Meet George, a 7 year old male cat who came to see us in December when his owners noticed he had been acting strangely in his litter tray. He was straining to urinate, crying out in pain and they noticed some blood in the little urine he was passing. Wisely, they brought him to the vet as soon as possible. Male cats have a very narrow urethra which is easily blocked. If it becomes blocked it is a life-threatening emergency situation. The bladder can become distended, toxins are unable to leave the body and they build up in the blood stream. It is also very painful and uncomfortable for the cat.

Tibbles is a 13 year old desexed male cat. Like many cats, Tibbles sometimes runs into a bit of trouble with other cats in his area. His owner brought him to the clinic last month as Tibbles had gotten into a fight with another cat and his owner was worried that he had an abscess. Tibbles has had similar abscesses in the past so his owner knew what signs to look for. A swollen lump was spotted under his foreleg and he was not being as active as usual.

Eddie is a 2 and a half year old domestic short hair cat who recently spent some time in our hospital. His owners brought him to see the vet after noticing that he had not been himself for a few days. He was eating less and was very quiet. One morning he vomited a few times so his owners decided a trip to the vet was needed. Dr Bree gave Eddie a thorough examination and discovered that he was very sore in his abdomen and his intestines felt full and thickened. She recommended x-rays to examine further, in order to find out what was happening in his abdomen.

You may have heard that our clinic cat, Ma, has been unwell lately. She made our veterinary team here very worried over Easter when she went off her food as this is not normal behaviour for Ma. Her breathing was also strange. She seemed to be putting a lot of effort into her breathing.

Meet Miffy, a six month old domestic long haired cat. At six months old, Miffy is mature enough and ready for her desexing operation. Desexing any animal is a day procedure at Reservoir Veterinary Clinic. Miffy's owners brought her in on the morning of her operation day. On admission, Miffy was weighed and given a thorough check by our veterinarian before being housed in a comfy cage in our hospital.

Bella is an 8 year old white cat who has on-going problems with skin cancer. You might remember reading about Bella earlier this year in our newsletter when our vets performed surgery on her ears to remove a cancer. These cancerous tumours often appear on sun-exposed parts of the body, such as the ears and nose.

Meeka is a six month old kitten whose owners brought her to the clinic to see us because she had been vomiting and seemed to be constipated. Her owners reported that Meeka had not had any bowel movements for a few days and was not acting like her normal playful self. Dr Raj gave Meeka a thorough check and medications to try to get her digestive tract moving again. As she was such a young kitten, Dr Raj admitted Meeka into hospital to keep her under observation while waiting for a response to the medications. She was also placed on intravenous fluids to keep her hydrated after vomiting.

Heidi is a beautiful 6 year old, desexed male cat. His owner brought him to see us in July as he had developed a bad cough. Dr Suzanne started him on some antibiotics and asked his owner to bring him back in two weeks time. At the revisit, Heidi's owner reported that there was no improvement in his cough. Heidi was then given Cortisone and he started showing some improvement. Our veterinarian diagnosed that Heidi had feline asthma.

Most of you may have met our grumpy but lovely clinic cat Ma, who is now well and truly a senior cat as she is 13 years old. This means she will need to get a full senior health check up every six months. The check up includes a blood pressure test to ensure that she does not have high blood pressure, and a urine sample to check that her kidneys are in good working order. We like to give all pets over the age of 7 years regular senior checks, especially cats, as problems such as high blood pressure and kidney disease can be more of an issue.

Butchy is a four and a half year old male cat who was presented to our clinic mid April after his owner noticed he was looking very lethargic and had been vomiting. Butchy also had a very painful abdomen. It had been noted by his owner that Butchy had been urinating the previous day and had stopped on that day. Dr Suzanne gave Butchy a full physical exam and diagnosed a urinary blockage.