Saturday, January 18, 2014

Date with your dog: roadtrips and DIY dog beds

The late TP has a sleep in my suitcase. (NB I NEVER pack animals IN the suitcase...they just love to sleep in it when I arrive).


This week we celebrate the humble "roadie" with your dog. If your dog is good in the car (not everyone copes well with car travel and I treat plenty of dogs for motion sickness), getting out of town for a night is an excellent way to spend a bit of time with your bestie. 

Phil practically dances when I pack my bags (I say bags - one of them is for him...when we arrive I throw a blanket in and he has a portable dog bed.

Phil with his booty.

If you are tied to the home or workplace this weekend, spend a few minutes checking out Tim Flach's dog photos. That white Hungarian pulli is stunning!

And if you didn't catch it this week, researchers have worked out that flying in a "V" formation actually reduces the effort required for migratory birds.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Interview with professional fairy outfitter Gigi

This formerly emaciated kitten wandered into the right house...

I met GiGi and her daughter Gem at a street fair in Glebe. They had a stall selling the most spectacular children’s fairy outfits. I asked if they made these for grown-ups. “Are you kidding?,” GiGi asked incredulously. “We outfit most of the professional fairies in Australia”.

A week later I found myself investing in not one but two fairy outfits, which have come in handy for special occasions and odd requests (such as judging the NSW Cavy Club’s guinea pig parsley eating competitions). And I’m not even a professional fairy.

Aside from a love of tutus, ribbons, fake flora and sequins, GiGi and Gem love their cats, and they've just fallen for a little ginger boy.

Greeting some cattle in a GiGi's fairy creation (nb I don't actually endorse fairy couture as work wear for vets, twas just a good photo opp). 
Who are you and what do you do?

GiGi, of GiGi's Fairy Fashion. Creative maker of fairy fantasy pieces and designer maker for female clothing on King St.

What a fairy shop looks like. An explosion of colour and sparkly things.
How did Gigi's Fairy Fashions come about?

As a hobby that took on a life of its own. Due to the wonderful reaction of children and parents to the product, the hobby turned into a business, and front that point, here we are many years later.

Who wears your elaborate fairy and mermaid/merman costumes?

The customers who wear them start as tiny babies for their Christmas, to Santa photos, all the way to movie sets and advertising agencies, not forgetting all  the wonderful children and parents, who recognise a classic fairy tutu as a milestone into the little princess world. Many of the little fairies insist on dressing like the fairy princess' that they hear and read about in their story books.

Can you tell us about your new kitty - how did you meet?

One evening, we often feed our neighbours' cat across the way, as they tend to forget in their busy lifestyle, so he wonders in about once a week for a pat and food. This time, he had a very skinny little stalker following him in the dark of the night (I think they were also avoiding the thunder storm that had just started).

After removing our neighbours’ little tubby kitty back home, we attended to what had strayed in. The poor little thing was so skinny and could barely stand, just wobbling side to side and looking a bit cross eyed.

We placed some food and water near the door frame that he had been standing near. He was too scared to stay around when we came near him at first. 

Starving, he ran over to the food as soon as it was placed down. Since gaining some trust over the evening, he had a small nap after his food, just keeping in eyesight the open door we had left for him, so he could leave and go back to his home. He left after about three hours and then next day he was back and decided that we were right for this time and affection. We placed posters up around the neighbourhood and checked online for any missing advertisements and had not had a chip. We still have not named him yet, after 8 months!

How would you describe your bond?

As he sleeps at the bottom of the garden, usually trying to cover himself with leaves, and finds it funny to jump out when he thinks no one can see him. We only see him in the evenings for quality time. Usually when we dish out his dinner…

He's an independent cat, and we have very different hours, so when we get time to relax, we usually have a ginger little guy come out of the garden and sits on the couch next to us, often laying on the remote and not happy when you try to take it. 

Puss enjoys affection...on HIS terms.
Your place must be a wonderland of ribbons and tulle. Does kitty get involved with the dresses?

This little one does not! He is interested when we lay down some things to cut, he has a thing for scissors!

We previously had two female cats for many years and we often found them trying to make beds in the fabric or in the stock and pulling it down to curl up in. Both of the girls loved flowers and often found our "missing" cat in the boxes of silk fake flowers.

What are the three traits you think define a good vet and why?

  1. Patience 
  2. Able to clearly explain what needs to be done and options with outcomes.
  3. Being positive.



Do you have any advice for vets and vet students about relating to owners and their pets?

