Questions we get asked on the coast
Keeping a dog or cat here is not the same as keeping one upcountry. Heat, humidity, sand and the sea change what goes wrong and what you should do about it.
How hot is too hot to walk my dog here?
If you cannot hold the back of your hand on the tarmac or sand for five seconds, it will burn pads. Beyond surface heat, humidity is the real limit: panting cools by evaporation and it barely works in saturated air. Early morning and after dark are the safe windows on this coast.
My dog swims in the sea every day. Is that a problem?
For most dogs it is excellent exercise. The two costs are ears and wounds. Salt water and sand sitting in an ear canal is the commonest trigger for infection we see here, so dry the outer canal afterwards. And no swimming at all while any wound or surgical incision is healing.
What is tick fever and how would I know?
Babesiosis and ehrlichiosis, spread by ticks, and this coast has the heaviest tick pressure in Kenya. Early signs are vague: tired, off food, does not finish the walk. Lift the lip and check the gums. Pale gums that refill slowly are not the heat, and that dog needs seeing.
Can I use the cattle dip from the agrovet on my dog?
Please ask us first. Several livestock acaricides are unsafe for dogs and lethal to cats, including through contact with a treated dog, and the dosing is designed for a 400kg animal. If cost is the reason, tell us and we will find something safe and cheaper.
Something bit my dog in the compound. Could it be a snake?
It can be, particularly around Bamburi, the quarry land and compounds backing onto bush. Do not cut, suck or tourniquet. Keep the animal still, carry it if you can, and come now. Describe the snake if you saw it, but do not go looking for it.
We are moving abroad. How long does the paperwork take?
Longer than you think. For the EU or UK, a rabies antibody titre test plus its waiting period can run to three months, and it cannot be shortened. Start the day the move looks likely. Also check your airline will carry your breed before booking anything.
Getting to a clinic from Likoni takes an hour with the ferry.
We know, and it changes the arithmetic. Ring us as you join the queue rather than after you cross. For some problems there is useful advice we can give while you wait; for others sending a vet to you is genuinely faster.
How often should I deworm on the coast?
More often than upcountry advice suggests. Warm damp sand is close to ideal hookworm habitat, so a dog on the beach daily sits at the frequent end of the schedule. Hookworm larvae also go through human skin, so this matters to the household as well.
Do you treat livestock?
No. Dogs and cats only. For cattle, goats or poultry you need a livestock vet, and for dips, drenches and feed an agrovet will serve you better than we can.
Book a vet in Mombasa
Clinic appointments, or a vet at your door across Mombasa and the coast. Tell us what is wrong and we will say how soon your pet needs to be seen.