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Experience with the cat and rabbit clinic in Northampton

Josie_lg

Josie_lg

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Hiya everyone we are in the process of getting our piggie booked in for a dental at cat and rabbit clinic but she also requires blood work which she needs a GA for:( I would just like to hear everyone’s experiences with the cat and rabbit clinic as it’s a long journey for us to take. Thank you! Xx
 
Hi. I’ve been to see them when my Pepper had a tooth root abscess and they were amazing. We had driven 2 hours to see them. They did the operation the same day. I can’t fault them. They really are the best vets I’ve ever taken a piggy to.

Good luck.
 
@Bill & Ted

In my own experience (I live an hour away from them), they are by far the best place for piggy dentals and other major operations in the UK since they see so many, and if they need to do blood work under GA then they do it routinely. They use a different GA drug to most vets, which most guinea pigs react to much better and come round from much easier and with usually no further complications.
 
Tico went for a spay and also some blood tests while she was under. Simon assessed her as a relatively high risk piggie as she was a bit underweight and her breathing was a bit laboured. A spay is a risky op, especially one with laboured breathing as lying them on their back puts a strain on their heart/lungs anyway, never mind her extra trouble.

The operation went so smoothly despite complications (they found cancer while they were in there). Tico recovered back to 100% - no trouble with her stitches, and she quickly gained loads of weight. They took such good care of her (and me!) and the operation bought her over a year of extra happy life.

Simon and the C&R clinic are absolutely the best possible place for you to take your pig.
 
During Lockdown we took Shy Little Meg 🌈 to see Simon and Kim. There was something wrong with Meg and she wasn't eating My vet didn't know what it was. It turned out Meg had a tooth spur which had lacerated the inside of her cheek, a neurological problem which had paralysed half her face, a slight heart murmur and spinal arthritis! On top of all this the poor girl had a bad hay poke which she was already being treated for. Kim filed down her tooth spur, and prescribed Metacam for her spinal arthritis. The heart murmur wasn't worth worrying about as it was only slight, there wasn't anything to be done about the face paralysis and she gave me 2 other different eyedrops for the bad haypoke.

It was a 300 mile round trip which we did twice and it was definitely worth it.
 
They are absolutely brilliant vets,I've taken a few of mine there.When my late Georgie was really poorly and I took him to the the cat and rabbit after my local vets weren't very good, Kim asked me if I minded if she take Georgie home to her and Simon's house as he was so flat and weak and I said yes.I have to travel on 2 buses.He did end up passing away but I was so greatfull that she even offered.Ill always remember that.
Oh and they've been brilliant with my cats too
 
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Thank you everyone for sharing. We have our appointment with them tomorrow morning for a consult and for her to stay and have the dental and we are to collect her later on. It’s a two hour drive just to get there. Very very nervous but do feel reassured and comforted by everyone’s comments and recommendations to use them thank you❤️
I think I’m just so nervous because she’s having bloods too and she’s a more high risk piggie🥺
 
Josie_lg said:
Thank you everyone for sharing. We have our appointment with them tomorrow morning for a consult and for her to stay and have the dental and we are to collect her later on. It’s a two hour drive just to get there. Very very nervous but do feel reassured and comforted by everyone’s comments and recommendations to use them thank you❤️
I think I’m just so nervous because she’s having bloods too and she’s a more high risk piggie🥺
Click to expand...
It's natural to feel worried.Honestly you are in the very best hands and I don't think you'll regret it x
 
Josie_lg said:
Thank you everyone for sharing. We have our appointment with them tomorrow morning for a consult and for her to stay and have the dental and we are to collect her later on. It’s a two hour drive just to get there. Very very nervous but do feel reassured and comforted by everyone’s comments and recommendations to use them thank you❤️
I think I’m just so nervous because she’s having bloods too and she’s a more high risk piggie🥺
Click to expand...

If anybody can take bloods from frailer piggies, then you are going to the right place.

All the best.

Here are our travelling tips: Travelling with guinea pigs
 
Josie_lg said:
Thank you everyone for sharing. We have our appointment with them tomorrow morning for a consult and for her to stay and have the dental and we are to collect her later on. It’s a two hour drive just to get there. Very very nervous but do feel reassured and comforted by everyone’s comments and recommendations to use them thank you❤️
I think I’m just so nervous because she’s having bloods too and she’s a more high risk piggie🥺
Click to expand...
It's natural to be nervous for such things, but in my experience, Kim's judgment of how much and what treatment a frail piggy can handle is spot-on. I imagine Simon is similarly excellent. Good luck and safe travels tomorrow 💓
 
Thank you so much everyone. And for adding the link on how to prepare! I appreciate it. It’s hard because so many people don’t know the cat and rabbit clinic I’ve only know about them through you guys but I do trust everyone who’s sharing their experiences and sounds like we couldn’t be going anywhere better. Thanks again❤️
 
We are on our way home! She’s had the dental under GA he looked in her mouth with a little gag whilst awake and when touching a spur literally broke off🥺 she’s had all the spiky teeth burned down including the bottom incisor as he was concerned this was slightly long. He said the jaw is closing and aligning wonderfully post dental thought. She had bloods taken from her gingival vein inside her mouth to test her kidney and thyroid bless her. Xx
 
