Dexter, a new dachshund patient of mine, was in last week for another round of puppy shots. He will soon be six months old and it was time for me to discuss the next step in his preventive health care plan: neutering.
Neutering meets the guidelines
The American Veterinary Medical Association has developed guidelines for responsible pet ownership. One of the guidelines obligates pet owners to control their pet’s reproduction through spaying and neutering; subsequently helping to control pet overpopulation in their community. Neutering is the common term for castration of a male dog or cat and spaying refers to removal of the ovaries and uterus, or in some cases just the uterus, of a female pet.
Lifesaving responsibility
Pet overpopulation is a serious issue in the United States today. According to the Humane Society of the United States, over 4 million unwanted pets are destroyed annually. For every puppy or kitten prevented by neutering an adult pet, there is one less homeless and unwanted puppy or kitten euthanized in an animal shelter.
The traditional surgery
Surgical removal of the testicles is the current standard of care in both dogs and cats. This surgery renders a male dog or cat unable to reproduce and also removes the major source of the male hormone, testosterone. Removing the source of testosterone eliminates mating behavior in males and also plays a role in eliminating other unwanted dog behaviors. In both the dog and cat, neutering involves a small skin incision through which the testicles are removed. Cats typically go home the same day, but dogs may stay overnight to recover from anesthesia and for incisional monitoring.
My recommendation
Dexter’s owners were concerned about the surgery. They asked if he could just have a vasectomy instead of the traditional neutering surgery. Because my job is to make the best medical recommendations for the specific health concerns of each of my patients, I recommended the traditional surgery for Dexter. It provides him with the greatest number of health benefits. The surgery prevents unwanted litters of puppies and also prevents prostatic disease, testosterone-induced tumors and behaviors linked to testosterone production.
Today, I received a call from a pet owner whose dog I had taken care of several years ago. I remember how heartbroken she was when I euthanized Stormy, her rescued Labrador. Stormy was not sick, his liver and kidneys were fine and he didn’t have cancer. But Stormy could no longer walk due to the lifelong effects of hip dysplasia. Nursing a large dog with limited mobility in a New York City apartment without an elevator is nearly impossible. After a Herculean effort to keep Stormy going, this loving pet owner realized his time had come.
She called today because she was thinking about getting a new dog. She hoped not to repeat the scenario she had experienced with Stormy and asked for advice on how she might help prevent hip dysplasia in her new dog.
What is hip dysplasia?
The end result of hip dysplasia is hip arthritis, but the problem starts much earlier. Hip dysplasia is an incurable developmental disorder. While the exact mechanism is unknown, one theory suggests loose hips in young dogs change the maturation of the hip joint, resulting in abnormally formed hip joints, which later lead to hip arthritis. A competing hypothesis proposes dogs with hip dysplasia have abnormal cartilage and bone formation in their hips as the cause of arthritis. Regardless of the cause, as the arthritis worsens, dogs become stiff, less active and lose strength in their hind legs. In the worst cases, they lose the ability to walk without assistance.
How do dogs get hip dysplasia?
Hip dysplasia starts with the genetic make-up of a dog. Certain genes have been identified that occur in dogs with hip dysplasia.
Someday, veterinarians hope to be able to screen dogs’ DNA through a simple blood test and determine their risk for hip dysplasia.
Dogs without hip dysplasia
No one can promise with total certainty that your new dog will not have bad hips. Purchasing a dog born to parents with certified hips may decrease the risk. Two well-known organizations are Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) and PennHip.
We know small breed dogs are less likely to have hip dysplasia than large breed dogs, but some small breed dogs still suffer from this disease.
Preventing hip dysplasia
Obesity is a hip dysplasia risk factor you can control. Scientific research has shown that thin dogs are less likely to develop hip dysplasia, and if your dog has bad hips and is overweight or obese, losing weight will improve his ability to walk.
A recently published study of Norwegian dogs including Newfoundlands, Leonbergers, Labradors and Irish Wolfhounds, found an association between daily use of stairs in puppies less than three months of age and development of hip dysplasia. For puppies less than three months of age, exercising in an area with soft ground and park-like terrain protected puppies against developing hip dysplasia.
With the holidays over and summer not yet here, now is a good time to think about advanced planning for the upcoming trip you and your pet will be taking. If you haven’t thought about taking a trip with your pet, think again. Millions of Americans travel with their pets both locally and internationally and according to an August 2012 TripAdvisor.com survey, 49% of the pet owning public have plans to travel with their pets.
Get some ID
Entrance into many countries requires your pet to have a permanent form of identification. The best form is a microchip placed by your veterinarian. Even if you don’t plan to travel anytime soon, every pet should have a microchip to help get them back home if they are lost. If your pet already has a microchip, double check and make sure the registration information is paid and up to date. Inaccurate information in the microchip database prevents animal rescue groups from contacting you when they find your pet.
Do your homework
Research the pet entry requirements for your destination. Every country is different. As a start, review the information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
You should also locate information on pet travel on the website of the country you plan to visit. Although you and your pet are simply going on vacation, the information about pet entry requirements may be found under import/export regulations. If you cannot find the information or you need further clarification, call the country’s consulate or embassy. The United States Department of State has a listing.
If you find conflicting information about entry requirements, the destination country holds the trump card, so rely on their website and embassy.
Pack the paper
Not newspaper, but your pet’s papers. According to TripAdvisor.com, only 45% of pet owners travel with health certificates and rabies documentation. I find this surprising. Keeping your pet’s vaccinations up to date and keeping their vaccination certificates on file will help streamline obtaining critical travel documents. Bring copies with you and ask your veterinarian for a summary of your pet’s medical conditions and medications.
