Ceva Animal Health, maker of Adaptil and Feliway, is holding Pet Anxiety Month this month.

The company has prepared practice marketing materials to support the campaign to educate pet owners on the signs of anxiety in cats and dogs, which are available from its Account Managers. 

The campaign is being fronted by TV personality and radio presenter, Kate Lawler (pictured), who has taken on the role of official ambassador having experienced anxiety in her rescue Terrier cross, Shirley.

Ceva has partnered with Battersea Dogs and Cats Home for the campaign and will be making a donation of £1 for every Adaptil product sold during March.

http://www.petanxiety.co.uk

Genitrix has announced that HY-50 Vet^®, a sodium hyaluronate treatment for equine joints, has now been authorised for intravenous (IV) use.

Available until now for intra-articular (IA) use only, the company says HY-50 delivers the highest concentration of sodium hyaluronate on the market for the treatment of non-infectious joint inflammation and the enhancement of joint function. 

Genitrix also says that, as IV application requires less specialist preparation than IA, HY-50 is now a practical solution for mixed practices with a smaller equine case load.  Injected intravenously, the product will also benefit horses with multiple joint injuries.

HY-50 is presented in a 3 ml pre-loaded syringe, delivering 50 mg of sodium hyaluronate.  It costs £55.50.

Rob Watkins, Marketing Director of Genitrix, said: "The efficacy of sodium hyaluronate is well established and we're delighted to be able to offer the IV route of administration.  We know it will meet a real need in the market for a lameness treatment which is proven and simple to administer."

"Perhaps most importantly, in these financially difficult times, the high concentration of the product makes it a cost-effective approach compared with competitive products.  We believe it will offer an affordable treatment option for owners who are anxious to treat their horses but may be discouraged by the high cost of many treatments."

For further information, see http://www.genitrix.co.uk/ or ring 01403 786345.

Eurovet Animal Health is to offer veterinary surgeons visiting the London Vet Show a free trial of Cardisure to use in newly diagnosed patients*.

In addition, for every free trial vets sign up for at the event, Eurovet will also donate £1 to The Children's Heart Association to a maximum total donation of £500. The charity is run by families and friends of affected children and aims to improve facilities for children at heart units, maintain standards of improvement as new techniques develop, raise funds to help purchase specialised equipment and support patients and their families.

Eurovet will also be running a prize draw to win one of two Thamescope Cardiology Stethoscopes each day.

The company says bulk buy discounts will also be on offer and following on from news of the recent methadone CPD seminars, the team will also be talking about Comfortan - the first EU authorised veterinary licensed methadone. They will also be taking registrations for the final seminar in the series of three, which takes place at The Gables hotel, Falfield, near Bristol on Wednesday 30^th November.

Eurovet will be on stand G70.

*The trial applies to veterinary surgeons only. The free product will be supplied to the named veterinary surgeon at the registered practice address.

Macahl Animal Health, a new veterinary company which took over the manufacture and distribution of Oralade in the summer, is to make its first appearance at the London Vet Show later this month. 

The company will be highlighting its Feed Don’t Fast campaign designed to encourage veterinary professionals to take a much more proactive approach to the early feeding of patients to improve patient outcomes.

Macahl Director Anthony Mackle said, “The Feed Don’t Fast campaign is gathering momentum. We’ve been encouraged by the feedback we’ve had from veterinary practices starting to look at the nutritional needs of their in-patients much earlier than they did before. Rather than waiting to see if a patient will eat or not, they are starting to be more nutritionally-aware, and prioritising feeding in the same way that they prioritise the administration of clinical care or medication. The case studies we’ve received show a clear benefit in early nutrition assisting recovery.

“But we don’t want to sit back and wait for the message to make its own way round: it’s an urgent need. We have to flip the notion of delaying feeding or fasting patients until the gut settles down or they have recovered from whatever condition they were admitted for. Science has moved on. The protocols for human patients recommend early intervention with appropriate nutrition and we need to get this message out to give the same benefits to our pet patients. This is why the educational message of Feed Don’t Fast is so important.”

Macahl says it is making education a key feature of its stand at London Vet Show with technical updates on early feeding of patients and the opportunity to sign up for nutrition and critical care feeding webinars. Staff will be on hand to explain the benefits of early day 1 microenteral feeding to help with the optimal functioning of the gut, and maintenance of the gut-associated lymphoid barrier. The company will be offering a special buy-two-get-one-free LVS promotion on its leading microenteral and rehydration product, Oralade, as well as giving away free dog- and cat-shaped ice cube trays to encourage practice staff to freeze left-over product for further use.

A new website, www.oralade.com will also be launched at London Vet Show which will allow veterinary professionals to access educational materials and videos, and sign up for new and recent webinars.

For more information, visit: www.feeddontfast.co.uk or telephone Macahl Animal Health on (0)28 8778 9245

BEVA has announced that this year, there will be a lecture stream at Congress dedicated to feet and farriery, aimed at vets, nurses and farriers, and designed to encourage teamwork between the three. 

