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Testimonials

Testimonials

International Cat Day – 8th August

International Cat Day takes place on 8th August every year. As custodians of this important day, International Cat Care are excited to announce that this year’s campaign is themed ‘Purrfect Play Every Day’.

We will be following the campaign across the week.

More about International Cat Care

International Cat Care believe in a world in which each cat’s life experience will be as good as it can be. They do this by providing cat owners, veterinary professionals and those that live and work with cats with the resources, support and advice they need to care better for their cats.

They offer an A to Z Guide to your cats health for reference and do a lot of work with unowned cats.

They run regular campaigns which we like to follow and support as we can.

Cat Friendly Clinic

As an International Cat Care Cat Friendly Clinic we like to follow and support their regular campaigns.

 

The campaign

This year’s International Cat Day offers the opportunity to learn more about how play can benefit your cat’s physical and mental wellbeing.

It features information on why playing with your cat is important and about why cats play : increased mental stimulation, reducing hunting behaviour, encourages exercise, reduces problem behaviours – and of course strengthens the human animal bond.

View this article here:

To help support the campaign, International Cat Care will be looking for cat owners to complete a short survey about cat play. Participants will be entered into a prize draw for the chance to win a custom pet portrait by celebrated animal illustrator Lili Chin!  We’ll share the link as soon as ICC launch the survey

Online repeat medication ordering

We now offer repeat medication ordering online via our website – click here to visit the form

Repeat medication for your pets and horses can now be ordered online using our quick and simple form.

You will need to allow two working days for all repeat medication requests to be processed, before coming to collect the medication from us.

For small animals…

We will need to see your pet once every 12 months for flea and worming products – ideally at your vaccination and annual health check appointment.

For pets who are on other regular ongoing medication a vet will need to see you for a Repeat Prescription & Health Check every 3 months.

Click to complete the form

For horses…..

Horses who are on ongoing regular medication, our equine vets will need to see your horse every 6 months for a Repeat Prescription & Health Check.

Click to complete the form

 

Note

If you think your pet or horse needs a medication that they are not already receiving regularly, you may need an appointment before we can prescribe it for you. If you are unsure either complete the form and we will contact you if we need to, or call us on 01653 618303 for advice.

PLEASE NOTE – AS OF AUGUST 2024 THIS CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN PAUSED BY CATS PROTECTION AND WE DON’T HAVE ANY VOUCHERS LEFT

Cats Protection subsidised £10 neutering scheme

For cat owners across Yorkshire we offer the Cats Protection subsidised neutering scheme which means eligible clients pay just £10 towards the procedure.

Eligibility

You will have to complete a voucher form declaring their eligibility.

  • Means tested benefits : universal credit, income support, housing benefit, council tax benefit, pension credit, Income based ESA or ISA, working tax credit and child tax credit
  • Household annual income of less than £25,000
  • Full time students
  • ALSO stray, feral and farm cats

To check your eligibility please contact the Cats Protection League on 03000 121212 before booking your procedure.

What’s included?
  • Neuter (routine spay or castrate)
  • Post op Metacam 3ml bottle
  • Buster click collar
  • Microchip (not optional and is to be registered by the Practice initially and completed by you)
  • Post op nurse appointment
What happens when I book my appointment with Station House Vets?

Once you have confirmed your eligibility – either by self declaration, or as required by the Cats Protection League, call us on 01653 618303 to book your neutering surgery and an admit appointment.

We will need to register you and your cat(s) with us. We can then book a suitable date for the surgery.  You will need to pay your £10 contribution at this point, or provide proof from the CPL that you are eligible for the surgery to be paid for fully by them.

What happens the day of the surgery?

Prior to the surgery we will email you instructions for feeding and medication requirements in anticipation of your admit appointment.

Please arrive 5-10 minutes before your admit appointment time so you can complete the self certifying Cats Protection Voucher.  Your admit appointment will be with a vet if we haven’t seen your cat before; or with a nurse if you are an existing client.  Once the surgery is over and your cat is in recovery, we will call you to organise a discharge time later in the day.  You will also need to come back for a follow up post-op check a few days after the surgery.

Want to go ahead?

Call us on 01653 618303.

Vaccination amnesty

Many owners know to bring their dog or cat for ‘annual jabs’ but most are not sure why, and some are not even sure if this is necessary.    In short- it really is!

Vaccinating dogs

Dogs are vaccinated against Canine distemper virus (CDV), canine adenovirus ( infectious hepatitis), canine parvovirus and Leptospirosis. For many years we did not see a lot of CDV in the UK due to vaccination but case numbers are rising due to increased numbers of dogs imported into the UK from Eastern Europe. Parvovirus is common in urban areas and causes an often fatal diarrhoea especially in puppies. Leptospirosis (Weil’s disease in humans) is caught from rats, specifically  rats urine and is more common in rural areas. Leptosporosis can be passed from an infected dog to a human and is often fatal.