Important reminders
Start early. Some countries require your pet to have a special rabies blood test performed. Only certain laboratories perform this test and timing is critical.
Even though you may have started preparing early for your trip, certain travel documents must be signed only days before departure. Allow time in your schedule to finalize any of your pet’s travel documents.
Some countries require your pet’s health papers be signed by a USDA accredited veterinarian. Not all veterinarians are accredited, so check with your veterinarian well in advance of your trip to make sure you have an appointment with one who can sign the travel papers.
Topaz’s family called me from his Christmas vacation in Florida. They were concerned because they found this older gentleman of a cat straining in his litter box, but not producing any stool. Since I was here at The Animal Medical Center and he was 1,000 miles away, I suggested a safe treatment of canned pumpkin mixed into his food until he returned home and could come visit me a couple of days later.
Complicated constipation
I was anxious to see Topaz when he returned because cats with constipation can be difficult to manage, and there is often an underlying problem causing constipation. I thought the problem might be as simple as dehydration from traveling and being in a strange environment. But Topaz’s family said he was drinking water, in fact, drinking a lot of water.
Too much water
Excessive water consumption in a patient gives some very specific clues to the underlying problem, which may include kidney problems or diabetes.
I checked Topaz’s urine, but it did not contain sugar like a typical diabetic patient. The urine sample was submitted to the laboratory and they reported white blood cells were present, suggesting an infection. Based on this finding, I asked the laboratory to test the urine for the presence of bacteria.
A blockage?
Sometimes constipation is not a medical problem but due to an intestinal blockage. A fractured pelvis, tumors of the colon, or pelvis impinging on the pelvic canal can all prevent normal fecal passage. This possibility forced me to perform a rectal examination, much to Topaz’s chagrin. He was happy since it was normal and because I promised not to do that to him again.
Blood tests tell the story
In addition to testing the urine, I also submitted blood to the laboratory. Routine blood tests screen for a wide variety of common conditions such as anemia, infection, liver problems and kidney disease.
Topaz’s tests showed a mild anemia and elevations in tests indicating a kidney problem. Kidney disease is common in older cats and often leads to dehydration and constipation. Because of the white blood cells in his urine, I was suspicious that the cause of Topaz’s kidney problem was an infection.
Treatment
Topaz got an injection of a long-acting antibiotic, and since his family is experienced with sick cats, they already know how to give fluids under the skin to keep him hydrated and help flush any infection out of his kidneys.
After a few days of home health care, Topaz has fully recovered.
Topaz’s story demonstrates how early intervention can help achieve a positive outcome for your pet and highlights some important reasons to take your cat (or dog) to the veterinarian, including:
Early last week, Steel, a healthy, well cared for young Labrador, was rushed to The AMC in the wee hours of the morning for intractable vomiting. The poor dog looked miserable with vomit on his face and paws. The emergency doctors determined he was dehydrated and started intravenous fluids along with medications to help control nausea. They also performed a critical test when they took an abdominal x-ray.
X-rays hold the key
The abdominal x-ray showed that several of Steel’s intestinal loops were over distended with gas and fluid. The distension exceeded that of normal intestinal gas and suggested something was blocking the progression of food through the intestinal tract. As he scanned the x-ray further, the radiologist saw a one and three-quarter inch long tubular object containing little bits of gas evenly distributed throughout. To the radiologist, this structure looked like a corn cob, but Steel’s family had not served any corn on the cob lately.
Surgery answers the question
Shortly after the x-rays were taken, Steel was anesthetized and wheeled into the operating room where the emergency surgeon readily identified the obstruction in the intestine. Because the intestine had been damaged by the obstruction, a small portion of the intestine was removed (resection) and the ends sutured back together (anastomosis). In surgical terms these procedures are often called an R&A. Once the damaged intestine was removed, it was opened revealing – you guessed it –a corn cob! Where the corn cob came from, Steel is not telling.
Steel’s abdominal x-ray shows gas filled intestinal loops and the offending corn cob, which I have outlined in red.
I am certain Steel’s family wishes they knew where the corn cob came from to prevent another serious illness for their dog. Make your best effort to protect your dog against eating something dangerous by:
Covering and locking all trash cans
Keeping human food out of your dog’s reach
Storing human AND pet mediations up high and in closed cabinets
Keeping your dog busy and out of trouble by providing an enriched environment with window seats, interactive feeding toys and plenty of exercise
Watching your dog during walks to prevent him from eating garbage or foreign objects
For other interesting stories about the strange eating habits of dogs, read about Lola and Ratchet.
If you are like me, you received gift cards during the holidays. What better way to spend them than on books about dogs and cats. Here are a few titles that are currently sitting on my nightstand:
Dogs: Man’s best friend
The Divinity of Dogs: True Stories of Miracles Inspired by Man’s Best Friend is a collection of stories about life changing dogs. Each section of stories has a title: “Love,” “Comfort and Forgiveness,” etc., but for me they all ring true to the wonderful role dogs play in our lives. Some stories, no more than two pages long, will provoke hours of thought about the special gifts of dogs.
Spoiler alert: get out the tissues! When I attended the author’s book reading, the hors d’oeuvre trays should have had tissues instead of napkins. These stories touch the very depth of your soul and remind you why you love dogs, and more importantly why we can’t live without dogs.
Dog: Detective’s best partner
A Fistful of Collars is another installment in the Chet and Bernie mystery series. Chet, the narrator of the book, partners with Bernie, a private detective. Chet is a dog with an opinion. He relishes dinner at the local rib joint, thinks shoe polish is tangy, and muses over words like “collar.” He doesn’t understand why Bernie always talks about collaring perps when they never seem to wear anything around their necks, but instead end up wearing orange jumpsuits! For dog lovers, this book offers a fresh perspective into a dog’s mind.