The farriery stream will run all day on Saturday 14 September, with content curated by Dr Simon Curtis who is internationally renowned in the hoof-care world for his remedial farriery textbooks and lectures.

 Simon said: “Any historical, perceived divide between science of veterinary medicine and the craft of farriery is no longer in existence.

"The overlap is vast which means it is more essential than ever that vets, nurses and farriers understand each other’s roles in order to maximise their patient outcomes.” 

“Farriery isn’t sexy, but it beats everything else for improving soundness.

"It is impossible to maintain or regain soundness without farriery being considered as an integral part of the process. 

“The impact good farriery can have on a horse’s ability to tolerate conformational, work-related or other causes of lameness associated pathology is all too often overlooked by all parties, and this should no longer be the case.

"Vets and farriers must work as a team to avoid injury and facilitate recovery wherever possible.”

The sessions will cover things like the importance of trimming, the biomechanical effects of horseshoes, why heels collapse, chronic club foot, digital support and toe-trimming.

The farriery stream is part of 90+ hours of live and on-demand CPD on offer at Congress, with interactive discussions, debates and workshops, and an expanded stream for vet nurses.

https://www.bevacongress.org/programme 

BEVA members prices for Congress for all three days are £699 for vets (with concessionary prices available for those in their first three years of graduation or earning less than £25,000), £273 for nurse members for all three days and £300 for farriers and other allied professionals for all three days or £110 for one day.

Practice passes are also available.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has announced that Andrea Jeffery, the first veterinary nurse to sit on RCVS Council, will take up her place from July this year.

According to the RCVS, the move recognises the increasing importance of veterinary nursing as a profession, and the need for veterinary nurse input on decisions of governance that impact on the whole veterinary team.

The composition of RCVS Council is dictated by the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966: 24 elected veterinary surgeons, two appointees from each of the six approved veterinary schools and four members appointed by the Privy Council (usually three lay people and the Chief Veterinary Officer).

Within this mix, there has not thus far been a place for a veterinary nurse, however, the vet school appointees do not both have to be veterinary surgeons, and the University of Bristol has nominated Andrea, who will take up her place at RCVS Day on 2 July.

A past Chairman, and elected member of the RCVS Veterinary Nurses Council, Andrea is Programme Director of the Veterinary Nursing and Bioveterinary Science Programme at the University of Bristol. Liz Branscombe will continue as Chairman of the Veterinary Nurses Council, and makes a report to RCVS Council each time it sits - in March, June and November.

Andrea said: "I am very grateful to Bristol for being forward-thinking and enabling a veterinary nurse to sit on RCVS Council in this way. This opportunity gives veterinary nursing a voice on Council and recognises the growing maturity we have as a profession, and the contribution of veterinary nurses to the practice team. I look forward to supporting the work of Liz and the Veterinary Nurses Council."

RCVS President, Sandy Trees said: "The legislation that defines the composition of RCVS Council was put in place when veterinary nursing was in its infancy. However, I am delighted that the University of Bristol has been imaginative enough to choose Andrea as one if its appointees. It is the same spirit of doing as much as we can to modernise, in the absence of new legislation, which has led us to introduce the non-statutary regulation of veterinary nurses and the voluntary Practice Standards Scheme."

The RCVS has announced that it will be holding a free lunchtime webinar next week about its alternative dispute resolution (ADR) trial and its outcomes.

The webinar, titled ‘Who ADRs wins’, takes place at 1pm on Monday 7 December via The Webinar Vet and will be presented by RCVS Registrar Gordon Hockey and RCVS Council member Niall Connell who was part of the Advisory Panel to the ADR trial.

The trial, which has been administered by Ombudsman Services, began in November 2014 in order to develop a system that addresses the many concerns received by the RCVS about the conduct of veterinary surgeons which it cannot deal with under its statutory powers.

During the webinar, Gordon and Niall will explain the roles of Ombudsman Services and the Advisory Panel, as well as examine the outcomes of some of the concerns handled by the trial. 

They will also discuss the future of the ADR scheme. Following the presentation, listeners will have the opportunity to put their questions to the speakers.

Visit www.thewebinarvet.com/the-rcvs-alternative-dispute-resolution-scheme to register for the webinar. A recording of the webinar will be made available shortly after the event.

Woodley Equipment Co Ltd has announced that it has been appointed by Synermed International as the exclusive distributor in the UK & Europe for the IR202 Series Near-Infrared Biochemistry reagents.

Woodley will supply regular maintenance visits, support and a monthly supply of reagents to IR202 analyser customers. 

For further information, visit www.woodleyequipment.com, www.synermedinc.com, email sales@woodleyequipment.com or telephone 01798 813659.  

The RCVS is looking for general practitioners to join one of two working groups to shape a new programme to support veterinary graduates into life in practice.

