Presentation of the dog with acute abdominal pain is common in veterinary practice. The general causes of abdominal pain include: distension of a hollow viscus or organ capsule; ischaemia; traction; and inflammation secondary to a variety of conditions. This chapter considers an approach to the acute abdomen, an approach to the swollen abdomen and surgical management. Quick Reference Guides: FAST scan; Abdominocentesis; Diagnostic peritoneal lavage.

Alopecia is the complete absence of hair in an area where it is normally present. It is the most common reason for a dermatology consultation in the cat after pruritus. This chapter looks at history, clinical examination, diagnostic tests, differential diagnoses, treatment recommendations, when to refer and what to do if finances are limited. Quick reference guides: Wood’s lamp examination; Hair plucks; Skin biopsy.

Rabbits may require sedation or anaesthesia for a variety of reasons. Neutering of male and female rabbits is now commonplace in general practice, as is dental treatment. This chapter details specific considerations for rabbit anaesthesia, and also includes an overview of sedative, anaesthetic and analgesic drugs which may be used in this species. Quick Reference Guides/Techniques: Placing a marginal ear vein cannula; Placing an ET tube with the assistance of a rigid endoscope; Placing an ET tube under direct visualization; Intubating a rabbit’s trachea using the ‘blind’ technique; Performing nasotracheal intubation; Placing a laryngeal mask airway (LMA) in a rabbit; Performing Doppler blood pressure measurement in a rabbit.

Anorexia (loss of appetite for food) is a common presenting sign in feline practice. Cats are sensitive to environmental changes, and illness often manifest as a loss of appetite. This chapter discusses diagnostic approach and general considerations for management. Quick reference guides: Enteral assisted nutrition; Placement of a naso-oesophageal feeding tube; Placement of an oesophagostomy feeding tube.

This chapter provides comprehensive guidance on the basic techniques veterinary practitioners will routinely employ in avian practice. The chapter covers techniques for various injection methods, oral medication, nasal flush, nail trimming, beak trimming, various feather techniques, ring removal, microchip placement and euthanasia. Quick reference guide: Euthanasia of birds. The chapter also includes 15 video clips.

In the context of shelters, biosecurity refers to all the efforts made to control the incursion and spread of infectious disease. This chapter covers external and internal influences on biosecurity, principles of outbreak management, staff and volunteer training in biosecurity, the relationship between stress and disease, and management of specific populations. Quick reference guide: A brief overview of disinfectants.

In order to work cooperatively with cats, in which the fight or flight response is triggered so easily, we need to engender empathy, based on an understanding of their nature and innate behaviours, i.e. to see things from a cat’s perspective. This chapter looks at understanding feline behaviour, environmental adaptations in the home, reducing the threat of the clinic experience from the cat’s perspective, equipment, general approach and handling, taking the history and examination. Quick reference guides: Calculation of energy requirements for ill cats; Techniques for simple procedures; Examining the eye; Examining the mouth; Thoracic examination; Neurological examination; Blood sampling.

Coughing is a protective reflex arising due to stimulation of mechanoreceptors or chemoreceptors within the airways. This chapters covers the following: initial approach, diagnostic approach, empirical treatment and when to consider referral. Quick reference guide: Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL).

In most small animal practices true emergencies will be relatively uncommon, but with the increase in emergency centres within the UK there will be practices where emergency cases are in the majority, Although emergency medicine can be stressful it can also be extremely satisfying. This chapter focuses on telephone triage, preparation, hospital triage, cardiovascular abnormalities - assessment and management, respiratory abnormalities - assessment and management, neurological assessment and management, monitoring during stabilization, secondary assessment and ongoing management. Quick Reference Guide: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Oral/dental disease is the most common disorder encountered in small herbivorous mammals, including rabbits. The ability to recognize anatomical and physiological variations is necessary in order to understand disease pathophysiology and assess minor changes. This chapter explores clinical history and examination; essential equipment for dental examination; examination of the head, teeth and oral cavity in the conscious rabbit; examination under general anaesthesia; oral and dental records; and significant lesions and oral cavity diseases. Quick Reference Guide/Technique: Oral cavity examination under general anaesthesia.

