Veterinary clinics in the UK are experiencing a vaccine shortage. This poses a challenge for cat owners, as British cat boarding businesses require vaccinations before accepting cats. Consequently, owners are unable to go on holiday if they intend to use a boarding cattery. While this issue does not affect those who employ cat sitters, the majority of cat owners in the UK likely opt for boarding catteries due to their affordability. The newspapers are reporting that veterinary practices in the UK with vaccine shortages are prioritising elderly and vulnerable cats for injections. The image is representational as the vet is administering the vaccine incorrectly! A boarding cattery owner mentioned that the only exception to the standard vaccinations for cat flu, feline enteritis, and feline leukaemia is if they cannot be given for health reasons. In such cases, cattery administrators will require a titre test from a veterinarian as an alternative proof of immunity. Veterinarians from a so...

The words of the title are by Chris L on social media. She is correct. It is agony. Cats can die slowly through, for example, the commonplace kidney disease.  RELATED:  Why is chronic kidney disease (CKD) so common in domestic cats ? Under these circumstances the owner has at least 2 problems (a) seeing the gradual deterioration of their cat's health with one inevitable endgame and (b) grappling with the agonising decision on when to euthanise. The latter point is important as it must be done in the interests of the cat which is hard because almost always the owner does not want to let go and perhaps involuntarily takes their cat to the vet for the final time too late.  This can lead to their cat suffering more than should have been the case. The problem of dealing with a dying domestic cat companion is why many people do not adopt elderly shelter cats. Many are euthanized at the shelter as a consequence.  But this is wrong. They deserve a chance. They deserve the op...

NEWS AND OPINION: For me, this veterinarian story smacks of a greedy vet. Abigail Laker, a music student from Salford, UK, had not long ago moved out of her parents' home. She was used to living with dogs and she knew that dogs panted on occasions. She adopted a cat and named her Moose. She took Moose to her veterinarian for spaying. At the clinic, Moose, on my assessment of the story, became agitated as cats do and was panting and breathing quickly. Moose. Image: Abigail via Caters News Agency. Reading between the lines of the story on the Daily Mail website, I visualise a young female cat who had become anxious visiting a strange place with strange smells and noises and got hot and agitated. She started to pant to lose some body heat just as a dog would under similar circumstances. That would seem normal to me but Abigail's veterinarian said that Moose might be suffering from a serious health condition and further investigations were required. And then over the next weeks or ...