CAM - canine and feline

• Allow dog to come to you

  Calm demeanor and voice, brace yourself for energetic dogs, ignore jumping behaviours
• Tools for restraint


  • Muzzles, leads, catch poles
• Approach cats


  Crouch down, loose fist to allow for sniffing, no direct eye contact
• Cat handling tools


  • Cat carrier, cat bag, cat muzzle, cat grabber, crush cage
• Transporting dogs


  Dogs have to be restrained so they cannot distract you while driving or injure you/themselves if you stop quickly
• Sources for buying/adopting dogs and cats

  • Registered breeders - kennel club
  • Internet advertisements - pets4homes, preloved
  • Rescue shelters
  • Private sales banned on facebook
• Checks when viewing a puppy or kitten

  • Access to human contact
  • Worming and vaccination status
  • Health screening certificates of parents
  • Signs of ill health
  • Puppy/kitten's mother and litter mates
  • Is this where they were born?
• Minimise risks when buying a puppy or kitten

  • Visit the breeder more than once
  • Request a contract of sale
  • Be prepared to walk away
• Wheres mum campaign - seeing puppies with mum? If not, why not? Does the reason why sound right?
• A number of people do not ask for health records and do not know if they are available to look at. Important when purchasing a puppy bred for profits - not necessarily too important if an accidental pregnancy.
• Research of brachycephalic dogs show that owners are more interested in appearance and less interest in health.
• Adopting a dog or cat

  • Rising rates of relinquished pets
  • Many are 'lockdown' pets
  • Often unsocialised
  • Sometimes a complex/traumatic history
  • Affects settling in success
  • Require patience, time and skill to overcome
• Bringing your pet home

  • Puppy/kitten should be at least 8 weeks old
  • Early experiences can impact temperament and emotional stability
  • Critical period of development/sensitive period 8-10 weeks
• First day and night


  1. Collect animal in the morning

  2. Bring a familiar item home

  3. Allow time to acclimatise in quiet area

  4. Children should be kept at distance to begin with

  5. Leaving animal alone - dependent on age/history

  6. Establish routine straight away

  7. Dogs - regular toilet breaks

  8. Cats - introduce litter tray/toilet area
• Socialisation


  • Allows animal to have positive interaction with common stimuli
  • Rewarded with a treat or game
  • The kennel club and dogs trust developed the puppy plan
  • Dr rachel case and cats protection developed the kitten socialisation programme
• Socialisation - different people/animals

  • Young/old
  • Different appearances
  • People using walking sticks/wheelchairs
  • Other dogs/cats big, small, loud or quiet
  • Livestock
• Socialisation - other stimuli

  • Household: vacuum, cleaner, washing machine
  • Outside - buses, cars, lawnmowers, pedestrian crossings, town centres
  • Grooming equipment
• Habituation


  • Rewarding for not interacting with or reacting to stimuli
  • Increased likelihood of behaviour (ignoring stimulus) re-occurring
• Exercise for puppies


  • Short walk (5 mins per month of age) twice daily
  • Exercise after eating = increases risk of bloat
• Exercise for adult dogs

  • Frequency and duration depends on age, breed and health
  • For example - 30 mins of hard aerobic activity would be suitable for an active breed, whereas it may be dangerous for a brachycephalic breed
• Companionship for dogs


  • Length of time a dog can be left alone varies - age, training, history, housing conditions
  • The use of dog walkers is common (£5-£10 a day/visit)
• Health considerations for dogs and cats

  • Neutering
  • Vaccination
  • Flea and worm treatments
  • Insurance
  • Register with local vet
  • Microchipping
• Senior vs Geriatric


  • Senior relates to a certain age - 5 years in large and giant breeds, 7 years for medium breeds, 9 years old
  • Geriatric relates to health status - when the animal body and health become fragile. Others define geriatric as the last 10% of the animals life span
• Common senior dog health issues

  • Cancer
  • Heart problems
  • Hearing/vision loss
  • Dementia
  • Arthritis
  • Obesity
  • Kidney problems
  • GI issues and incontinence
• Common senior cat health issues

  • Cancer
  • Arthritis
  • Dementia
  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Hearing/vision loss
  • Dental disease
  • Kidney problems
  • Diabetes mellitus
• Many of these senior health issues only detected by a veterinary professional - geriatric clinics
• Increased health screening can reduce severity of disease/aid management
• Can cause owners to relinquish pets - 'seniors' spend 3 times as long in rescue before adoption
• Management of senior pets


  • Pets need change with age
  • Management practices must be adapted to suit later stage of life
  • Can also stop health issues worsening/delay their onset
• Activity for senior dogs

  • May have reduced mobility and energy
  • Often have exercise reduced too much
  • Focus on reducing intensity more than duration
  • Split exercise time up throughout the day - little and often
  • Not enough exercise can lead to obesity, arthritis and other issues
• Nutrition for senior dogs and cats

  • Some require special diets
  • Diabetes - high in fibre
  • Heart disease - lower sodium
  • Kidney problems - more HBV and less LBV protein
  • Arthritis - more chondroitin and glucosamine
  • Dental disease - softer food
  • Some pets have reduced appetites
  • Calorie reduction for health seniors - dogs 20-30% approx, cats - none
  • Neuter status - further reduction
• Routine for senior pets

  • Increased frequency of walks for dogs - reduce stress on joint reduce fatigue
  • Increased frequency of sleeping - lower stamina, lower metabolism, increased effort level
  • Reduce the quality of sleep - more light sleep, less deep sleep
• Environment for senior pets

  • Reduced mobility - easy access to resources, reduced ability to climb/jump, consider ramps/steps
  • Reduced limb strength - increased risk of slipping
  • Reduced tolerance for noise - crate or safe place in a quiet area
  • Reduced vision and hearing - make resources easy to find/keep in the same place
  • Competition for resource - housed with younger animals?
• Toileting issues for senior pets

  • Common issues - gastrointestinal tract/incontinence
  • Cats and dogs = reduced bowel/bladder control
  • Increased opportunities to eliminate
  • Risk factors - anxiety and stress, dementia, spinal/neurological stress, urinary tract infections, other illnesses, breed disposition, spaying
  • Can be treated - surgery or medication
• Grooming for senior pets


  • Variety of benefits for owner and pet
  • Dogs and cats coat are affected by wide variety of issues
  • Digestive issues, hormone imbalance, cancer, sebaceous gland changes
  • Help identify wider health issues
  • Considerations - pets has less flexibility, skin is thinner, matting is more painful, gentler approach needed, pain induced aggressions - beware of painful areas
• Oestrus cycle


  • Regular cycle of events that occur in the reproductive system of a post pubertal non-pregnant female
  • Occurs in distinct phases which cause change in the ovaries, reproductive tract and behaviour of the female
  • Provides opportunity for females to become pregnant
• Types of oestrus cycles

  • Polyoestrus (pigs, cows) - multiple cycles a year
  • Seasonally polyoestrus (cats, horses) - multiple cycles only during specific periods of the year
  • Monoestrus (dogs) - one oestrus cycle per year
• Ovulation types


  • Induced ovulation - require the act of copulation to stimulate the release of ova
  • Spontaneous ovulation - spontaneously release of ova, independent of copulation
• Forms of ovulation


  • Uniparous - release one ovum to produce single offspring
  • Polytocous - release many ova to produce multiple offspring in one pregnancy
• Bitch oestrus cycle


  Monoestrus (non-seasonal), spontaneous ovulators, polytocous, average cycle takes 6 months, reach puberty at 6-9 months of age