What's New at Kensington Vet Clinic

Staff

Welcome to Dr Eleanor Street who has recently joined the clinic. Eleanor has 10 years experience in small animal practice and has recently returned from working in the UK. Eleanor works to support 2 very spoilt cats and whippet called Zac

Clinic Specials

Buy any 6 month pack of Frontline and receive a free folding water bowl for dogs, or a folding cat igloo for cats.

Pet Care Facts

Poisons Around the Home

Many people are not aware of all the potential hazards lying around the house that their pets can get into.
You must be very careful to keep any medication you are taking out of reach of playful dogs and cats. Blister packs and pill bottles can be quite fun to play with and chew; and it is very easy for them to ingest tablets in the process.

Also medication for people should never be given to animals without advice from a veterinarian. Many drugs are metabolised differently in different species and can be poisonous for your pet even though they are very safe for us. This also means that we cannot use dog products on cats, especially some of the flea products and shampoos on the market. If you are ever in doubt, please phone the clinic for advice.

Many household cleaning products can be quite toxic to our pets too, especially if they ingest them. Curious dogs and cats may choose to lick anything new, and some products such as household bleach actually taste quite sweet. Remember to keep all your cleaning products locked up.

We should also be very careful with our garden products. Fertilisers like blood and bone smell wonderful to dogs but can be quite toxic if eaten. Many of the pesticides and herbicides can also be a problem, even if they are just licked off the coat. Round up can irritate the throat and cause gastrointestinal upsets. Many insect sprays can be poisonous especially to cats, even if they just breathe them in while you are spraying, so be very careful next time your pet wants to help you do the gardening. And of course - don't forget - snail bait and ratsack are designed to taste good to tempt the snails and rats: unfortunately our pets also think they taste good!

There are also many plants in suburban gardens that can be toxic if eaten. It has recently been discovered that all members of the lily family are poisonous for cats. All parts of the lily are toxic including the pollen, so be very careful with your cut flowers if you have an inquisitive cat or kitten. Dogs seem to be immune to this as yet unknown poison and they may only experience an upset tummy if they eat a lily.

Dionysus and Efrosini recently discovered how much trouble a simple game of playing with a foil packet can get them into. Their owner came home and discovered they had chewed up a packet of panadol and rushed them into the clinic. Panadol is toxic to the liver if consumed in large quantities and can be fatal. Even small amounts are fatal to cats. Luckily they had mostly managed to chew the foil and there were not enough tablets missing to cause them any problems.

If your pet has eaten anything potentially poisonous please seek veterinary attention immediately. It may be necessary to make your pet vomit or to give an antidote (where available), or provide supportive care while the body recovers.