Feline Focus

New fluid therapy guidelines offer a ‘win-win-win’

Fluid therapy is important for many medical conditions in dogs and cats and is part of providing the best possible care for pets. To provide guidance for veterinary practitioners, the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) have released the 2013 AAHA/AAFP Fluid Therapy Guidelines for Dogs and Cats.

These guidelines provide helpful and practical recommendations for choosing and administering fluids. Fluid therapy can impact patient outcome positively in a number of different scenarios and is easy to implement without requiring significant capital investment. Fluids are essential for life and support vital organs for longevity. Many medical conditions can be more thoroughly and quickly treated with appropriate fluid therapy, saving the client money and adding years to their pet’s life.

‘Our hope is that we have removed the barriers for veterinarians who currently are not embracing fluid therapy to do so now,’ said Tracey Jensen, DVM, DABVP, contributing author of the new guidelines. ‘There are many conditions and situations where the patient can benefit from fluid support. We see this as a win-win-win situation: a win for the patient by receiving better medical care, a win for the client with quicker resolution of illness, decreased anesthesia risk and overall decreased veterinary expense, and a win for the practitioner with increased positive case outcome.’

Stronger antibiotics increase resistance

Bacteria can evolve resistance more quickly when stronger antibiotics are used, according to new scientific research published in PLoS Biology. Researchers from the University of Exeter in the UK and Kiel University in Germany treated Escherichia coli with different combinations of antibiotics in the laboratory and found that the rate of evolution of antibiotic resistance sped up when the most potent treatments were given. They suggest that too potent a treatment eliminates the non-resistant cells, creating a lack of competition that allows resistant bacteria to multiply quickly.

iCatCare opens European training centre

To improve the support offered to animal charities from outside the UK, International Cat Care (iCatCare), ISFM’s parent charity, has developed the European Cat Population Management and Welfare Training Centre. This is a residential unit in Portugal where charity vets and volunteers can receive high quality, free training in a collaborative way where ideas and techniques are exchanged in classroom, surgery and workshop environments.

Veterinary training was provided by Dr Jenny Stavisky, Research Fellow in Shelter Medicine at Nottingham University in the UK, to four Portuguese vets, a vet from Georgia and two Portuguese trap–neuter–return volunteers who attended the inaugural course in April. Trapping and handling training was provided by Ian MacFarlaine, Head of Operations (Welfare) at iCatCare, who coordinates the courses (cpmw@icatcare.org). Further courses are planned for 2013.

OPEN IN VIEWER

Staff, iCatCare team members and participants in the first training course at the European Cat Population Management and Welfare Training Centre

OPEN IN VIEWER

iCatCare uses a ‘pop-up’ surgical facility in a municipal building to do its training in Portugal. Almost all the equipment needed to run the facility to a high standard is already in Portugal, having travelled via road with the iCatCare team

Bite-sized reviews

BSAVA manual of canine and feline endocrinology

4th ed.

British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucestershire, UK 2012. Paperback, 294 pages. Price £49.00 BSAVA members, £80.00 non-members. ISBN 9781905319282.

Positives This book provides helpful quick reference boxes containing differential diagnoses, common clinical signs and management recommendations. There are also a number of useful figures which help to illustrate particular concepts and algorithms. The case studies at the end of each chapter provide the opportunity to test the knowledge acquired through reading the chapter. The early chapters of the book regarding hormone assays and sample collection and endocrine test results are particularly helpful for clinicians to understand test performance and interpretation of results. Many of the endocrine diseases such as hyperthyroidism, diabetes mellitus and hyperadrenocorticism have separate chapters for canine and feline presentation of the endocrinopathies.

Negatives The depth at which each endocrinopathy is discussed in each chapter is sufficient for most general practitioners; however, there may be those requiring further information, such as clinicians studying for postgraduate qualifications, for which the book may not be adequate.

Target audience All veterinary surgeons, particularly those from general practice, and also veterinary undergraduate students.

Comment This book is a handy resource for all practitioners working in small animal practice and should be included on the shelf of every small animal clinic. It provides easily accessible information regarding diagnosis and management of the major endocrine disorders in cats.

Ratings (out of five cats)

Natalie Finch

BVSc PhD MRCVS

iCatCare Resident, Bristol University

Small animal emergency and critical care

Eliza Mazzaferro, ed. Wiley-Blackwell, Ames, Iowa, 2011. Paperback, 858 pages. Price £59.99 ISBN 9780813820439.

Positives The information in this book is easily accessible; each chapter is organised alphabetically and clearly divided into practical subheadings. The text is presented in a concise bullet point form, helping the clinician to work through a troublesome case logically. Many photographs are included for reference and reassurance, and dosages and rates are clearly laid out in tabulated form.

Negatives Few. However, the large size/weight and small page size of the book may be impractical when being used in clinic. The text is uniform throughout, whereas it may be advantageous to highlight essential information for convenience in an emergency situation. From the feline clinician’s perspective, some specific subjects of particular interest are covered, although this is a much less comprehensive study of the subject than ‘Feline emergency and critical care medicine’ by Drobatz and Costello.

