Declaw: Whom Are We Protecting?July 13, 2012 Declaw happens, at least in the United States. Deemed illegal or inhumane in countries across Europe, Scandinavia and around the globe,1 declaw is also opposed by many organizations in the United States. However, U.S. veterinarians still consider onychectomy “routine,” sometimes bundling spay/neuter with declaw as specially priced “packages.”2 In fact, an estimated 25 percent of owned cats in the U.S. are declawed.3 While West Hollywood has banned declawing, 86 percent of southern California hospitals declaw cats, 76 percent do so on kittens younger than 8 months old, 95 percent declaw to protect furniture, 33 percent perform the procedure for no specific reason, and 5 percent earn over $1,000 per hour for the operation.4 How does protecting furniture or one’s bottom line compare with the veterinarian’s oath to employ knowledge and skill “for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering”?5 So, why do declaws continue? “My veterinarian supports it.” Sociologic research on attitudes of veterinarians and staff concerning onychectomy indicated “a number of staff felt uncomfortable with their participation …
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A Natural Pet Food Choice In Proper BalanceJune 28, 2012It was not unusual that the client who recently inherited her son’s bulldog was proudly pointing out to me that all she fed him was a whole-ingredient dog food whose television commercials appeared every 30 minutes. But, poor guy, every day when she got home from work he had defecated in his crate again! Parasites and the usual culprits had already been ruled out by a veterinarian. Now she was standing in my exam room with her newly acquired love-bundle, desperate for a solution. Like it or not, advertising agencies daily become shrewder and more accurate at targeting consumers. And we all fall for it. As veterinarians, though, we find that watching actors pose as dog experts discussing scientific nutrition principles is like fingernails on a chalkboard. Hill's Pet Nutrition's online pet food comparison tool. The “whole foods” trend has captured the attention of the pet-owning public, who like the feeling they get by doing what those television actors would approve. But those television actors aren’t cleaning up the messes caused by so-called “balanced” pet foods that frankly aren’t. I tactfully suggested to my client a trail …
Picking Right Therapeutic Diet Is Hard With So Many ChoicesJune 28, 2012 The growing understanding of the link between animal nutrition and health isn’t fueling improvement in only therapeutic diets, but in commercially available diets, too. In fact, commercial foods are giving therapeutic brands a run for their money. “Manufacturers are always looking for ways to make their current products better and meet new needs,” says Grace Long, DVM, director of veterinary technical marketing for Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. of St. Louis. “Therapeutic diets can meet the specific needs of pets with diseases or uncommon nutritional needs that can’t be found in stores. But commercial brands are also offering foods that contain ingredients that will specifically help different life stages, breed needs and joint care.” Matching the proper nutrition to the individual animal can speed recovery from sickness, help an animal stay healthy longer and respond efficiently to disease challenges. This is something manufacturers want to make more readily available to consumers. “We have added colostrum to stabilize intestinal microflora in EN GastroENteric brand canine dry,” Dr. Long says by way of example. “Probiotics are the new big thing to help intestinal flora, but vets should be cautious of manufacturers who make claims that viable probiotic …
Homer's OdysseyJune 1, 2012 Don’t cringe, this book from high school English is not about to haunt you again! Here’s this story… My family and I love Barnes & Noble. Despite the fact that the successful chain of book stores may have contributed to the closing of our downtown bookstore that is like 100 years old, we find pleasure in B&N’s huge selection (oh, and the Starbucks coffee for me!). At a recent trip to B&N, I passed by the clearance table and found this book called, you guessed it, Homer’s Odyssey (written by Gwen Cooper, published by Delacorte Press, 2009). Who can resist a feline on the front cover? The subtitle is quite descriptive: A fearless feline tale, or how I learned about love and life with a blind wonder cat! The book is about this blind cat and his extraordinary life, and it’s a wonderful, quick and easy, reading book (great for planes and hotels!). Now I’m reading it to my daughter. I wanted to give it a review, so thanks for indulging me! Homer is found just a few weeks old as a stray, and his eyes were so infected that he needed a bilateral enucleation (both …
Stop Feline Inappropriate EliminationMay 29, 2012 By Nicholas Dodman, BVMS, Dipl. ACVB Feline inappropriate elimination is a common behavioral problem reported to veterinarians, accounting for approximately 50 percent of all behavioral referrals. Unfortunately, not only is FIE a common problem, it is also a leading reason for relinquishment of cats. It is a cold, hard fact that cats who fail to use the litter box once a week are four times more likely to be relinquished; if they eliminate outside the litter box daily, these odds increase to over 28:1. About 4 percent of cats urinate outside the litter box weekly, and 1 percent eliminate outside the litter box daily. Nine percent of adult cat owners mention FIE as a problem to their veterinarians, and 10-24 percent of cats will have such a problem in their lifetimes. In most behavior clinics, house soiling constitutes more than 50 percent of referrals, with aggression coming in as a second most common behavior problem, constituting about a third of all referrals. Reasons Cats eliminate outside the litter box for several reasons. Some concern cats’ natural tendencies and others with the circumstances they find themselves in, though often both factors operate together. The …
