Hospitalisation

Your pet is ill, you are naturally very worried and now the vet has advised that he or she needs to be hospitalised. We understand that usually the best place for a stress free recovery is in an animal's own environment, however unfortunately sometimes the nature of their illness may require specialised treatment and nursing that are best carried out in a hospitalisation environment by our trained nursing staff. This may involve fluid therapy, intravenous administration of drugs such as antibiotics and anti-emetics or strong analgesia (pain relief). At Blackness surgery we try to ensure that your pet has as comfortable experience as possible during its stay.

DOGS Medium and large breed dogs stay in one of our 4 walk in kennels, we also have small kennels for the smaller dogs in the same ward, we find that they appreciate a small space and feel more secure and cosier. If it is going to be a prolonged stay a toy or blanket from home can help your pet feel more comforted. We have a grassy area adjacent to the practice where your pet will be walked several times during the day, as appropriate to his or her condition, to allow toileting and to benefit from some fresh air

CATS If a cat is up to date with its vaccinations it will be accommodated in one of our kennels in the Prep area. This allows them a space to be separate from the dogs and to observe the comings and goings of our busy practice. We have a different area for cats whose vaccinations have lapsed and also for cats coming in from the Cats Protection, for whom we do a lot of veterinary work. We make full use of pheromones to make cats feel more at home. Our dedication to providing a cat friendly environment has earned us a Silver Cat Friendly Practice award from the Feline Advisory Bureau as well as their special Cynthia award for all round "Cattitude"

RABBITS AND OTHER SMALL PETS Being prey animals we find rabbits and other small furry pets appreciate being in an area separate from potential predators. By accommodating them in our Prep area we feel that they are as removed as we can make them from any perceived threats. Guinea pigs will

get a box or igloo to hide in and the smaller pets such as hamsters and rats will have their own small enclosures. As we are seeing a growing number of ferrets who have a very characteristic odour, we will attempt whenever possible to book these animals in on a separate day to rabbits, guinea pigs and other small pets that would be a ferret's natural prey! If a cross-over is unavoidable we will house them as far apart as possible.

FEEDING We stock a variety of both prescription and non-prescription food as well as "human" foods such as chicken, tuna or sardines to tempt even the fussiest eater. However, you are welcome to bring your pets own food, unless there is a veterinary indication that this may not be appropriate. We would particularly ask that in the case of rabbits and other small mammals you bring some of their own food (fresh as well as dry) as a change in diet can be detrimental to these animals' health.

ISOLATION FACILITIES We have 2 separate spacious isolation kennels for animals with illnesses that may be infectious, these are individually heated and hygiene maintained with barrier nursing and can be adapted for cats or rabbits as well as dogs.

INTENSIVE CARE We are able to adapt our kennels into oxygen tents for animals with respiratory compromise. We also have heat lamps for the larger kennels portable heat mats for the smaller ones as well as a specialised temperature controlled incubation chamber for kittens, puppies and small mammals. Intravenous fluid therapy can be electronically rate controlled, we have a variety of different types of fluid for different indications and can also offer blood transfusion although, happily with the advent of modern oxygen carrying fluid, this is rarely necessary.

We will keep you regularly informed of your pets progress by asking you to call us after 9am each morning after the vets have done their ward rounds and made decisions about the day to come. At this phone call we will arrange further contact be it by phone or in person. We usually find that most pets settle in to their new surroundings very rapidly, so much so that we would advise keeping visit to a minimum as, dogs especially seem to get very excited after a visit from home. However we may ask you to come in to discuss a treatment plan or to help tempt a reluctant eater.

During normal surgery hours (8.30am to7pm Monday to Friday and 8.30 to 1pm Saturdays) there are always vets and nursing staff on the premises checking your hospitalised pet on a regular basis. A vet or a nurse will check on hospitalised pets through the evening and night on a case by case basis but it is not normally possible for someone to be with your pet at all times. The flat above the surgery is occupied so the building is not left empty at night. On a weekend if we are on call there is likely to be a vet and a nurse in and around for a large part of the weekend during both the day and night. If we are not on call we will try to keep hospitalised pets to a minimum but there is always a duty vet and nurse for that weekend who again will decide with what frequency checks are needed. (see also out of hours cover)