TNPSC Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science (Degree Standard), Code 396 · India · Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersEveryday dog and cat practice: puppy and kitten care, vaccination and parasite control, nutrition, the common diseases by system, behaviour, old age and emergencies.
In the exams: NAVLE canine 25.6% and feline 24.3% (about half the exam); RCVS SME companion animal 175 of 367 items; AVE Paper 2 dogs at least 14; China comprehensive paper dog and cat 25
How our questions for TNPSC Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, Code 396 spread across the units of Companion Animal Practice: Breeding, Management, Nutrition and Health Care. Difficulty: 17 easy, 0 medium, 0 hard.
| Vaccination: WSAVA core and non-core vaccines | 3 | |
| Parasite control in dogs and cats | 3 | |
| Dog and cat breeds | 2 | |
| Puppy and kitten care | 1 | |
| Pet nutrition | 1 | |
| Dermatology | 1 | |
| Gastroenterology | 1 | |
| Renal disease | 1 | |
| Endocrine disease | 1 | |
| Cardiology | 1 | |
| Oncology | 1 | |
| Behaviour | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
The Dalmatian is predisposed to which type of urolith because of an SLC2A9 variant?
C. Urate
Dalmatians carry an SLC2A9 variant that impairs uric acid transport, so they excrete urate and form urate stones. Cystine stones come from inherited cystinuria in other breeds; struvite is usually infection-induced in dogs.
Further reading: Nelson and Couto, Small Animal Internal Medicine
Which are the WSAVA core vaccines for cats?
C. Panleukopenia virus, calicivirus and herpesvirus-1
Feline core vaccines protect against FPV, FCV and FHV-1. FeLV depends on exposure risk (advised for kittens and young cats at any risk), FIV and FIP vaccines are not recommended by WSAVA, and rabies is core only where endemic or legally required.
Further reading: WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines 2024
How are puppies infected with Toxocara canis before and soon after birth?
A. Across the placenta and in the milk
Somatic larvae in the bitch reactivate in late pregnancy and cross the placenta and enter milk, so almost every pup is born infected. Toxocara cati passes to kittens in milk but not across the placenta.
Further reading: ESCCAP Guideline 1: Worm control
Which tick is the main vector of Ehrlichia canis in tropical and subtropical countries?
D. Rhipicephalus sanguineus
The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, transmits Ehrlichia canis (and Babesia vogeli) and thrives in kennels and homes in warm climates. Ixodes transmits Borrelia and Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Dermacentor reticulatus transmits Babesia canis in Europe.
Further reading: TroCCAP guidelines
Why must cats receive preformed vitamin A in the diet?
D. They cannot convert beta-carotene to retinol
Cats lack the intestinal enzyme activity to cleave beta-carotene into retinol, so they need preformed vitamin A from animal tissue. They store vitamin A in the liver readily, which is why excess liver causes hypervitaminosis A.
Further reading: Nelson and Couto
Why is a raised serum alkaline phosphatase much less specific for liver disease in dogs than in cats?
B. Glucocorticoids induce a separate ALP isoenzyme in dogs
Endogenous or exogenous glucocorticoids induce a corticosteroid ALP isoenzyme in dogs, so ALP rises with stress, Cushing's syndrome and steroid treatment. Cats lack this isoenzyme and have a short ALP half-life, so any rise in a cat is significant.
Further reading: Nelson and Couto
Which canine urolith type cannot be dissolved medically and must be removed physically?
B. Calcium oxalate
No diet or drug dissolves calcium oxalate, so it is removed by voiding urohydropropulsion, cystoscopic retrieval, lithotripsy or surgery. Struvite, urate and cystine can often be dissolved with diet and drugs.
Further reading: ACVIM consensus on uroliths 2016
Trilostane, used to treat canine hyperadrenocorticism, acts by inhibiting which enzyme?
D. 3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase
Trilostane competitively inhibits 3β-HSD, reducing synthesis of cortisol and, to a lesser extent, aldosterone. Mitotane instead destroys adrenal cortex; aromatase and 5-alpha-reductase act on sex steroids.
Further reading: Ettinger
Which congenital heart defect classically causes a continuous 'machinery' murmur heard best at the left heart base?
A. Patent ductus arteriosus
Left-to-right flow through a PDA continues through systole and diastole, giving a continuous murmur at the left base, often with bounding pulses. Pulmonic and subaortic stenosis cause systolic ejection murmurs; a VSD gives a right-sided systolic murmur.
Further reading: Ettinger
Which drug given alone produces complete remission in most dogs with canine transmissible venereal tumour?
B. Vincristine
TVT responds very well to weekly vincristine, usually over several weeks, and is common where free-roaming dogs mate. Surgery alone recurs often.
Further reading: Withrow and MacEwen's Small Animal Clinical Oncology
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