This chapter focuses on immediate management, diagnostic approach and treatment of respiratory diseases, such as dyspnoea, tachypnoea, hyperpnoea and orthopnoea. Quick reference guides: Management of severe dyspnoea; Oxygen therapy; Emergency thoracic radiography; Thoracocentesis; Inserting a chest drain; Inserting a small-bore wire-guided chest drain.

This chapter introduces specific welfare and ethical issues that are faced in shelter medicine and outlines the factors that give rise to them. It focuses on two key issues that are the source of many welfare and ethical concerns: the challenges of resource distribution and euthanasia. Quick reference guide: Using ethical reasoning to make decisions.

Many birds are presented to the veterinary clinic in an advanced stage of ill health. Similarly, birds presented in the early stages of illness may often appear normal to the inexperienced owner or veterinarian. A thorough history is an essential assessment tool in both cases. This chapter looks at history-taking in depth and provides an extensive selection of quick reference guides for clinical examination. Quick reference guides: Observation; Body condition scoring; Examination of the coelom and cloaca; Examination of the beak; Examination of the nares and cere; Examination of the eyes; Examination of the ears; Examination of the oral cavity; Examination of the head and neck; Examination of the crop; Examination of the pectoral muscles and keel; Examination of the wings; Examination of the pelvic limbs and feet; Examination of the integument; Examination of the uropygial gland.

Hypocalcaemia is most commonly diagnosed in cats following thyroidectomy for the treatment of hyperthyroidism. When significant hypocalcaemia occurs, prompt identification, investigation and treatment are required. This chapter focuses on differential diagnosis, diagnostic approach and empirical treatment. Quick reference guide: Treatment of hypocalcaemia.

Hypokalaemia is a common electrolyte disturbance in cats. This chapter covers differential diagnosis, diagnostic approach and empirical treatment. Quick reference guide: Treatment of hypokalaemia.

The lame dog is one of the more common presentations to first-opinion vets and any vet working in a busy genial practice will be faced with such a case on a daily basis. Rather than a systematic review of all causes of lameness, this chapter will focus on the initial approach to the lame dog, to help the clinician develop a list of the common differential diagnoses for further investigation and treatment. This chapter looks at observation, history: baseline data, physical examination: identifying the seat of pain, differential diagnosis, further investigations and treatment. Quick Reference Guides: Assessment of anterior cruciate instability; Assessing hip laxity.

Owners will often present a dog having noticed one of the following: lump; swelling; nodule; bump; tumour; abscess; mass. These terms are, colloquially, often used interchangeably to refer to cutaneous or subcutaneous accumulations of tissue that form a noticeable lesion either visually or on palpation. Quick Reference Guides: Fine-needle aspiration of a superficial mass; Biopsy of a superficial mass.

This chapter looks at the management of the most important endocrine disorders encountered in feline practice: hyperthyroidism and diabetes mellitus. Quick reference guides: Intracapsular thyroidectomy; Ear vein sampling.

This chapter deals with the management of the most important gastrointestinal disorders that are encountered in feline practice, notably acute gastroenteritis, inflammatory bowel disease, gastrointestinal lymphoma, dietary hypersensitivity and infectious gastrointestinal disorders. Quick reference guide: Gut biopsy.

This chapter will focus on the management of the most important hepatic and pancreatic disorders that are encountered in feline practice, notably inflammatory liver diseases, hepatic lipidosis and pancreatitis. Quick reference guide: Liver biopsy.

This chapter will focus on the management of the most important issues related to reproduction in feline practice, notably suppression of oestrus, and management of pregnancy, parturition and postpartum problems in the queen. Care of the neonate and management of common neonatal disorders are also discussed. Quick reference guide: Diagnosing and managing dystocia.

This chapters considers the management of the most important urinary tract disorders that are encountered in feline practice, notably chronic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, urinary tract infections, feline idiopathic cystitis and urolithiasis. Quick reference guides: Increasing water intake; Subcutaneous fluid therapy.

This chapter will focus on the management of the most important skin disorders encountered in feline practice, notably infectious, allergic skin diseases and flea infestation. Quick reference guide: Dietary trial for cutaneous adverse food reaction.

