Are there any tips you'd share with busy practitioners to improve their technique when using it for catheterizing blocked cats?

Yeah.

So I'm very lucky because I have the benefit of anesthetists who will do that for me.

You maybe have to prioritize slightly if you've got quite an unstable cat, then I, I would try and prioritize getting the catheter in as quickly as possible or potentially even cystocentesis rather than spending time doing the epidural, particularly if you're not doing it frequently and, and you're slick at the procedure.

Uh, I think if you're wanting to start doing this, I would definitely say start with a thin cat rather than an overweight cat.

Uh, [laughs] we know unfortunately that a lot of the males who do get obstructed are quite overweight.

If you've got a thin cat, it helps you identify the landmarks.

How does the emergency treatment change when the glucose looks normal?

When a cat presents in shock, what point of care tools can help us quickly rule out cardiac disease?Or rule it in or out [chuckles] before we reach for the intravenous fluids.

Yeah.

Ultrasound is emphasized a lot by emergency care practitioners, and obviously they get very good at doing TFAS and evaluating some of the more unusual signs like shred signs for pneumonia.

I think for your average practitioner who maybe isn't doing a POCUS two, three times a day, these more subtle things can be challenging.

But I think it- the right parasternal view to assess the size of the left atrium is a very good starting point because if that left atrium to aorta ratio is enlarged, it's fairly easy to measure it, and that is an indicator if it's more than 1.5 that you need to be cautious with your fluids because heart failure could be contributing here.

And certainly if you've got pleural effusion, you also have to be a wee bit cautious with your fluids until you've established whether that pleural effusion is cardiac in origin or some other cause.

Arrhythmia generally, you're maybe gonna get an indication from your auscultation.

Which clinical parameters should make us suspect a cat in septic shock rather than just severe dehydration?