PET SUBJECTS

Vet has the answers

In spring a groomer sheared my 15-year-old golden retriever’s coat off. Five months later, there’s still very little hair back. What can I do? Winter’s coming and he looks terrible. Deep-coated dogs like retrievers have two types of hair: outer, coarser, guard hairs and an inner, fluffier undercoat. A summer cut should remove the old, dense, insulating undercoat while leaving the outer guard hairs intact. If these are sheared off, they can take two to four years to regrow, so an elderly dog’s coat may not return to normal. Buy him a cosy jacket (try equafleece.co.uk) and wait for his full coat to regrow in time.

My five-month-old kitten eats ravenously one day, and the next day barely picks at food. She seems well. Should I be worried?

AB, BELFAST

If she is healthy, active and not losing weight, this could just be habit. Could she be getting food elsewhere? If there’s an open cat flap into someone else’s home, your kitten could be “eating out” every second day. A collar-mounted tracking device (such as from pawtrack.com) would allow you to see where she’s going.

RESCUE PET

Daisy Doo ( right) is an affectionate eight-yearold Cob cross. Visit redwings.org.uk. To view outcomes of rescued pets, see petethevet.com

SHOW TIME

From ponies to pythons, chickens to chinchillas – as well as the usual dogs, cats and rabbits, the National Pet Show is the ultimate day out for animal lovers, young and old. For details, see thenationalpetshow.com