When ‘Euthanasia’ Is Just KillingMay 25, 2012 It happened to me for the first time when I was only a month into my first job as a newly minted veterinarian. There I was, flying solo on an overnight shift, unblocking the variously obstructed and ministering to the mysteriously urticarial. I was finally getting comfortable living the satisfyingly routine life of an ER doc when one fine night a cat owner claimed to offer me a “simple” problem: “I just need you to put him to sleep.” This woman was the first in what proved to be a long line of similarly minded, morally challenged individuals seeking my services as executioner. I’m sure most of you are familiar with this crass breed: They’re the would-be pet owners who want little more than to tax our hard-won skills only as far as our way with a syringe-full of pink juice is concerned. Interestingly, I’ve found suburban versions of this individual to be surprisingly uniform in a couple of ways: 1) They inevitably supply one or more reasons for taking such drastic action. In this case, for example, the predominant complaint was that the cat urinated on everything and—sin of all sins—refused to live outdoors …
Practical Applications Of ProbioticsMay 21, 2012 Thanks to Dannon Co. and its advertising spokeswoman Jamie Lee Curtis, TV watchers are paying closer attention to probiotics for getting an irregular GI tract back to normal. The trend extends to the veterinary clinic, too. Veterinarians are fielding more client questions about probiotics and about using the beneficial organisms to improve or maintain animal health. The first thing a veterinarian may want to clarify is any confusion between the terms “prebiotic” and “probiotic.” “A prebiotic is a type of soluble dietary fiber that stimulates the growth or activity of beneficial bacteria in the intestines and may improve the host’s health,” says Amy Dicke, DVM, technical services veterinarian for P&G Pet Care. “Probiotics are live bacterial preparations containing beneficial microorganisms similar to those found naturally in people and pets and which provide health benefits,” Dr. Dicke says. “There’s been an expansion of nutrition interest between clinic walls because we’re discovering more ways to use nutrition to improve health. Right now, veterinarians likely mention nutrition when moving a pet to a therapeutic diet, but not before.” Specialists have debunked the idea that bacteria had to come from the same species getting the probiotic. “The …
Enlist Clients In Battle Against DiabetesMay 3, 2012 With November being National Pet Diabetes Month, veterinarians have an excellent opportunity to educate their clients about this growing epidemic. Pet owners should be familiar with the signs and symptoms of the disease, have an understanding of the disease process, and know about treatment options. By keeping pet owners actively involved in the care of their pets, veterinarians gain an ally in the battle against diabetes. The classic symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst, increased appetite and increased urination. In addition to the textbook symptoms of polydipsia, polyphagia, and polyuria, pets with diabetes may become lethargic, lose weight, have a dull coat, and in dogs, develop cataracts. Pet owners should be familiar with the signs and symptoms of diabetes so they can promptly seek veterinary care if these develop. Diabetes mellitus develops when the body is unable to regulate the amount of sugar in the bloodstream. In Type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or IDDM), the body is unable to produce the hormone insulin. Insulin is released into the bloodstream when sugar levels are high and directs cells to remove sugar from the bloodstream and into cells to be stored or used for energy. …
Feline Diabetes: Five Principles Breed SuccessMay 3, 2012 Diabetic cats and the challenges associated with their management intrigue me, which is why I have about 75 diabetic patients in my practice at any given time. Successful management of a diabetic cat requires a multifaceted approach that begins with five principles: • Tight control is not essential and probably not even desirable. Cats tolerate hyperglycemia without significant consequences better than humans or dogs do. • Hyperglycemia is always better than hypoglycemia. The latter can be fatal. • As long as the cat is not ketoacidotic, it is not critically ill. You do not have to get the cat regulated in the first week, or even in the first month, after diagnosis. • Consistency is extremely important in maintaining regulation. The more things you can keep the same—diet, exercise, stress—the easier it is to regulate the diabetic cat. • Monitoring clinical signs is vital in achieving and maintaining regulation. With few exceptions, if the clinical signs and the blood-glucose level conflict, believe the clinical signs. What Can Be Done Based on these five principles, here are four treatment steps: • Client education. You are the coach on the sidelines. Your job is to instruct the quarterback so …
The Changing World Of Veterinary Anesthesia Guidelines And MonitoringMay 2, 2012 UPDATE: AAHA released its anesthesia guidelines in early November. The American Animal Hospital Association is poised to release the first-of-its-kind small animal anesthesia guidelines. A task force comprising six board-certified veterinary anesthesiologists and a certified technician specializing in anesthesia created the approximately 10-page document in an 11-month timeframe. The AAHA guidelines is an all-inclusive, easily digestible document created for use by the entire veterinary team. With expanding anesthesia capabilities for the profession, Jason Merrihew, associate public relations manager at AAHA, says the association recognized the need to develop guidelines for veterinary professionals. He attributes the multitude of factors to consider when sedating or anesthetizing a healthy dog or cat, as well as the pet with one or more medical conditions a leading incentive. “AAHA’s guidelines include information on pre-anesthesia bloodwork, examination, equipment, staffing recommendations, monitoring from induction through recovery, pain management, drug choices, drug combinations, what drugs to use according to patients’ age, body type and temperament,” says Richard Bednarski, DVM, Dipl. ACVA, associate professor (anesthesia) at The Ohio State University in Columbus and chair for AAHA anesthesia guidelines. “These guidelines differ from the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists’ (ACVA) anesthesia monitoring guidelines because their …
