Q. My cat is FIV positive and suffers from mouth sores. It hurts him to eat dry cat food, he does not like canned food, has been drinking cat milk but seems to not like it any more and I throw it away at the end of the day. He will eat soft moist snacks but I’m worried about the nutritional content. Is this okay for him to eat as a main diet?

A. FIV is the cat form of HIV in humans and it is caused by a virus which destroys the immune system leaving the cat prone to infections particularly of the guts, lungs and mouth.

The mouth ulcers in your cat are very painful and this could be why he has trouble eating.

It may help if you soak his dry nibbles.

The treats you mention are not ideal but are certainly better than nothing.

I suggest you take him to your vet who can check him over and perhaps prescribe a painkiller which will help, and maybe some antibiotics.

They can also provide a convalescent diet called Hill’s a/d which can be whisked to a liquid to make it easier to eat.

They are packed full of nutrients.

Q My dog has flat, white, rice-like things on its bottom. Is this a sign of a parasitic infection and how do I get rid of it?

A. Those little white rice-like things you are seeing are probably tapeworm segments.

The tapeworm is a gut parasite which dogs can pick up from infected rabbits and rodents that are infected with tapeworms.

It is easy to treat by using worm medicines designed specifically for this worm or by using a multiwormer which kills both round and tapeworms (examples are Droncit and drontal/milbemax as multiwormers).

These are available at your vet.

At the same time you should treat your dog for fleas as fleas can also carry tapeworm eggs.

Q. Please can you tell me what injection you give to jill ferrets to bring them out of season? When should it be given? And does having a jill spayed lessen her life-span?

A. Female ferrets will come into breeding season from March onwards.

The problem is that they will remain in extended season unless they are mated; it takes the act of mating to stimulate ovulation (release of the eggs from the ovary) and so end the season.

Extended season causes hormone damage to the bone marrow and a potentially fatal anaemia and/or it can cause a womb infection (pyometra) which can also be fatal.

Most female ferrets are either spayed (sterilised by removing the ovaries and womb) or they have a ‘jilljab’ which is a hormone injection that stops them coming in season.

The jill jab can be given before the anticipated season or as soon as a season starts.

Spaying does not shorten the life-span.