Dogs are also vaccinated against Contagious Canine Cough (kennel cough) this disease causes ill health and is highly contagious but rarely fatal.

Vaccinating cats

Domestic cats are vaccinated against a few nasty cat viruses: calici virus, feline herpes virus (the cat flu virus’s), feline panleukopenia virus and FELV which is cat feline leukaemia virus (common in feral cats and often caught by fighting).

Vaccinating rabbits

Pet rabbits require one vaccination annually to protect against myxomatosis and RDH 1 and 2 (rabbit haemorrhagic disease) all of which can be caught from wild rabbits and are usually fatal. These diseases can be brought into your home or garden from something as simple as walking where wild rabbits have been, so even house rabbits require vaccination.

Vaccination course for puppies

Vets recommend puppies have a full vaccination course, and the first annual booster vaccination include everything mentioned above . After the first booster vaccination against contagious canine cough and Leptospirosis is required annually and everything else every third year. Contrary to occasional rumours these vaccinations are not harmful and as animals get older they do not build up a resistance to any of these diseases. The vaccination protocols need to be followed to protect your pet. Out of date/lapsed vaccinations can mean you cannot use doggy day care or boarding kennels and can it can invalidate your pet health insurance policy.

Vaccination amnesty

During June, July and August, at Station House Vets we are running a  ‘vaccination amnesty’ this means that if your dog or cats vaccination course has lapsed and requires re starting to get back on track

(2 vaccinations 4 weeks apart) this can be done

for the price of a booster £52.50, saving £22.50!!

Call 01653 618303 now to book in before the end of August!

Laminitis advice

Laminitis is an extremely painful condition affecting 1 in 10 horses/ponies & donkeys and can cause permanent damage to the hooves.  It can occur in any of the horse’s hooves but is more commonly seen in the front hooves.
What is laminitis?

Laminitis affects tissue called sensitive laminae which are found in the horse’s hoof. The sensitive laminae act like velcro to form a strong bond to support the pedal bone within the hoof.  Laminitis causes the sensitive laminae to stretch, weaken and become damaged which can cause the pedal bone to move within the hoof (think of a zip being un-done).

In extreme cases, the pedal bone can rotate and/or drop through the sole of the hoof which is very painful. In cases like this, euthanasia is likely to be the only treatment option to end the horse’s suffering.

Signs of laminitis
What are the signs of laminitis to look out for?
– Lameness* affecting most commonly at least two limbs, or reluctance to move
– The horse leans back onto its heels to take the weight off the painful toe area
– The lameness is worse when the horse walks on hard ground or turns
– Shifting weight between feet when resting
– Heat in the hooves
– Increased digital pulses
– Pain with use of hoof testers at the point of frog on the foot
What triggers laminitis
Laminitis can be triggered by the following factors:
– Overfeeding of grass, or intake of lush grass
– Metabolic disorders
– Obesity
– Certain medical conditions (such as Cushing’s disease)
What to do if you suspect laminitis
Call us immediately. Laminitis can be debilitating for horses, ponies and donkeys and it is important you seek veterinary advice from us as soon as you see any of the above signs or suspect laminitis.
How to prevent laminitis
– Manage your horses diet
– Managing their access to grass
– Monitor their weight closely
– Regular exercise
– Good hoof care
Feel free to call the equine team with your concerns on 01653 618303.

National Smile Month 2023 : Brush for better dental health

National Smile Month is a charity campaign all about championing the benefits of having good oral health and promoting the value of a healthy smile.

Between 15 May and 15 June, the Oral Health Foundation will be raising awareness of important health issues and ready to put a smile on everybody’s face.

Oral Health Foundation want you to join in and make a positive difference to the oral health of millions of people – and so we thought we  should also include our pets!

Like us, it is ideal to brush your pet’s teeth twice daily. For many pets, once brushing becomes a part of their daily routine they will begin to expect and enjoy it.
 
If you are unsure how to introduce your pet to toothbrushing, book in with our nursing team for a free dental health clinic during National Smile Month which runs from 15 May to 15 June so we can help you start to introduce your pet to a toothbrush, and then move onto actual toothbrushing.
 
We have a range of teeth cleaning products from Vetschoice for your pets in the practice including gum wipes, Plaqaid water additive and antibacterial enzymatic toothpaste. Find out more about these below.

Vetschoice antibacterial, enzymatic, and abrasive Toothpaste is the most effective way to control dental plaque.  Use it daily using the convenient finger toothbrush supplied with the paste. Dogs and cats often tolerate a finger toothbrush better than a regular brush and the delicious beefy taste of the toothpaste will mean that your pet looks forward to teeth brushing every day! We also have regular small toothbrushes for pets that will accept or prefer a bigger brush.

Vetschoice Dental Gum Wipes are the next best thing to brushing. Our handy wipes mean that you can keep on top of your pet’s dental hygiene quickly and easily, especially when on the move.

