Vets4Pets Morpeth

04/07/2025

🇺🇸 Happy 4th of July to all our American clients and friends! 🇺🇸

We hope you’re enjoying a wonderful Independence Day!

Fun fact for the day: America is a nation of pet lovers — it’s estimated that over 65 million households in the USA own at least one dog, and around 46 million own at least one cat! 🐶🐱

That’s a lot of wagging tails and purring friends celebrating with you today!

Wishing you and your pets a safe and happy 4th of July — don’t forget to keep them safe during any fireworks tonight. 💙🐾

30/06/2025

🌞 Heatstroke — Act Fast, Save a Life! 🌞

With the hot weather upon us, it’s vital to recognise heatstroke — a serious emergency that can affect dogs, cats, and rabbits in minutes.

⚠️ Watch for these signs:
🔹 Dogs: heavy panting, excessive drooling, red gums, weakness, vomiting, collapse, seizures
🔹 Cats: panting (rare in cats), drooling, hot ears/pads, wobbliness, confusion
🔹 Rabbits: fast breathing, hot ears, lethargy, collapse

💧 What to do immediately:
➡ Move your pet to a shaded or cool place
➡ Begin gentle cooling:
• Dogs – pour cool (not ice-cold) water, use a fan
• Cats – apply cool damp cloths to ears, belly, paws
• Rabbits – mist ears lightly with cool water, place on cool surface
➡ Offer small amounts of cool water if your pet is awake and willing
➡ Call us and come straight down — cool on the way but don’t delay transport

🚫 Avoid:
✘ Ice or ice-cold water (can cause shock)
✘ Wrapping pets tightly in wet towels (can trap heat)

👉 Early, effective cooling gives your pet the best chance. Please share to help protect others!

📞 If in doubt — call us right away. We’re ready to help. 💙

29/06/2025

🌟 Power Restored – Service Update 🌟

We’re pleased to let you know that power has now been fully restored at the practice. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding during this unexpected disruption.

We are aiming for services to run as normal tomorrow. However, due to the power cut, we unfortunately lost all of our temperature-controlled stock. This means there may be limited availability of certain medicines and products before 1pm. All affected stock has already been reordered, and we expect to be fully back up to speed by the afternoon.

If you have any concerns this evening, please contact us via WhatsApp on 07782 585629.

Thank you again for your continued support.
Seb & The Team at Morpeth Vets4pets

29/06/2025

⚠️ Important Notice – Power Loss and Service Disruption ⚠️

We want to inform our clients that we have experienced a total power loss at the practice overnight. Unfortunately, our back-up generators also failed. As a result, temperature-sensitive medicines have been compromised and will need to be replaced.

We are currently unable to access our IT systems, which means we are unable to contact clients individually at this time. We appreciate your patience and understanding.

We have been advised by Northern Grid that seven electricity substations surged and failed at around 4am this morning — an extremely rare event. This caused emergency fridge alarms to deactivate, contributing to the issue.

Our priority has been securing the building, which is now complete. We are now working hard to address the other issues. Unfortunately, this will cause significant disruption to services tomorrow, particularly between 9am and 1pm.

Please bear with us as we work to resolve the situation and replace the affected stock. We will provide updates as soon as we can.

Thank you for your support and understanding during this challenging time.

27/06/2025

💙 A Message from Your Morpeth Team 💙

There has been a lot in the news lately about vet prices, with the BBC and the CMA investigations putting a spotlight on our profession. But what hasn’t been shown is the reality behind the scenes the reality of your local veterinary practice, and how it works.

Veterinary care in the UK is private medicine, it is not subsidised or funded like our amazing NHS. Every drug, piece of equipment, test, and treatment we provide (the very same as used in human medicine) has to be paid for by the practice.

Since Brexit, and changes in the global market, the cost of medicines and equipment has risen significantly, and like many small businesses, we’ve had to absorb increasing costs across the board from supplies to utilities to insurance.

Yet veterinary care still costs a fraction of private human healthcare fees and has a very short waiting time in comparison.

But the most important thing to know is this: we care deeply about our community, and the people and pets who live there. This practice is run by local people, born and raised here, who love this town, this county, and its pets. Since taking on the management of this practice in February 2025 we have fully restructured our prices to reflect local needs and what is fair for this area.