Signs of disease originating in the oral cavity are a common cause for presentation in general practice. The initial reason for presentation is often vague, such as a smelly or painful mouth or difficulty with eating. There is often a simple explanation for what the owner has identified as a problem; however, it pays to keep an open mind and to have a thorough approach to dealing with these cases, as there can sometimes be a more serious or sinister cause. This chapter considers trauma, initial approach to the non-emergency presentation, common problems and changes in oral mucous membranes. Quick Reference Guides: Examining the mouth in a conscious dog; Scaling and polishing teeth; Tooth extraction.

Trap-neuter-return (TNR) is the name given to the capture, neutering and returning to home of groups of feral and free-roaming cats and dogs. This chapter describes a set of procedures and practices that are common to control of free-roaming dog and cat populations worldwide. Quick reference guides: Trap/catch, neuter, release (TNR/CNR) checklist; Euthanasia.

This chapter introduces basic concepts of clinical decision-making and evidence-based veterinary medicine, and suggests how they can be applied in a pragmatic way in a shelter or charitable environment. Decisions made in shelters and charitable organizations can be very different to those made in private clinical practice.Quick reference guides: Dealing with the elderly thin cat; Dealing with the elderly dog; Dealing with heart murmurs in dogs and cats.

This chapter focuses on the control of infectious and parasitic diseases using vaccines and pharmaceutical products, with particular attention paid to flea control and the rational approach to endoparasites. These forms of disease control are vital to the reduction of morbidity and mortality due to infectious pathogens. Quick reference guide: Intake assessment for animals entering shelters.

It is important for veterinary surgeons to have a good understanding of feline infectious respiratory disease, since it represents a continual challenge in the shelter environment. This chapter covers: the challenge of the shelter environment, history taking, differential diagnosis, treatment, potential sequelae, prevention, outbreak management and FCV-associated virulent systemic disease. Quick reference guide: Rehoming a snotty cat.

In birds, clinical examination and history taking are rarely sufficient to result in a complete diagnosis. Many diseases present with similar clinical signs, so it is therefore necessary in most investigations to take clinical samples for laboratory analysis. There are many options available to clinicians and this chapter describes some of the more commonly performed tests. Quick reference guides: Blood sampling – jugular vein; Blood sampling – brachial vein; Blood sampling – caudal tibial vein; Crop wash.

Dogs presented with neurological problems are often viewed as particularly challenging to diagnose and manage. Animals with neurological diseases may present with a variety of clinical signs, including seizures, ataxia, pain, paresis/paralysis and behavioural changes. This chapter deals with history, physical examination and common conditions. Quick Reference Guides: Short ‘screening’ neurological examination; Emergency treatment of status epilepticus.

Skin masses, nodules and swellings are a common presentation as they are visible to owners and often worry them. Solid, cystic or oedematous elevations of the skin may be epidermal or dermal, or may extend into the subcutaneous fat and panniculus. All masses and nodules are composed of accumulations of cells, which can be neoplastic, inflammatory, or a mixture of the two. This chapter considers history, clinical examination, differential diagnoses, diagnostic approach, empirical treatment whilst awaiting results, when to refer and what to do if finances are limited. Quick reference guide: Fine-needle aspiration.

Sneezing and nasal discharge are common presenting clinical signs in cats, indicating disease within the nasal cavity or nasopharynx. Unlike many other presenting clinical signs, the differential diagnoses for these signs are relatively limited, and diagnostics are also limited to a number of key procedures. This chapter will look at differential diagnoses and diagnostic approach. Quick reference guides: Evaluating the nasopharynx; Nasal flushing and biopsy.

The rabbit ultrasonographer is faced with a number of difficulties. There are few reference data regarding the normal and abnormal ultrasonographic anatomy of this species and also relatively few individuals who are familiar with both ultrasonography and the veterinary aspects of the rabbit patient. This chapter looks at equipment, indications for ultrasonography, abdominal and thoracic ultrasonography, ultrasonography of the eye and conditions for which ultrasound examination can be diagnostic. Quick Reference Guides/Techniques: Ultrasound examination of the abdomen; Echocardiography.

Shelter medicine is a newly emerging discipline of veterinary medicine, which involves working closely with charitable organizations. This chapter covers: clinical approach to herd health in companion animals, the decision-making process, challenges of shelter medicine, principles and skills needed to meet the challenges. Quick reference guide: Top 10 tips for shelter medicine vets.