Would you ever think that your pet could save a life?

By admin On September 9, 2011 - 0 Comments

Well, thats what my cat Elliot has done……by giving blood! Many of us are blood donors ourselves and realise how important and precious that unit of blood is – but did you know that in the veterinary world we rely on blood donors too?

Just like in human medicine, when we need blood for a dog we can obtain it from a blood bank. The Pet Blood Bank is a not for profit charity and blood is provided by donor dogs. Cats however are a different story. Obviously most cats will not simply sit still to have blood collected which means there are no blood banking facilities for cats. If we need blood for a sick cat we rely on donors belonging to our staff, which is where Elliot and Fred get called in.

Cats have 2 major blood groups A and B and a smaller, less common group AB. They have preformed antibodies to the other blood types therefore they must be blood typed prior to the first transfusion. If blood typing is not carried out there is a risk of serious transfusion reaction. The blood types varies geographically and on breed. Siamese and other oriental breeds are mostly type A, whereas British Shorthairs, Persians and Maine Coons may be up to 50% type B. There is said to be only a small number of Domestic Shorthairs (moggies) to be type B in our region (which includes Fred!) Donors cats need to be healthy, fully vaccinated and weigh between 4.5-7kg. Ideally they should be kept indoors however this is rarely the case. So, prior to donation they should be tested for FIV (feline aids) and FeLV (feline leukaemia) because both of these diseases can be transmitted in blood products.

A small blood sample from Elliot was needed to perform the blood type, which was carried out at Northwest Surgeons. Elliot is blood type A and luckily enough we have Fred who is blood type B. Often we will ask owners of cats requiring a transfusion to bring their other cat in for testing. Both Elliot and Fred have given blood in the last year and saved lives. Instead of a biscuit and a cup of tea we offer our cats a free bag of their favourite food!

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Happy cats!

By admin On June 15, 2011 - 0 Comments

As pet owners we all worry about leaving our sick pet in hospital. Here at Northwest Surgeons we aim to treat your pet as if he or she were our own. We all want the best possible care for our pets and we are well positioned to deliver this.

To put your mind at rest, let’s follow one of our recent cases, Louis, through the hospital from the initial consultation through to his discharge home.

Louis is a 9 year old cat owned by Matt, our anaesthetist. Louis was suffering from diarrhoea, which failed to respond to the usual first line treatments. After some frustrating attempts to help Louis, Matt sought the advice of our medicine team who are used to dealing with cat gastrointestinal problems.
Every case at Northwest Surgeons receives an initial consultation with a specialist most suited to the animal’s condition. In Louis’ case this was with Dr Rebecca Littler, an RCVS specialist in internal medicine. Louis was admitted to the hospital for diagnostic tests.

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