The College says the aim of the programme, which will replace the current Professional Development Phase (PDP), is to ensure that new graduates are fully supported in their new role and able to progress from day one competencies into confident and capable independent practitioners.

The new programme builds on the results of the Graduate Outcomes Consultation, a consultation which reported in 2019 to gather the views of the profession with regards to day one competencies, the PDP, extra-mural studies and clinical education for general practice.

The Graduate Outcomes consultation found that the profession felt that support mechanisms for new graduates needed to be strengthened, and the proposal to develop this new programme of support was approved by RCVS Council in January.

The first of the two working groups is the EPA Working Group, which is tasked with assisting the development of a bank of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs). EPAs describe the everyday professional tasks carried out by vets in practice, covering a wide range of areas of clinical and professional practice which graduates and their mentors can access to build into their own e-portfolio.

The second working group is the Mentor Working Group, which will assist in shaping the role of the mentor in the new programme and create a training package for workplace mentors.

Sue Paterson, Chair of RCVS Education Committee said: "It is incredibly important for us to have input from veterinary surgeons who are working in general practice as they are well positioned to comment on how the development programme can effectively support graduates on a day to day basis."

The College is looking for veterinary surgeons working in practice and who have an interest in helping new graduates gain the best possible experience to join as members of these new working groups. It would be beneficial for applicants to have experience with mentoring and/or workplace training.

Successful applicants would be required to visit the RCVS for three half-day meetings over the period of a year and the RCVS would cover travel and subsistence expenses. There would be an additional time commitment to review and feedback on material via email.

Those general practitioners who are interested in applying should email Britta Crawford, RCVS Education Manager, via b.crawford@rcvs.org.uk giving a brief description of their current position and why they feel they would be an asset to the working group. The closing date for applications is 6 March 2020.

The British Veterinary Association has produced a series of expert videos to help employers and employees with the disciplinary process.

The five short videos, which can be accessed free on vets.tv as part of the BVA membership package, talk employers through the procedures they must follow to ensure it is a fair process. The videos also advise employees on how to approach the process including guidance on how much time employees should have to look at the evidence on which the disciplinary is based.

The videos use case studies to show what the particular stages in the disciplinary process mean, what they involve and how to prepare for them.

Robin Hargreaves, Chair of the BVA Members Services Group, said: "Many have already downloaded the videos which are short and easy to follow, arming members with the knowledge they need to prepare for the difficult journey through the disciplinary process.

"There is evidently a need for such information and I hope members of the veterinary team check the whole range of free employment resources BVA members can access before paying for external legal advice - it might not be needed."

The videos are available at http://www.bva.co.uk/vetsTv/2792.aspx, the downloadable guides at http://www.bva.co.uk/guides and legal services at http://www.bva.co.uk/legal.

Owners of hyperthyroid cats say they would rather veterinary surgeons prescribed the appropriate dosage for their pets than have an easy way to administer the medicine, according to new research carried out by feline expert Dr Sarah Caney BVSc PhD DSAM (Feline) MRCVS.

111 cat owners were questioned for the research, which was supported by Dechra Veterinary Products and has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery.

Dechra says the results of the study challenge long-held perceptions, and should encourage a reappraisal of the approach to oral anti-thyroid medication:

89% of cat owners agreed with the statement that it 'was more important to me that the vet prescribes the most appropriate dose for my cat than that they provide me with an easy method of administering the medicine.'

Dr Caney said: "The survey has shown that cat owners are not a barrier to prescribing twice daily medication. Their overwhelming drive is to provide the best level of care that they can.

"From an owner perspective, the ideal anti-thyroid medication offers low doses and a variety of dosing strategies to ensure that each individual cat receives the dose they need and no more."

The findings revealed that 'once daily treatment' was not ranked as the most important statement on dosing by any of the owners and that only 21% of owners who had experienced oral dosing of their cat described the process as either 'tricky' or 'very difficult'.

Craig Sankey, Brand Manager for Felimazole at Dechra Veterinary Products, said: "We are very pleased to have supported such an important piece of independent research relating to feline hyperthyroidism which challenges some of the assumptions made about owner needs.

"Ease of administering the medicine is not the overwhelming issue for owners of cats with hyperthyroidism - administering the correct dose is. In fact, 79 % of cat owners questioned were happy to give pills twice a day if necessary."

To see the latest research in full, please visit www.dechra.co.uk/hyperthyroidism

Hill's Pet Nutrition has announced that Canine i/d™ is now available again from wholesalers.

The company says that Canine i/d has been reformulated to improve texture quality, while still retaining the nutritional profile that makes i/d ideal for dogs with digestive problems and as a post-surgery recovery diet.

Hill’s Prescription Diet Canine i/d Recovery Packs are back early March; Hill's recommends use of regular i/d in the interim.

For more information, speak to your Territory Manager, or ring Hill’s Customer Services on: 0800 282438 (UK), or: 1 800 626002 (IRL)