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Nutrition is an important part of the critical care. The goals of this prospective clinical study were to create a scoring system for the assessment of patient nutritional status and to compare continuous and intermittent bolus feeding of enteral nutrition (EN). A total of 38 patients (21 dogs and 17 cats) were divided into Group C (continuous feeding; 23 patients) and Group I (intermittent feeding; 15 patients). The following variables were recorded for each patient in both groups: gastrointestinal (GI) complications, changes in body weight (BW), body condition score (BCS), muscle condition score (MCS), veterinary nutritional status score (VetNSS), length of hospitalisation and outcome. The normality of the data was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk test. Fisher’s exact test, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and the t-test were used in statistical analyses. Significant changes were found in VetNSS and BW between the 1^st and 5^th day in Group C. The VetNSS seems to be useful for monitoring the nutritional status of hospitalised patients. Anorectic dogs and cats can be successfully supported with either continuous or intermittent feeding methods with a similar risk of GI complications and outcomes.

The transport of weaned piglets is considered an important stress factor since the conditions involved in shipping affect the animals' health and welfare. The principal stressor factors that piglets experience during transport include: mixing with unfamiliar animals, overcrowding, heat, cold, temperature fluctuations, vibrations, and noise. It is well known that all these factors contribute to raising the level of stress caused by the weaning process; however, the additional effects attributable to transport immediately after weaning impact the physiology, metabolism and behaviour of piglets, predisposing them to delayed growth. For this reason, animal transport must be well-planned and take into account such aspects as preparation of the piglets, choosing the best route and vehicle type, assuring adequate vehicle design and maintenance, and providing sufficient space. Also important for assuring the welfare of the piglets during transport are sufficient rest time, appropriate access to food and water, defined measures for monitoring the animals during the trip, implementing means of disease control, and establishing the steps to be followed in case of an emergency.

Data of toxicological analyses for baits carried out in the Laboratory of Toxicology of the Department of Veterinary Clinics (University of Pisa) over a 10-year period are summarized. The 508 lures have been grouped according to their preparation features. This classification has generated six classes: (1) baits prepared with discarded or out-of-date food; (2) laborious and original/particular baits; (3) baits containing more than one toxic substance; (4) baits containing non-toxic material; (5) baits prepared with non-food material and (6) in vivo baits. The most commonly detected toxic substances in baits were organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides (48%), anticoagulant rodenticides (18%), zinc phosphide (12%), strychnine (9%), metaldehyde (8%) and others (5%). This survey shows that in Italy, the deliberate misuse or abuse of toxic substances intended to kill domestic animals, is very common and still far from being eradicated. Elaboration of a complex strategy, involving authorities as well as veterinarians and citizens, is the first step to defeat this harmful practice.