New kitten and puppy tips
My friend and former AMC colleague, Dr. Jason Nicholas, aka The Preventive Vet has two new titles being released early this spring: 101 Tips for Puppies and 101 Tips for Kittens. I have read the proofs of these attractive and informative books and think they are a must read for new pet families. Beautifully illustrated, even children will like these books and they can be used as a way to actively involve children in the caring of the new family member.
Cooking fun
The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook is not on my nightstand, but is on my kitchen shelf. It contains over 100 “tail wagging” recipes. I made the Great Dane Candy Canes as Christmas gifts for a few select dogs. The ingredient list includes brown rice flour, oat flour, Parmesan cheese, egg and tomato paste. These biscuits proved very popular, and Marley, the dog with an office across the hall, comes by and sits by my desk every day, hoping for a sample from the test batch. Dog owners like them too as they are really cute done up as holiday treats. I think cats would like the Going All the Way Upstream treats, which contain salmon. Testing these treats on some hungry cats will be my next cooking project.
It’s that time of year again; the time when we make New Year’s resolutions. I seem to make the same ones every year: eat healthier, exercise more, be kinder. My suggestion for 2013 is for every pet owner to be a responsible one. To achieve that goal, the American Veterinary Medical Association has developed a list of guidelines for responsible pet ownership.
Fur the Love of Pets believes this is a good list for pet owners to review before making their 2013 list of resolutions:
Commit
As the holidays approached, I received several tweets discouraging pets as holiday gifts since a pet is a lifetime commitment and acquiring one should not be an impulsive decision. You must choose the right pet for your lifestyle and should have as many pets you can comfortably care for, both physically and financially.
Good pet care involves more than food and water. A successful pet parent provides exercise, a stimulating environment and training.
Invest
Having a pet requires an investment of both time and money. Preventive healthcare saves money in the long run and helps prevent costly emergency visits.
Although vaccinations are part of a preventive healthcare program, the rabies vaccine protects human health as well.
Identify
Every pet should have both permanent and temporary identification. Permanent identification should preferably be a microchip, but a tattoo is a viable alternative. A collar with tags is a good temporary and immediate method of letting people know where your pet belongs if he should become lost.
Limit
Help decrease the nation’s pet overpopulation problem by spaying or neutering your pet. Preventing unwanted litters limits the number of animals entering shelters each year.
Prepare
Prepare for your pet’s future like you prepare for your family’s future. Assemble a “go bag” for your pet. Include your pet in estate planning; don’t assume your family is prepared to add your pet to their household and make provisions for your pet in case you can no longer be the primary caretaker.
Recently, I highlighted a common pancreatic disorder in dogs, pancreatitis. The following day, the New York Times ”Well Pet” blog wrote about a much less common, but equally serious pancreatic disorder, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). The article focuses on EPI in dogs, but cats also can suffer from this disease.
Pancreatic function
The pancreas has two main functions: first to produce the hormone insulin to control blood sugar and second to produce digestive enzymes. Production of insulin is the pancreas’ endocrine function and production of digestive enzymes is an exocrine function. Deficiency of insulin is called diabetes.
Deficiency of the digestive enzymes has a much more descriptive name – exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
What a cat with EPI looks like
The classic cat with EPI is skinny, greasy, and has bad diarrhea. The absence of digestive enzymes prevents the gastrointestinal tract from breaking food down into it components, and if they are not broken down, the nutrients cannot be absorbed. If your cat has this disorder, he will eat lots of food and lose weight rapidly. Cats with EPI are greasy because they cannot digest fats without pancreatic enzymes and all the undigested fat in their stool gives them nasty diarrhea.
The causes of feline EPI
This disorder is thought to be inherited in certain dog breeds, most commonly German shepherds. Cats never want to be like dogs. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in cats does not appear to have a genetic component and is more likely to be the result of chronic damage to the pancreas from long standing pancreatitis. These cats may also be diabetic if the pancreatic damage is severe enough to prevent production of both digestive enzymes and insulin.
Testing the skinny cat
When I see a cat with weight loss, I commonly collect blood for what The Animal Medical Center (AMC) calls a GI panel. This quartet of tests looks at the digestive function of the pancreas and small intestine. One of the tests measures trypsin-like immunoreactivity and is the diagnostic test of choice for feline EPI. Another important test on this panel measures vitamin B12 or cobalamin. A study of feline EPI cases at The AMC and Purdue University found all cats with EPI were deficient in this important vitamin.
Replacement therapy
Once lost, the pancreas do not typically regain exocrine pancreatic function. Management of EPI requires lifelong supplementation with pancreatic enzymes and vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 supplementation is simple: a small injection given under the skin once a week. Pancreatic enzymes come as a powder and are sprinkled on the food. This is where cats can be challenging since many cats refuse food that has been embellished. Raw pancreas (which contains the digestive enzymes) has been recommended, but I haven’t tried it on any patients, yet. The good news is our study of feline EPI showed most cats will respond to therapy.
In my last post, I wrote about a serious intestinal infection, Clostridium difficile and how a radical treatment similar to one used in cows, sheep, and goats is helping humans.
While researching some information about C. difficile, I found an interesting story of a dog named Cliff who could sniff out patients infected with this deadly bacteria and could do so faster than traditional laboratory testing.
The superior sense of smell possessed by our canine friends is truly amazing. Here’s a small list of what your dog’s nose knows, and it goes all the way to the Supreme Court!
Bedbugs
These days all urban areas are having trouble with bedbugs. Ridding your home or office of these pests is expensive and time consuming. Dogs specially trained to sniff out bedbugs come to homes and offices to help exterminators target areas requiring treatment or to give the all-clear sign indicating successful treatment of the environment.
