ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL CAT CLINIC

We were pleased to have castrated a record 420 cats at our free clinic this year. We had 4 vets working including Meghan from the clinic in Montfort and Cari’s sister-in-law. With the help of all the staff plus 5 volunteers, we were able to get the cats all done before noon. It was a busy morning, but everything ran smoothly. Thanks to all who brought in cats and spread the word of the event.

We appreciate all the hard work from our staff getting things set up in the garage and outside to direct people. Thanks to everyone for their patience. We are glad to provide this community service.

Watch for next year’s event the 2^nd Saturday in October 2019.
 

REMEMBER TO PREG CHECK YOUR BEEF COWS

The cull cow price is down and even though feed costs are still low, you really can’t afford to feed an open cow all winter. We know that everyone has been busy trying to get the crops in now that the rain has let up. Now is the time to get scheduled to preg check your beef cows so you can make some wise culling decisions. You can schedule to preg checks on the same day as you are working the calves, if that is convenient for rounding up the cows.

So far this year, we have been seeing a normal range of 3-5% open cows. Depending on when you pull the bull, we can preg check your cows by sleeving them or using the ultrasound. If you have left the bull in until preg check, you may benefit from having us ultrasound them. With the ultrasound, we can determine if a cow is pregnant at only 30 days instead of having to wait till 45 days to sleeve them.

We can also give the right vaccines and dewormer to your cows at preg check time. We are happy to preg check cows on a Saturday, if that is what works best for you and your help. We can bring our chute when we come or you can pick it up ahead of time and get things set up.
 

PetDesk IS OUR NEW APP

If you have been in the clinic lately or made a purchase, you will notice the information about PetDesk at the bottom of your receipt. PetDesk is the new app that we are using to keep in touch with clients and allow access to pet records and appointments. The app is designed for use with dogs and cats, but does provide easy access to the clinic phone, website and email. You can ask about products, schedule appointments and see when your dog’s rabies vaccination is due.
 

LOTS OF PNEUMONIA IN WEANED CALVES

The summer/fall of rain and mud was hard on both cows and calves out in the pasture, especially the late born calves. We have been seeing a deadly combination of Pasteurella, mycoplasma and histophilus in the ones we have sent in to the lab.

Vaccinating your calves with the Inforce 3 intranasal vaccine at birth and again at around 8 weeks will help boost the calves’ immune system and prime them for the injectable vaccines given at weaning.

Sally’s recommendations and the suggestions for calves from the Bloomington sale barn include vaccinating against the respiratory virals, pasteurella, blackleg and histophilus. You can do that combination with only 2 injections. Unfortunately, we do not have a vaccine to prevent mycoplasma. None of the companies have been able to get a vaccine to work against that nasty bug.
 

INTERNAL PARASITES RAMPANT

One more thing to blame on the weather perhaps, but we have been seeing many more worms, coccidia, campylobacter and giardia in animals this fall. We are sending the dog and cat samples to a lab now in addition to looking at the samples in the clinic. The lab test looks for evidence of adult parasites in the fecal sample in addition to the eggs that we see in the float test at the clinic. We have been having lots of positive tests come back both ways.

Internal parasites are common in young animals and are easily treated. We think that the wet weather has promoted the spread and growth of parasites. We are seeing more infested older animals now.

A stool check every year on your pet will tell us whether your pet needs to be treated and with what treatment. The monthly heartworm preventative that we recommend contains a preventative dose for roundworms, whipworms, hookworms and tapeworms. The stool test lets us know if your pet needs additional treatment.
 

INFORCE 3 WORKS IN FRESH COWS

You know that through the years we have learned that calving is a big stress on cows and causes tremendous immune suppression. We have preached not to give any vaccines to cows during the 35 days after calving. They simply are too immunosuppressed to respond to any vaccination.

Inforce 3 given at calving will result in significantly lower incidence of metritis, mastitis and pneumonia. The cow’s systemic immune system is suppressed, but not the local. Additional studies are being completed to achieve the label claim for this use in cows.

The Inforce 3 also stimulates interferon release which is anti-viral and helps the T cells of the immune system better adapt and fight infections of all kinds. The local immune system is divided into 2 parts”one for the respiratory and reproductive system and one for the gastrointestinal system. So, stimulating the mucous membranes of the nose with a vaccine helps the cow fight off infections in the uterus! It also helps the immune system as it shifts to protect different at risk sites.

Please call if you have questions about how to best use Inforce 3 in your fresh cows.
 

FLEA & TICK CONTROL PRODUCTS

We have been seeing lots of ticks this fall on dogs and cats and horses and LOTS of fleas on dogs and cats. It seemed like almost all the cats brought in to the free cat clinic this year had fleas.

We have the spot-on Advantix and oral Bravecto for dogs and the Seresto collar for both dogs and cats. The Advanitx spot-on cannot be used on cats. You can use the Seresto collar for tick control on cats or the spot-on Bravecto for cats. Be sure that you are using a cat product for your cats. They are very sensitive to all insecticides and can be killed by a dog product.

For tick control on horses, we have a pour-on product that contains a long acting permethrin. It lasts about a month after you apply it. Hopefully, it will be cold enough by then that the ticks will be less active. Both fleas and ticks are definitely looking for a blood meal and a warm place to spend the winter right now.

Ticks can transmit a variety of diseases to the animals (and people!) they bite, including Lyme disease, tick fever, babesiosis, anaplasmosis and tick paralysis. We have blood tests at the clinic that we can run to see if your animal is infected with one or more of these diseases. The best prevention is to use a tick control product and to check for ticks frequently. In order to transmit most of the diseases, the ticks have to be attached for over 24 hours.
 

HAVE A SAFE FINISH TO THE HARVEST!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

BE SURE TO VOTE ON NOVEMBER 6!!