Feline heartworm disease, caused by Dirofilaria immitis worms, is a good example of where a cat is definitely not a small dog. Infection in dogs tends to be better tolerated, the adult worms are more likely to reach patency and diagnosis and treatment are (relatively) easier than in cats. The reasons for these differences, what can be done to ensure cats avoid this infection and measures to take when cats have the infection will be explored in this webinar. The webinar will also provide an update on heartworm infection in the US, where resistance to heartworm preventives is evolving while researchers seek to understand the factors that led to the genesis of resistance and new solutions, whilst heartworm infection continues to spread. The implications that climate change may have on the epidemiology of heartworm disease will be explored.

Now that older cats are forming an increasing proportion of our caseload, it's more important than ever to provide 'gold standard' care. There are many common health conditions affecting older cats and preventative healthcare is vital to ensure prompt diagnosis and management of these. Subclinical illness is common but simple tests including detailed history and physical exam, weight assessment, free catch urinalysis, blood pressure assessment and blood tests can optimise early diagnosis. Care of the older cat can be a rewarding experience for cats, owners and veterinary professionals.

How to use your monitors to the best of their ability, how to interrupt the information that it is giving you (learn what those funky traces mean) and what cases you should be using the different parameters on. You will also be given tips on how to treat abnormal values, that is, if they really are abnormal, and any contraindications to different monitoring techniques. Different monitoring techniques that will be covered are: ECG, blood pressure (invasive and non-invasive), capnography and pulse oximetry.