A vet to us, is the one that is sadly, usually the closest one to our location. Having previous cats, car travel, even to the cats that are used to being in a car, becomes a very big issue with wetting themselves or worse, and the stress that places on the owner and the animal [Look out for SAT's post on getting to the vet with minimal stress].


When visiting a vet, for when you're animal is only going for a minor issue, we are very grateful for the ones, that have gotten to know your animal and remembers the little things that have occurred with them throughout  the years. The ones who pay attention to the owners and the animal and just giving them time for when tough choices must be made.  


Thursday, January 16, 2014

Infectious disease roundup

Only yawning...but the teeth are impressive and this guy wasn't shy about jumping on my back and unzipping my backpack. Imagine if I really annoyed or upset him?
I visited a travel doctor prior to taking a trip to Bali almost a year ago. Because I knew I'd be around animals I requested a rabies vaccination, but was told at the time it was too close to the time of departure. The doctor rang back an hour later and clarified that no, actually it would have been fine, but by that stage couldn't fit me in before my date of departure.

That short break was full of potentially microbiologically significant moments. Like unplanned interaction with monkeys who all popped out of the crater of a volcano when my colleague and I climbed up. They knew we'd have food and weren't shy about frisking us to find it. But they've also been reported to carry rabies.

A monkey sits on the edge of a volcano crater.
They can (note can, not necessarily do) carry rabies, which is one of the most frightening viruses on the planet. According to blogger Scott Weese, the reason so few travellers recieve rabies vaccination is needle aversion, followed by a lack of awareness. 

I'm not the bravest soul, but I would like to point out that avoiding a rabies shot due to needle aversion is chasing a false economy. If you do get bitten by a potentially rabid animal, you will need a LOT more needles. And if you are one of the unlucky 55,000 who contract rabies every year, you will have a lot more needles...and then die. I do appreciate that phobias can't simply be dismissed, and they are seriously debilitating. That is why if you have a needle phobia and need a rabies shot, you need to chat to an understanding doctor who might be able to offer some additional support.

In other infectious disease news, the first "bug breakfast" of 2014 is themed around avian influenza. Just because the mass media have stopped talking about it doesn't mean its off the agenda - far from it. The breakfast is held on February 7 from 8.15-9.30. For registrations email Lisa Ayre.

A few weeks later there is a collective brainstorm about anticipating infectious disease threats being held on February 27 at Sydney University. Students, basic scientists, researchers and health practitioners are invited. For more info head here.


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Should I get another pet?


This poem was transcribed by Draga, a former client and very dear friend whose dogs Fluffy and Foxie passed away, some years apart. When you've loved someone for so long its hard to contemplate replacing them - and you shouldn't. But to those people who say they'll never get a dog again, I would say don't think of getting another dog as a replacement.

The sad loss of a companion means that there is a vacancy, at the right time, in a loving home, for a deserving little soul.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Coronavirus

A 1970's style appetiser...which bears a striking resemblance to coronavirus.
I was invited to a birthday party this week and the theme was food from the 1970s. When I walked in I was struck by this incredible, edible centrepiece which looks much like a coronavirus (check for yourself here and here). 

Coronaviruses are famous as the agents behind severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS but also gastrointestinal upsets in dogs (it tends to cause self-limiting diarrhoea in dogs, especially puppies, though can be extremely serious where co-infection with parvovirus occurs) and cats.

You can see coronavirus junior just behind.
The big problem is that it is also the agent behind feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), an invariably fatal syndrome that is challenging to diagnose (Dr Diane Addie's website is a particularly helpful resource) and I can attest absolutely heartbreaking.

Needless to say, looking at this appetiser sucked me into a vortex of thinking about FIP. Not the kind of vortex 70's themed parties are famous for I am sure. 

I was fortunate enough to complete a thesis on FIP under the supervision of Dr Jacqui Norris during my veterinary degree. Some progress has been made since then, including use of interferon to extend the lives of some cats, and importantly, the use of immunohistochemistry and immunocytochemistry to help secure a rapid diagnosis.

We know that risk factors for FIP include exposure to feline enteric coronavirus, exposure to a high viral load (e.g. in a multi cat household or cattery), being purebred (may be due to breed or individual line susceptibility, or could relate to being in a cattery) or stress (recent surgery such as desexing, stay in a cattery/boarding, environmental change such as moving house, co-infection with other agents). To an extent these can be minimised, but there's no failsafe way to prevent infection.

Which is all a bit of a downer. So I steered clear of the coronavirus appetiser and opted for this bizarre yet apparently benign pineapple creation with a prune chaser.
Pineapple dessert. I'm sure this too resembles a virus but fortunately I know not which.