Josie_lg said:
We are on our way home! She’s had the dental under GA he looked in her mouth with a little gag whilst awake and when touching a spur literally broke off🥺 she’s had all the spiky teeth burned down including the bottom incisor as he was concerned this was slightly long. He said the jaw is closing and aligning wonderfully post dental thought. She had bloods taken from her gingival vein inside her mouth to test her kidney and thyroid bless her. Xx
Click to expand...
I'm glad her teethies are all sorted now. How is she after the GA etc? I hope she will start munching hay merrily as soon as she is up to it - if she hasn't already of course.
Fingers crossed the blood tests don't find anything nasty. 🤞🙏
 
Josie_lg said:
We are on our way home! She’s had the dental under GA he looked in her mouth with a little gag whilst awake and when touching a spur literally broke off🥺 she’s had all the spiky teeth burned down including the bottom incisor as he was concerned this was slightly long. He said the jaw is closing and aligning wonderfully post dental thought. She had bloods taken from her gingival vein inside her mouth to test her kidney and thyroid bless her. Xx
Click to expand...

Hopefully she’ll soon start eating well. Taking blood from the gingival vein is a much better way to take blood samples from guinea pigs and hamsters xx
 
Sorry about the spelling mistakes in my last message was very tired and stressed haha.
She is okay bless her. Tired and quiet. But she was plodding around on the way home ate some hay and critical care well. She seems a little uncomfortable on her mouth just every now and again making those funny mouth movements where they look like they’re choking?
They were both snuggled and had a good snooze during the journey home bless them. She’s passed some poop it’s a bit deformed.
Now that we are home she is feeling quite sorry for herself and has taken herself off to her favourite bed upstairs and looks a little fluffed up and sad but has eaten a small amount of hay and taken the critical care really well which I’m pleased about as she does love that stuff.
At the moment she’s acting quite similar to when she’s had her flare ups with her mouth to be honest.
He ran a biochem and her renal values were normal which is good. And her T4 is 23! So apparently not high and not hyperthyroidism? Which has come as a big surprise as all the vets we’ve seen before now have had high suspicion of that. We will see how she goes.
Hopefully she will pick up bless her🫶🏼
 
Oh and he believes the lump under her neck isn’t attached to the thyroid which makes thyroid cancer less likely which is good news
Confusing of course as have been told by two vets it’s associated with the thyroid but realistically it doesn’t change a whole lot as all we want is to keep her comfy and ensure that she has a good quality of life for however long we get to have her for❤️
 
I assume it’s normal for her to hesitant with her food? Do you think it’s a bit sore where he would have taken the bloods? She’s taking the syringe feeds so well she is happily lapping that haha and she’s keen to have soft fruits but not sure about her veg and is hesitant with her hay bless her. She tried so hard with her pellets but they irritated her mouth I think as she did those horrible mouth movements.
I’m sorry for all the questions! I’m assuming once her mouth settles down this should improve and she’s maybe a little sore and sensitive with her fresh teeth as she clearly had become so used to her teeth the way they were.
 
Morning don't apologise for any questions.
I'm not an expert but you would think it was normal to be apprehensive the fact that she is eating some things is great news. What pain relief is she on and how many times a day? Is she is keen to eat her pellets you could soak them so they are soft for her and put then on a small dish for her 💐
Also don't forget to weigh her each morning 👍
 
Her mouth will feel very different, so don't expect her to be eating all types of food straight away. You need to experiment with different foods and see what she is prefering, at the moment. Some like hard foods, such as a brocolli stalk or a chunk of carrot and others like leafy foods, cut into small pieces. They generally all love grass as a first food to get to grips with. Grass is excellent as it wears the teeth just as well as hay does. Hay is the last thing they generally eat. Try cutting things into thin strips and giving some mushed up nuggets (they love them warm) and some porridge oats is also good to help keep weight and strength up. You will see her confidence grow over the next few days! When does she see Simon again?
 
Thank you everyone for your support and well wishes. Today she is much more herself. Bright and squeaking for food bless her she’s just the sweetest little piggie🥺 she didn’t come out on her own for veggies this morning and wasn’t really interested in them when offered, but happily had some mashed banana and critical care for an early breakfast this morning and has picked up from there. Eaten small pieces of veg and grazing on hay all day! And eating her grass well. She’s still making those mouth movements as though something is stuck every now and again but much less than yesterday evening. Is devouring her syringe feeds and pooping well but these are still quite soft and mushy but she is prone to getting sensitive tummy’s. I’m so proud of her she’s such a little trooper and all I want is for her to be happy and comfortable. I will attach a photo of her with her syringe feed haha.
Still so bizarre that her thyroid levels came back normal as she had so many symptoms of hyperthyroidism! Even the specialist we went and saw was very sure it would be. But Simon said the crazy appetite could tie into the dental issues if she’s not eating as much as she can at a time. I guess we will see how she does.
I’m curious to know is it really just gas that they use to anaesthetise them there? Because she has bounced back so well in her demeanour it’s incredible.
 

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