Questions about cats from "It's a Cat's World"

What Do You Want Your Veterinarian to Learn? | petMD

2011-12-28T09:32:00.000-08:00

What Do You Want Your Veterinarian to Learn? | petMD

Is it OK to sleep with your pet?

2011-12-21T07:04:00.001-08:00

Dr. Justine Lee on Pet health Radio: Part II of the interview

2011-10-26T07:51:00.001-07:00

Part two of the Pet Health Radio interview can be found here!

http://www.healthradio.net/component/mtree/Health-Radio-Shows/Pet-Health-Radio/Everyday-Items-that-Could-Harm-or-Kill-Your-Pet-45611/details

Dr. Justine Lee on Pet health Radio

2011-10-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

Pet Poison Control - could save your life! Listen to the interview here about common toxins that poison your pets!

http://www.healthradio.net/show/all-shows/Health-Radio-Shows/Pet-Health-Radio/Pet-Poison-Helpline---Could-Save-Your-Pet%27s-Life!-45612/details#

Top 10 costly veterinary visits - thanks to DVM360 and VPI!

2011-09-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

Previously published August 1, 2011 in Veterinary Economics and DVM360.

Many of the most common pet insurance claims for more than $1,000 can yield good prognoses—but that's only if a client (or your practice's angel fund) can pay for treatment. Take a look at a recent list from VPI Pet Insurance of the top 10 most common expensive pet health conditions. Consider whether your average client would hesitate to spend the money for those procedures. If so, injured and ill cats and dogs—and their owners—may have another way out, too. Visit http://dvm360.com/waystopay to make sure you're offering clients options for funding medically necessary procedures.

About.com's book review of "It's a Cat's World... You Just Live In It"

2011-08-10T14:34:00.001-07:00

Shout out to Dr. Janet Tobiassen Crosby for reviewing my dog and cat book found here at:
The Bottom Line

It's a Dog's Life...but It's Your Carpet: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Your Four-Legged Friend is a long title, but this is a book filled with many short, easy to grab-and-go, answers about everything you want to know about your dog.

Some things you would rather not know. Maybe even things you didn't know you needed to know.

Pros

* Many interesting and hard-to-ask questions answered
* Fun, casual style
* Helpful notes and resources at the end of the book

Cons

* Some language or situations may not be appropriate for younger readers
* Lots of references and jokes that I missed

Description

* A humorous, sometimes irreverent, look at questions people ask (or wish they could ask) their veterinarian.
* Selecting an appropriate dog for your lifestyle, dog peculiarities, training, vet questions and more.
* Many questions and answers about dogs. Some I have never heard of. (What's the big "K"?)

Guide Review - Review: It's a Dog's Life...but It's Your Carpet
Looking at the cover of this book, featuring a dog with a big cheesy grin and the question of "Why does my dog lick his balls?" on the back cover, you realize that this isn't going to be the most serious of books.

I know author Justine A. Lee DVM DACVEC through her work at Pet Poison Helpline. I attended CE (continuing education) meetings she has given on veterinary toxicology, and I have read her other book, The Five Minute Consult Clinical Companion: Small Animal Toxicology.

This book is different.

This book is personal narrative (learn about Dr. Lee's beloved dog, J.P.), serious veterinary information, humor, dog trivia/training/travel tips, embarrassing topics, and some unexpected questions too, such as: "Is that animal psychic worth the $2.99 a minute?."

The variety of questions in this book, in addition to providing information, could also be good conversation starters at your next party. That said, this book isn't for all readers.

My 12-year old daughter saw the cute cover and wanted to read it, so I let her read it prior to reading it myself. The topics are fine of course, but some of the humor is geared more for adults (e.g. references to dating). Nothing shocking, but a heads up for parents who might find themselves with a few new questions to answer. There is also the occasional 4-letter word, used in conversational tone.

I am a huge fan of Q & A articles, books, etc., because I tend to ask lots of questions. And this book has lots of questions. Several that I haven't thought of. Or don't want to.

Questions such as:

* If my dog eats chocolate, will his poop smell like chocolate?
* Can I drink out of my toilet bowl too?
* Can you make your dog crazy?
* Do dogs kiss?
* Can I exercise my dog beside my car?

