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veterinary studyblr ✨ 4th year vet student join me on my journey!

[blackinawhitecoat]

hi!

welcome to my studyblr! i am a 4th year vet student tracking mixed animal medicine

my interests:

- small ruminant medicine (especially sheep 🐑)

- internal medicine

- work/life balance and mental health support

- DEI initiatives in vetmed

my pets:

- gwendolyn, a 4 year old FS tabby domestic shorthair

- calcifer, a 1 year old MN black domestic shorthair

- biscuit, a 2 year old normal ball python

- raine, a 1 year old FS pitbull mix

feel free to pop into my inbox if you have any questions! :-)

[blackinawhitecoat]

omg i forgot to post here! but i graduated on may 6th, 2023. im officially dr. nabi, DVM!! 🥳 i will be joining a mixed animal practice in northern michigan in june and im super excited! 💞

[grubloved]

if ur confused about why animal people advocate for keeping your pets at a "healthy weight" but sometimes also in the same breath will advocate against human diet culture, its because we know what body condition a cat is supposed to be at optimally. but literally there is not one for humans as far as we can tell.

humans are a weird, opportunistic, hyper-adaptable and variable primate and we have evolved to have a LOT of variety in size, shape, metabolism, and weight retention. this has been essential to survival in hard times and easy times. you know the thing people talk about sometimes how about half the population are night people and about half are morning people so we'd be better able to watch at night as a group? yeah, weight variation is like that: there's a lot of latent variation in human populations because as a community we survive significantly better if some of us are fuckin ready to not die during the longass winter of death and some of us can eat their weight in fish and then run a mile immediately after. this is also why some people gain muscle crazy fast and some people don't: muscle requires a lot of energy, so some people are built to gain a lot during a plentiful season and be really efficient then and some people are built to use less energy over time and be more useful during a long hungry period. cats and almost all other vertebrates simply don't have this kind of complex community variation built in, and tend to be much more uniform in build and weight. humans tend to be really variable in body and brain, and that's one of the biggest factors that's made us so successful! there are just a LOT of ways to be a human being.

all of the "science" on "ideal human body condition" we have at the moment is almost entirely bullshit and was done by white supremacists for eugenics purposes. it's just not something we know, and right now there's significantly more evidence that there is no ideal body type for everyone to reach. recent research indicates that humans are healthiest at a variety of weights and builds, and dieting is almost universally bad for you. even if the culture hasn't caught up yet.

[blackinawhitecoat]

hi! i know i havent been super active on here, but i wanted to post this as a little eye opener into what people of color in the veterinary profession are facing during these tumultuous & scary times. first, there is a link to an article written by a recent graduate who started her own diversity, equity, and inclusion organization right after graduating from veterinary school.

https://cvma.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Unity_JanFeb23.pdf

the second link is to a reddit post that contains the screenshots of an email that a california veterinarian sent in response to Dr. Marcano’s article (linked above). i encourage you all to read it and see what sort of hateful and despicable language people are still using towards us for trying to encourage diversity when the veterinary profession is STILL ~90% white. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/veterinaryprofession/comments/10hmxo3/this_racist_email_to_a_dvm_from_a_colleague_keith/

and finally, check out Pawsibilities Vet Med!! this is Dr. Marcano’s organization. below is a link to learn more + give back! 

https://www.pawsibilitiesvetmed.com/get-involved/

[gglilyallin-deactivated20250618]

love to follow veterinarian practices on facebook because every one in a while they’ll post a picture of something so bizarrely funny. this axolotl getting an x-ray just took me out

[gglilyallin-deactivated20250618]

[gglilyallin-deactivated20250618]

[ginniewheezie]

Important

[squishysquishin]

Adding this because they’re safe for dogs too

[simon-newman]

How are turkey skin and bones not safe? Please elaborate.

[thumbbro]

Dunno about skin, but Turkey bones, and avian bones in general, are really easy to shatter. If a dog eats said shards, it could tear up their insides.

[edwinflores428]

Important for all pet users!!

[gallifrey-knits-no-more]

The skin is very fatty and can lead to diarrhea, vomiting, and/or pancreatitis. Pancreatitis can lead to a very expensive hospital stay, and is quite painful. When in doubt, best not to feed human food.

[thebookbakery]

Important PSA for this (and every) holiday season! As someone with dogs and cats in her life, both of these are nice to have on hand!

[ejacutastic]

This is a truly fantastic article about the difficulties facing vet medicine right now.

The struggles facing animal care aren’t as simple as the oft-cited one of more pets, fewer staff. Experts say several factors are at play, with some a long time coming and others caused or exacerbated by the pandemic.

