Feeding Raw Foods - The Real Risks
We are seeing an increasing tendency for clients, particularly breeders, to advise feeding of raw foods to their pets. We suspect that this follows a media campaign waged against commercially produced pet diets.
We would strongly advise against the feeding of any raw animal products to your pets - the risks to both you and your pet are simply too great.
Raw meat can carry infections such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Listeria and Toxoplasma to name but a few. Many of these diseases are also zoonoses (i.e. they are transmissible to humans - YOU AND YOUR FAMILY!)
Vaccination - The True Picture
Over recent years there has been a good deal of media contrived debate over the safety of routine annual vaccinations. Much of this debate has been generated by very small numbers of anecdotal accounts of serious adverse drug reactions.
As vets, our primary mission is to improve and maintain the health and welfare of animals placed, by you, under our care. To this end, it is our job to weigh up the pros and cons of any treatment and then make our recommendations as to what we feel is in the best interests of our patients.
- WE STILL RECOMMEND THE ROUTINE ANNUAL VACCINATION OF CATS for the following reasons.
Firstly, we accept that, as with human vaccinations, there will be a very small number of adverse reactions. However, the risks of catching the diseases which we are vaccinating against still far outweigh the very small risk from vaccination.
While we may not see too much feline enteritis and cat flu around these days, rest assured, these diseases are still around and if your pet is not vaccinated, you are risking their lives.
In the longer term, the more people who fail to get their pets vaccinated, and keep them up to date, the more likely we are to start seeing outbreaks of these diseases again.
If you would like more information on the true picture about vaccination, please contact the Clinic for an information sheet.
