From a shedding snake to an injured husky – your pet queries answered

HE is on a mission to help our pets  . . . and is here to answer YOUR questions.

Sean, who is the head vet at tailored pet food firm tails.com, has helped with owners’ queries for ten years. He says: “If your pet is acting funny or is under the weather, or you want to know about nutrition or exercise, just ask. I can help keep pets happy and healthy.”

Getty - Contributor

Supplied

Q) IN the past month my corn snake Cornelius has had a problem shedding around his eyes.

This has never happened before. Any advice please?

MARK ELLIOTT, Braintree, Essex

Sean says:  This will most likely be a humidity problem, so I recommend having a humid hide box in the warm end of a snake enclosure, ­especially around the time they are due to shed.

This applies to most species, except arid or desert species — in which case excess humidity can actually be harmful, leading to respiratory issues, for example.

A humid hide box  can be as simple as a Tupperware or plastic storage container with an entrance hole  cut into the lid, filled with damp ­sphagnum moss or even kitchen towel, offering a high humidity microclimate.

Snakes are unusual in that they don’t have eyelids, and can’t blink as a result, but they have a spectacle.

This is a modified scale that sits over the eye protecting it, and it is shed each time the snake sheds  its skin.

If the humidity is too low it can get stuck and need manual removal.

Q) MY Siberian husky Mo, who is ten, has a cruciate injury. What do you think about surgery and what do you recommend?

It seems a very big operation and is it in his interests at his age?

STEVE COOKE, Leeds

Sean says: It’s a tricky one, and I totally get where you’re coming from.

Sometimes in these cases you either have to manage conservatively with pain relief and rest and see how good it gets, or simply bite the bullet and accept the risk of putting your pet through surgery, in the hope that it will improve  quality of life for their remaining years.

In a ten-year-old husky that could still be two, three, even four more years, if you are very lucky.

You also have to take finances into account, and how Mo will cope with the post-op recovery period on restricted exercise.

Consider how you will cope with that too.

It’s always a balance based on ­individual circumstances, and your vet will be happy to chat through  all the pros, cons and cost scenarios to try to help you arrive at the best decision.

Q) IS it possible for cats to get dementia?

My 20-year-old cat seems to be a   bit senile at times, with the odd accident occurring around the house that is out of character.

 It’s very mild, but should I take Moggy to the vet for a check-up?

 Is there any medication that could help?

SAM CASTLE, Doncaster

Sean says: Yes, sadly it is. It’s often called cognitive dysfunction or, simply, feline dementia and it has similar signs to dementia in humans.

These can include confusion, seemingly getting lost, anxious vocalisation, toileting accidents or going in odd places.

Moggy sounds like a typical case, and there are some medications we can give which improve blood flow to the brain and may make her feel a lot better in her later years.

There are some other diseases in older cats which may be confused with or exacerbate these symptoms, such as kidney or thyroid disease.

So it’s definitely worth a vet visit and coming up with a plan to keep her comfortable and happy.

At tails.com we can provide a trial of a hypoallergenic diet designed for sensitive digestion with prebiotics.

Star of the week

Supplied

KIRA the cat is one of only three felines in the country to have an “Expert Trick Dog UK” title.

The seven-year-old Russian blue does more than 20 stunts – and she’s set to do a Guinness World Record attempt this year.

Owner Olivia Grice, 30, from Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, said: “Her ‘coolest’ trick is pushing the shopping trolley and we’ve been accepted for a Guinness World Record attempt.

“I certainly think she’s smarter than a lot of dogs. But she’s independent.

“She is a very vocal cat too, so I find myself ‘chatting’ to her.”

See Kira’s profile at urbanpawsuk.com.

Smoking just as harmful for pets

PET owners are being urged to not smoke in front of their furry friends – as it can lead to deadly cancers.

Research by vape firm Haypp found dogs that live with smokers have a 60 per cent higher risk of developing lung ­cancer.

Getty

And their experts warn cats could get lymph node or mouth cancer, due to licking toxins off their fur.

Markus Lindblad from haypp.com/uk said: “Pet owners should do everything they can to prevent their pets coming into contact with cigarette smoke.”

He explained that as cats ­frequently groom fur they are more likely to absorb harmful toxins via their tongue, leaving them at risk of lymph node cancer or oral cancer.

Markus added: “With a consumption of up to ten cigarettes per day, large amounts of nicotine are deposited in a cat’s fur”.

Unlike cats, dogs filter a considerable proportion of the toxins in tobacco smoke through their noses.

This means that, in addition to lung cancer, they can also be at risk of developing nasal cancer, he explained.

He added: “Dogs and other pets also suffer from the toxins to which they are exposed by their owners.

“But using tobacco substitutes means that no one smokes passively.”