In New York City, Roscoe the bedbug sniffing beagle has celebrity status and is frequently recognized when he is out and about working or when he comes to see his doctors at The Animal Medical Center.
Diabetes
Until recently, service dogs have helped humans with physical disabilities, for example, those who are blind or use a wheelchair. Now, a registered charity in the United Kingdom trains dogs help to manage chronic medical conditions such as diabetes.
These dogs sniff out low or high blood sugar and warn their owners in time for them to have a glass or orange juice or an insulin injection. These dogs can even bring their “patient” essential medical supplies.
Justices to rule on sniffing
Recently, the Supreme Court heard two cases regarding the Fourth Amendment and drug sniffing dogs. The Fourth Amendment states:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
The case involving Aldo the drug-sniffing dog revolves around whether or not a drug-sniffing dog constitutes probable cause for a vehicle to be searched for drugs. The second case asks the question, “Does a dog sniff indicating the presence of drugs equal a search without a warrant?”
We live in a world obsessed with clean. Our floors are scrubbed with antibacterial cleaners, we squirt hand sanitizer gel on our children’s hands and wipe down our kitchen counters with antibacterial wipes. Knowing this, you shouldn’t be surprised there was a big buzz when a poop transplant between a mother and her toddler son was used as treatment for a serious intestinal infection, Clostridium difficile.
Scientifically known as a fecal microbiota transplant, this unappealing therapy was a lifesaver for the sick child.
This veterinarian is not surprised
As a veterinarian, the concept of transplanting bacteria from a healthy patient to a sick patient is really nothing new. A “cud” transplant has long been used to transfer good bacteria to sick ruminant animals (sheep, goats and cows). Ruminants have a biochemically complex digestive process required to break down the dense plant material that forms their diet. The cud is a wad of partially digested food which returns to the mouth and is chewed a second time as part of this complex process. Veterinarians collect a cud from a healthy ruminant and feed it to sick one, transferring the healthy digestive tract bacteria much like the fecal microbiota transplant did in the sick toddler.
Fecal microbiota transplantation
Every living animal has its own microbiome on the skin and in the gastrointestinal tract. These endogenous bacteria help keep us healthy. Illness and antibiotic therapy disturb the normal bacterial and allow bad bacteria like C. difficile to proliferate and cause illness. Transplantation of bacteria takes several forms. The toddler received a fresh fecal transplant, but feces from a donor can be frozen for future use. There are even synthetic cultures of bacteria commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract. Transplantation of the good bacteria occurs via a nasogastric tube or by colonscopy.
A very recent study shows improvement in 79% of patients treated in this dramatic fashion.
Dogs and cats are lucky
Today, ruminants are the only veterinary patients receiving fecal microbiota transplant therapy; although pets sick enough to spend time in an ICU may contract C. difficile. Fortunately, this infection doesn’t happen as often as it does in human ICU patients.
Therapy dogs visiting human health care facilities have a greater risk of being colonized by C. difficile.
If your pet develops diarrhea following hospitalization or while taking antibiotics, be sure to tell your veterinarian as further testing may be required.
If your dog is a therapy dog, follow the healthcare guidelines and the visitation rules of your animal assisted therapy organization to protect your dog against this type of serious infection.
One of my friends was in the hospital last week. Not a human friend, but a dog friend. Happily, I have dog friends who are not dog patients and Decoy is one of those. This lovable lab is a member of a family who are friends of my family.
Under the weather
I saw Decoy’s name on the overnight admission list which is emailed to all the veterinarians at The Animal Medical Center at about 5:30 every morning. Decoy came to The AMC ER for vomiting and limping. The ER doctors found abdominal pain, a fever and an elevated heart rate. On my way into the hospital, I stopped by his cage to say hello, but could tell my normally tail-waggin’ friend was a hurtin’ pup; Decoy was living up to his name by looking more like an inert, stuffed dog than a real one.
In the blood tests
Blood tests for AMC patients are available online. To help with interpretation, abnormal results are displayed in red, normal results in black. Decoy’s reports were shockingly red. His illness was impacting his liver, his blood calcium level, and dramatically increasing his infection-fighting white blood cells.
Inside the abdomen
Because Decoy’s blood tests indicated multiple organs within the abdomen were affected by whatever was making him sick, his internal medicine specialists ordered an ultrasound of his abdomen. Ultrasounds let veterinarians look at intra-abdominal structures in a different fashion than x-rays allow. X-rays show bones and lungs very clearly, but we can only see the outline of abdominal organs like the liver and kidneys. The pancreas cannot be seen using x-rays and we rely on ultrasound to help make a diagnosis of pancreatic disease. Because pancreatic disease could account for Decoy’s clinical findings of vomiting and diarrhea and his multiple blood test abnormalities, an ultrasound was done and confirmed the suspicion of pancreatic inflammation or pancreatitis. The ultrasound showed pancreatic swelling. The swollen pancreas displaced the colon out of its normal position and was even causing a small amount of fluid to accumulate in the abdomen.
On the road to recovery
There is no antidote to stop pancreatic inflammation. Veterinarians provide what we call supportive therapies while the inflammation subsides and then we try to decrease risk factors for recurrence. Decoy received intravenous fluids, antiemetic agents, and antibiotics in case the pancreatitis was turning into an abscess. Every day he improved a little bit and he was discharged from the hospital a few days later.
Follow up
To help prevent another bout of pancreatitis, Decoy’s doctors made several recommendations to his family. First, overweight dogs are at greater risk of developing pancreatitis. I suspect a diet will be on Decoy’s list of New Year’s resolutions. High-fat diets increase the risk of pancreatitis. This means he may need to eat a special low-fat diet and certain dog delicacies like bacon will no longer be a menu option for him. In the future, his doctors will avoid certain medications to prevent provoking another serious case of pancreatitis.
