Cats are masters of disguise. In the wild, they are both predator and prey, and have evolved to hide their signs of sickness. Often it takes a lot of experience working with cats to be able to recognise subtle signs of ill-health, such as nausea or abdominal pain. Using ultrasound is invaluable in feline veterinary practice. Ultrasound allows us to ‘see’ inside the body cavities using sound waves. With X-ray, we can see the outline of the internal organs, but ultrasound allows us to see the details of the internal structures.

Ultrasound is the only way to diagnose, for example, treatable causes of kidney disease (such as kidney blockages). Being able to quickly diagnose and treat kidney blockages leads to the best outcomes. In these emergency cases, time is of the essence and a quick diagnosis minimises irreversible damage. Ultrasound is an extremely versatile modality – we can also diagnose conditions such as pancreatitis, gall bladder infections, check for masses, and diagnose different forms of heart disease.

The other benefit to ultrasound is that it is quiet and requires minimal restraint – this is so important for sick cats, for which stress can be particularly harmful. For example, we can quickly diagnose a cat with breathing difficulties due to fluid in its chest while the cat is in a natural sitting or standing position. In contrast, taking X-rays requires that the cat be restrained as X-rays require the pet to remain very still.

We have invested in a state-of-the art ultrasound, that we are lucky to have on-site in our purpose-built imaging suite. This way, your cat’s health problems can be quickly and thoroughly evaluated.