💙 We’ve set up a fund to help people struggling with bills, supported by our own fundraising.
💙 We work with several charities to help animals and owners who need it most.
💙 We offer affordable instalment plans through trusted credit providers.
💙 We never turn a patient away no matter the circumstances, we will always do something to help.

Behind every bill is a team of vets, nurses, and support staff who give everything they have working through breaks, staying late, taking worries home, and carrying the heartache that comes with this job. We face verbal abuse and threats simply for discussing the costs of care, yet we come back each day because we are here for you and your pets.

An important point mainstream media enquiries never seem to highlight is the vital importance of pet insurance. Just like with human healthcare, unexpected illness or injury can happen at any time, and treatment costs can quickly add up - not because we want to charge high fees, but because advanced diagnostics, surgery, hospitalisation, and medicines are expensive to provide.

Insurance gives owners peace of mind that their pet can get the care they need without delay or financial stress. It allows vets to focus on doing what’s best for the animal without the heartbreaking worry of whether cost will limit what we can do. We always encourage owners to insure their pets because it’s one of the best ways to safeguard their health and wellbeing.

We absolutely love what we do, but we are asking for kindness, understanding, and respect. We are doing our very best for every animal that comes through our doors and for the people who love them.

Thank you for supporting us, and for taking the time to read this message. 💙🐾
Seb & The Morpeth Team

21/06/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/18fY1G66Hr/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It seems it’s not just our furry friends at home who suffer in the heat. We have numerous bat colonies around Northumberland. So this information may well be very useful.
Stay cool out there.

Bats might be struggling with the heat and wander out of their roosts to cool down.

If you see a bat on the ground or an exposed area during the day please call our Out of Hours Helpline - 0345 1300 228.
Open on weekdays from 6-10pm and weekends/bank holidays from 10am-10pm.

If you find a bat, here is some advice on what to do: https://www.bats.org.uk/advice/help-ive-found-a-bat/bats-in-need-of-rescue/contain-the-bat

And if you cannot get through the Helpline, here is some alternative advice: https://www.bats.org.uk/advice/help-ive-found-a-bat/bats-in-need-of-rescue/getting-the-bat-into-care .

In 2020, the Helpline and other local heroes were involved in the rescue of 63 baby bats that were struggling with a heatwave. Read more about this story here: https://www.bats.org.uk/news/2020/07/helpline-heroes-rescue-63-baby-bats-struck-by-heat-wave

20/06/2025

Remember to take extra special care of your pets in this heat. Consider pavement temperature too!!

14/06/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/12M8PGxed2M/?mibextid=wwXIfr

We are aware of a few videos circulating social media at the moment regarding ibuprofen ingestion in dogs.

Ibuprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It is commonly used in people for the relief of pain and inflammation associated with aches and pains, headache, cramps and for the relief of mild fever.

Ibuprofen is a very widely available over-the-counter painkiller. Although well tolerated in people, dogs are very sensitive to ibuprofen and ingestion of even a relatively low dose can cause adverse effects on the gut and the kidneys. A very large overdose can even cause very rapid onset features including convulsions.

☎️Owners can call Animal PoisonLine on 01202 509000 if they are concerned about their pet.

We do not recommend the administration of any human medications without prior consultation with your veterinary surgeon.

02/06/2025

⚠️ IMPORTANT UPDATE ⚠️
🚗 ROAD CLOSURE & MAJOR DISRUPTION 🛻

Good morning. There have been major road closures around Morpeth from the early hours of this morning.

Staff at vets4pets are trying very hard to get in to the practice. Please be advised there will likely be disruption to appointment times and services today with both staff and clients trying to get to us.

We will do our best to make sure everyone is seen as near to time as possible, but please be patient and be aware there may be delays.

Stay safe out there on the roads today.

Your V4P Morpeth Team

30/05/2025

🐾 Summer Tick Alert! 🐾
Ticks are more active during the warmer months, especially in grassy, woodland, or rural areas. These tiny parasites can latch onto your pet and may spread harmful diseases like Lyme disease.

Vet Advice for Pet Owners:
✔️ Check your pets daily for ticks—especially around the ears, face, neck, and feet.
✔️ Use a veterinary-approved tick prevention treatment.
✔️ Remove ticks safely using a tick remover—never pull them out with fingers or tweezers.
✔️ Contact us if you’re unsure or if a tick site becomes red or swollen.