Pancreatitis is a common disorder of dogs and it can become a recurrent problem. In Decoy’s case, the problem was quickly corrected, but when pancreatitis becomes a chronic problem, seeking input from an internal medicine specialist is a good idea.
This question is a rhetorical one – state, federal, and local governments already regulate several aspects of your cat’s care. And there are good reasons for the government to do so.
U.S. regulations
Rabies is a fatal disease, easily prevented by vaccination. Governments want to protect the health of their citizens and thus require cats to be vaccinated against rabies. New York City statute regulates the feeding of cats. Here, it is illegal to withhold food and water from any animal. But if stray cat feeding is done in a manner that creates a public health hazard or nuisance, New Yorkers may be breaking the law. Again, the government is worried about human health. So why are there currently two high profile legal cases about cat care?
Roman cats
For any cat lover who has visited Rome, Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary in Largo Argentina was probably a highlight of the trip. The site of Julius Caesar’s murder by Brutus in 44 BC and a cat sanctuary since 1929 AD, these underground ruins are home to approximately 150-160 cats. The “gattare,” or cat caretakers, raise money and provide food, water, and basic healthcare for these cats.
Recently, the sanctuary has come under fire for illegally building on ancient Roman ruins. Government officials in charge of Italy’s archeological treasures want the cats out, but the Mayor of Rome and his cat, Certisino, announced they are “on the side of the cats of Rome. Anyone who touches them will be in trouble.” The outcome of this stalemate remains to be determined.
The Hemingway cats
A little closer to home, the multi-toed Hemingway cats of Key West, Fla. have come under the scrutiny of an agency of the U.S. government. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulates animals on exhibition, such as those owned by circuses and zoos. Although the Hemingway cats have lived in Key West since 1931, nearly as long as the cats of Torre Argentina have lived in their archeological site, the USDA has reclassified them and threatened the Hemingway Museum with confiscation of the 44 descendants of the original Hemingway cat if they do not comply with USDA regulations. The reclassification stems from the fact that these cats affect interstate commerce because they are a tourist attraction and the Hemingway Museum collects a fee for visitors to enter the Museum and see the cats.
Everyone agrees, cats will be cats
Robert Siegel of NPR, who clearly understands cats, writes about the Hemingway cats, “As for the cats, they’re not commenting. We have our doubts, though, that they’ll do what the law says. They’re cats.”
Umberto Broccoli, Rome’s superintendent of culture, expressed a similar sentiment when he said of the Largo Argentina cats, “They don’t read bans. They will return to Largo Argentina whether the shelter is there or not, and gattare and tourists will continue to throw food at them. The situation is really not so simple.”
Only time will tell how these catfights will be resolved.
The holidays can be fun times for everyone in the family—pets included—but they can also pose dangers to dogs and cats. Here are a few of the holiday-related cases we’ve seen at The Animal Medical Center’s Emergency Service this week.
Tarquin, Gracie and Yoggy snacked from the naughty list
Tarquin, a 5-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, took advantage of chocolate left within her reach. After consuming most of the bag’s contents while her owners were out, her family returned to find her nauseous and vomiting. A trip to The Animal Medical Center ER resulted in an overnight stay because of a rapid heart rate induced by theobromine, a caffeine-like component of chocolate.
Gracie the Maltese barely tips the scale at 3 pounds. Despite her small stature, she managed to wolf down five dark chocolate truffles. This naughty list indulgence landed her in the hospital getting a treatment of activated charcoal to help bind up any chocolate toxins remaining in her intestinal tract. The darker the chocolate, the higher the concentration of theobromine, and baking chocolate contains the highest concentration. In a dainty dog like Gracie, a few bites of stolen baking chocolate could be fatal.
Yoggy, a young Yorkshire terrier, also ate dark chocolate. His owners discovered him racing around their apartment like a mad man in a chocolate-induced hyperactive state. The ER staff found his blood pressure was elevated too. Yoggy got intravenous fluids and a mild sedative. Lucky for Yoggy, he recovered quickly and was discharged from The AMC the following day.
Other foods on the naughty list include raisins, grapes, onions, and fatty foods. For a yet unknown reason, raisins and grapes cause kidney failure in dogs consuming even just a few. Onions and their relative, garlic, damage the red blood cells of both dogs and cats, resulting in anemia. Fatty foods can induce severe stomach upset or inflammation of the pancreas, so a purloined pork loin should be off your dog’s holiday menu.
Oliver does a mistleno-no
Oliver, a 2-year-old cat, used up one of his nine lives this holiday season when he decided to have a Japanese snow lily salad. These beautiful flowers grace many holiday floral arrangements, but should be avoided in a home with a cat. Ingestion of poinsettia, mistletoe, holly, and cyclamen’s tuberous roots will cause gastrointestinal upset. Some varieties of lilies and amaryllis will cause kidney failure if eaten by your favorite feline. Best to avoid using these in your holiday decorating or you might be spending the holiday with your favorite veterinarian and not with your family!
For me, one of the most charming movies ever is the 2007 release “The Bucket List,” starring two of my favorite actors, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. In the film, two dying men team up to create their bucket lists – lists of adventures they hope to complete before they “kick the bucket.”
Last summer, a young boy named Cole created a bucket list, or as he called it, a “lick it list,” for his dying service dog, Bingo. The list went viral and the dog received treats from all over the world, which allowed him to tick off one item on his bucket list.
Since the Cole and Bingo story hit the news, several of my pet families have spent their pet’s last days treating them to adventures. I thought my readers would enjoy these stories and the wonderful memories they must have created for the dogs and their families.