Target audience Practitioners and new graduates.

Comment This book would certainly have its place in the clinic for any new graduate as an accessible ‘go to’ guide for all emergency cases. Furthermore, this book provides more in-depth enlightenment on the more common emergency cases.

Ratings (out of five cats)

Feline-specific content

Practice resource

Value for money

Overall reviewer rating

Daniel Lewis

VetMB MA CertVA DipACVECC MRCVS

Canine and feline gastroenterology

Robert J Washabau and Michael J Day. 1st ed. Elsevier, St Louis, Missouri. Hardback, 996 pages. Price £91.00. ISBN 9781416036616.

Positives This is a welcome textbook, providing comprehensive knowledge of canine and feline gastroenterology. The book covers many aspects including diagnostic imaging, endoscopy and histopathology, as well as diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal, pancreatic and hepatobiliary disease. The images and diagrams within the book are clear, helpful and of good quality.

Negatives A clear separation between canine and feline patients for each chapter is lacking and perhaps more discussion on the comparative aspects between the species would be of interest to some.

Target audience All veterinary surgeons and also veterinary undergraduate students.

Comment This book provides a comprehensive resource for any veterinary practitioner or veterinary student with an interest in canine and feline gastroenterology.

Ratings (out of five cats)

Feline-specific content

Practice resource

Value for money

Overall reviewer rating

Natalie Finch

BVSc PhD MRCVS

iCatCare Resident, Bristol University

Applied veterinary clinical nutrition

Andrea J Fascetti and Sean J Delaney, eds. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, 2012. Hardback, 373 pages. Price £61.74. ISBN 9780813806570.

Positives The information is well organised into three basic sections: overview of nutrition and feeding in health, nutrition in disease states, and enteral and parenteral feeding techniques. The information provided is both practical and evidence-based (with appropriate citations at the end of each chapter). Some of the current hot topics in nutrition (eg, omega-3 fatty acids, raw food diets) are discussed in detail.

Negatives Some information may not be particularly relevant to general practitioners (eg, parenteral nutrition administration techniques) and to readers outside of the USA (eg, food labelling laws).

Target audience General practitioners, undergraduate students, interns and residents.

Comment A valuable resource for the busy general practitioner, providing recommendations and guidelines for the treatment of common nutritional disorders in a succinct and easy-to-read format. Very useful for the veterinary student (both under- and postgraduate) keen for a deeper understanding of the pathophysiological and research basis of these recommendations.

Ratings (out of five cats)

Feline-specific content

Practice resource

Value for money

Overall reviewer rating

Isuru Gajanayake

BVSc CertSAM DipACVIM MRCVS

Veterinary medical guide to dog and cat breeds

1st ed. Jerold Bell, Kathleen Cavanagh, Larry Tilley and Francis Smith, eds. Jackson, Teton New Media, 2012. Paperback, 705 pages. Price £75. ISBN 1591610028.

Positives This book is very well laid out with breeds listed in alphabetical order. A concise history of each breed with normal physical characteristics is given, along with normal physiological variance. Known drug sensitivities and recognised behaviour issues and traits are listed. Inherited diseases are listed briefly but with multiple references to enable the reader to easily access further information if required. The feline section is almost as comprehensive as the canine one (where information is available). Multiple appendices are presented, providing information on genetic testing and tabulated breed-specific conditions in both dogs and cats.

Negatives There is one photograph for each breed, which is of relatively low quality (frequently, sadly, featuring docked and ear-cropped dogs!), but the low quality is likely to keep the cost and weight of this chunky volume down!

Target audience Practitioners.

Comment An excellent breed and inherited disorders reference guide for canine and feline practitioners and specialists alike.

Ratings (out of five cats)

Feline-specific content

Practice resource

Value for money

Overall reviewer rating

Philippa Welsh

Pfizer Feline Scholar, University of Bristol Feline Centre

BSAVA/VPIS guide to common canine and feline poisons

1st ed. British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucestershire, UK, 2012. Paperback, 174 pages. Price £30.00 BSAVA members, £45.00 non-members. ISBN 9781905319459.

Positives This book is quick and easy to navigate, with poisons listed in alphabetical order. The pertinent clinical information about each toxicity and the management for this is well summarised. There are separate sections for canine and feline poisoning and a helpful section containing information for the decontamination procedures for dermal, gastrointestinal and ocular exposure. The alert status regarding the severity of the toxin the pet has been exposed to is also a useful feature of the book.

Negatives Few. The list of toxins included is not exhaustive but the book does provide information for the more commonly encountered poisons.

Target audience All veterinary surgeons, from general practitioner to specialist level, and veterinary nurses.

Comment A handy quick reference for commonly encountered poisons for cats and dogs, which should be included on the shelf of every small animal practice

Ratings (out of five cats)

Feline-specific content

Practice resource

Value for money

Overall reviewer rating

Natalie Finch

BVSc PhD MRCVS

iCatCare Resident, Bristol University