Prevention is better than cure—speak to our team about the best protection for your pet this summer.

We have excellent tick prevention products, and we sell some great little tools for removing ticks.

Come and see one of our amazing nurses to chat about parasite treatment and learn how to safely remove ticks.
🌿🐶🐱

📞 Vets4Pets Morpeth | 01670 500670

27/05/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FoDHVEY6x/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Did you know that high blood pressure (hypertension) is a silent stalker in our senior cats? 🐈 Many cats show no signs at all, and sudden blindness is often the first sign that caregivers notice.

To help catch hypertension early, look out for these subtle signs in your cat and speak to your vet team about any concerns:

🐾 Sleeping more
🐾 Acting withdrawn
🐾 Bumping into things
🐾 Changes in the eyes, such as bleeding
🐾 Signs from other diseases, like weight loss and hyperactivity in cats with hyperthyroidism

🏥 Regular veterinary visits, especially for senior cats, mean blood pressure can be checked and monitored before it climbs too high. Find out more 👉 https://icatcare.org/articles/hypertension-in-cats

25/02/2024

When Kelly from our Colton store's Pets Grooming salon discovered a lump on the tail of nine-year-old Rufus she suspected something wasn't right, so alerted his owners Les and Andrea so they could get it checked out. They brought him to Vets for Pets Leeds Colton where it was confirmed he had a cancerous tumour which needed surgery.

Les, who adopted Rufus from Dogs Trust in Leeds as a puppy, said: “Rufus is such a big part of our life; we’re absolutely besotted with him. We probably wouldn’t have noticed the lump if not at the groomers as the tail isn’t somewhere you would usually stroke and feel. Kelly loves Rufus and really looks after him, so we want to say a big thanks for spotting it. Who'd have known what would have happened if she hadn’t noticed.”

Rufus had to have his tail removed, but is now making a good recovery. He's been visiting Kelly for a groom every six weeks for the last three years. She said: “You get to know everything about a dog as you groom them. I’ve discovered similar things before on other dogs so I mentioned it to the owners so they could get it checked out. Dogs are my life and you do worry; I’m so pleased they caught it. Now he’s got a fully docked tail like a little bunny rabbit. It’s lovely and suits him – when he gets washed he wiggles his bum.”

21/02/2024

Arthur's owner Louise says he "looked like a brand-new tortoise" after having his beak filed at Sutton in Ashfield Vets4Pets.

Louise adopted the four-year-old Horsefield Tortoise from a family member in October. Although she has had other pets, Arthur is her first tortoise, so she has been doing some research on how to best care for him.

Louise said: "I noticed Arthur's beak was unusually long, so I brought him in to Vets for Pets; I bring all my pets there. When he came out, I thought 'you beautiful boy, look at you – you look so handsome!"

Vet Steph, who looked after Arthur, says that tortoise beaks continuously grow and normally grind down themselves while they're eating. She said: "Arthur needed a little help as his jaw isn't perfectly aligned; his lower jaw is further out than his top jaw, so I filed it around half a centimetre. He was really good; a real cutie."

18/02/2024

Owner Claire says she couldn't be more grateful to Vets4Pets Hamilton after their quick diagnosis saved the sight of six-year-old Alba.

Claire knew there was something terribly wrong with her miniature dachshund cross when she called her in from the back garden last summer and Alba ran headfirst into a closed patio door. She rushed her to the vets, where investigations led the team to diagnose her with uveitis – an eye condition which causes inflammation of the middle layer of the eye.

Claire said: "It all happened so suddenly; Alba must have heard my voice and guessed where to go. It was quite scary seeing how bad she was. We couldn't be more grateful for the team in Hamilton spotting the uveitis as quickly as they did, otherwise Alba would have gone blind within a matter of days. Their knowledge saved Alba's sight. I still can't believe it happened. It's taken months of treatments, but it's such a relief to have our girl back to being her funny, bossy self."

Vet Neil, one of the team who treated Alba, said: "Alba's pupil was really narrow and wouldn't respond to light properly, which can be a sign of uveitis. Once we had ruled out other conditions, we were able to get her to an eye specialist for ongoing treatment. She's now doing really well."

