Don’t Drink, And Dog Paddle?June 19, 2012 We’ve all done it, I bet even you…we have all dressed up a pet at least once in our lives. Whether it was a costume celebrating Halloween (don’t you just love the HotDog costume for dachshunds?), a raincoat for drizzly afternoon walks, or little warm boots for walking in the snow, we’ve all done it. Of course, if you’re really brave, you’ve dressed up a cat; well, attempted to dress up a cat. It’s humorous to see cats when they’ve been dressed; they literally flop down on the floor and won’t move. (This is also how they react to a belly wrap in the hospital!) How about “dressing up” a non-typical pet for a walk, like a collar and leash on a cat, or a harness for a ferret or guinea pig. I don’t mean to burst any bubbles, but when it comes to these animals, you are likely letting yourself be walked by your critter, if they’ll walk at all. Some of these garments and such are purchased with a purpose in mind, such as the weather wear. Yet there is no real “excuse” for buying an elf costume for the cat at Christmas, or a …
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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 …
Endoscopy’s Popularity IncreasesMay 30, 2012 From its early role in veterinary medicine as a minimally invasive way to get a better look at internal anatomic workings, endoscopy has developed into a burgeoning array of structural versions and medical and surgical applications. “I sometimes think, why should we as veterinarians talk about and learn these types of techniques?” said Kathleen Ham, DVM, assistant professor of small-animal surgery at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. “I can break this up into two different categorical reasons: veterinary medical and client-driven.” Clients are requesting this level of minimally invasive surgery, said Dr. Ham, a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. “Minimally invasive surgery has become the standard of care in people, and many clients have had it or know someone who has, and they believe that it is an easier type of surgery to recover from,” Ham said. On the medical side, endoscopic surgery results in decreased patient morbidity, Ham said. “The patient has a smaller incision, which results in less pain, less chance of incisional complications and infection, less bleeding, less ileus, decreased recovery time and decreased hospital stays,” she said. “From the surgeon’s perspective, we have …
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 …
Regenerative Medicine Gives Back To Hero DogsMay 24, 2012 Two 9/11 search and rescue dogs suffering from severe degenerative joint disease are able to live out their days in greater comfort after receiving stem cell regenerative therapy. MediVet America donated the service because it wanted to reward the animals that responded with their owners after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, said Katherine Wilkie, director of the company laboratory in Nicholasville, Ky. “We just want to make them comfortable and happy in their retirement,” Wilkie said. Wilkie was present at the Companion Animal Hospital in Goodlettsville, Tenn., where Bailey received her stem cell therapy last Veterans Day. Bailey had served at the Pentagon and had worked in search and rescue for several years before retiring. “It was pretty obvious early on that there was not going to be any live work” the day of the attacks, said Keith Lindley, Bailey’s owner. “Bailey was not a cadaver dog, so she became a therapy dog for the rescuers.” Bailey’s was the first stem cell procedure performed by Mary Ergan, DVM. Bailey presented with severe osteoarthritis of the elbows. “She’s about a 50-pound Labrador retriever, so a small-framed dog that was otherwise in good condition,” Dr. Ergan …
Education Dispels Myths Around Nutrition’s Role In GI DiseaseMay 23, 2012 Owners have a lot of choices when it comes to feeding their dogs, but they do not always make nutritionally sound judgments when selecting a pet food. This may be one reason why gastrointestinal problems are among the top 10 reasons that owners take their dogs to the veterinarian, according to the Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. “Often owners want recommendations for food,” said Davinne Glenn, DVM, co-owner of Veterinary Center of Liberty in Missouri. “Large retail stores have rows and rows of different foods, and owners can find many opinions about what makes a quality food from people who might not have any veterinary nutritional training. It can be overwhelming.” Owners sometimes fail to recognize the role a bad pet food can play in causing GI problems, nor do they realize that a good pet food can prevent some of these problems or keep a dog from suffering exacerbations of a chronic condition. Conditions “Gastrointestinal problems are the most common reasons owners bring their dogs to a veterinary hospital,” says Kara Burns, MS, MEd, LVT, a veterinary technician specialist at Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. in Topeka, Kan. “Owners fail to recognize that many GI disorders …
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 …