Bicoastal Dottie
Always one of our favorites, Dottie the American Bulldog got a cross-country trip and her own backyard as part of her bucket list. Dottie loved the beach, and in the video clip below, you can see how much she enjoys the sand and surf despite the fact that her lymphoma is out of remission for the third time. She spent her last New York days at the beach while her family organized their westward move. Dottie’s cat flew economy class to California, but Dottie went in style on a cross-country road trip with her best friend, Henry. Dottie emailed me from exotic places along the way like Nebraska and Colorado! At the end of the long trip was a surprise – a new house with a backyard – something most New York City dogs can only imagine, but Dottie got to cross off her list.
The red convertible
Safety in the car is as important for dogs as it is for humans, and I recommend dogs ride with a restraint device and the windows rolled up. Although dogs love to ride with the wind in their muzzles, it is just not a safe way to travel. The bucket list of one dog, Rufus, included a ride in the family’s red convertible. Not the best vehicle for dog safety, but on one of his last days, the boys played hooky from school and took their beloved dog on the ride of his life with the top down and the wind in his face.
A can of Alpo
In her 2011 book, I Remember Nothing, Nora Ephron wrote two lists, one of which was a bucket list of sorts. Her “What I Will Miss” list includes everyday joys we take for granted: favorite foods, a walk in the park, and our own comfy bed.
I suspect simple things might be on your dog’s bucket list too. Louie, the standard poodle, got one of those simple things in life: a can of Alpo dog food. Louie’s family felt the enlargement of the lymph nodes, indicating the return of his cancer. Shocked by how quickly the lymph nodes increased in size and wanting to give his dog something he had never experienced before, his owner rushed to the store for a can of Alpo dog food. Louie enthusiastically responded by gulping down the entire can in one sitting. Simple and satisfying.
What would be on your dog’s bucket list? Write back and let us know.
A recent survey of both pet owners and veterinarians interrogated the pet health issues each group thought were most important. In last week’s post, I discussed the issues from the veterinarian’s point of view. In this blog I will write from the pet owner’s point of view.
Pet owners said they were primarily concerned with vaccinations, fleas and ticks, heartworms, intestinal parasites, and spending money on medications. This list appears to overlap with the veterinary list on the topic of intestinal parasites, and both owners and vets are squarely focused on preventive healthcare; care to keep their favorite furry, feathery, or scaly companion healthy.
Vaccinations
Vaccinations float to the top of most pet owners’ lists because they save pets’ lives. Before vaccinations were available for common diseases like canine distemper and feline panleukopenia, these diseases spread through neighborhoods like wildfire, often resulting in the deaths of many pets. Decreases in the recommended frequency of some vaccines, coupled with the association between injections and tumors, has raised many questions in pet owners’ minds.
Intestinal parasites
Both pet owners and veterinarians agreed intestinal parasite control was an important issue for pets. How could it not be? Intestinal parasites are high in yuck factor, high in pet discomfort, and on the list of diseases people and pets can share.
Fleas and ticks
These critters are very similar to intestinal parasites with regard to yuck factor and pet discomfort. A pet with a flea infestation may mean you also have a house or apartment with a flea infestation since fleas spend more time off your pet than on. Pet owners want to avoid an expensive exterminator bill by preventing fleas on their pet. Pet owners also want to prevent fleas and ticks to protect their pet against diseases like Lyme disease and blood parasites.
Heartworms
Because heartworms are a serious health concern in both dogs and cats, they are an important medical issue for most pet owners. Nearly every state in the United States reports cases of heartworm in resident dogs and cats. This map shows heartworm cases by state.
Year-round heartworm preventative is a “two-fer” since most prevent both heartworms and some intestinal parasites.
Pet medications
Pet owners want the best for their pet. In my mind, the best are veterinary-specific products. I prefer to prescribe medications developed specifically for veterinary patients rather than human or compounded medications. Veterinary-specific medications assure you, the pet owner, the product has been tested in dogs or cats and will be absorbed, metabolized, and effective in your pet. But, because most pets do not have insurance and medications are paid for “out of pocket,” many times pet owners can be surprised at the cost. As a pet owner myself, I believe that these veterinary-specific medications are worth paying for.
After looking carefully at the two lists of pet healthcare issues, one from pet owners and the other from veterinarians, are they really so different? Both groups’ lists really have only one item and it’s the same one: healthy, happy pets.
The World Health Organization marks December 1st as World AIDS Day. For 2012, the chosen theme is “Getting to Zero.” World AIDS Day remembers those who have died from this terrible disease and educates those at risk of contracting it. This year’s theme focuses attention on the hope that someday there will be no human patients with AIDS.
Cats too suffer from a virus similar to HIV/AIDS in humans. Like our hope for zero AIDS patients, cat lovers everywhere hope to someday get to zero feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infections. This connection between AIDS and cats gives us a good opportunity to think about the thousands of cats infected with FIV and then talk about how to prevent your cat from this serious viral infection.
I started thinking about FIV recently when a feline patient, Yuki, came to The Animal Medical Center for an internal medicine consultation with a fever and an FIV infection.
Location, location, location
American cats are lucky: FIV infection is uncommon here, occurring in approximately 2.5% of all cats. Yuki came to the USA from Japan where, according to a recent survey, nearly 25% of cats are infected with this virus.
Although Yuki is a female cat, the typical cat with an FIV infection is male. Males have a greater risk of becoming infected with FIV due to their propensity for fighting and biting, which transmits the virus to uninfected cats.
