Pet Questions

A It is normal for cats to find the arrival of a new baby strange, and some find it stressful. The hissing is usually due to uncertainty about what the new arrival is and what she should make of it. To be safe, babies and young children should never be left together unsupervised. The important thing at this stage is to minimise your cat's stress and to teach her to associate your baby with positive feelings.

To reduce stress you should keep your cat's routine the same as it always was as cats need a stable and predictable daily routine. Also make sure that she can get away from your baby if she wants to, and has access to cat beds on top of shelves or bookcases. Cats feel most secure when high up.

If you tell her off for hissing, this would make her link the baby with negative feelings.

Q We think our dog may have swallowed some stones when we took him to the beach over the weekend. He has not been sick and seems all right. Does he need to see the vet?

A It is good that your dog is not showing signs of illness and is bright in himself, but I would recommend taking him to be checked by your vet to be on the safe side.

Dogs will swallow stones and, as you say, this can cause vomiting as well as signs of pain in his abdomen. They can also cause a dog to become dehydrated and to stop eating.

Your vet will give your dog a clinical examination, applying gentle pressure to the abdomen to see if your dog shows any signs of pain. Small stones could be safely passed in faeces, but larger ones may require an operation to be removed.

Owners should allow their dogs to play with safe dog toys when out on walks.