Nestle Sues Blue Buffalo Over Advertising, Product FormulasMay 7, 2014Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Charging that Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. relied on "voodoo science," Blue Buffalo Co. fought back Tuesday against claims that it engages in false advertising and uses poultry byproduct meal and other undisclosed ingredients in some of its pet food recipes. Blue Buffalo asserts that its pet foods do not use poultry byproduct meal. Nestlé Purina's Veterinary Diets Joint Mobility dog food contains salmon meal and poultry byproduct meal. Nestlé Purina, one of the world's largest pet food companies, sued Wilton, Conn.-based Blue Buffalo in U.S. District Court, accusing the competitor of belittling Nestlé Purina's name and products. "This is not an action we take lightly," said Steve Crimmins, Nestlé Purina's chief marketing officer. "We believe consumers deserve honesty when it comes to the ingredients in the food they choose to feed their pets." Blue Buffalo, which has grown into a Top 10 pet food company and pitches its dog and cat foods as all natural, slammed St. Louis-based Nestlé Purina and the accusations. "We categorically deny all of these false allegations …
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Winn Feline Foundation Awards Nine Cat Health Research GrantsMay 6, 2014 Gina Cioli/I-5 Studio Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The Winn Feline Foundation has announced recipients of nine feline health research grants. The grant money, totaling $173,121.56, goes to researches in the fields of pre-anesthesia sedation, genetic variabilities in cats with feline calcivirus, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and more. Winn's Grant Review Committee considered 50 proposals and selected the top nine by consensus based on criteria such as quality of the science, impact of results and available funding. Medical research grants went to the following principal investigators: • John S. Parker; Baker Institute, Cornell University; $22,500. Identifying a genetic variability in cats associated with resistance or susceptibility to feline calcivirus. • Bruno Pypendop; University of California-Davis; $17,083. Evaluating the cardiovascular effects of a potential new drug, MK-476, in combination with dexmedetomidine for sedation or pre-anesthesia. • Bria Fund Study: Gary Whittaker, Cornell University; $24,851. Characterizing how FIP virus binds and enters cells.
Top 10 Vet Visit Reasons For Dogs And CatsMay 6, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Cat owners most often had to pack up their cats and bring them to the vet for concerns over bladder or urinary tract disease. Gina Cioli/I-5 Studio Pets experiencing ear infections, skin issues, stomach pains or coughs rarely cause owners great grief, but they can necessitate a visit to the veterinarian to curb the illnesses before they grow worse. Pet owners who use Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (Brea, Calif.) spent more than $66 million in 2013 to treat common medical conditions. VPI recently analyzed data from 500,000 insured cats and dogs over the previous year to find the top 10 medical conditions affecting animals to the point of needing a veterinarian visit. Here are the results: Top Dog Conditions Top Cat Conditions 1. Skin Allergies 1. Bladder or Urinary Tract Disease 2. Ear Infection 2. Periodontitis/Dental Disease 3. Non-cancerous Skin Mass 3. Chronic Kidney Disease 4. Skin Infection 4. Excessive Thyroid Hormone 5. Arthritis 5. Upset Stomach/Vomiting 6. Upset Stomach/Vomiting 6. Diabetes 7. Intestinal Upset/Diarrhea 7. Intestinal Upset/Diarrhea 8. Periodontitis/Dental Disease 8. Lymphoma 9. Bladder or Urinary Tract Disease 9. Upper Respiratory …
Cats And FIC: Discover The Signs And Some SolutionsMay 6, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Cats with feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) are believed to have an abnormal response to environmental stressors, which may contribute to development of lower urinary tract signs including urinating outside the litter box, frequent attempts to urinate and blood in the urine. "The signs of stress in cats may be subtle and include hiding from people or other cats, conflict with another cat in the home, exaggerated startle response to sudden or loud noises, and fearful behavior," said S. Dru Forrester, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, director of Global Scientific Affairs at Hill's Pet Nutrition of Topeka, Kan. "When a cat perceives environmental stress, it stimulates the brain and activates the stress response system." This "flight or fight" response enhances a cat's sympathetic nervous input down the spinal cord to the urinary bladder. In normal cats, the adrenal glands release cortisol, which dampens the sympathetic response. In contrast, cats with FIC have a blunted cortisol response, which fails to adequately restrain sympathetic input to the bladder. "Increased sympathetic input to the urinary bladder causes neurogenic inflammation and increased permeability of the bladder," Dr. Forrester …
Zoetis' Improvest Put To Test At Indiana Pig FacilityMay 5, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. An Indiana veterinarian has turned over a small portion of his 120-acre corn and soybean farm to Zoetis Inc. for a demonstration of the company's Improvest castration drug. Improvest (gonadotropin releasing factor analog—diphtheria toxoid conjugate) is designed to immunologically castrate pigs, leaving them intact and reducing so-called "boar taint" in cooked pork. Keri Weppler of Zoetis Inc. administers the first dose of Improvest to 10-week-old male piglets at a demonstration farm in Greensburg, Ind. "We've long known about the inherent performance advantages of raising intact males," said farm owner Larry Rueff, DVM, who co-manages Swine Veterinary Services in Greensburg, Ind. "[Immunological castration] technology now allows producers to take advantage of these benefits while still ensuring the same high level of pork quality and great taste consumers have come to expect." An existing livestock barn was opened in April to demonstrate Improvest and pork production. Visitors who tour the 500-head nursery-to-finishing facility can learn about pre-weaning mortality, feed efficiency, split sex feeding, nutritional requirements and the economic benefits of Improvest, Zoetis reported. Improvest is touted for its …
