On The Road with Dr. Niesenbaum

At first glance, one wouldn't think that an eight year old, 10 pound cat and a 3 1/2 year old 200 pound Great Dane/Mastiff mix have very much in common. However, they both were on my house call schedule this past week and for the same reason. The kitty, formerly an outdoor feral cat that was rescued by a client of mine. She trapped the cat in her yard a couple of years ago, had her spayed and found that she was positive for feline leukemia virus. Not wanting to release her back outside to spread the virus, this lucky puss ended up staying inside, in a spare room, with all the furnishings and toys that a cat needs to stay amused. Unfortunately, even with the passage of time, she has not warmed up to humans and cannot really be handled much at all. (OK, to be honest, not at all). So, when her owner/caretaker noticed what she thought was a mass on the back, she called me to come over to have a look. The mass was actually a large mat of fur. Since we could not handle the patient, I caught her in a large net, gave her an injection of a quick acting sedative and as soon as she was asleep, did a thorough physical examination, clipped out the mats, and brushed the rest of her fur. Her caretaker and I had decided that it was less stressful to do it this way than to try to get her into a carrier, transport her to the hospital, perform the procedure, and then transport her back home. I am glad to report that all went well, and we will try to do this routinely, before the mats get so big. The Dantiff, as her owner called her was how I started my day today. Peaches is a regular house call patient because at 200 lbs, she just does not travel well. Today's visit was routine, she just needed some blood drawn for a heartworm test before we started her on preventative medication. I must admit that I was a bit concerned about drawing blood in the home from such a large dog, but all it took was a little rub behind the ears and she stood there while I took the sample that I needed. So other than being on my house call schedule, the other thing that these two pets have in common is that their owners cannot get them to the veterinary office for care. This is one of the more common reasons that I go out to the home to take care of pets. Check back as we work our way through the spring and bring you stories from the road with Dr. Niesenbaum