Idiopathic Issues

Good bedside manner is one of the most important skills that a veterinary professional can possess. Your ability to convey confidence and compassion to your clients is key to building a solid client base.  It’s true that you can be a successful clinician, save lives, perform technical services and diagnose rare diseases without good bedside manner, but your job will likely be a lot easier if you have a sparkling personality, especially in companion animal medicine. What can you do to help your patients feel comfortable?  

It is truly amazing how some animals get themselves into trouble. Sometimes they bring it upon themselves and sometimes we set them up for failure.  The holidays are a very common time for mishaps.  We get busy, the normal routine is interrupted, there are new people in the mix and sometimes our patients pay the price.  It’s our job to inform owners of the dangers.

Here are some typical Halloween offenders:

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but almost every veterinary journal and magazine in the past 12 months has had an article about how to encourage cat owners to bring their pets in for routine wellness exams. Why is this? Is cat care really in crisis?

Ketamine has been in the news recently as there is international interest to change the availability of this commonly used drug.  Currently, ketamine is a Schedule III drug in the United States under the Controlled Substance Act. It is not internationally restricted.  

The World Health Organization plans to meet and discuss ketamine along with over 100 other drugs during a meeting in November.  The AVMA has submitted statements to the FDA in hopes that ketamine will continue to be available for use in veterinary medicine worldwide while continuing to make sure that this medication is not abused or misused.

There have been studies in the last few years evaluating the long-term effects of spaying and neutering pets. As veterinarians, we are taught that spaying and neutering pets is an absolute must in all cases and should occur typically around 5 to 6 months of age.

Spaying and neutering is a very important part of controlling the pet population. However, it is hard to ignore the implications of these studies if wellness and longevity are the center of our practices. This article is to bring to light some additional information we should consider when making decisions about when to spay or neuter our patients, as every pet situation is different.