Check out Dr. Lee's zany responses in this book, plus many more.

PetMD: How much would you pay for your pet?

2011-07-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

Previously published by PetMD: The Daily Vet on June 29, 2011 by Justine Lee

By now, most of you know JP, my 12-year-old rescue pit bull, cancer survivor extraordinaire. JP is the first dog that I’ve ever owned as a responsible adult. Not only is he the main character in my book It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet, but he’s been my main squeeze for the past decade plus.

JP has been my loyal companion and "Justine-supporter" through many a move, transition, job, residency, and boyfriend. JP is named after Jamaica Plain, an up-and-coming (i.e., ghetto) subdivision of Boston where I used to live. (This is on the infamous "other" side of the tracks, where one needs a pit bull to safely walk down the street.) Since rescuing him from parvovirus, he’s been a fantastic, well behaved, obedient ambassador for the breed.

One year ago today, JP acutely seizured. As an emergency critical care veterinary specialist, I knew instantly what this meant — something horrible: a stroke, a hypertensive event, or a brain tumor. Unfortunately, a few days later, JP was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor (a suspected glioma) based on the MRI.

Panic set in. This dog was my main love: above boyfriends, family, and friends. The rational, scientific side of Justine fought with the emotionally charged, "pathologically-attached-to-my-dog" Justine. I frantically called fellow colleagues who specialized in veterinary oncology or neurology to figure out what to do. My options…

Euthanasia - Humanely euthanizing him
Average life span: 0
Cost: $200-$400
Pros: He doesn’t suffer; no seizures or behavioral changes to deal with
Cons: He’s dead, I’m a mess, and I’ve had no time to spend with him

Medical management - Putting him on anti-seizure medications and steroids (to reduce the swelling in his brain)
Average life span: 1-2 months
Cost: $200-$400
Pros: Cheap
Cons: I’m still dealing with bad seizures; I have to deal with side effects from the medication (e.g., excessive thirst, urination and hunger); and I don’t get that much more time with him

Traditional radiation therapy +/- chemotherapy - Putting him under anesthesia once a day for 21 days for radiation therapy to zap his whole brain (including healthy brain tissue)
Average life span: a few months
Cost: A few thou’ ($3-$4,000)
Pros: I can get it done locally in St. Paul, MN
Cons: High risks of anesthesia, low specificity of radiation

Stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) - Putting him under anesthesia once a day for 1-4 days for a specialized radiation therapy that zaps only his tumor — not his whole brain. Average life span: 4-10 months
Cost: $8000-$10,000
Pros: Cutting edge technology where it’ll maximize a good quality of life; specific localized radiation against evil tumor cells
Cons: High risk of anesthesia; expensive — it costs more than my car; and I’d have to drive cross-country for it (as it’s only offered in a few places in the United States)

Brain surgery - Putting him under anesthesia and having the tumor surgically "debulked" (which is a nice way of saying "melon-scooped" out, as an anonymous veterinary oncologist told me).
Cost: Free, thanks to an NIH grant at University of Minnesota
Pros: Cutting edge research; free; done by board-certified specialists
Cons: High risk of anesthesia; risk of having a mentally-impaired dog post-operatively

So what did I do?

I needed to do everything that I could, as long as it didn’t hurt JP or put him through what I deemed to be too much. I wanted my dog — not a mentally impaired dog — and couldn’t handle the risks of JP losing his cognitive function or personality.

So, thanks to a 5-hour energy drink and a mocha, I drove non-stop from St. Paul, MN to Fort Collins, CO to one of the top oncology departments in the world at Colorado State University for stereotactic radiation therapy. Thanks to the support of some excellent counseling staff at Argus Institute (part of Animal Cancer Center’s team), I was able to survive the tumultuous, stressful, one week experience…

A few weeks later, once JP was recovered, a friend asked me, "What’s the cost-benefit ratio to you?" In other words, how long would JP have to live before it was worth the financial investment for SRT?? Bluntly, I said that if I got an extra six months with JP, I’d be happy. I needed that time with JP to say goodbye, provided it was a good quality life.

