The eastern paralysis tick of Australia, Ixodes holocyclus, is by far the most important ectoparasite of dogs and cats in eastern Australia. In spite of the development of tick-antisera and the availability of highly effective tick-preventative medications, thousands of dogs and cats present to veterinary clinics and hospitals with signs of tick paralysis each year; about 10% of these dogs and 8% of these cats may die from tick paralysis or are euthanized due to severe signs of tick envenomation. One of the mainstays of optimising patient outcome of dogs and cats with signs of tick paralysis is the prompt removal of the tick. In the present paper, we studied 10,913 attachment-sitesof I. holocyclus arising from 10,311 veterinary consultations of dogs and cats in eastern Australia. This is, to our knowledge, the largest study of attachment-site preference of I. holocyclus on dogs and cats. We found that whereas I. holocyclus is most often found on the head of dogs, on cats, these ticks are most often found on their necks. In addition, we report attachment-site preferences of adult and immature (larval and nymphal) I. holocyclus. We also highlight some unusual and inconspicuous attachment-sitesof I. holocyclus, which may be informative to veterinarians and pet owners alike.

Amyloid-producing odontogenic tumor (APOT) is a rare odontogenic neoplasm in cats, characterized by amyloid deposition within the tumor. Surgical resection is commonly recommended, but in cases where complete excision is difficult, radiation therapy may be considered as an alternative treatment. In this case report, a 10-year-old male neutered domestic cat with an APOT of the maxilla was treated with radiation therapy and showed favorable outcomes. The treatment protocol involved a total dose of 42 Gy (Gray) administered over six sessions, with good tumor control, and minimal side effects observed over a 481-day follow-up period. This case suggests that radiation therapy can be an effective treatment option for APOT, particularly in cases where surgical excision is not feasible.

BackgroundSand enteropathy is a common disease in horses worldwide. The presence of sand does not always cause disease. The amount of sand required to cause clinical disease is not well established.ObjectivesTo establish a weight‐indexed cut‐off for the diagnosis of clinically relevant sand enteropathy based on radiographic area.Study designCross‐sectional.MethodsAbdominal radiographs were acquired from clinically normal horses and compared with horses with clinical sand enteropathy. Sand area and sand area per kilogram of body weight were calculated. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to differentiate groups.ResultsSeventy clinically normal horses and 57 sand enteropathy cases were included. Median sand area in control horses was 1 cm2 per 100 kg (interquartile range 0–6 cm2 per 100 kg), and in sand enteropathy horses was 118 cm2 per 100 kg (interquartile range 83–180 cm2 per 100 kg). Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed that using a cut‐off of 21 cm2 per 100 kg had a sensitivity of 98.25% (CI 90.71%–99.1%) and a specificity of 92.54% (CI 83.69%–96.77%) for a diagnosis of clinical sand enteropathy.ConclusionsA weight‐based cut‐off of >21 cm2 per 100 kg for the diagnosis of sand enteropathy was determined with excellent sensitivity and good specificity. This may aid in determining if the amount of sand accumulation in a horse is of clinical consequence.

Global warming is expected to drive increases in daily temperatures and extreme heatwaves which are in turn expected to lead to increases in heat‐related illness (HRI) morbidity and mortality in humans and animals, including dogs. The most severe form of HRI is heat stroke which is potentially fatal in dogs. The temperature range that increases the risk of mortality in dogs, and the impact of heatwaves, is not known. Twenty years of veterinary data from New South Wales (1997–2017) were analysed to explore potential associations between rates of mortality in dogs and both daily ambient maximum temperatures and extreme heat days. Extreme heat days were defined as any day that was over the 95th percentile (32°C) of daily maximum temperature in the study region across the study period. Results show that mortality increased as daily maximum temperature exceeded 25°C. There was a broadly linear increase of 0.6% (95% CI: 0.1% to 1%) in the risk of mortality for each 1°C increase in daily maximum temperature above 25°C. There was a 9.5% increased risk (95% CI: 4.3% to 15%) of mortality on extreme heat days compared with nonextreme heat days. Controlling for the effects of temperature, risk of mortality on public holidays increased 1.5 times (155%, 95% CI: 137% to 173%) compared with nonpublic holidays, and Sundays had nearly double the risk of mortality compared with all other days of the week. New Year's Day had the highest reported rate of mortality, followed by Christmas Day. This information should be used to inform veterinary public health policies in general and to inform key messaging about reducing the risk of death in dogs due to high ambient temperatures.

