For use in providing expert care for cats and dogs, the 9th edition of this handbook covers not only the management of emergency conditions, but also strategies for dealing with hundreds of routine diagnostic and treatment challenges in small animals. It is conveniently organized by both body systems and presenting signs. Written by veterinary experts it provides current guidelines for small animal emergency care and the diagnostic procedures most commonly performed in a busy, team-oriented practice.

Emergency care -- Patient evaluation and organ system examination -- Clinical signs -- Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures -- Laboratory diagnosis and test protocols -- Charts and tables -- Emergency hotlines -- Dog breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) -- Cat breeds recognized by the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) -- Useful information for rodents and rabbits -- Determination of the sex of mature and immature rodents and rabbits -- Blood values and serum chemical constituents for rodents and rabbits -- Ferrets: physiologic, anatomic, and reproductive data -- Hermatologic values for normal ferrets -- Serum chemistry values for normal ferrets -- Electrocardiographic data for normal ferrets -- Conversion of body weight in kilograms to body surface area in meters squared for dogs -- Conversion of body weight in kilograms to body surface area in square meters for cats -- French scale conversion table -- International System of Units (SI) conversion guide -- Units of length, volume, and mass in the metric system -- Vaccines licensed for use in dogs in the United States -- Vaccines licensed for use in cats in the United States -- Canine vaccine recommendations, initial puppy series -- Canine vaccine recommendations, adult -- Feline vaccine recommendations, initial kitten series -- Feline vaccine recommendations, adult -- Compendium of animal rabies prevention and control, National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) -- Prescription writing reference: do's and don'ts -- Common drug indications and dosages.