Little Cat’s Story

Although some readers may find this upsetting I feel it will be beneficial for people to know about Little Cat’s story. Over the last four years Little Cat a beautiful male Bengal cat has stayed with us on many occasions with his friend Marble who is also a Bengal and Baby Bunny a Rabbit. We have had some great times with these two cats and rabbit and have grown fond of their individual personalities. Last year we even threw a birthday party for Little Cat… which he really enjoyed (See pictures on our Instagram page).

During the last year Little Cats owner had noticed that he was slowly losing weight but it didn’t cause too much concern as he was still eating well and didn’t seem unwell at all. On a few occasions Little Cat was taken to the vet for check-ups as they were due to relocate to New York in February 2014. His owner bought up her concerns about her beloved cat’s weight loss, she also commented that his breath was a little smelly and thought he may need his teeth cleaned… We now know it was an Ammonia smell not bad breath. Little cats vet didn’t carry out any diagnostic tests and told his owner that he was well.

As more time went on Little cat visited us again and the cattery staff noticed he was still underweight but we all thought that he was fine as he had recent veterinary checks and we were not made aware of any concerns when he arrived. During his most recent visit it was noted that he had lost even more weight. He still seemed fit and strong and always ate all of his food. However, on Friday evening Little Cat seemed off of his food, this was not normal and very strange for him! On Saturday morning he refused his food again and he seemed a little under the weather. We decided to take him straight to our vet as we were very worried about him. I explained to our vet that Little Cat had lost weight, especially over the last six months and he had smelly breath, I also explained that we knew him well and he was definitely not himself and was not interested in his food. Our vet looked very concerned and took him straight in for diagnostic tests and hospitalisation to give him IV fluids as he was becoming dehydrated. Within hours his blood results came back which showed that he was suffering from chronic kidney failure. Our vet explained that it was severe and he had probably been suffering with this condition for about 2 years… It was a massive shock for his owner to hear this, especially as she was abroad getting everything ready to receive them in the new family home in New York.

After a tense 24 hours of Little Cat being hospitalised his condition deteriorated rapidly and the very difficult decision was taken to put Little Cat to rest. It was a heart breaking moment for me to hear this horrible news and even harder for the cattery staff who had loved and cared for him over the last four years.

I would like to firstly say on behalf of my whole team, that Little Cat was such a beautiful natured cat and we hope he is now resting in peace. But I would also like to raise awareness for other pet owners. I dare say that if tests had been carried out sooner and preventative treatment given, we would probably still have Little Cat here with us now. If you ever feel that your pet is different in anyway, physically or not you must always push your vet to diagnose the problem as quickly as possible… don’t forget, you know your pet/s better than anyone.

Below is a Facebook message that was posted on our Facebook from Little Cat and also a picture taken of Little Cat at home in May 2013.

“Dear Elmtree, Tom, Katy, Angie and Staff
I want to thank you all from the bottom of my small heart for everything that you have done for me in the last 48hrs and in the past 3-4 years. I will miss you all VERY much. Whatever happens, that was my last stay with you and I will never forget the wonderful love, care and attention that you gave me, Marble and Baby Bunny. I still can’t believe you had a birthday party for me in November. I will never forget it.
Thank you enormously.
With MUCH LOVE to all, Little Cat”

Rest In Peace Little Cat

The Dangers of Dogs and Chocolate

Written by our vet (Simon Hayes BVM&S MRCVS)

I think most people are now aware of the dangers of chocolate to dogs, unfortunately I don’t think dogs have realised yet.

Recently a little dog called pickles happily walked in wagging his tail. His owner had been out and when she came back, the box of chocolate truffles which had been attached safely to the Christmas tree, was nowhere to be seen. Just a small piece of the cardboard box was left, semi-chewed on the floor. Little did Pickles know that he had actually eaten enough to be a toxic dose that could potentially kill him. Chocolate contains caffeine and in this is a substance called Theobromine. This is what gives us a 10-20 minute rush after eating chocolate, but dogs metabolise Theobromine very slowly and it causes all sorts of problems. Dark chocolate is much more dangerous, but Pickles had eaten enough milk chocolate to be a problem.

We injected him with a drug to make him vomit. And wow did he vomit! If you’ve never had the pleasure of multiple chocolate vomits you’re missing out. It’s enough to put you off (for a few hours anyway!). I felt that hopefully we had got to him in time and the amount of chocolate he brought up should have stopped its absorption. To be safe we administered an activated charcoal solution to soak up the toxins. Poor Pickles – he looked like a chimney sweep with charcoal all stuck to his beard. Imagine the nurse’s joy when he shook his head spraying charcoal and chocolate vomit around the room!!!

Pickle’s heart rate continued to go up and his ECG showed a sinus tachycardia which can be very dangerous so we started him on Beta blockers to slow his heart down. He was put onto intravenous fluids and monitored overnight. Fortunately, his heart stabilised and he never developed seizures. He was one of the lucky ones.

There are so many dangers to dogs and cats at this time of year. Just take a look at the terrible advert Morrisons put out (which they have now withdrawn) showing a boy feeding Christmas pudding to his dog. Raisins and sultanas are also toxic to dogs and can cause fatal kidney failure.

Athena the Labrador

Yesterday we re-homed a lovely dog called Athena as her owner’s son sadly developed an allergy towards their pets. She went to an amazing fur-ever home on a huge farm, where she joined a pack of 6 farm dogs. Anyway she has settled in really well and her new owner text me this morning to let me know how she had settled in… Well let’s just say, she slept on his bed all night.

We still have Athena’s friend to rehome who is a beautiful red Cocker Spaniel, she is female and has not been spayed. She has just had her annual vaccinations and health check. She has also been wormed and treated for fleas.

See pictures below of Athena the yellow Labrador in her new home and 2 members of her new family (black Labradors) and also a picture of Goldie who is still looking for a new home.

Contact Tom on 020 8367 4625 OR manager@elmtreekennels.co.uk for more information.

Athena the Labrador and Friends

Review from Shara’s owner

I am writing to thank you for looking after Shara over Christmas and New Year, (although I personally find it difficult to leave her in kennels as i miss her so much) Shara on the other hand really looks forward to coming for a rest. She has stayed 6 times to date with 2 more holidays booked. This time her driver arrived I could hardly hold on to her lead as she ran and jumped in the back and sat ready to go with a smile, she came back to us soft and shiny and smelling like she had just left a beauty spa, I am so happy to have found such a great holiday home for her.

Kindest regards Celine and “Shara”