One year later today, I crunched the numbers. Between his MRI, CT, blood work, SRT, medications, pet-sitting and dog walking fees, treats, emergency endoscopy (Damn rawhide!), etc., JP cost me $37/day since his initial seizure one year ago.

And you know what? It was worth it.

While my friends and family were appalled by what I spent on JP, I needed it. (This coming from the girl who is too cheap to splurge on Starbucks mochas more than once a week.) All in all, I’m ecstatic that I had an extra 365 days to spend with JP. My love for that mutt runs deep, and I’m blessed that I was able to afford it.

I’m cognizant that most people aren’t, but where people splurge on cars, plasma screen TVs, and assorted materialistic things, I splurge on pets. (I do drive a 2000 Hyundai, after all). Besides which, $37/day is a hell of a lot cheaper than a daily shrink visit … and JP has provided me a lot of mental health.

JP is on his last leg, and I’m battling the decision to humanely euthanize him as we speak. I’m not even sure if he’ll be alive by the time this blog posts. Regardless, JP would appreciate the dedication in The Daily Vet.

To all those pet owners out there struggling with cancer: Hang in there. Whatever decision you make is the right one.

To JP: Thank you for teaching me more than I could ever learn from a two-legged human — devotion, loyalty, companionship, and most importantly, that success isn’t measured by society, but by the joy of a tail wag.

Nestlé Purina Recalls Limited Number of Dry Cat Food Bags Due to a Potential Health Risk

2011-06-28T08:09:00.001-07:00

Nestlé Purina Recalls Limited Number of Dry Cat Food Bags Due to a Potential Health Risk
(Shipped Only to Colorado, Idaho and Oregon)
Contact:
Consumer:
800-982-6559

Media:
Jill Winte
314-982-3032

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 27, 2011 - Nestlé Purina PetCare Company (NPPC) is voluntarily recalling approximately 870 bags of dry cat food shipped to Colorado, Idaho and Oregon. This is being done as a precautionary measure, as the product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Only the following products with both the "Best By" date and production codes shown are included in this voluntary recall:

Product Name Bag Size "Best By" Date & Production Code* Bag UPC Code
Cat Chow Naturals Dry Cat Foot 6.3 lb. AUG 2012 10331083 13 17800 11320
Friskies Grillers Blend Dry Cat Food 3.15 lb. AUG 2012 10381083 06 50000 08450
Friskies Grillers Blend Dry Cat Food 16 lb. AUG 2012 10381083 06 50000 57578

*"Best By" Date and Production Code is found on the back or bottom of the bag.

The bags of dry cat food in this recall were distributed in error in February, 2011 to a small number of customers in Colorado, Idaho and Oregon, which may have further distributed the product to other Western states. There have been no consumer complaints and no reports of illness.

No additional Purina cat or dog products are involved. Only products which match the "Best By" date and production codes above are involved.

Consumers who have purchased any of these dry cat food products with these "Best By" Dates and Production Codes should discard it.

Salmonella can affect animals eating the product and there is a risk to humans from handling contaminated products. People handling contaminated dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product. Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may exhibit decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

At Nestlé Purina PetCare, the safety and efficacy of our products are our top priority. We apologize for any inconvenience due to this voluntary recall. For further information or to obtain a product refund, please call NPPC toll-free at 1-800-982-6559 weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central Time, or visit www.purina.com1.

Have a cat with asthma? This site is a must read!

2011-06-25T10:42:00.001-07:00

Fritz the cat asthma

Early exposure to pets and risks of childhood allergies

2011-06-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

June 13, 2011 — Exposure to pets in early life may not raise the risk for childhood allergies and may even be protective, according to the results of a birth cohort study reported online June 13 in Clinical & Experimental Allergy.

"Prior research about whether keeping a dog or cat at home causes allergies to that pet has been limited to outcomes in early childhood," write Ganesa Wegienka, MS, PhD, from the Department of Public Health Sciences at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and colleagues. "...In this report, we used a life course approach, similar to our examination of overall sensitization, to further investigate the relationships between exposure to indoor dogs and the risk of dog sensitization and exposure to indoor cats and cat sensitization."