16/02/2024

Ducky's owner Antonia was in a state of panic when she saw a fox had dug its way into the field where she keeps him – killing two of her other ducks and chickens.

Antonia was about to move her brood into their pen for the evening when she saw what had happened and noticed that Ducky had severe bite wounds under his wing. She rushed him to Vets4Pets Vets Milton Keynes for emergency surgery – and after having his wound stitched up the one-year-old duck is now making a good recovery.

Antonia said: "I was so worried. You don’t often hear of ducks recovering from fox attacks, but there is something about Ducky and the way he was so brave. I'm sure he was protecting a lady duck, as he's a bit of a romantic. It's the first time we've gone to Vets for Pets, and the team were amazing; they've done an incredible job."

Vet Becca, who treated Ducky, said: "He's a really lucky duck, as it was quite a big wound. When he first came in, he was understandably subdued and quiet but when he came back for his stitches to be taken out, he wanted to explore and tuck his head into everyone’s shoulders."

07/02/2024

Well done to the team at Vets4Pets Guildford who've been awarded a silver level certificate for being a rabbit-friendly clinic.

After head veterinary nurse Ella noticed that more customers were bringing in rabbits the practice took a series of steps to give them as stress-free an experience as possible. Ella, who also fosters rescue dogs in her spare time, said: "There was a long list of things that we needed to prove that we did from making sure the rabbits are kept separate from other animals and not booked in at the same time as barking dogs, to providing heated kennels for those who need to stay in, and using special equipment made especially for rabbits."

Practice manager Kevin said: "All of our vets have plenty of experience with rabbits we have some real rabbit geeks here, so it was a big thing to us. There are so many good people in this world and I'm so proud to be around them."

28/01/2024

Beautiful Bear was born deaf, so he's learned to follow his owner Lisa's visual commands.

Lisa, who shops at our Tamworth store – "it's my second home!" – got two-year-old Bear as a kitten and suspected he was deaf when he didn't respond to her voice. She had it confirmed by her vet soon after. She said: "He was very scatty, and scared of people he didn’t recognise. He wasn’t bothered by loud noises like my other cat Emily and when I came home from work he wouldn’t hear the door open.

"He's doing really well though. I try to do some sign language with him – I point at him and do a solid hand sign at him to stop. He picks up on vibrations and scents too. He meows, making a really loud chirping sound which I’ve never heard a cat do before, and he’s always rubbing his head against my legs and following me everywhere. I was advised not to let him out because he wouldn’t hear cars or other dangers, so he comes outside with me every morning to have a sniff around the garden and always comes straight back in." Bear and Lisa's other cat Emily are on Instagram as

27/01/2024

Ten-year-old Dutch rabbit Alfie has been visiting vet Kate at Vets4pets Wolverhampton for dental treatment for the last eight years – and she says he's such a loveable character that he's become "part of the family".

He's one of the oldest rabbits treated by Kate and the team, and she says his longevity is down to the care and love he gets from his owner Tracy and her family. Kate said: "Alfie is famous in this practice – everyone knows him. We and his family are dedicated to making sure her little old man is happy. The beautiful thing about being a vet or vet nurse is you build these relationships with the owners and their pets – they become your surrogate pets."

Tracy's been keeping rabbits all her life, and says that having space and routine is key. She said: "Alfie is an old man now and has a routine. He goes into a hutch at night and is let out in the morning. He's out all day and has his favourite spots in the house. We clean him out every day and give him a lot of attention. When he was younger he would follow us around; if I was clearing a cupboard out he would be in the cupboard to help. Now he's old and wants to be warm and watch instead. I can't thank Kate and the practice enough. Kate's been fantastic with him."

26/01/2024

Eight-year-old Winnie the Schnauzer cross is running around like a puppy again thanks to laser treatment and physiotherapy after two successful knee operations at Vets for Pets Basildon.

Worried owner Tracy brought Winnie in to the practice after she collapsed on a walk last year – and the team discovered the cruciate ligament in a knee had ruptured. She’s since had ops on two knees and is on a recovery plan led by vet physiotherapist Izzy.

Tracy said: "Winnie has had a tough year with 15 teeth removed, two cruciate ligament operations and two bouts of pancreatitis but thankfully she's hardy. She’s treated fabulously at the Basildon practice. Izzy is great with her – she totally relaxes in her hands and does little snores with her eyes open. Winnie has a new lease of life again and is running around like a puppy."

