Don't Forget Your Pet When Planning Your Summer Holiday!
Proper identification is very important! Make sure your pet has proper identification on them at all times. This could be in the form of either a tattoo, micropchip, or ID tag. Better yet a combination of two or more forms of identification may offer more help should your pet go missing while on holiday. Also adding your cell phone number to your pet's ID tag is beneficial, since most people carry their cell phones while away on holiday.
For more travel tips click here Travel Tips. For warm weather tips click here Warm Weather Tips.
Meet Munchkin, our clinic cat. We love her dearly. She came to us for placement into another home but we all fell in love with her.
But beware. She is a smart cat and a bit intolerant!
It has been difficult to find an appropriate food for Munchkin because she is prone to intestinal upset and she was already overweight when she came to us. She usually finds some important papers, or Dr. Borgmann’s purse when she has the urge to vomit. (Munchkin is trying to train Dr. Borgmann not to leave her things on the floor of the office!)
You wouldn’t know it by looking at her that food can be such an issue. But remember we said she was smart? She can trick us into feeding her several times a day. Her food bowl is empty and she acts as if she’s starving. We simply assume, the previous person was too busy helping clients to get a chance to feed her and so she has gained a fair bit of weight. She weighs 7.61kg or 16.74lbs.
Our biggest challenge will be finding an exercise program for her.
She just looks at us as if we’re crazy!
April 7, 2009 - Munchkin has lost 0.1 kg or 0.22lbs! It doesn’t sound like much but it sure is for Munchkin! This slow weight loss is appropriate for Munchkin given her gastrointestinal issues.
It took us 2 weeks to transition her onto her diet food due to her sensitive tummy. We have learnt we need to split her measured meals into twice daily feedings. If she eats too quickly or too much she will vomit. Multiple small feedings works best for her! (And remember, it took several months to figure out what type of diet to use on her...high protein, high fibre, or a combo)
Initially, for the first 3-5 days of her diet, Munchkin was rather irritable. Now she has started to become quite affectionate!
Now, getting her to exercise is another story! We have moved her to the rarely used isolation ward with a UV lamp on a timer. This gives her more space and more ‘natural’ light. It has certainly improved her mood.
Stay tuned for weekly updates on her progress!
Remember: the basics of weight loss involves – correction of underlying medical conditions, selection of an appropriate diet, and exercise!
April 14, 2009 - Today Munchkin had another weigh-in and she is down to 7.4kg from 7.61kg. This is a loss of 0.21kg or 0.46lbs!! She's still eating her new food and she's stopped vomiting. She's also not bothering anyone for extra food anymore. She's playing more too! We've caught her chasing feathers, toy mice and jumping up onto her scratching post. She seems a lot happier. Stay tuned for another update next week!