FIV-related illnesses
Like AIDS, FIV infection can be asymptomatic, but there are certain diseases which are known to be associated with FIV infections. If your cat develops one of these diseases, your veterinarian will recommend FIV testing as part of a disease management strategy. Tops on my list of FIV-associated diseases are oral inflammation, ocular inflammation, neurological disorders, and bone marrow failure. FIV-infected cats are also predisposed to infections such as toxoplasmosis, giardiasis, ringworm, and recurrent upper respiratory viruses. Although this sounds grim, the lifespan of FIV-infected cats appears to be similar to uninfected cats.
Cats are first when it comes to a vaccine
For cats at high risk of developing FIV infection, a killed vaccine to protect against FIV is available. This vaccine is considered “non-core” and not all cats need to be vaccinated against FIV. FIV vaccination complicates FIV testing. The antibodies induced by the vaccine make FIV tests performed in veterinary clinics positive, even when the cat is not infected with the virus. Additional testing is needed to differentiate the FIV-infected cat from the vaccinated cat.
Getting to feline zero
Test all kittens and cats for FIV before they meet your other cats.
Keep FIV-infected cats separated from FIV-negative cats.
Keep your cats indoors so they are not exposed to other cats infected with FIV.
Neuter male cats to help prevent biting behavior which spreads infection.
If you have an FIV-infected cat, make it an only cat and an indoor cat to prevent spread of the virus.
Because the FIV vaccine is not considered a “core” vaccine, talk to your veterinarian about your cat’s risk of contracting this virus and the need for vaccination.
A recent survey of both pet owners and veterinarians interrogated the pet health issues each group thought were most important. In this blog, I will write from the veterinarian’s point of view and in next week’s post, the issues from the pet owner’s perspective.
Starting with an exam
In an exam room with a pet owner and a furry, feathery or scaly patient, veterinarians focus on performing a complete physical examination, a pet’s need for routine blood testing, intestinal parasite control and issues related to senior pets and pain management.
Physical examination detects abnormalities in your pet’s body that veterinarians can determine the cause of through blood tests, x-rays, and other specialized tests. For example, crusty eyes will be tested for tear production, or a brown discharge in the ears will provoke an ear swab and a microscopic examination of the discharge to determine the best medication to clear it up.
If your cat is losing weight or your dog has a bad haircoat, thyroid testing might be indicated.
Blood tests
A complete physical examination is just one component of assessing a pet’s health. Veterinarians use blood tests to monitor organ function, monitor drug therapy and discover disease. Without them, we can only guess about your pet’s health. You shouldn’t be surprised that blood tests are high on our list.
Intestinal parasite control
The Companion Animal Parasite Council, a group of parasite experts, recommend all pets be treated with monthly anti-parasite agents. The recommendation stems from the need to keep your pet healthy and also protect humans against infection. Tummy upset is a common reason for urgent visits to veterinarians. Parasite control helps keep these visits less frequent and keep you and your pet happier.
Senior pets
A pet lifetime is compressed into 10-15 years. Once your pet reaches 8-10 years of age, she is considered a senior pet where one year of life represents multiple years of aging. To detect age related conditions, experts have recently increased the recommended frequency of visits for senior pets to a minimum of twice a year. When we see your senior pet, we will consider age related changes such as pain from arthritis.
Pain management
Veterinarians know pain from arthritis is an important issue for their patients and their families, but families and veterinarians alike struggle with how best to diagnose pain and measure response to treatment in pets who cannot talk. Watching them engage or not engage in their normal daily activities provides the best clue. Sometimes a hunch leads us to try pain medications and when we see a positive response, know we have made the correct diagnosis.
Now that you know what’s on your veterinarian’s mind you will be better able to understand how we can collaborate to keep your pet in perfect health. Be sure to take a list of what’s on your mind when you visit your pet’s veterinarian to promote this collaboration.
Cancer and diabetes are two important diseases the veterinarians at The Animal Medical Center treat every day.
According to VPI, a pet insurance company, their top ten insurance claims for pet cancer treatment include tumors we veterinary oncologists commonly treat.
Lymphoma or lymphosarcoma
Malignant skin cancer
Splenic cancer
Bone or joint cancer
Liver caner
Chest cancer
Bladder cancer
Brain of spinal cord cancer
Mouth cancer
Cancer of the cells lining the inside of the chest and abdomen
Surgery and cancer
Surgery is often the first procedure for a cancer patient and is commonly performed to get a biopsy of a lump which leads to the diagnosis of cancer. For one or two of the tumors on the top ten list, surgical excision might be the only treatment needed to control the tumor. If surgical excision isn’t enough to control the tumor, we often recommend chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy concerns
The tumors listed in the top ten insurance claims also include tumors veterinary oncologists manage with chemotherapy treatments. Chemotherapy helps us control the spread of some tumors and shrink others, improving both the length and quality of a pet’s life.
Many pet owners express concern over the potential side effects of chemotherapy treatment on their pet. Scientific research has proven their concerns unfounded. Carboplatin, a chemotherapy drug used to treat bone tumors called osteosarcoma and other tumors in dogs and cats, receives high marks for improving quality of life.
A combination of chemotherapy drugs for the treatment of feline lymphoma also improved the quality of life of cats suffering from this common tumor.
Setting expectations
Veterinary oncologists successfully give chemotherapy to dogs and cats on a daily basis. Because we have been treating pets with cancer for decades, we know what doses are safe and what additional therapies to administer to limit adverse reactions. In my experience, dogs tolerate chemotherapy better than people and cats tolerate it even better than dogs. I think psychology plays a role in chemotherapy reactions. Humans know what chemotherapy can do. My patients, smart as they are, have no clue about chemotherapy. The typical pet receiving chemotherapy has one or two off days following treatment and then their appetite and energy rebound. We obsess over every patient’s white blood cell count and send them home without treatment if the count is too low for safe administration. Every one of our patients has at least two people helping with chemotherapy administration: someone who holds the pet on a soft, comfortable mat, and a nurse specially trained in administration of chemotherapy drugs.