I'd also like to point out, along with the verbal abuse, high turnover rates for vet techs, and high debt for veterinarians, etc mentioned, there is an extremely high suicide rate for vets AND vet techs (techs are often not mentioned in these statistics and the below mentioned 2019 study was the first to even consider suicide rates in techs).

The study found that female veterinarians were 2.4 times as likely as the general U.S. population to commit suicide and that the rate for male veterinary technicians was five times higher. Among male veterinarians and female veterinary technicians, the rates were 1.6 and 2.3 times greater, respectively. This is the first study that also considered suicide rates among veterinary technicians.

Washington is in a particularly bad spot as far as veterinary medicine goes, but even before COVID, veterinary medicine staff have been struggling for a long time to survive and make ends meet. There's little people outside of vet med can do, but do what you can.

Be kind, be patient, and try to plan ahead. Make appointments early for wellness/vaccines and make appointments when problems first come up rather than a week into them when it can no longer wait. It's much easier to cancel an appointment than figure out how to work one in on a Saturday when that schedule was full 2 weeks ago.

We know you're stressed about your babies and finances and everything else that comes up with emergency situations, but I promise, those of us in vet med are trying our absolute best. ❤️

[speciesofleastconcern]

[animals-why]

This is just true.

[kedreeva]

Indoor Cats: Catios

Catios for the Masterpost

A catio (cat patio) is a contained space outdoors that allows a cat to experience being “outside” without the threat of being harmed by bigger wildlife, other pets, humans, vehicles, or being exposed to toxic substances or disease (mostly). It also prevents them from killing (most) wildlife, unless it manages to get into the enclosure.

Catios range from very small window units:

And they don’t need to be super expensive or store bought or involve a ton of wood. This person made theirs with a little bit of PVC, some chicken wire, and a piece of carpet.

To more elaborate, expansive enclosures:

Here’s one that apparently expanded little by little, and looks amazing!

I’ve even been told that folks with smaller, fenced backyards have just netted the top with cat or other similarly tough netting and then can safely allow their cat into their entire backyard without fear the cat will wander to get into trouble. With the netting, it’s also difficult for wildlife to get in to where the cat can access and kill them.

If you happen to be someplace where you cannot modify the exterior of your living space or use a window unit, there are still catio-like options that are more temporary or mobile.

For example, cat tents!

Some people have taken creative liberties with tents and tunnels:

There are also slightly sturdier structures, like playpens:

And stand-alone catios that aren’t attached to anything, sort of like a little chicken coop or a kennel that can go outside but still be moved:

All of these options allow your cat to experience a little bit of the outdoors safely. They will be able to feel the sun on their fur, hear all the sounds, see all the sights, and smell all the smells. The bare-bottom ones can also provide lounging time on natural ground, good for lots of rolling in the grass or dirt. All without endangering your cat or wildlife in your area!

Next up: Leashes!

[blackinawhitecoat]

externship planning 😵‍💫

spent a couple hours today planning out 60 weeks of my life! beginning in february, i will be a clinical student, meaning i will spend every day at the university hospital or at an away clinic. if i visit a clinic outside of my university, the experience is called an externship. our clinical year is spent in 3-week blocks in which we spend time working on cases, caring for patients, interacting with clinicians, and essentially, being doctors! we write medical records, communicate with clients, and formulate & administer treatment plans. since i am a mixed animal student, i have the privilege of spending time in the large animal hospital and the small animal hospital :-) i know my clinical rotations will be tough, but im excited to get out of the classroom! 🤩

[vet-and-wild]

The irony of people claiming that most vets are on a “payroll” for the big pet food companies and just want to steal your money and spread conspiracy theories while simultaneously pushing products and false science from vets like Dodds or Becker is definitely lost on them.

Clearly the fact that they push their own exclusive, more expensive products is just a coincidence, right? The cherry picked arguments and lack of scientific evidence for their claims is totally normal and not pushing an agenda at all. No, it must be the majority of the profession that is trying to take advantage of owners and not the ones with their own websites pushing products with claims that it is the “only one that works!” What a shame that the majority of us are too corrupt to guilt owners into buying our own products. We’re clearly too far gone at this point because pet food companies give us pens at conferences so we are forever indebted to them and brainwashed into believing that feeding trials and qualified professionals formulating diets are actually important :/

[talesfromtreatment]

And these, my friends, are called intention tremors. When the neuro animal gets excited they have a much harder time controlling their muscles and will shake much more severely than at other times.

