By Dr. Hannah Weitzenfeld For decades, ovariohysterectomy and castration have been the standard methods for controlling fertility in North American dogs and cats. While effective and permanent, these procedures are resource-intensive, requiring anesthesia, surgical equipment, a licensed veterinarian, and trained support staff. The Rise of Non-Surgical Contraception Recently, non-surgical contraception has gained traction as an . . . read more

By Dr. Tracy Satchell, DVM, MS Note to Reader: This blog post has 2 parts; the first part briefly discusses the feline herpes virus and upper respiratory disease, and the second part touches on a research paper that was recently published about the isolation of gammaherpesvirus in cats.  Little is known about gammaherpes in cats . . . read more

(This blog is a summary of my notes and impressions from the excellent talks presented by Drs. Jason Stull, Michelle Evason and Jason Coe at the OVMA conference 2024, for CASCMA’s Accessible Veterinary Care track.) By Dr. Linda Jacobson, Toronto Humane Society/CASCMA What is spectrum of care? “Spectrum of care” (SpOC) is a term that . . . read more

A Blog by CASCMA Board Member, Dr. Hannah Weitzenfeld, DVM Mystery US Canine Respiratory Illness With the recent apparent increase in Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC) in community and shelter dogs across the US1, many of us are looking at what could be causing this, and how we might approach a severe outbreak in . . . read more

By Dr. Tracy Satchell, Shelter Veterinarian, City of London When people find out I’m a veterinarian, I’m often asked, “What’s your favorite animal?”. I should probably say that I love all animals equally or declare that I couldn’t choose just one because I love them all! But that’s not the truth, for me the answer . . . read more

Dr. Linda Jacobson, Toronto Humane Society (with grateful thanks to Kyrsten Jade Janke)  Recent national survey data1 showed that 21% of pet owners struggled to access non-veterinary care during the pandemic, and the greatest need was for pet food. Companies and individuals regularly offer us donations of short-dated products, or products that are past their . . . read more

By Dr. Michelle Meckelborg, Shelter Veterinarian, Director of Animal Health, Edmonton Humane Society Equitable public access to veterinary care is a hot button topic in the shelter and community medicinecircles. A survey recently published by the Program for Pet Health Equity out of the University ofTennessee approaches the topic from a different perspective – instead . . . read more

By Dr. Shelley Hutchings, Chief Veterinarian at the Ottawa Humane Society Jacklyn Ellis, of Toronto Humane Society, published this article on a new tool to assess the well-being of cats in a shelter setting.  This evaluation tool uses four ordinal scales to assess different behavioural aspects of a cat’s well-being. The four scales, which are . . . read more

Written By: Emilia Wong Gordon, DVM, DABVP (Shelter Medicine Practice) Rabbit hemorrhagic disease (RHD) should now be on the radar of every shelter veterinarian in North America. This disease is caused by Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2), a hardy calicivirus that resists freezing and many household disinfectants. Mortality rates in North American rabbit populations . . . read more

Blog by Dr. Linda Jacobson, Toronto Humane Society/CASCMA – material from Dr. Jennifer Farr’s talk, “Overcoming Rabbit Anesthesia and Surgery Challenges” at the September 12 CASCMA CE Day Dr. Jenn Farr, from the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA, literally knows her bunnies inside and out. She reminded us early in her talk that there’s no such thing as . . . read more

By Dr. Esther AttardDirector, Toronto Animal Services; Board Member, CASCMA Toronto Animal Services is an open admission, managed intake facility. We have noticed animal populations on the increase when compared to 2021. In 2021 during the time period of January 1 – June 12, data reports indicate intake of 1,435 animals and in 2022, during . . . read more

Written by: Wesley Cheung, BVSc. Toronto Humane Society NACA has recently released a position statement on animal control intake of free-roaming cats. Summary: It is the position [policy] of the National Animal Care & Control Association that, at every opportunity, officers should [will] work to educate the public regarding humane and responsible co-existence and care . . . read more