Notes on Feline Internal Medicine

Description

Helping you get started with a problem solving approach to a sick cat. Notes on Feline Internal Medicine 2nd edition is part of a popular series specifically designed, through an accessible note-based style, to ensure veterinarians and students have quick and easy access to comprehensive and practical clinical and diagnostic information.

Distinct differences exist between cats and dogs not only in their physiology and metabolism but also in the way disease tends to present. This book is a short ‘pocket guide’ to feline internal medicine helping you to formulate a diagnostic plan and therapeutic strategy. The focus is on evidence-based medicine where available, otherwise current best practice is presented.

The book is divided into four sections:
• Section 1 gives an overview of some key areas of feline medicine including paediatric and geriatric medicine.
• Section 2 focuses on the approach to common presenting signs and differential diagnosis of commonly used haematologic and biochemical parameters.
• Section 3 presents an organ system based approach
• Section 4 covers feline infectious diseases.
A selection of useful texts and websites for further reading are included at the end of the book.

CHANGES FOR THIS EDITION
• Stronger focus is placed on initial testing for a disease, and what changes might be expected.
• Additional sections have been added on sedation and anaesthesia, health screening, oncology and emergency and critical care.
• More diagrams added to aid understanding.
• Care taken to avoid repetition and focus placed on common conditions.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations
Introduction

Section 1

• Key topics in feline medicine
• Health screening
• Preventative medicine
• Paediatrics
• Gerontology
• Supportive care – fluid therapy and analgesia
• Sedation and anaesthesia
• Emergency and critical care algorithms

Section 2

• Clinical signs
• Introduction
• Abdominal enlargement
• Anorexia
• Arrhythmias
• Ascites and peritoneal effusions
• Ataxia
• Behavioural changes
• Bleeding/coagulopathies
• Body odour
• Collapse/syncope and weakness
• Cardiac murmurs
• Constipation, tenesmus and dyschezia
• Chronic coughing
• Diarrhoea
• Dysphagia
• Dyspnoea (respiratory distress)
• Dysuria
• Failure to grow
• Flatulence
• Haematemesis, haemoptysis and epistaxis
• Haematochezia and melaena
• Haematuria and haemoglobinuria
• Hypothermia
• Incontinence (urinary)
• Incontinence (faecal)
• Infertility – queens
• Infertility – tomcats
• Jaundice (icterus)
• Lymphadenopathy
• Ocular changes caused by systemic disease
• Pallor
• Paresis and paralysis
• Polyphagia
• Polyuria/polydipsia
• Ptyalism
• Pyrexia (fever) of unknown origin – puo (fuo)
• Regurgitation
• Seizures
• Sneezing and nasal discharge
• Stiffness
• Stupor and altered states of consciousness
• Tremor
• Vomiting
• Weight loss

Section 3

• Common abnormalities of haematology, biochemistry and urinalysis
• Low haematocrit
• High haematocrit
• Platelet abnormalities and clotting system
• White blood cell changes
• Acid–base disturbances
• Amylase and lipase
• Azotaemia
• Calcium imbalance
• Cholesterol and triglyceride changes
• Electrolyte disturbances
• Glucose abnormalities
• Liver parameters
• Muscle enzymes
• Phosphate
• Protein abnormalities
• Urinalysis

Section 4

• Organ systems
• Respiratory disease
• Cardiology
• Gastrointestinal tract (git) disease
• Hepatobiliary disease
• Renal disease
• Lower urinary tract disease
• Endocrine disease
• Neurologic disease
• Neuromuscular and muscular disease
• Skeletal disease
• Disorders of the blood, haemopoietic and immune system
• Oncology and chemotherapy
• Nutrition
• Intoxication

Section 5

• Infectious disease
• Bordetellosis
• Viral upper respiratory tract disease
• Avian influenza
• Chlamydophila felis
• Feline infectious anaemia
• Feline infectious peritonitis
• Feline spongiform encephalopathy
• Mycobacterial infections
• Rabies virus
• Toxoplasmosis
• Feline leukaemia virus
• Feline immunodeficiency virus
• Feline viral enteritis
• Other infectious disease
• Feline zoonoses
• Further reading

Index

Author Information

Dr Kit Sturgess is an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Medicine (Internal Medicine). He has been seeing referral small animal medicine cases for the past 20 years both at university-based and private specialist practices. Having established a highly successful small animal referral centre, Kit now concentrates on veterinary education and support for general practitioners, as well as providing locum specialist internal medicine services. He has authored numerous articles as well as presenting lectures and research abstracts at conferences worldwide