Pet Advice

From your local vets in Wrexham

  • Canine
  • Feline
  • Microchipping
  • Useful Links
  • Time to Say Goodbye

Canine

Canine nutrion

The nutritional requirements of dogs vary greatly to those of humans. The best diets take these requirements into account and are tailored to the breed, size, age and activity level of your dog.

If you are a Pet Health Club member you receive cost price food!


Feeding your dog

When you pick up your new puppy, you should ask the breeder what food your puppy has been fed on. You should feed that food and if you want to change it, introduce the new diet over 7 days by mixing it with the food your puppy has previously been fed. A sudden change of food will cause an upset stomach. Remember your puppy’s digestive system is still developing.

Divide the daily amount (the packaging will say how much to feed) into 3-4 meals and feed your puppy at regular intervals.

Dry food does meet all the nutritional requirements and if the dry food is for puppies and for the correct size of your dog, your puppy should be able to eat the kibble without any problem. You can add warm water to soften the kibble and gradually reduce the amount of water added over a couple of weeks until your puppy will eat the dry kibble.


Wet puppy meat

If you wish to feed wet puppy meat, a good quality wet diet should be selected.

Your puppy should be fed on a puppy diet from 2 months of age to 6-9 months of age (depending on the size/breed of you dog). They should then move on to a junior life stage diet.

At 6-9 months of age you should reduce the amount of meals to 2-3 meals daily. The daily amount given on the packaging will also alter month by month.

At 10-18 months (depending on size/breed of your dog) your dog should be moved onto the adult life stage diet and the daily allowance may alter again.


Neutering

If and when your dog is neutered, his/her energy balance alters which can lead to weight gain. Reducing the energy level in the diet will help by reducing the quantity fed daily by 10-20% or switching to a ‘neutered’ diet. A controlled diet and plenty of exercise will prevent weight gain.

At 5-8 years old (depending on size/breed) your dog should be moved onto a senior diet as they have reduced levels of phosphorus and sodium to maintain kidney and heart health and good quality protein to maintain muscle mass. A senior diet can help with joint support and weight maintenance, as it is tailored to the dietary requirements of older dogs.

If you are a Pet Health Club member you receive 20% off neutering.

Feline

Feline nutrition

Unlike man, who is an omnivore, the cat is a strict carnivore with a body perfectly adapted to this type of diet.


Feeding your cat

Feeding cats with a Health Nutrition food suited to their age, their size, their lifestyle, specific sensitivities and even to their breed means supporting their health and wellbeing. Cats are ‘nibblers’ and prefer to have several small meals a day. They can easily take up to 10-16 meals a day if food is made available to them.

Dry food has dental advantages but if you wish to feed wet food, chunks or flakes are preferred. Also a good quality wet diet should be selected. Texture is very important to cats. They tend to like a variety of textures and also flavours.

A kitten should be weaned at around 4-6 weeks old and will be able to eat a good quality kitten food. If you choose to feed a dry kitten diet, the kibble will be of a suitable size to enable your kitten to eat it without difficulty. However, warm water can be added to soften the kibble at first and the amount of water added can then be gradually reduced.

Kittens/cats do not need milk (cows’ or kitten/cat milk) as they lose the ability to digest lactose (a type of sugar in the milk) and this can cause diarrhoea. Water is just fine. Remember that if you are feeding a wet diet, the kitten/cat will get the majority of its water intake from the wet diet, so may not be seen to drink much. Fresh water should be available at all times, especially if fed a dry diet.

If you are a Pet Health Club member you receive cost price food!


At the age of 12 months

At the age of 12 months old, change your cat onto an adult diet.

If and when your cat is neutered, his/her energy balance will alter which can lead to weight gain. Reducing the energy level in the diet will help by reducing the quantity fed daily by 10-20% or switching to a ‘neutered’ diet. A controlled diet and plenty of exercise will prevent weight gain.

Indoor cats will require less calories than outdoor cats, this can be achieved by feeding them a lower calorie diet or by reducing the daily amount fed.


At the age of 7 years

At the age of 7 years, a senior diet should be selected as this will have reduced levels of phosphorus and sodium to maintain kidney and heart health, plus good quality protein to maintain muscle mass. A senior diet can help with joint support and weight maintenance, as it is tailored to the dietary requirements of older cats.

Microchipping

Why should I microchip my pet?

A large number of pets go missing every year. If they are found and brought to a vet, pet charity inspector or the council warden, they can be scanned and traced back to you in a matter of hours. The chip is implanted by injection and this can be done during a nurse or vet clinic. It causes very little or no discomfort on injection and is inert, so should cause no problem at all afterwards.

From 6th April 2016, your dog must be microchipped by law and your details kept updated.  

Microchipping is included in our popular Pet Health Club. For more information click here.

Time to Say Goodbye

How do I know it is time?

