomfortable and painful and is therefore done under heavy sedation or anesthesia.  A urinary catheter is passed into the urethra and is advanced into the bladder to relieve the blockage. Oftentimes, resistance is met at the site of the obstruction and any material  (stones, mucous, crystals) obstructing the urethra is flushed back into the bladder.  The urinary catheter is secured and connected to a urinary collection bag. Typically the urinary catheter is left in for 48-72 hours, depending on how the cat is doing and how sick they were prior to the procedure. Hospitalization following the unblocking procedure is important, especially in the patients that are really sick when they are diagnosed.  When a cat is blocked, the kidneys are unable to make urine normally. Once the blockage is relieved, the kidneys will reestablish urine flow. The kidneys begin to make urine very quickly in order to correct the metabolic abnormalities that have been going on.  Sometimes these cats will make large amounts of urine very quickly (post obstructive diuresis) and can become severely dehydrated if they are not on IV fluids.  While in hospital, they are also started on medications for pain; medications that help relax the urethra, and antibiotics if they have a concurrent urinary tract infection.  Prior to going home, the urinary catheter is removed in hospital and they are observed for several hours to make sure they are urinating normally. Dietary changes are typically recommended if the cat has crystals or small stones in the urine. These are prescription urinary diets that work to dissolve crystals (and help prevent reblocking in the future).  Surgery is often recommended to remove bladder stones if they are the underlying cause of the obstruction. Once your cat is discharged from the hospital, it is important to watch for signs that may indicate reblocking has occurred. If you have any questions about your cat’s urinary status or if your cat is showing any of the signs listed above, it is best to contact your veterinarian. 

  Written by Sarah Brawdy, DVM

What is an LVT?

Veterinary Specialists & Emergency Services is a 24 hour veterinary emergency and specialty referral facility. We are the only hospital like this in our city--the next closet being 100 miles away and over an hour's drive. This means that we are always busy and require staff around the clock! Our staff is like no other. We are so honored to have such devoted, hard working, and compassionate employees in our facility who work hard for the patients every day.

This is why we are finding ways to say thank you to our staff this week during our annual Staff Appreciation week. We're going to be doing all kinds of fun things to show the staff how much we appreciate what they do every day. It just so happens that this week is also National Veterinary Technician Week! Although we value our technicians and the rest of the staff every day of the year, we like to use this week to honor them for the high-quality veterinary care they execute.

You might want to know what a Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT), or "Vet Tech", does; well, that can vary depending upon the type of hospital and where the hospital is located. We were lucky enough to get some insider information from one of our vet techs at VSES. Jen has 14 years of experience in the field, and has been a technician with VSES for half of those years! We asked her what it is like to be a technician at an emergency/specialty hospital and her is what she had to say!

 Emergency LVTs working on an IV catheter for this patient.

 You never know what the day will bring when you are an LVT in an emergency/specialty practice. Our emergency technicians generally see and care for some of the most severely ill and injured patients in our area. This means that they have some advanced skills that are not seen in general veterinary practices--such as placing jugular catheters, arterial catheters, urinary catheters (in both male adn female dogs), and excellent venipuncture skills. 

Along with these skills, our technicians are typically working during some very sad and stressful situations because of the nature of the cases that come through our front doors. Patients that have been hit by a car, bloat, urinary obstruction, and dog fights are just a few of the types that we see on a regular basis. The LVTs are then expected to perform all of their tasks--such as drawing blood, placing intravenous catheters, administering medications, taking radiographs, and monitoring breathing and patient comfort--during very critical and chaotic situations. Once patients are stabilized, our technicians get to follow up with after care treatments like monitoring vitals, administering medications, blood transfusions, and general husbandry care. 

Surgery LVTs helping a patient recover after surgical repair of wounds from
a dog fight.

The specialty technicians can have their own similar challenges. In many cases, a critical patient may be transferred to a specialty department for a more advanced look into the problem. In these instances, the staff is typically moving quickly to try and coordinate many of the treatments and procedures between departments in the most efficient way possible so that appropriate care can begin immediately. For general specialty patients that come in on appointments, the cases tend to be extremely complex. This is because patients are typically referred to us by their primary care veterinarian when their doctor feels that the pet requires a board-certified specialist with increased knowledge and experience in a specific area such as surgery, internal medicine, diagnostic imaging, ophthalmology, neurology, or dermatology. 


Simply put, any technician at an emergency/specialty hospital has to know their basic LVT skills and knowledge plus the skills and knowledge needed to work with complex and critical cases. One thing remains equal across all veterinary technicians (and all other staff members) in any field of veterinary medicine: no matter where they work, they all have the same goal to care for and keep patients as comfortable as possible. People in veterinary medicine work for animals. At VSES, we do that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. So, we thank all of our staff (and all veterinary staff) for all that they do around the clock to provide care to the animals of the world!