Pet Life Magazine, New Zealand Pet Life Magazine Issue 4 Spring 2017 | Page 13

Deciding to breed your dog or cat is a big decision, and places
a lot of responsibility on you. Also, when deciding whether or
not to breed your pet, it is important to plan ahead financially.
You’ll need to set aside funds for health checks as well as for
any unexpected emergencies. Complications such as the need
for an emergency caesarian section can be very costly so it’s
best to plan ahead and to be prepared for the unexpected!
For the pet population as a whole, it is clear that desexing at a
young age is an important practice that is adopted by animal
shelters globally. When considering desexing your pet and the
many factors relating to their specific needs as individuals, it is
important to obtain guidance from your vet to help you to make
the appropriate decision for their long-term health.
ABSCESSES
Abscesses are usually the result of puncture wounds. With
cats they are commonly inflicted during cat fights, and
occasionally a foreign body such as a thorn, splinter or
claw can remain. Infection starts under the skin.
Pus accumulates as the body tries to fight off the infection and
get rid of the foreign material. It is very painful when a lump
forms, pressure builds and there’s nowhere for the fluid to go.
Many abscesses burst on their own, which provides great relief.
Sometimes you can feel a scab over the area and when you pull
it away pus comes out. Cats and dogs will often lick and clean
the area once an abscess starts to drain, and this assists with
the healing. You can help by wiping the area clean twice a day
with warm water using a swab or cotton wool pad.
Prevention
Pets with healthy immune systems may be much less prone
to developing abscesses and often heal very quickly. Optimal
immune system function can be supported by feeding a
wholesome, balanced diet with optimal amounts of immune-
supporting nutrients like omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants.
Another important strategy to help support a healthy immune
system is to provide your animal with a comfortable and stress-
free home environment.
With cats, this can be difficult in suburbia as the neighborhood
may be densely populated with cats and fights are often
inevitable. Ensuring that you don’t have too many cats in your
home, that they all have a safe place to rest in and retreat to
and that your surrounding neighborhood doesn’t have stray/
unowned cats is important. Desexing cats can make a big
difference to their territorial behaviour, like fighting, and is
important to do to promote a healthy environment for cats.
Veterinary attention
If your pet is unwell, painful, feverish, off their food, lethargic
or the abscess hasn’t burst then a visit to the vet can help them
to feel a lot better.
We treat
abscesses
by surgically
lancing,
draining and
flushing them to
ensure that foreign
material is dislodged.
This is often performed under
sedation or anesthetic because they can be so painful.
Sometimes we need to remove dying tissue to promote more
rapid healing and resolution of the infection. The wound will
often be left open to encourage drainage and sometimes we
place a special surgical drain to assist this process.
Antibiotics may be needed to help clear up a bad infection
but complementary therapies like homeopathy, herbal
medicine, ozonated gel, hyperbaric oxygen therapy and
others can help aid healing tremendously.
About Dr Liza
Dr Liza is based in Tauranga where she established Holistic
Vets, the first of its kind in New Zealand, which integrates all
the advantages of conventional medicine and surgery with
complementary therapies combining the best of both worlds
to achieve excellent results for our patients and peace of
mind for their owners . Her clinic has a digital X-ray, an in-
house laboratory, hospital, surgery and a hyperbaric oxygen
therapy chamber, likely the second of its kind dedicated to
animal use in the southern hemisphere. To help educate and
inspire vets about the benefits of complementary therapies, I
also serve as the president on the NZ Vet Associations’
Complementary Veterinary Medicine Branch.
Dr. Liza Schneider
Director / Veterinarian
Tel. [phone]
www.holisticvets.co.nz
56 Fraser Street, Tauranga
Bay of Plenty, New Zealand