Hurricane Sandy created hardships for people living up and down the East Coast. Residents were displaced from their homes and sent to evacuation shelters or lived in flooded apartments, and life in general was disrupted. Sandy spared few. Animals, too, suffered as a result of the high winds and flood waters inflicted by the storm. The concept of zoobiquity springs from the fact that animals and humans share many of the same diseases. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, I would argue we share much, much more.
Animal homes flooded
The ponies of Chincoteague Island have always held a special allure for me, and after visiting this barrier island last summer, I was concerned for the ponies’ safety as the storm surge rose. Before the storm, the pony caretakers opened the gates on the fences around the pony habitat, allowing the ponies to go to higher ground and have free range of the entire island. All the ponies safely weathered the storm, as you can see on this video of their hurricane experience.
The New York Aquarium sits right on the famous boardwalk of Coney Island and is at the epicenter of New York City hurricane damage. Although the aquarium was without power for several days, generators ran filters and staff members pumped oxygen into tanks, keeping the fish, invertebrates, and mammals well cared for in their watery homes.
One of the newest aquarium residents, Mitik, an orphan baby walrus, seemed to enjoy the storm, not unlike many other New York City youngsters who rejoiced when school was cancelled for a full week.
Animals displaced
Aquarium residents were not evacuated from their home, but many New York City pets were. All New York City evacuation shelters accepted pets and Mayor Bloomberg encouraged residents to take their pets with them as they evacuated. The New York Veterinary Emergency Response Team has monitored the census of pets in evacuation shelters in the New York area. As of Veteran’s Day, 141 pets still remained in the city’s shelters.
Other animal displacements were a pair of brown pelicans. Brown pelicans are normally southern birds and are neighbors of the Chincoteague ponies. Wildlife rehabilitators reported two displaced brown pelicans blown off course by Hurricane Sandy and found in Rhode Island.
This time of year, Rhode Island is much colder than the birds’ normal southern habitat and these fellows are currently resting and recovering from their harrowing hurricane experience while awaiting transport home.
Families, animals included, reunited
Despite the upset and havoc Hurricane Sandy caused, there are happy stories too. Neighbors helping neighbors, runners of the cancelled New York City Marathon helping in relief efforts and families reunited. Patches the cat was rescued from the rubble of his home by a dump truck operator and Sandy the dog is back with his family.
Microchips are a large part of the reason why happy post-hurricane stories can be told. If your pet is not microchipped, don’t wait until the next big storm. Now it the best time to get one.
The Animal Medical Center’s friend, Amy Sacks at The Daily News, has posted great information about how you can help pets affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Do you know anyone who had their lives or those of their pets disrupted by the storm? Share your stories in the comments below.
The New York Times and my fifteen-year-old have a favorite word – meh. It means neither good nor bad, just meh. Twitter jumped on the ranking bandwagon using #mehlist.
When it comes to medicine, things are more black and white, definitely not meh. This past week I saw patients getting home treatments that were not yea, not meh, in fact in my book, they were nay.
Hydrogen peroxide
Since the first grandmother inhabited the earth, they have been cleaning cuts and scrapes with hydrogen peroxide. It sure looks powerful, bubbling and foaming on your skinned knees. But scientific research has shown hydrogen peroxide blocks healing. This puts hydrogen peroxide on my nay list for pet cuts and scrapes.
Recently, a family with a new puppy, Rolly, frantically called me because their puppy had just vomited. When I asked what Rolly had been doing just prior to vomiting, they explained he had lost a tooth and they were pouring hydrogen peroxide into his mouth to clean the empty tooth socket. Diagnosis made: hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as an emetic agent in dogs.
Rolly swallowed enough of the hydrogen peroxide to cause vomiting. An hour later, he was back to his usual energetic self.
Yea to:
A veterinarian-approved first aid kit containing an antibacterial solution for cleaning cuts and scrapes.
Inducing vomiting in your pet only if your veterinarian recommends it.
Rubbing alcohol
Lulu has bad ears, the kind with gooey brown discharge. Her owners decided to use rubbing alcohol to treat the discharge. By the time I saw Lulu, her ears were a red, inflamed mess and she hardly wanted anyone to come near them. Ear canals are very tender tissue and the harsh alcohol further irritates them. Rubbing alcohol is also very drying. When ear canals dry out they are prone to infection and become very itchy, putting alcohol in the ears on my nay list.
Yea to:
Using an ear cleaning solution formulated for pets, or seeing your veterinarian if your pet has an ear infection.
Home neutering is an absolute nay. Can you imagine major surgery without anesthesia, or without post-operative pain control? Home neutering is at the top of my nay list.
Another nay for rubber bands is using them to hold a bandage on your pet’s foot. Just last week, The AMC’s ER saw a dog with swollen front feet from a too tight rubber band holding bandages on the front paws.
Pet families with small children should keep rubber bands hidden away. Too often veterinarians see dogs and cats accidently “rubber banded” around the neck, tail, or paws. Unknowing children playing with the family pet use a rubber band as a collar. The rubber band gets forgotten and soon your pet needs a trip to the animal ER for surgical removal of a painful rubber band.
Yea to:
Investigating payment options with your family veterinarian or local spay neuter clinics, if neutering time is here and you find yourself in a tight fiscal pinch.
Bandaging your pet only after your veterinarian has demonstrated proper technique.
Dexter, a new dachshund patient of mine, was in last week for another round of puppy shots. He will soon be six months old and it was time for me to discuss the next step in his preventive health care plan: neutering.
Posted by Fur the Love of Pets 