Izzy said: "When pets have surgery or injure themselves they move differently which causes them to be sore in other places. Winnie has laser therapy then a massage to help the healing process. Laser treatment is a specialist service that not enough people know about – it can help in so many ways after an operation.”

19/01/2024

The team at Vets4Pets Cramlington say greyhound Frank was "an absolute gentleman" when he came in for some dental work.

Seven-year-old Frank was brought in by owner Harriet to get rid of some plaque which had built up and to treat a gum inflammation. Veterinary nurse Vicki said: "Frank was a very good boy and left with clean, fresh and sparkly teeth. It's so very important to get your dog's teeth checked and we advise pets to have an annual dental check. Eighty per cent of dogs over the age of three have dental disease. Prevention is much better than cure and regular checks and routine cleaning keep your pet's mouth healthier for longer and can help to prevent extensive extractions later in life. We are always happy to offer advice on maintenance and dental care at home such as teeth brushing or dental supplements."

18/01/2024

Veterinary nurse Mel from Vets4Pets Bristol Longwell Green loves cats so much she's helped the practice make a number of improvements to give cats as stress-free an experience as possible when they're brought in.

Mel, who has an Advanced Certificate in Feline Behaviour for Veterinary Professionals, helped introduce facilities like a separate feline waiting area and cattery and the use of quiet clippers – and the practice now has a silver level certificate for being a cat-friendly clinic. She said: "I love dogs but I'm really a cat person. Cats can be misunderstood which can lead to them having quite a stressful life, so if we can make things easier for them and help people understand what cats need then everyone will be happier.

"As animal lovers there's always more to learn and understand about what makes them happy. Enrichment at the home is important for a happy cat – and as cats are naturally solitary animals if you live in a multi-cat household it's important to understand what they need. The rule is to have a resource per cat, plus one spare. So if you have two cats you should have three feeding stations, three litter trays and three scratch posts spread around the house so they have the opportunity to move around to wherever they want to go. Scratching is as natural a thing for cats to do as going out hunting is, so if they're unable to go out it's about providing the chance for them to behave as naturally as possible."

07/01/2024

Four-year-old Sebastian the Jack Russell is back to his usual boisterous self after being treated at Vets4Pets Abingdon for a condition that was causing the knee caps on his back legs to dislocate when he walked.

The condition, known as medial patellar luxation, would cause him to hop or skip when exercising. It's quite common in terriers and small dog breeds, but Sebastian's case was quite severe and he was given surgery by orthopaedic surgeon Joe to deepen the groove his patella runs in on his right hind leg, and also to move and reattach his patellar tendon.

Sebastian is owned by practice vet Hannah who said: "After the operation he just wanted to get back to normal straight away but he couldn't ... and that's where we struggled. He wanted to be out and about, charging around and playing with his toys but he needed to rest." Hannah had to give him medication for six weeks to give his knees time to heal. She said: "He's absolutely fine now – he's fully recovered and running around like a lunatic again!"

05/01/2024

When 11-year-old lurcher Jess was brought into Vets for Pets Leeds Birstall 24/7 Small Animal Hospital on Christmas Eve feeling very poorly with pyometra – a life-threatening uterus infection – the team knew they had to act fast; so vet Emily and nurses JD and Hannah headed straight in to perform emergency surgery on her in the early hours of Christmas morning.

The operation went so well that by lunchtime nurse Krishna was able to call her owner Beth to say she was well enough to come home to recuperate – and Beth made the hour-long drive from her home in Keighley so she could bring Jess home before the family sat down for their Christmas dinner. Beth said: "It was a stressful start to Christmas, as we were worried about Jess because of her age and because she's never had anything wrong with her before. We're so grateful for everything – it was so nice of them to come in on Christmas Day to operate on her, to look after her so well and to get her home on top form. The vets were fantastic from start to finish. Jess is recovering nicely – you can see the happiness is back in her!"

Krishna said: "Our night team always do an amazing job, and performing serious surgery like that at that time of night and on Christmas Day of all days is just brilliant. Jess did amazingly well to bounce back so quickly, and it was amazing being able to call her owners to say that she could come home to spend Christmas with them. It's the sort of call we all love to make, but doing it on Christmas Day was extra nice."