ACVS Annual Conference Now Called Surgery SummitMay 5, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons' annual symposium has a new name for 2014: the ACVS Surgery Summit. The rebranding is designed to reflect what organizers called the meeting's "expanded attendee demographics, invaluable educational and networking opportunities, energized offerings and atmosphere, and alluring destinations." The veterinary surgical conference is scheduled for Oct. 15 to 18 in San Diego. "The name 'ACVS Veterinary Symposium' has not adequately represented the scope, breath and absolute commitment to delivering the highest level of continuing education, said Nathaniel A. White II, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, the organization's director of continuing education. "The ACVS Surgery Summit highlights the focus of the meeting, so veterinarians know it is the premier veterinary surgery meeting, where the best surgical and allied medicine continuing education is presented by world-renowned professionals." The meeting traditionally attracts veterinarians, veterinary technicians, practice staff members and students. Veterinary surgeons from around the world will lead seminars, hands-on laboratories and panel discussions, providing attendees with up to 360 CE hours, according to the Tulsa Okla.-based ACVS. Founded in 1965, ACVS sets standards for veterinary …
Veterinarian Volunteers At IditarodMay 4, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Being from Alaska is one thing, but traveling with sled dogs1,000 miles through the state's interior is quite another. But veterinarian Paula Gibson did just that — not once, but twice. Photo courtesy Jesika Reimer, News-Press The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race travels between Nome and Anchorage every March to commemorate the importance of sled dogs and the Iditarod Trail in Alaska. The first race took place in 1973 and has grown increasingly popular since then. Winning dog teams and their mushers even reach celebrity status. Gibson has followed the race since childhood, and when she learned she could volunteer as a vet in the event, she applied. Her acceptance led to extensive studying of the conditions and issues sled dogs encounter; however, that did not prepare her for the actual experience. "The first year I went, it was overwhelming. I was baffled by the whole experience," she said, according Missouri's St. Joseph News-Press. As a veterinarian in Missouri and Kansas, Gibson sees mostly sedentary dogs. The Alaskan Huskies that pull the sleds are bred for athleticism and the Alaskan …
Texas Animal Clinic Under InvestigationMay 2, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The Camp Bowie Animal Clinic in Fort Worth, Texas, is under investigation for animal cruelty and theft. The clinic allegedly informed clients Jamie and Marian Harris that because Sid, their 5-year-old Leonberger, had a degenerative spinal condition, the best option was euthanasia. The Harrises agreed, and state they, along with their son, said goodbye to Sid and consented to burial by the vet, only to receive a phone call six months later that Sid was still alive. Mary Brewer, a veterinarian technician, revealed to the Harrises that Sid had been subjected to blood transfusions and spent the majority of each day caged in his own feces and urine. Despite these conditions, the Harrises were told Sid was healthy enough to walk. "It was like getting punched in the stomach and then some. This has rocked our world," Marian Harris said, according to NBCDFW.com. The Harris family has since rescued Sid …
Texas Veterinarian Arrested In Animal Cruelty InvestigationMay 2, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. A Texas veterinarian charged with animal cruelty admitted that five animals he intended to euthanize instead were kept alive at his clinic, and a veterinary technician reported that at least one of them was used for blood transfusions. The case was thrust into the open Wednesday when an arrest warrant was issued for Millard L. Tierce III, DVM, on a felony charge stemming from the discovery of a crippled border collie at Camp Bowie Animal Clinic in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Tierce, 71, told a police detective that he had not treated the dog, which another veterinary technician said had been there for a year, and that he could not bring himself to euthanize the animal. An inspection of the clinic a day earlier revealed unsanitary conditions. The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners reported that its investigators found animal organs in jars, bugs in exam rooms and "stacks of drugs, trash, laundry, paperwork and other miscellaneous material … strewn about the examination rooms, hallways, stairwells, operating room, laboratories and offices." The board temporarily suspended Tierce's license pending a hearing May 9. …
HABRI Foundation Awards First Research GrantsMay 1, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Using animals to help autistic children and improving human heart health through dog walking are among the first five research topics being funded by the Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) Foundation. The $250,000 in grant money is designed to study how the human-animal bond benefits people, the Washington, D.C., foundation reported today. "Animal-Assisted Social Skills Training for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders" is one of five approved research projects. "HABRI is making a major investment in new, groundbreaking research that will advance our knowledge of the human-animal bond," executive director Steven Feldman said. "The caliber of each of these research studies is outstanding, and the results will build the body of scientific evidence that demonstrates the benefits of animals to human health." The grant recipients and their planned research projects are: • Erica C. Rogers, Ph.D., of Green Chimneys Children's Services: "Animal-Assisted Social Skills Training for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders." • Kevin Morris, Ph.D., of the American Humane Association: "The Canines and Childhood Cancer Study: Examining Behaviors and Stress in Therapy Dogs." …
