This Month at Vetrica

10 August 2005

Latest News

This page contains the latest news from Vetrica and Vetrica OnLine. It updates at least monthly, and will also keep you up to date with the latest news about animal care and welfare.

An archive of previous articles is also available.

Improved Cat Vaccine.

This month sees the introduction of a new, improved cat vaccine at Vetrica. Cat flu vaccines on the market today contain viral strains that date back to the sixties and seventies. One of the major cat flu viruses is called calicivirus, and this virus evolves very quickly. A significant proportion of viral strains of calicivirus in the UK today are not affected by these vaccines.

1st August saw the release of a new vaccine containing two up to date strains of calicivirus which should, hopefully, be more effective at preventing cat flu. At Vetrica, we've wasted no time in introducing the new vaccine. We will be using the new vaccine exclusively from now on.

The new vaccine has other benefits too. People opting to have their cats vaccinated against feline leukaemia will now also automatically receive chlamydophila vaccination at no extra cost. (Chlamydophila is the new name for feline chlamydia, which causes a long-standing conjunctivitis).

NOTE: Cat flu is not related in any way to human influenza, and is not caused by an influenza virus.

Focus on Ticks

This is a live tick, shortly after being removed from a dog. There is a piece of cellular debris attached to the tick's mouthparts.	Ticks are temporary parasites of dogs and cats. They live most of their life on the ground covered by thick vegetation. When the weather is warm enough they climb onto long blades of grass and wait for an animal (or person) to pass. They quickly climb on, and then find a suitable spot to embed their mouthparts (often around the head and neck, but can be anywhere on the body). The common ticks found in Scotland have a three year life cycle, of which less than two weeks a year is spent on an animal.
This shows a tick attached to a dog's lip (a fairly common location).	Ticks cement their mouthparts into the animal's skin. They should not be pulled off, as this is likely to leave the mouthparts behind which can result in a festering lump. When fully engorged with blood, they climb off and find a comfortable place to develop for the next year, or in the case of adults, to lay eggs (after which they die).
This cat had literally dozens of ticks.	Sometimes animals, especially cats, come across a whole "nest" of ticks, and pick up a great many at one time. Removing this many ticks can be very time consuming.
The O'Tom tick remover is the safest method of removing ticks.	The O'Tom tick remover is that fastest, safest, and least painful technique of tick removal. It is a plastic hook with a narrow slit. The tick is removed by passing the slit beneath the tick. The hook is rotated and the tick comes off alive with its mouthparts intact. Remember to kill the tick afterwards or it might re-implant!

Ticks transmit a number of diseases, one of which is called Lyme disease, a sort of infectious arthritis. It is important when removing ticks not to squeeze the tick as this encourages the transmission of disease. If you use an O'Tom tick remover, there is no need to touch the tick at all.

Special Offer for August 2005

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