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Pre-Surgical Information
Spaying or neutering your pet is a big step! There is a lot to consider
when we are planning your pet’s surgery. Here is some information to help
you make wise decisions.
Click here . . .
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Special LibraryOur Special Library
is a collection of informative articles on a variety of health topics.
Click here . . .
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Discharge InstructionsClick here for
information on how to care for your pet at home.
Click here . . .
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Cast Care
Far from being an easy fix,
casts take a lot of work to make
them safe and comfortable.
If you are reading this, you are either easily
entertained or else you pet has a cast. Casts are
sometimes used to manage fractured bones.
Sometimes casts are the first-choice treatment,
sometimes they are the second or third-choice treatment,
but all casts need some basic daily maintenence.
Here are the rules:
Rule 1: Animals with casts may not be outside
unattended. Ever. All the bad things listed
below will happen if you let your casted pet run loose
outside. This means that your pet must be kept
either inside the house, inside the garage, or in the
basement. When your dog goes outside to potty, you
must take him or her on a leash.
Rule 2: The cast must be kept dry. When your
pet goes outside to potty, put a baggie over the cast,
then put a sock (usually a child's size sock works best)
over the baggie. Be sure and take it off when he
or she comes in. It goes without saying that baths
are out. No swimming.
Rule 3: Animals with casts must not be allowed to
exercise freely. There is no such thing as a
walking cast in veterinary medicine. Our patients
are not able to tell when they are over-doing it.
They cannot tell us when they start to develop cast
sores. Moreover, in many applications casts on
dogs and cats do not immobilize the limb as well as we
might like. It is vital that your pet not run
wild. Usually, being inside the house is enough,
but if your pet is especially rambunctious, it will be
necessary to confine him or her to a cage.
Rule 4: You must check the cast at least once a
day. Casts can loosen over time as the padding compacts
and the limb shrinks from lack of use. Also, many
of our casted patients are young and growing, and it is
not uncommon for a casted patient to outgrow the cast
before it is time to take it off. For these and
other reasons, casts can rub and cause sores. If
not attended to right away, these sores can be quite
severe.
Problem signs:
1. Your pet uses the casted limb
less than before.
2. You see a wet spot on the
cast
3. You smell a bad odor
4. Your pet has a decrease in
appetite or activity level.
If you notice any of these things, call immediately. |
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