7 minute read
Pets
CT scans extra tool in vet’s armoury
by Lynn Broom Longmead Veterinary Practice
CT scans – previously known as CAT scans – are images created by computed tomography and are a series of x-rays, interpreted by a computer, to give a detailed view of the inside of the body as a cross-section. A 3D image can be produced so that the area of interest can be further assessed.
A CT scanner is a complex and expensive piece of equipment which needs its own dust-free environment, controlled temperature and a steady level of humidity, and is housed within a room entirely lined with lead to minimise spread of x-rays.
Traditional x-rays primarily show bony changes, although differences in soft tissue densities will also be visible. However, they do not give the detail required for smaller areas of soft tissue or where different soft tissue structures have the same density. Soft tissue under or within bone, such as the brain, cannot be assessed on x-rays because bone obscures this.
Ultrasound scanning allows assessment of soft tissue structures and is useful to assess abdominal structures and soft tissue structures. Again it is limited by the amount of detail it can provide and ultrasound cannot ‘see’ through bones or air, which limits its use in the chest, the skull and the spine.
The CT scanner produces multiple closely placed images which the computer interprets and small fine structures can be identified which would otherwise be unseen on an x-ray or ultrasound image. Contrast medium injected in to the veinous system allows specific imaging of areas otherwise unseen or poorly defined.
CT scans provide excellent images of bones to allow, for instance, assessment of complex fractures prior to surgery, and the lungs to help identify areas of damage due to, for example, inhaled foreign bodies or tumours. Using a contrast medium the urinary system is also clearly seen and can identify obstructions within, for example, the ureters, which carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder, which can be difficult to properly assess with other imaging media.
Foreign bodies can also be visualised in other inaccessible areas which are difficult to x-ray or ultrasound scan such as behind the eye. Tumours within nasal chambers can be difficult to assess and CT scans are very useful in imaging this area.
CT scans are also good at assessing soft tissues within bony structures such as the skull and spine to allow assessment of the brain to identify brain tumours and bleeds. The spinal cord can be assessed for lesions and assessment of slipped discs, using contrast media where appropriate.
Other structures within the chest, abdomen and intestines are also identifiable in more precise detail than x-rays and ultrasound allowing, for instance, precise diagnosis before surgery is performed.
MRI – magnetic resonance imaging – scans are more precise for certain structures such as nerves, fine brain detail and muscles, although adequate views of these structures can be seen on CT scan. A clinical decision has to be made as to which type of scan is more appropriate to the condition being investigated. Neuromas, which are tumours of nerves, are visible on CT scans. MRI scanners are considerably more expensive, require even more specific environmental controls and the scans themselves take much longer.
CT scans are an excellent addition to our repertoire of diagnostic options, especially where further detail is required which cannot be provided by x-rays or ultrasound scans and where cost prohibits MRI scanning.
CT scans are useful when further detail is required which can’t be provided by x-rays or ultrasound scans and when cost prohibits MRI scanning.
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LURCHER PUPPIES. Bitches and dogs. Ready to go now. Dynasty of lovely family pets with fantastic temperaments. Call 07866 915305
WEIMARANER PUPPIES. Amazing parents, good breeding. Loving with children, adults and other family animals. Fully wormed, 1st and 2nd vaccination, microchipped and KC registered. If seriously interested please contact 07521 136185
WORKING COCKER SPANIEL PUPPIES, KC registered, Legally tail docked, Micro chipped from good working parents ready 23/08/22 £500 for more details call 07833 128146
CUDDLES FOR CATS. Caring home cat sitting service. Contact Jacqui: 07791 198679
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CHOCOLATE SPROCKER PUPPIES. Ready August 27th. Wormed, Chipped and vaccinated. £650 ring 01258 472182 F1B COCKERPOOS AVAILABLE mum can be seen all black and one liver please call for more information 07596 286649
The New Blackmore Vale
To advertise in our pet section call 01963 400186
CAN YOU BE A FOREVER HOME?
These are just some of the cats the Blandford & Sturminster Newton branch of Cats Protection has looking for new homes. Kittens – we have kittens available now. If you’d like to register interest, please visit our website – www.cats. org.uk/blandford – and fill in the enquiry form. Please do not ring as we are all volunteers and can’t always answer the phone. Thank you.
Stanley (one). Lovely boy looking for a home to call his own.
Felix (13) and Patch (ten). Timid pair who need a home together.
For details, please call our helpline on 01258 858644 or visit our website www.cats.org.uk/blandford LOST CATS If you have lost a cat please contact us via our website – www.cats.org.uk/ blandford – phone or Facebook.
Please make sure we have a contact phone number so we can get in touch with you quickly if needed.
n Tabby and grey/white, and apricot
females, both missing from their home in Long Critchel since 19 July.
n Black female missing from
Blandford since 10 July.
n Tabby and white female missing
from Durweston since 17 July.
n Black female missing from
Blandford since about 25 July. FOUND CATS If you are regularly seeing a cat in your garden or down your street that you don’t think has an owner, please give us a call – it might be a lost cat which could be reunited with its owner.
n Black elderly female, Downhead St
Andrew, found and taken to Longmead Vets, Shaftesbury.
We are still offering neutering and micro-chipping for £5 in postcode areas DT10 and DT11 SP7, SP8 and BH21. Phone 01258 268695. BEHAVIOUR TIPS
Tip #21: What’s wrong with theory of dominance
Contrary to what is often seen on television, reputable, regulated trainers and behaviourists do not used ‘pack leadership’ theory in training or solving behaviour problems in dogs.
Dominance/pack leader theory dates from a single 50-year-old study of an artificial group of wolves. The wolves were unrelated and did not know or trust each other. They used aggression to get and keep resources, with the more aggressive wolves getting more than weaker individuals.
Subsequent studies showed that normal wolf packs are not at all like this, and instead consist of a breeding pair and their offspring. The pack works together voluntarily, and aggression is rare. Moreover, dogs are not wolves, but a different species, selectively bred for thousands of years not to be wolves.
The vast majority of dog behaviour problems are caused by dogs feeling fearful of, or threatened, by something, not by an attempt to ‘dominate’.
So when a trainer claims to be using ‘dominance’ – invariably to suppress behaviours they don’t like – they are generally using punishment of some kind so that the dog becomes fearful of expressing the behaviour. The next tip looks at why this is a bad idea. Helen Taylor is a qualified, accredited behaviourist, a Certified Clinical Animal Behaviourist, a Registered Practitioner with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council and is a member of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors and the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (no 881). help@helentaylordorset.co. uk; www.helentaylordorset.co.uk
MID DORSET CATS PROTECTION
Loving homes needed for cats and kittens in our care.
