Insuring Your Pet

Even with the best will in the world, sometimes unpredictable things happen. Illnesses are often unexpected, so it’s best to be prepared in case something does happen to your feline friend.

Pet insurance offers you that vital reassurance that no matter what treatment your pet needs, it can be covered. There’s nothing worse than having to weigh up the importance of your pet’s wellbeing against your ability to meet the costs.

Making the decision to insure your pet is probably one oe the wisest choices you will make.  To learn more about why insurance is so strongly recommended please call us.

Finding Your Pet If They Get Lost

You know as well as we do how inquisitive pets can be, and that rabbits in particular can gather quite a speed when the mood takes them! Unfortunately this means that their likelihood of getting lost is sometimes higher than normal, but a simple microchip could help reunite you with them if this was ever to happen.

A microchip is a very small piece of technology – roughly the same size as a grain of rice – which is inserted underneath the skin between your pet’s shoulder blades. The chip carries a unique code which can be read using a specialist scanner. When entered into a national database of domestic pets, this code will bring up your contact details and identify you as the owner.

The computerised database can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means that no matter when your pet might wander a little too far from home, the relevant animal authorities will be able to scan them and get in touch with you straight away.

The specialist microchip scanners that reveal your pet’s code, and subsequently your contact details, are only held by specific authorities including all veterinary practices, rescue shelters and animal welfare charities like the RSPCA.

The microchipping procedure is very quick, lasting only a few seconds, and can be carried out almost painlessly. Many pets are not even aware that it has happened. Your pet can be chipped during a routine consultation or during a surgical procedure if you let us know in advance.

It’s a small price to pay for the knowledge that your bunny can be traced and returned to you in the event that they ever go missing.

For more information about microchipping, or to book an appointment for your pet, please call us.

Caring For Your Pet's Environment

As a rabbit owner, you may not be surprised to hear that rabbits are often considered to be one of the best type of domestic pets, whether they live in the house or in a hutch in the garden. However, like many other species of animal, they do require careful looking after to ensure they remain healthy, especially as they are susceptible to conditions like flystrike and myxomatosis which can be fatal within a couple of hours.

It is important to consider a rabbit’s natural environment when you’re caring for one as a pet. In the wild they are prey animals – hunted by foxes, dogs and large birds like hawks. This means that they are genetically pre-programmed to respond to any perceived threats, and even the sight, smell or sound of a noisy cat or dog can cause them so much stress that they can sometimes suffer fatal gut stasis or heart failure.

If you keep your rabbit in an outdoor hutch, it can be a good idea to cover the hutch with a tarpaulin sheet at night; not only does this keep them a little warmer in the winter months, but also prevents them from catching sight of any wandering foxes.

Ideally, a rabbit’s cage should be a minimum of five times their size, so that they are able to completely stretch out or stand up on their hind legs without touching the roof. Remember that caged rabbits need to be let out for exercise – in the house or a garden run – for at least a couple of hours each day to let them stretch their joints.

In the wild rabbits typically live in large groups, and so it is vital for their happiness and mental wellbeing that they live with at least one other rabbit for company. It is most often recommended that groups of rabbits living together should be siblings, to reduce the likelihood of fighting or aggression. We can give you plenty of advice on how to avoid conflict between your bunnies – just give us a call or ask your vet at your pet’s next appointment.

For more information about caring for your rabbit, or to book an appointment for your bunny here at ParkVets, please just give us a call on 0208 300 8111.

Saying Goodbye, When The Time Comes

As much as we’d undoubtedly like them to stay around forever, eventually the time will come for you to have to say goodbye to your pet. This is an understandably distressing experience for any owner, and here at Parkvets we have a series of measures in place to help make it as stress-free as possible for you.

Our staff are specially trained through Compassion Understood to help you prepare for your pet’s passing and to plan any arrangements necessary afterwards – all you have to do is let us know what you’d prefer and we’ll take care of the rest for you.

What’s more, we can guarantee that there will always be someone at our hospital for you to talk to if you ever need a little extra support – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – who will be happy to give you as much time as you need.

You can rest assured that we will do our very best to accommodate any particular requests you might have, and will always put your pet’s welfare and your needs first.

For more information about our euthanasia and pet cremation services, please download the PDF file Saying Goodbye. If you have any questions or would like further advice or support from a member of our team, please feel free to call us on 0208 300 8111.