Clinical

The importance of fibre in rabbit health

Rabbits are crepuscular animals, being more active during dawn and dusk and they feed primarily during these hours. Rabbits are well adapted to living in environmrnts with sparse nutritional resources...

Oral rehydration therapy — simple administration of basic nutrients

The principles of ORT are based on supplying simple nutrients that can be absorbed directly by the cells lining the small intestine, known as enterocytes (Figure 2). Enterocytes are not capable of...

Hay for a healthy rabbit: the importance of appropriate feed

While selective breeding has changed external features, such as the domestic rabbit's coat colour, fur length, ear shape and size, its underlying physiology is, or should be, similar to that of the...

A practical approach to caring for patients with appetite reduction

Appetite can be adversely affected when circumstances interfere with the initiation of food intake (for example in the case of facial trauma or dental disease), or act to promote negative stimuli...

How to prevent perioperative hypothermia in the dog and cat: causes and consequences

Thermoreceptors are found centrally and peripherally. Peripheral receptors are located in the skin and central receptors are located in the hypothalamus, spinal cord, brain stem, abdominal organs and...

Approach to analgesia in the feline geriatric patient

The behavioural signals that may indicate pain in cats may include (but are not limited to): changes in activity; agitation; aggression; altered appetite; altered interaction with family members;...

Assisted feeding in rabbits

Rabbits are a popular pet and like most other herbivores, they need a continual supply of fibrous vegetation to maintain a healthy digestive tract (Leng, 2008). Like horses, the digestive process of...

Options for skin coverage: reconstruction and skin grafts

A skin flap is a piece of skin that remains attached to a blood supply when it is placed over a recipient wound whereas a skin graft is a piece of skin taken away from its blood supply and placed on a...

Dietary management of the cat with chronic kidney disease

The ideal diet for a cat with renal disease should have a number of basic properties. It should be:.