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SMALL ANIMALS
BOOK REVIEW
SMALL ANIMALS
The Feline Patient, 3rd Edition. Norsworthy GD, Crystal MA, Grace S, Tilley LP, editors. Blackwell Publishing, 2007, 800 pages. Price: $207.50.
ISBN: 0781762685
T he Feline Patient is designed as a ‘reference guide for practitioners’ with ‘rapidly retrievable, concise information about feline diseases’ and the
authors achieve these tasks well.
The book is divided into sections including internal medicine, dermatology, ophthalmology, dentistry, clinical procedures, imaging, cytology and some
selected surgical procedures.
The alphabetical formatting within each section is disconcerting with no distinction between clinical signs (such as ‘weight loss’), laboratory diagnoses
(like ‘hypercalcaemia’) and specific diagnoses like ‘nocardiosis’. This means that the chapter on ‘coughing’ is followed by ‘cryptococcosis’, or ‘icterus’
followed by ‘inflammatory bowel disease’. This chapter order may make it easier for practitioners quickly to find information about particular signs or
conditions. However, there is also the potential for difficulty in finding some conditions (or signs) that may be under another chapter title; such as lower
urinary tract diseases which may be found in the chapter ‘dysuria and pollakiuria’.
Australian readers may find the book a bit ‘US-centric’. The rest of the world would appreciate if American authors could use SI units as well as US
units. Additionally, there are some infectious conditions that are not relevant to Australia such cytauxzoonosis and yersiniosis.
There are some specific problems where authors’ opinions are reflected rather than noting controversies or lack of current knowledge. Some examples
of this are recommending corticosteroids for treating pancreatitis when concurrently diabetic, or definitively stating that perineal urethrostomy is
indicated when cats repeatedly obstruct. Because of the nature of the book, these are directives rather than recommendations.
Further problems arise in some select areas where non-current thinking is noted as fact. For example, benazepril is stated to have efficacy in slowing
the progression of chronic renal disease with no mention of proteinuria, and FIP where the book incorrectly states that concurrent hyperglobulinaemia,
lymphopaenia, and a coronavirus titre greater than 1:100 have diagnostic predictive values. We now know these guidelines are far too restrictive in
ruling out FIP and too loose in ruling in FIP.
Despite these examples being so notable, these problems are the exception rather than the rule and many, if not all, cases are not in situations
that require immediate attention. This means that practitioners can get a brief run down of a condition they are not familiar with but then look further to
confirm their management. Other controversial conditions and treatments are dealt with appropriately, with question marks raised over FIV vaccination
and the controversies of Bartonella infection touched upon.
A real highlight of the book is the numerous, excellent photographs. These are particularly effective in the ‘radiographic notables’ section as well as the
photos demonstrating how to perform procedures though, oddly, pleurocentesis is not demonstrated but thoracostomy tube placement is. Cytological
images are appropriately chosen and are excellent.
This is an excellent book to introduce practitioners to feline conditions they may not be familiar with. It is not really designed for experienced feline
practitioners, though all are likely to learn something from it.
R Baral
Randolph Baral has been in feline only practice for over 10 years, has authored over a dozen peer-reviewed publications and is a consultant on the
feline board of VIN.
doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2007.00179.x
© 2007 The Authors Australian Veterinary Journal Volume 85, No 8, August 2007 331
Journal compilation © 2007 Australian Veterinary Association