[kaibosh]

Giving your pet pills like

[optimisticbananaharmony-deactiv]

if you x ray an orange tabby cats head you just find one if these instead of a brain

[blackinawhitecoat]

UTI, anyone?? 🔬

this is a cytology for a urine sediment exam! this poor pup presented for other issues, but on exam, the doctor noticed a foul odor around the dog’s vulva and surrounding fur. the doctor elected to run a urinalysis and this is what we found!

a bunch of neutrophils + chains of rod-shaped bacteria. we can’t know exactly what bacteria species this is without a culture, but the most common bacteria found in urinary tract infections in dogs is Escheria coli, or E. coli - which is a rod so maybe that’s our causative agent in this case! 🤓

[randomslasher]

Sorry if I'm bothering you, but.... I'm that one post you said cats shouldn't be outdoor cats and I was wondering why? Isn't it good to let them move around outside since they enjoy it?

This is legitimately a huge (and still somewhat controversial) topic and I don’t really have the time to go into it in a lot of detail right now but here is a quick summary: 

- Cats are damaging to local ecosystems. Well-fed pet cats still enjoy hunting and end up killing not for food but for fun and to practice their hunting skills. It’s a natural instinct, not malice, but it can absolutely devastate local songbird and wildlife populations.  

- Outdoor cats are at MUCH higher risk of injury from vehicles, other animals, or even ill-intentioned humans (we once rescued a black cat with a broken tail I’m 99% sure had been broken by a group of kids swinging her around by her tail)

- Outdoor cats are at greater risk for contracting communicable diseases like Feline HIV

- Outdoor cats can get lost or even stolen (I’ve had both happen to me before)

- Outdoor cats are at higher risk of suffering from the elements (getting caught in snowstorms, freezing to death, etc.) 

- Outdoor cats are much more likely to contract parasites like fleas, ticks, and worms

- It is much more difficult to spot irregularities in your cat’s health if they are regularly outdoors (you can’t monitor how frequently they urinate or defecate, and whether or not there are any changes to their bathroom habits)

- Outdoor cats are more likely to end up consuming something dangerous (rat poison, spoiled food, etc.)

- Outdoor cats who are not fixed are likely to increase the feral cat population by getting pregnant/impregnating other cats. 

In general, outdoor cats are damaging to local ecosystems and at great risk of premature death. 

Now, that’s not to say you can’t find ways to let your cats enjoy the outdoors, though! Here are some fun solutions: 

Catios: 

Cat harnesses (yes, cats can be taught to walk on leashes!)

Cat-safe plants for nibbles and noms:

Cat “TV” (ie shelves or seats near windows where cats an easily observe the outdoors from the safety of inside)

Basically domestic cats are not safe outside alone, nor is it safe for the local wildlife to have them there in numbers. There is a lot of information out there discussing this you can find on google (and like I said, there are people who disagree) but these are the main reasons I tend to encourage people keeping indoor cats, ESPECIALLY if you are in an urban or residential (non-rural) area where risk of traffic collision is high. 

[lizziedoesvetpath]

How to nail your pathology rotation

Next week is the first rotation for a new crop of final year vet students, so I thought this was the perfect time to share some tips on how to get the most out of your pathology rotation (and make your residents love you at the same time).

1) It's ok not to know things, but you have to make an effort

Rotations are for learning, so give things a go and try not to be too hard on yourself. Asking questions and showing interest makes a better impression than trying to only say the exact right answer.

2) LISTEN TO INSTRUCTIONS AND ASK FOR HELP

I capitalize this one because students who think they can "just do" necropsy are THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. Necropsy is not surgery and it is not anatomy dissection. Again, we won't think you're dumb if you ask us how to do something. We want you to do it right because it matters for the case.

3) Differentiating post mortem change and actual lesions can be hard, don't be embarrassed

I'd rather see things that aren't lesions than miss things that are. Residents spend a lot more time talking shit about students who don't show us things than those who do.

5) Try to keep things clean

It's hard sometimes, but if you can spread your mess around less then it'll be a lot easier to keep track of anything. Plus our technicians prefer not having to spend ages scrubbing all the jars and bags of samples when you're done.

6) Take care of your equipment

If you have to bring your own knife, learn how to sharpen it. Your life will be 20 times easier

7) YOUR JAR SHOULD CONTAIN 10 TIMES AS MUCH FORMALIN AS TISSUE. THAT'S A LOT. IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE IT

8) Turn your reports in on time

The deadlines we set for the rotation where I work are so that your resident has all the information ready to stick to our turn around times. Help us out, stick to the schedule.

That's what I've got! Feel free to add on your own tips for pathology or other rotations :)