Over grooming leading to hair loss in cats is quite often a stress response, rather like people who chew their finger nails. And your cat is a Tonkinese, who can be prone to behavioural issues. And you do have other cats in the home, which many cats (being essentially solitary animals) find stressful at times. And she has dental problems which may be painful and she probably found the whole process of going to the vets an unspeakable indignity.

The other common reasons for over grooming include fleas, other parasites such as ear mites or cheyletiella (otherwise known as ‘walking dandruff’), ringworm (not a worm at all, but a fungal infection) food allergies or atopy (an environmental allergy).

Make sure those dental problems are fully resolved. Make sure she has free access, without competition from the other cats, to food, water, preferred sleeping places and high vantage points. Keep on with Feliway and consider other supplements to reduce her anxiety such as Zylkene, SereneUm or Calmex. Some cats require periods of prescription medication to help them through periods of anxiety or stress related behaviour.

And how do cats know they’re going to the vet? I’ve lost count of the times people arrive late for appointments because the cat has got wind of it and bolted or hidden.

Let him use the box not just for scary travel but as a bed and safe place in the home. Sit in the car with him without going anywhere (the neighbours will think you’re weird, but they probably do anyway). If he’s OK with that, start the engine for a bit, but don’t go anywhere. Try feeding him in the car to give it some positive associations. Don’t hurry things.

We use Zylkene (a modified form of casein, one of the milk proteins), Feliway (the happy cat pheromone – you can get small spray bottles for travel), SereneUm (contains B vitamins and tryptophan) and Bach Rescue Remedy or Homeopet Anxiety Remedy.

And once again, why is it that most of my life seems to involve discussions of pee and poop?

A: Yes, this is possible. The sex hormones have an important effect on mood regulation in the brain, so when the source of testosterone (or oestrogen when a female dog is spayed) is removed, it is not unusual to see a slight change in character. These effects can sometimes last for a few months but the good news is that in many of these cases, things return to normal over time as the hormonal balance is naturally restored. A general anaesthetic itself can also cause some confusion and temporary depression.

Neutered animals do sometimes have a slightly slower metabolism after the surgery, so you may find he needs fewer calories in his food to avoid gaining weight. There are many weight control or weight loss diets available (talk to your vet about these) but as you know, I am a big fan of low carb, raw meat & raw vegetable diets, but that’s another story.

If the changes are significant and long lasting, you might also want to ask your vet to check his thyroid hormone levels.

The list is fairly short: if your vet wants to send your pet to a specialist who is on the RCVS list, you can be sure that they will be in very good hands.

The condition occurs when the stomach fills with air until it starts to compress other organs and blood vessels in the abdomen. It can then rotate on itself, cutting off its own blood supply. This needs to be corrected very rapidly to safe the dog’s life.

So what are the symptoms? A swollen and painful belly, repeated retching or trying to vomit with nothing coming up, restlessness, rapid shallow breathing and attempts to stretch the abdomen (the sphynx position).

Treating these cases is a real medical and surgical challenge for any vet – it’s one of the emergencies that most vets still dread, so it’s best to focus on prevention.

If you have a susceptible breed, feed them several times a day in small amounts. Avoid vigorous exercise for an hour before and 2 hours after feeding. Avoid sudden diet changes. Feed your dogs separately and in a quiet place.

Reward and encourage calm behaviour at all times, but come to think of it, that last one’s probably pretty good life advice for any dog owner, family member or captain of industry…

And this is the list:

Deerhounds, Greyhounds, Otterhounds, Irish Red & White Setters, Clumber Spaniels, Field Spaniels, Irish Water Spaniels, Sussex Spaniels, Miniature Bull Terriers, Dandie Dinmont Terriers, Smooth Fox Terriers, Glen of Imaal Terriers, Irish Terriers, Kerry Blue Terriers, Lakeland Terriers, Manchester Terriers, Norwich Terriers, Sealyham Terriers, Skye Terriers, Welsh Terriers, Smooth Collies, Lancashire Heelers, Cardigan Welsh Corgis, English Toy Terriers (Black & Tan).

So stop buying & breeding so many Labradors, Cockers, Springers, Shepherds, Cavaliers and Staffies!

Be a bit more adventurous and go for some of these lovely old breeds before they diet out and we don’t have the choice any more!

PS They might not be on the list, but spare a thought for the lovely English Setter…

For more information, check the Kennel Club page at http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/808

- hyperthyroidism
- diabetes
- cystitis
- kidney disease
- kidney failure
- weight loss
- lameness
- diarrhoea
- vomiting
- abcesses

Not sure quite what you’re meant to do with that information, but there you go.

Given that most pet owners are a bit slack about visiting the vet – apparently less than half of the UK’s pets get to see their vet just once a year -  you might want  to find out what the symptoms of the top 10 are so that you’ll recognise them if they happen to your pet.

Just a thought.

Oh and watch this space – we’ll be going over them for you in the next few weeks

Older cats have older kidneys that start to leak proteins into the urine. Their pee also becomes more dilute, so they have to drink more to keep up. They can feel a bit nauseous, so their appetite is less and they start to lose weight. Specific changes to their diet, medication and supplements can make a big difference to how your cat feels and, bluntly, how long they live.

The thyroid glands control the basic level of metabolism, and in some cats they become hyperactive. Affected cats typically become restless, hungry, vocal and skinny. It’s a bit like them having their foot on the throttle all the time: it wears them out. This disease is also treatable, most commonly with either medication or surgery.

So get to it: book an appointment now!

And as an aside, an accurate (digital) set of bathroom scales is a good investment not just for you, but for your pets.

And did I mention that a female flea can lay 50 eggs a day for 3 weeks, that makes, err, 1000 new fleas in your home in as little as 6 weeks?

The prescription ‘flea drops’ from your vet are also likely to be effective against a number of other important parasites including intestinal roundworms (a potential human health risk), lungworm (spread by slugs and snails, a potentially fatal infection for dogs), fox mange and ear mites, so you should either be treating your pets regularly.

If for any reason you want to increase the gap between treatments, you should at the very least take a sample of your pet’s faeces to your vet for a routine parasite test.

Rabbits have teeth that grow throughout their lives, being continuously ground down to the correct length by the action of their opposite numbers. The front teeth are used like razor sharp scissors to cut and tear grass and other vegetation, while the ridged rear teeth grind the food into a paste that can then be swallowed and digested.

If the diet is either not fibrous enough, or if the teeth are not well aligned due to natural conformation or injury, they will grow too long and it sounds as if that might be your rabbit’s problem.

Your bunny is probably not going to be too bothered about the cosmetic appearance of a front incisor tooth that grows straight out, but the tooth that is meant to wear against it might well be digging into the inside of the mouth. This can cause considerable pain and difficulty with eating, so you do need to have this checked.

Overgrown teeth can be trimmed or even extracted by your vet, but far better to make sure that right from the start you feed a good high fibre diet. Those incisor teeth grow at around 3mm per week!