What do vaccine reactions in animals look like? Here are the four serious vaccine-related illnesses seen at Walkerville Vet in the 5 years 2016 to 2021.
Continue reading “Vaccine Reactions In 4 Dogs”Is My Dog At Risk Of Leptospirosis?
In the last few years, there has been a lot of concern among dog owners about leptospirosis. Not only is lepto a horrible disease, but vets now see it in places where it never used to be.
Here you can find the latest information on the risk to Australian dogs and what you can do to reduce it.
Continue reading “Is My Dog At Risk Of Leptospirosis?”It’s True, Cats Get Parvo Too
News Flash: Since writing this, there have been increasing reports of feline parvovirus outbreaks in the northern suburbs of Adelaide.
A few years ago I started getting questions about a new cat viral outbreak called cat plague. Cat plague? I may have been seeing cats for 25 years, but this was news to me too.
A quick google and it all became clear: this is a new name for an old disease. It goes by all these names:
Continue reading “It’s True, Cats Get Parvo Too”Feline Immunodeficiency Virus & Your Cat
When I was young, like all kids, I wanted to know why everything happened. Having vets as parents, I can distinctly remember asking why male cats needed to be desexed.
“It’s because otherwise they fight so much that they get run down and die early.”
With the benefit of hindsight, this is pure folk wisdom. People could see that fighting was associated with sickness, but not yet why. Then, in 1986, hot on the heels of the discovery of the human AIDS virus, researchers in the USA put two and two together and found a feline AIDS virus in cats like these. We call it FIV.
Continue reading “Feline Immunodeficiency Virus & Your Cat”Titre Testing vs Vaccination
Does titre testing mean dogs and cats need a lot less vaccination? That’s certainly what you read online.
The truth is more complicated than that.
Continue reading “Titre Testing vs Vaccination”Help! My Kitten Has Cat Flu
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’
What Is Cat Flu?
- Cat flu isn’t influenza or a cold, it’s either a herpesvirus or calicivirus
- Symptoms include fever, not eating, and eye or respiratory infection
- Many infected cats become virus carriers or have lifelong problems
- Rarer conditions caused by cat flu include arthritis, gingivitis, eye damage, stillbirths & abortion
Now dive deeper.
Continue reading “Help! My Kitten Has Cat Flu”The New Parvovirus Strain In Australian Dogs
UPDATE: We are glad to inform you that our standard Nobivac DHP vaccine has been proven to protect against strain CPV-2c. See more below.
Every dog owner’s worst nightmare is Parvovirus. This week the detection of a new strain in Australia was announced. Although there’s no reason to panic, here’s what vets and dog owners need to know.
Continue reading “The New Parvovirus Strain In Australian Dogs”Myxomatosis In Rabbits
UPDATE LATE 2017- Myxomatosis is once again rare in pet bunnies in Adelaide, but vigilance is essential. Please let us know if your rabbit becomes infected.

Myxomatosis is a serious and common disease of pet rabbits in Adelaide. We’ve put together this information for rabbit owners about preventing and treating myxomatosis.
Read more about the 2016 outbreak below.
Continue reading “Myxomatosis In Rabbits”New Vaccine Protocols: How Often To Vaccinate
The Kitten Questions You Ask Us
Here are the top 17. There’s no such thing as a silly question!
Continue reading “The Kitten Questions You Ask Us”Update On The Rabbit Calicivirus Outbreak
Update 2018:
- What rabbit owners need to know about the K5 calicivirus strain release.
- The 2017 myxomatosis outbreak
- See also information in the comments regarding home disinfection.
To those who love rabbits it’s been a tough few years.
On the 24th of February, 2016 we were notified that the new strain of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus called RHDV2 had reached South Australia and was causing deaths around Adelaide.
We posted an alert on our Facebook page, and only then did the true horror of what was happening become clear.
Continue reading “Update On The Rabbit Calicivirus Outbreak”How Vets Use Vaccines To Protect Your Pet
- Two weeks ago I told you about the diseases of dogs and diseases of cats that we use vaccines to prevent.
- Last week I covered vaccine reactions, vaccinating safely and alternatives to vaccination like titre testing.
- In this third week I’ll tell you about the changes to vaccination schedules for your pet.
- In the final post I’ll you which vaccinations pets need every year
Explained: Parvo, Distemper, Hepatitis & Kennel Cough
What do the diseases we protect your dog from actually look like?
Click here to see vaccination protocols for dogs or continue reading to learn about these important illnesses.
Continue reading “Explained: Parvo, Distemper, Hepatitis & Kennel Cough”The Unusual & Severe Effects Of Cat Flu
Many of our cat-owning clients will already know how much we hate the name ‘cat flu’. The name comes from a time when we didn’t fully understand what these viruses were. These are serious diseases with often lifelong consequences for the infected cat. Here are the stories of four such cats: Felix, Sooty, Princess and Twitch.
Continue reading “The Unusual & Severe Effects Of Cat Flu”