Companion collection - How to...

  Local (regional) anaesthesia is underutilized in general practice but can provide excellent analgesia as part of an analgesia plan. Freelance anaesthetist Miguel Martinez provides a practical guide for practitioners.

   In the first part of this two-part series, Ian Futter and Caroline Allen, Chief Veterinary Officers at the Scottish SPCA and the RSPCA, respectively, introduced the concept of contextualized care. In this article they explore the impact of owner factors on contextualized care and how these factors can affect the success or otherwise of prescribed veterinary treatments.

 Nat Whitley is an internal medicine clinician at Davies Veterinary Specialists and a member of the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group. In this article he provides guidance on common vaccine-related dilemmas.

  This second article, in a two-part series by Ashton Hollwarth of Great Western Exotics, provides a brief overview of a number of common disease presentations in hamsters that you may encounter and how to manage them.

Jon Hall from Wear Referrals, and Alberto Fioletti focus on the clinical presentation of gallbladder mucocele and the timing of surgery, providing technical insights into performing cholecystectomy in dogs.

  Francesca Alsworth and Emi Barker of Langford Vets in Bristol take a closer look at feline laryngeal disease which can be a significant cause of respiratory distress in the cat.

  We all hope we won’t need to perform CPR in the clinic; however, when needed, it is important the veterinary team is prepared. Laura Jones describes how to ensure this stressful event is handled efficiently.

 Ashton Hollwarth, of Great Western Exotics, explains how to handle hamsters and highlights common clinical techniques.

  In this second article in a two-part series, Claire Hargrave, an ASAB certificated clinical animal behaviourist and a member of, and honorary secretary to, the Fellowship of Animal Behaviour Clinicians, explains how to help owners support the emotional and behavioural development of kittens and puppies.

  There is no doubt that the standard of veterinary care and the options available for treating companion animals have increased. We live in an era where it is not unusual for animals to undergo advanced diagnostic tests and treatments that would have been unthinkable a mere decade ago. Referral to specialists in state-of-the-art facilities has become routine, but how far should we go? Anne Quain from the Sydney School of Veterinary Science considers the ethics behind this dilemma.

 Nicola Bates from the Veterinary Poisons Information Service (VPIS) discusses how to manage the dog with a sweet tooth.

  Last month in Companion, Mark Westman of Sydney University discussed how to interpret the results of feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) testing. This month he provides an update on the current thinking regarding FeLV vaccination including recommended locations for injection and booster frequency.

 Hilda Mulrooney, dietitian and Associate Professor of Nutrition at Kingston University, discusses the similarities between humans and animals when it comes to this challenging topic.

 Carolyn O’Brien, a director and feline medicine specialist at Melbourne Cat Vets, takes a close look at mycobacteria, which cause a range of illnesses in cats and can be of zoonotic concern.