ASK ALEX RESCUED KITTEN IN NEED OF A LOVING HOME This beautiful black Persian kitten was sick and very scared when he was first rescued from a colony living rough out New Lynn way but he is now healthy and full of beans. So if you are a cat lover and wish to provide a loving home to this beautiful kitten now called Carlos, he is ready and waiting to be taken home. He has been neutered and vaccinated. Carlos has a wonderful personality – we call him the Lion King – he is serene, brave and very gentle with his other kitten friends. He is however, still timid with people and although he enjoys being stroked he is not keen on being picked up. To approved homes only. A donation to assist with his vet care would be appreciated. PN Please phone or text Billie : 021 671 712
Each month Dr Alex Melrose answers readers’ pet related issues. e-mail yours to: alex@vetcare.net.nz My cat, a massive three year old ginger boy, Rufus, has a lump on the back of his neck which is about one cm in diameter and is pale in colour with visible blood vessels. He’s got a huge mane of red hair and he doesn’t let me brush him much so it could have been there for a while before I spotted it. Do you have any suggestions as to what this could be? I am worried now and can pop him in for a thorough exam if you think I need to. Kind regards, Sarah and Rufus.
Q:
I’d love to be able to diagnose this for you but unfortunately there isn’t a person on the planet who could accurately tell you what type of skin growth that is just based on description. What we do know is that we do commonly see malignant skin masses in young animals e.g. mast cell tumors, so only being three years old isn’t an automatic exclusion. We also know that these nasties can sometimes mimic the appearance of very common benign lumps such as lipomas or papillomas. And in this instance we can’t be sure about rapid growth or change in appearance.
A:
Because of this we really need to have a look at it closely and then recommend at least a fine needle aspirate to make a microscope slide from its cell type to identify it accurately. This gives us a guide to planning treatment, from not needing to do anything, to removing the mass with small margins with sedation and local anesthesia block, to taking out wide margins of tissue under a general anesthesia for more dangerous cancers which can have invisible spread of abnormal cells far out from the mass edges. The odds are really in your favour but definitely pop Rufus in for a quick and painless exam and fine needle test to be sure we get him the best treatment. (DR ALEX MELROSE, BVSC MRCVS) PN VETCARE GREY LYNN, 408 Great North Road T: 09 361 3500 www.vetcare.net.nz
Puppy JACK (pictured above with Martin Leach) was born on 4 May 2002, so he will celebrate his birthday on Friday, 4 May. Happy Birthday, Jack!
The World Belongs to the Dissatisfied
DEADLINE – 20TH OF THE MONTH May 2012 PONSONBY NEWS+
139