Owners increasingly regard their pet as a family member and expect the best quality of care when they choose a veterinary clinic. Alison Lambert reviews the potential for improving the customer experience for both cats and their carers.

Walking a dog may simply appear to be a normal part of dog ownership, but there can be more to it than meets the eye, as Carri Westgarth explains in this paper.

There is growing appreciation of the different ways in which animals can positively impact on a child’s development, although there are potential difficulties too, as discussed by Nancy Gee.

The vasculature of the skin plays a vital role in ensuring various homeostatic mechanisms function as normal, but when disease strikes, the effects can be dramatic. Elizabeth Goodale takes an analytical look at what can go wrong.

Identifying a suitable diet for pets with adverse food reaction can be less than straightforward and pitfalls await the unwary; here Jérôme Naar and Isabelle Lesponne outline how Royal Canin ensure their Anallergenic diets are free from unwanted proteins.

For many vets, common challenges when conducting elimination diet trials include client compliance, practicality and interpretive value, but Vandre Clear offers some pointers to help make the trial meaningful, user-friendly and successful.

Common diseases are seen commonly – but we must not forget that rare diseases can occur too. Here Patricia White describes some of the systemic diseases that can present with dermatologic signs, and offers some pointers for a diagnostic approach.

Both cutaneous and visceral forms of leishmaniasis can occur in regions of the world where the insect vector is endemic; this paper reviews the dermatological forms of the disease, with a focus on clinical signs and potential treatment options.