To describe the agents used by Australian veterinarians in inducing emesis in dogs and cats, adverse effects and antiemetic administration. An anonymous online mixed-methods survey incorporating closed and open-ended questions was distributed to Australian veterinarians via e-newsletters and social media between April and June 2024. From 317 valid responses, 316 respondents induced emesis in a dog (99.7%) and 128 (40.4%) induced emesis in a cat in the previous 12 months. The most common protocols were subcutaneous injection of apomorphine (n = 310/316, 98.1%) for dogs and intramuscular injection of dexmedetomidine or medetomidine (n = 79/128, 61.7%) for cats. Respondents reported significantly reduced success (n = 74/128, 57.8%) inducing emesis in cats compared with dogs (n = 312/316, 98.7%) (P ≤ 0.001). Sedation was the most reported adverse effect for both species. The subconjunctival route of apomorphine was found to significantly increase the risk of adverse effects in dogs, compared with the subcutaneous route (P = 0.03). Antiemetics were more frequently administered to dogs than cats. Univariable logistical regression analysis revealed that veterinarians with fewer than 5 years' experience were significantly more likely to use an antiemetic drug when inducing vomiting in dogs (P = 0.05) compared with veterinarians with 31 or more years of experience. These findings enable clinicians to benchmark practices against those of their peers, characterise adverse effects associated with emesis induction and refine their technique to improve patient welfare. A more reliable means of inducing emesis in cats is needed.

Early-onset muscle weakness syndrome (MW) is a recessive genetic disorder known to affect Holstein cattle. This report describes the clinical findings in an Australian Holstein calf diagnosed with MW. The calf initially presented for examination at a dairy farm at 3 days of age, being recumbent since birth but able to stand with assistance. A presumptive diagnosis of traumatic injury was made at first. However, the calf was re-examined multiple times due to ongoing intermittent episodes of recumbency, prompting further diagnostic investigation. Given the non-specific nature of the clinical and laboratory findings, a presumptive diagnosis of MW was made after reviewing the calf's breeding pedigree. A definitive diagnosis, however, required genotype testing. To the authors knowledge, this case report represents the first peer-reviewed manuscript to describe the clinical presentation of MW in an Australian Holstein calf.

This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of dog erythrocyte antigen 1 (DEA 1) blood type in Sydney and to identify any associations between its prevalence and breed, sex and geographic location of these dogs. This was a retrospective study of 225 dogs that underwent DEA 1 blood typing while donating or receiving blood products at a single institution between 2020 and 2024. Dogs were DEA 1 positive or negative and blood donors or recipients. Logistic regression was used to evaluate differences in the prevalence of DEA 1 positive results between sex, breed and geographic location. Significance was set at P < 0.05. Reasons for blood transfusion, blood product administered and age were documented. Of the dogs that were blood typed (n = 225), 48% (108/225) were DEA 1 positive and 52% (117/225) DEA 1 negative, 105 (46.7%) were donors and 120 (53.3%) recipients. The highest prevalence of DEA 1 type positivity was observed in the Golden Retriever (8/9, 88.9%). Recipients presented primarily for haemorrhage (57/120, 47.5%), most frequently receiving whole blood (89/120, 74.2%) with minimal adverse reactions (3/120, 2.5%). No significant differences were identified in prevalence of DEA 1 positive dogs between breed groups, six most common breeds, sex, geographical location or DEA 1 negative blood types. The prevalence of the DEA 1 blood type in this cohort of dogs in Sydney is comparable to other countries.

Foot‐and‐mouth disease (FMD) is a highly infectious transboundary emergency animal disease posing a significant threat to the global economy. Australia strengthened border security following the 2022 FMD outbreak in Indonesia allocating resources to promote biosecurity awareness and engagement. This study qualitatively investigated the impact of this extension on the biosecurity perceptions and practices of sheep producers in New South Wales, Australia. Eighteen sheep producers participated in semi‐structured interviews during August–September 2023. Thematic analysis revealed biosecurity to be perceived as important for industry and enterprise productivity; however, on‐farm biosecurity practices were mostly associated solely with bioexclusion. Seven producers engaged directly with post‐Indonesian FMD outbreak extension and reported increased FMD awareness. Changes to on‐farm biosecurity were made by half the participants following the 2022 Indonesian FMD outbreak, with three of these having received extension engagement. The main explanations for lack of change were the perceptions that no change to disease risk had occurred, that current practices adequately mitigated risk and that change would be impractical. Future studies aimed at further understanding the factors that influence both the immediate and long‐term effectiveness of extension activities would be beneficial to the development of future biosecurity extension and policy.

Mandibular and maxillary fractures are common in small animals and present significant challenges for repair due to the intricate anatomical features involved. This retrospective case series describes a technique for achieving rigid open mouth maxillomandibular fixation using interarch wiring while maintaining correct alignment between the upper and lower teeth with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) moulds of the canine teeth for treating maxillomandibular fractures in cats. The study includes a description of the postoperative outcomes and complications encountered. The surgical technique successfully achieved anatomical dental occlusion and restored jaw function in all three cats. The implants were well tolerated, with only minor complications such as mild ptyalism and temporary tongue protrusion. No intraoperative complications occurred, and all three cats resumed normal hard food consumption after implant removal. This study provides initial evidence that the use of rostral interarch wiring combined with PMMA canine tooth moulds can result in clinical union and normal occlusion, given appropriate surgical case selection. This technique is simple to perform, requires minimal inventory and can be implemented in clinical settings where thorough anatomical planning is conducted.