2nd Edition

Pocket Handbook of Small Animal Medicine

By Kit Sturgess Copyright 2025
224 Pages 59 Color Illustrations
by CRC Press

224 Pages 59 Color Illustrations
by CRC Press

224 Pages 59 Color Illustrations
by CRC Press

Concise, problem-oriented, and accessibly designed, the second edition of the Pocket Handbook of Small Animal Medicine focuses on the essentials of medicine and surgery of the dog and cat. Packed with bullet points, flowcharts, and tables for quick reference, the book helps start the process of case management and resolution. It includes tips and hints on interpretation of physical signs,... Read more

Chapter 1. Basic Approaches

Chapter 2. Clinical Presentations

Chapter 3. Body Systems and Multisystemic Disease

Chapter 4. Anaesthesia, Analgesia and Surgery

Chapter 5. Critical Care

Further reading

Units of measurement

Selected abbreviations

Index

Biography

Dr Kit Sturgess has been in clinical practice for nearly 40 years in primary care, university and private referral clinics He was awarded his PhD looking at the mucosal immune response to feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Kit is a Specialist in Small Animal Medicine and an Advanced Practitioner in Veterinary Cardiology. He was awarded his Fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for Meritorious Contributions to Clinical Practice and the BSAVA Woodrow Award for contributions to small animal practice in 2022. Besides clinical work Kit spends his time writing and lecturing and has had a wide variety of voluntary roles including Chair of Trustees of Cats Protection and the Wildheart Trust, Editor in Chief of Veterinary Evidence, Chair of BSAVA Education Committee and Council member and Treasurer of the RCVS. He maintains a keen interest in many areas of internal medicine, particularly endocrine, cardiorespiratory and gastrointestinal disease and has authored numerous articles, two textbooks as well as examining, presenting lectures and research abstracts at conferences worldwide.

Having used this book during my small animal medicine rotation, I shall find a way of making room for it [in my pocket]. A fantastic quick guide for those critical moments. It teaches you to think, rather than giving you lists of differentials and is jam-packed with lots of useful factual information – reference parameters, therapeutic protocols and diagnostic tests. It's a great starting point for viva revision. For new graduates and experienced clinicians alike, it offers a simple, readable reference guide to help you think through cases using a logical problem-solving framework. Novel in it’s approach, I for one will be keeping it close at hand throughout my final year of vet school.
—Myfanwy Hill, Veterinary Record

Useful decision trees. A nice little handbook for medicine, providing a discussion point for graduates and their mentors and coaches in practice.
—Dr. Paul R Manning, Veterinary Practice

This is the book vet students wished they had on clinical rotations when they realise they have missed a key piece of information and need to locate it quickly.
Australian Veterinary Journal, Volume 91, No 7