As pet owners, we endeavour to make sure that our faithful companions stay fit and healthy, enabling them to live to an old age. Unfortunately, our pets do not live as long as us and at some point, we will have to prepare to let them go. Sadly, few of our pets pass peacefully away in their sleep. Therefore, we all wish to do the right thing at the right time, fulfilling our responsibility and commitment in their final days. We hope these words will help you and your family in a time of conflicting emotions.

Nobody knows their pet better than you and your closest family and friends, so let them help and share in making a reasoned judgement on your pet’s quality of life.
 
Indications that things may not be well may include:

  • Loss of appetite
  • A reluctance to play and move around as normal
  • Restlessness or becoming withdrawn from you

When the time is right to put your pet to sleep, you may see evidence of a combination of all the above indicators and your pet may seem distressed, uncomfortable or disorientated within your home.
 
Is there nothing more I can do?

As your vet, we will discuss all treatment options available for your pet to relieve their symptoms, but there will come a time when all forms of treatment have been exhausted, we have discovered the disease is incurable, or you feel your pet is suffering too much. You and your family may wish to talk with your Veterinary Surgeon to help you all come to this final decision; in this case, we will arrange an appointment for you.
 
When and where can we say goodbye?

We hope this section will help you and your family understand your pet’s end-of-life journey. This is known as ‘euthanasia’ but often referred to as ‘putting to sleep’. After discussing with your family and your vet, and having decided that the time has come, you can contact your surgery and make an appointment. We will always try to make this appointment at a time that is convenient for you – usually at a quieter time of the day.
 
It is also possible to arrange this appointment to be performed in the comfort of your own home. If this is an option you would like, we will do our best to arrange a home visit. In these cases, a vet and a nurse will visit your home. When they have put your pet to sleep, they will either take the body back to the surgery for cremation or leave them with you to bury at home. Additional charges will apply for this service and certain times of day may be restricted.
 
Will I be able to stay with my pet?

Being present when your pet is put to sleep will be both emotional and distressing, but the majority of owners feel that they give comfort to their pet during their last moments, and can make their final goodbyes. But this is not comfortable for everyone; we understand if you do not want to stay in the room with your pet but make your goodbyes afterwards. We will always make time for you and your family to do this.
 
What will happen?

Initially, your vet or another member of our team will ask you to sign a consent form to give us permission to put your pet to sleep. You may have already discussed with your vet what you then wish to do with your pet’s body, but we will confirm this on the consent form.

Many owners are surprised by how peaceful euthanasia can be. Euthanasia involves injecting an overdose of anaesthetic into the vein of your pet’s front leg. Some of our vets would have previously inserted a catheter into the vein or sedated your pet if they are particularly nervous or uncomfortable.
 
After the anaesthetic has been injected, your pet’s heart will stop beating and they will rapidly lose consciousness and stop breathing. Your vet will check that their heart has stopped beating and confirm that they have passed away. On occasion, the pet’s muscles and limbs may tremble and they may gasp a few times, these are reflex actions only – not signs of life – but may be upsetting. If they occur, they are unavoidable. Your pet’s eyes will remain open and it is normal for them to empty their bowel or bladder as the body shuts down.


Afterwards

What happens next?

There are several options available for your pet. Your Veterinary team can discuss these with you and give you an idea of costs involved.

  • Communal Cremation – Leave your pet with us to be cremated with other pets. With this type of cremation, no ashes will be returned to you. For the majority of our clients, this is the most appropriate form of closure.
  • Individual Cremation – A private cremation for your pet. Your pet’s ashes will then be returned to you in either a sealed casket of your choice or a scatter box, for you and your family to scatter their ashes in a location of your choice. Our team will have several options you can choose from.
  • ‘Taking them home’ – You can also take your pet home for burial, but please bear in mind this may not always be practical.
  • Some surgeries also have a local pet cemetery company that will arrange everything from collecting your pet from the vet, preparing a grave and performing the burial. Our practice team will be able to give you further information.

When will I need to decide?

We would encourage you and your family to discuss these options before your pet is put to sleep, and to let your vet know. We will keep a note of your wishes with pet’s notes. However, in some cases the euthanasia may have occurred after an accident and you will need more time to make this decision. It is possible for us to keep your pet for a short time afterwards, to give you and your family time to reflect before making a decision.
 
Coping with the loss

Everyone deals with grief in different ways. When grieving for a much-loved pet, you or other members of your family may experience a range of emotions from shock, denial, disbelief and, very often, guilt. Should you wish to talk to anyone at your Veterinary surgery, we can offer support and advice.

If, after reading these pages, there are still facts you would like to know, we will be more than happy to help. Please contact us at the surgery.

The following organisations can provide further help and support:

My Family Pet - Coping with the Death of Your Pet

My Family Pet - Helping Children Understand Pet Loss

The Blue Cross also offer a bereavement support line if you would like to talk to someone. The number is 0800 0966606.

Practice information

Wrexham Surgery

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Gatewen Road Wrexham LL11 6YA
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