Patou
Canine Pet of the Month - October 2024
October’s Pet of the Month is Patou. Patou has been a patient of the Animal Hospital of Statesville since she was a puppy and she is now 6 years old. A little over a year ago, Patou began to have urinary issues and developed a urinary tract infection. She came to the Animal Hospital of Statesville and was treated for a urinary tract infection. A few months later the urinary tract infection returned. She was again treated but continued to have urinary issues. As Patou aged, she became overweight and developed redundant skin folds or excessive skin around her vulva. After treating her urinary tract infections multiple times, the decision was made to perform a valvuloplasty to relieve her chronic urinary tract infections. Some dogs develop redundant or excessive skin around their peri vulvar area commonly due to excessive weight or to vulvar conformation.
Excessive weight causes excessive skin folds to develop, causing resistance to develop in urine flow by partially blocking urination. Conformational issues typically arise when dogs have a small vulva for their body size, leading to urine restriction. These scenarios lead to what is typically referred to as a hooded vulva. Dogs are typically thought to develop ascending urinary tract infections or contamination that comes from outside and travels up the urinary tract. When a dog has a hooded vulva, the extra skin becomes contaminated with bacteria and due to partially blocking urine flow, can lead to excessive contamination of the urinary tract causing chronic urinary tract infections. In certain cases, a vulvoplasty is performed to remove excessive skin and remove blockage of the urinary tract.
A vulvoplasty is a procedure where typically a half-circular section of skin is surgically removed from above the vulva to restore a more natural conformation, allowing unimpeded urine flow. This essentially results in tucking the skin upward to stop restricting urine flow. Typically, once the skin around the vulva is raised and is no longer impeding urine flow, the patient’s urinary issues are relieved. Patou had a vulvoplasty in February 2024 and after healing from surgery is doing well and her chronic urinary tract infections are under control. If you have questions about your dog’s urinary health, please contact us at the Animal Hospital of Statesville to set up a consultation.
Biscuit
Feline Pet of the Month - October 2024
Biscuit is an adorable orange tabby kitten that was found and brought to the Animal Hospital of Statesville for a wellness exam. Originally, Biscuit was thought to be a boy as most orange tabbies are, however, she is all girl! She weighed in at a whopping 1.5lbs on her initial visit. She was truly a ball of orange fluff! Biscuit was examined thoroughly and checked for parasites. Surprisingly she was overall healthy, despite being a stray previously. She was started on the appropriate vaccines and deworming to protect her. Her pet parent also signed her up on our Kitten Preventative Health Care Plan.
This wellness plan is a budget-friendly option that we offer our clients to take the best care of their pet. For kittens (and puppies), it includes all of the needed vaccine boosters for the first year. It includes flea/tick/heartworm prevention and surgery for their spay or neuter. It truly is an “all-inclusive” way to take care of your new kitten or puppy. We are proud to call Biscuit our Pet of the Month!