From an anxious pooch to an obese cat – your pet queries answered

HE is on a mission to help our pets  . . . and is here to answer YOUR questions.

Sean, who is the head vet at tailored pet food firm tails.com, has helped with owners’ queries for ten years.

Q) WITH the sunny afternoons, our tortoise Bob has come out of hibernation.

Should I let him out for a few hours under strict supervision on our warm patio or is it still too cold?

Andrew Maitland, Bexley, Kent

A) On sunny, warm spring days, getting Bob outside for a bask in natural light will boost his vitamin D levels, stimulating his hormones and hunger following hibernation.

But remember that tortoises are a Mediterranean species and our climate isn’t really suitable for them.

Despite many surviving in gardens, they also need an internal heat and light source to bask under.

A full-spectrum UV and heat lamp combined is best, replaced regularly as the UV output declines with time.

Britain is facing a geriatric tortoise population for the first time ever.

So they do need extra care these days.

The Tortoise Trust website is a great resource.

See tortoisetrust.org.

Q) MY French bulldog Hugo has always been very ­anxious when we leave him home by himself.

So we never do so for more than 45 minutes at a time.

I have tried calming plug-ins and sprays but nothing helps.

He’s eight years old and in the last month he has been getting very weird about walking around the kitchen island when we’re near it.

He is the same with his food – if he is eating or drinking and we walk past he rushes away and won’t return until we are out of the way. It’s almost as if he’s scared.

We have a wooden floor so when he scuttles off he slips and I’m worried he will hurt his back or legs.

Could he be getting dementia?

Tracy Cantelo, Isle of Wight

A) Very difficult to work out without observing him in action, and doing a full physical exam.

French Bulldogs are prone to all kinds of issues relating to how we have bred them for such an extreme and sadly dysfunctional appearance.

Perhaps there is some pain at play here — back and knee in particular — making his movements appear overly cautious.

Get your vet to check him over and enlist a behaviorist on the separation anxiety issue.

At eight, dementia is unlikely, but not impossible.

Q) I RESCUED my cat Millie 15 years ago when she was around one.

As a feral cat who had previously had a litter of kittens she was difficult in many ways but I worked hard and at home with me she is lovely.

But she rarely goes out and never leaves the garden.

If I have a visitor she hides.

She has always had the same food.

Twice a day I give her half a pouch of wet food and a small handful of dry cat food. How many treats?

The vets have said it is a good diet but over the last year she has put on weight on her tummy. When I queried if she needed any tests due to this, they just told me she was obese.

But her life and food intake has always been the same. Do you think she needs any investigation or should I decrease her food intake?

Marilyn Flook, Hinkley, Leics

A) You sound like a wonderful owner Marilyn, well done for giving Millie another chance.

At her age her metabolism has slowed right down, and I expect her activity levels have too.

So the calories you were providing when she was young and more active are now not being burned off and a little belly fat is starting to pile on. I feel her pain!

I would recommend feeding a little less, maybe halving her treats allowance would be a good start.

And encouraging activity with feeding puzzle toys for her dry food ration.

Star of the week

BORN survivor Luna cheated death after more than a month trapped in an abandoned home.

A dripping tap plus dried pasta scavenged from a cupboard kept her alive in the filthy flat in Middlesbrough, North Yorks, until she was saved by local RSPCA inspector Garry Palmer.

He says: “We were told a cat had been left there for five weeks.

“I feared we’d find her dead so it was incredible to find her alive – curled up under a chair with a crisp packet on her head.”;

Luna, four, was found last spring, but after a long stay, has now left the charity’s shelter for a loving home in Durham.

Cattery supervisor Beverley Dunn says: “We firmly believe the right home is out there for every animal in our care.

“Sometimes it just takes a little longer to find.”;

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Healthy dogs ‘are being put down'

FIVE dogs a day are stolen in the UK – only one of which is ever reunited with its owner, says new research.

Some 1,808 mutts were snatched last year.

French Bulldogs top the target list, their popularity boosted by celebrity owners like the Beckhams and pop star Lady Gaga, herself a victim of dog theft.

English Bulldogs are next, followed by Rottweilers, Border Collies and Chihuahuas, according to insurer Direct Line.

The figure has fallen from the 2,290 stolen in 2023, probably helped by the Pet Abduction Act put in place last May – but 61 per cent of owners still fear for their pet.

Diane James from the Blue Cross says: “Sadly, we get many calls from people who have had a pet stolen, so we know the devastating impact.

“Stolen dogs are often sold on or could end up used for baiting or illegal breeding.”;

The charity advises owners to vary their dog-walking routes and times, put details on the collar – but not the pet’s name – and to be wary of nosy strangers.

Predators use social media, so avoid posts showing your routine and location, teach your dog a solid recall and keep up-to-date photos, just in case.

See bluecross.org.uk.