Riverside Veterinary News & Articles

“Myxie” rabbits are a sad feature of many a grass verge at this time of year as they wander, seemingly unaware of the obvious dangers they are in.  The myxoma virus which causes this dreadful disease only infects rabbits.  The disease causes disfiguring skin swellings, particularly noticeable around the face and eyes, a high fever [...]

With Spring well under way rabbits that have been ‘cooped up’ all winter will be looking forward to the warmer days ahead and a chance to stretch their legs on owners’ lawns.  But just as they can charge around on our lawns they also each the growing grass - which isn’t necessarily the best diet [...]

Sadly, for up to half of dog owners, the summer isn’t the easiest time for their pets to cope with.  That’s because many dogs have a mild to severe reaction to many of the microscopic grass and tree pollens that are part of the normal cycle of nature at this time of year.  For dogs [...]

Hypothyroidism is a condition which typically affects middle-aged, medium-large breed dogs although smaller breeds can also be affected.  It is caused by a decreased production of thyroid hormone (thyroxine) from the thyroid gland located in the neck,  Thyroid hormone plays an important role in the body - it regulates your dog’s metabolism.  Metabolism can be [...]

Most of us would rather not think about the prospect of our pets contracting any “worms” during their lives.  Sadly, it’s almost inevitable.  As there are more parasitic species in the world than there are free-living ones, then it’s not going to be our cats and dogs that are free of any attack, nor us!  [...]

Without doubt, this is the most traumatic phone call that we, as Vets, receive from a dog owner.  ‘Fits’, when they occur, arise often without warning, and as an owner we feel totally at a loss as to what to do.  It is probably the most frightening condition for anyone to witness in their dog.  [...]

As with ourselves, sometimes dogs are dealt a rotten deal by their genetics and develop heart problems early on in life.  For the most part though this isn’t the norm and dogs with heart murmurs carry on for years with little to indicate that there are any developing problems.  And for the most, there aren’t.  [...]

With improvements in nutrition and veterinary medicine the life expectancy of pet cats is increasing: there are now more elderly cats than ever before.  In the UK it is estimated that there are currently around 2.5 million cats over 10 years of age.
 
Unfortunately, accompanying this growing geriatric population there are increasing numbers of pets with [...]

During routine annual heath checks your Vet. will spend quite some time checking for any evidence of flea irritation on your cat and dogs’ skin.  The actual presence of fleas is often much more difficult to see.  Fastidious cats (and dogs) often ingest fleas during grooming, so their presence is not as easy to see [...]

Many owners will put up with a bit of “leakage” from their elderly dogs, assuming it’s part and parcel of ‘growing old’.  After all, it’s a situation that can be a feature of old age for humans.  Well, the good news is, dogs are different!  For a start they didn’t make the unwise move of [...]