On top of this, Vetschoice Plaqaid water additive allows for healthy dental support. By simply adding this to your pet’s freshwater every day, you can help reduce the bacteria in the saliva and on the teeth or gums. Not all pets take to Plaqaid® straightaway so start with a small amount first and then gradually build-up to the recommended daily amount.

Video links:
How to introduce your pet to a toothbrush visit : View video
How to do regular teeth cleaning with your pet : View video

Malton Show 2023 equine section sponsors

We are delighted to announce that we are the equine section sponsors for the Malton Show this year.

We are looking forward to working with the show equine team and supporting the competitors on Sunday 25th June.

There’s something for everyone at the Show – it’s a fun day out for all the family.

On the equine side there’s 78 classes from heavy horses to miniature shetlands – there’s a class for just about everyone!

Visit for online equine entries.

To find out more about the show visit https://maltonshow.com

About the show
The Malton Agricultural Society was formed in 1833 and the first recorded summer show or exhibition was held in the early 1870s. The first show of beef, the forerunner of the present day fat stock shows, was held on December 22, 1885. In the same year, the Great Yorkshire show had been held at Malton in the Orchard Fields, with the Malton Floral Society holding its own exhibition in a marquee on the same site as part of the show. By 1948, the show committee was dominated by working farmers and had changed its day to a Thursday. In 1998, because of the lack of space at the Showfield Lane site in Malton, the show moved to Scampston Park. To retain the long established link with the townspeople, a half-hourly free bus service is run from Malton to the showground. Scampston Park is a wonderful site, enabling the show to continue to grow.

The evolution of veterinary care

James Herriot wouldn’t recognise the modern first opinion practice of today. Not only have the horse hair sutures and exploding purple tinctures vanished, to be replaced by the best medical technology and effective safe drugs, but the whole modern way of using visiting specialists, either at the surgery or over the magical web, which has allowed us to massively extend our services “in-house”. This means that we have access to their expertise and specialised equipment without having to travel our injured pets miles to visit other centres of excellence.

On the horse side we have close ties with practices both near and far, depending on the specific problem they have, and can refer them to the best surgeons available for rapid top quality care. We have visiting acupuncture, laser therapists and on site visiting dental specialists and master farriers.

For small animals, I’ll take my own dog as an example. The wonderful “Magpie” had began to snore with every breath and needed our attention. A Herriot era test of holding a scrap of tissue to her nostrils confirmed that the left nostril was completely blocked and the tissue didn’t move with each breath. A short reversible, safe sedation followed and the digital dental X-ray revealed a mass in her nose.

Not only one, but four colleagues replied to my emailed photograph within minutes offering their advice and one of our amazing expert surgeons visited the next day with specialist equipment to remove the tooth-germ tumour through a bone flap in her face. This was sent for histology at our lab giving us the great news that it wasn’t malignant.

She could have had in-house specialist imaging by endoscopy or ultrasound from our visiting imaging specialists. laser therapy, acupuncture, feeding advice or even behavioural expert attention while at the practice (which would have been useful,given that she is bonkers!). Or follow up physio or even aquatherapy if it had been needed. Luckily a simple operation was enough in her case, and she is fit and well running amok, barking excessively, as ever.

With unlimited budget available I could have referred her to any specialist in the country, as we are able to do this being an independent practice and we regularly offer this to our clients. However, I wanted her nearby and cared for by people I trust and who know her and our family, just as we care for you and your pets, both great and small, as if they were our own, keeping your wishes and budgets in mind.

This week is tick prevention week.

What are ticks and why are they important to prevent?
Ticks are external parasites that live by biting and then feeding off of the blood of humans and animals. It is important to prevent tick bites in both humans and your pets as some can carry harmful bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) that can cause Lymes disease and other serious illnesses. Not all ticks carry these harmful bacteria but it is good practice to prevent the occurrence of ticks in the first place – just in case.

Bites from foreign ticks if your pet is taken on holiday can be particularly harmful.

What are the symptoms of Lymes disease?
Lymes disease is a serious bacterial infection that occurs in dogs, cats and humans. Although it is less common in cats.

Symptoms can include:
– Depression– Loss of appetite– Fever– Lameness– Swollen and painful joints– Swollen lymph nodes– Lethargy

Lymes disease can be treated with antibiotics so it is important to seek veterinary care immediately.

When are ticks most prevalent?
Tick infestations usually occur from Spring to early Summer (between March and June) and then again from late Summer throughout Autumn (between August and November)

Where are they found?
The preferred environments for ticks are in grassy and wooded areas right across the UK.

They are very common in areas with high numbers of sheep. Ticks carrying the bacteria that causes Lymes disease are more common in some parts of the UK than others.

How to prevent ticks
Consult your vet to ensure you use the right preventative tick-control product for your pet as they will identify the right product and quantity for your pets weight and age. Products come in oral medications, or topical treatments such as spot-on treatments, sprays or anti-tick collars.

At Station House Vets we recommend Bravecto (tablet or spot on) Nexguard Spectra (tablet) or Seresto (a collar) as tick prevention treatments – most of these products also prevent fleas too.