Pet’s Corner Q&A

My cat, Elsa, is being neutered next week. I usually look after my grandchildren on the day she is due home. Will she be okay around them?

Elsa will need peace and quiet after surgery. If you can arrange for someone else to have your grandchildren, or make sure Elsa has her own space to recover away from them, that would be ideal.

Elsa will need a comfortably warm, quiet room so she can rest undisturbed for as long as she needs.

Make sure she has familiar bedding, so she feels relaxed.

Your vets should give you specific advice for Elsa, but it’s important she doesn’t jump up onto anything such as a sofa, window ledge or cupboard.

If she wants to sit next to you on the sofa, carefully lift her up, making sure you support her back end, so she doesn’t stretch or pull anything – then down again when she is ready.

---

My cat Snowbell is always itching, especially around her face, ears and neck. Could she have developed an allergy? She’s two.

Just like people, cats can develop allergies.

However, your vet will want to check Snowbell over first, to make sure that she does not have any pesky parasites like fleas.

Once this has been ruled out then your vet may want to do some investigations and they’ll ask lots of questions, which may point them in the direction of what’s causing the problem.

Allergies develop over time, pets can be allergic to many different things and it can take some time to get to the bottom of the issue.

Sadly, an exact cause of the allergy may never be identified and the best that can be achieved is control of the condition.

Your vet may consider her food too, especially if you’ve recently changed to a new diet.

For more information visit Food allergy in cats – PDSA

---

Thumper has stopped eating his food the past few days. Should I change his diet or get him seen by the vet?

Please arrange for Thumper to be seen by your vet today, as it’s a real concern if rabbits stop eating.

Unlike many other pets, who can cope with occasionally missing a meal, rabbits need to eat hay or growing grass all the time to keep their guts moving.

Rabbits can suffer with gut stasis which is a serious and life threatening condition where their guts slow right down and stop moving food along their insides.

Thumper may have stopped eating due to dental disease, stress or something else.

Not eating in rabbits is dangerous and can become serious very quickly, so don’t delay and have Thumper seen by your vet.