The goal of the study was to examine the association between lifetime dog and cat exposure and allergic sensitization to the specific animal at age 18 years among 566 participants enrolled in the Detroit Childhood Allergy Study birth cohort during 1987 to 1989.

Lifetime indoor dog and cat exposure, defined as the pets spending at least 50% of their time inside the house, was determined from annual interview data from childhood and follow-up interviews at age 18 years. Sensitization to dog or cat was defined as animal-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels of 0.35 kU/L or more. Exposure was analyzed separately for dogs and cats and for first year, by age groups, and cumulative lifetime exposure.

Compared with boys who did not have an indoor dog in the first year of life, those who did had half the risk of being sensitized to dogs at age 18 years (relative risk [RR], 0.50; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.27 - 0.92). This association was not observed in girls. For boys and girls delivered by cesarean, the RR was 0.33 (95% CI, 0.07 - 0.97).

Teens who had an indoor cat in the first year of life had a reduced risk (RR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.31 - 0.90) of being sensitized to cats. Neither cumulative exposure nor exposure at any other age was associated with the risk for sensitization.

"This research provides further evidence that experiences in the first year of life are associated with health status later in life, and that early life pet exposure does not put most children at risk of being sensitized to these animals later in life," Dr. Wegienka said in a news release.

Limitations of this study include incomplete follow-up data on all participants enrolled in the original study, use of parental allergic history that was based on maternal report, and lack of lifetime measurements of the participants' actual exposures to dog or cat allergen. In addition, although the investigators controlled for a parental history of allergy, this history of allergy is not necessarily specific for dog or cat allergy.

"Dog and cat exposure has been reported to be associated with recurrent asthma exacerbation in sensitized individuals," the study authors conclude. "By preventing sensitization, hopefully exacerbations would be reduced or eliminated. ...An insightful and logical next step would be to further delineate the effects of pets on immune development during smaller time windows (e.g. the first month, the first 3 months) in the first year of life."

The Fund for Henry Ford Hospital and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases supported this study. The study authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Clin Exper Allergy. Published online June 13, 2011.

Should you be feeding raw food?

2011-06-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

Novel treatment for feline leukemia and FIV

2011-06-01T08:01:00.001-07:00

USDA-Approved FeLV, FIV Drug Available Online
Previously published in Veterinary Practice News on: May 31, 2011, 5:40 p.m., EDT

Veterinarians may now order Lymphocyte T-Cell Immunomodulator (LTCI) -- reportedly the first United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved treatment for Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) -- directly from the manufacturer, T-Cyte Therapeutics.Veterinarians may now order Lymphocyte T-Cell Immunomodulator (LTCI) -- reportedly the first United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved treatment for Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) -- directly from the manufacturer, T-Cyte Therapeutics.

Veterinarians can order the product at the company website or by phone. The streamlined ordering process means practitioners and animal clinics can expedite treatment of FeLV and FIV.

“We’ve worked hard to build a process that streamlines access to the product, provides pertinent, practical and accurate information regarding the treatment of FeLV and FIV and gives veterinarians’ direct-source access to LTCI,” says Dr. Beardsley. “Ordering LTCI from T-Cyte will be efficient for veterinarians and can be a life-saver for sick pets. The site will also make it easier for pet owners to locate local veterinarians who have treated cats suffering from these diseases. The website will be a one-stop data source to aid in the treatment of FeLV and FIV.”

The site also features educational and product information about retroviral health care and a nationwide, searchable database of veterinary clinics that offer LTCI is in the works. LTCI was briefly distributed by Imulan and most recently by AgriLabs, who successfully introduced and marketed LTCI to the veterinary profession. Visit Tcyte.com for product information and ordering, or call (800) 483-2104.

Weekends and Holidays, Not Full Moons, Responsible for Pet Accidents

2011-05-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

BREA, Calif., May 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Some of the best days for people—weekends, holidays, summer break—turn out to be the worst for pets. Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), the nation's oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance, recently analyzed its database of more than 485,000 insured pets to find the most dangerous days for pets in 2010. The company tracked accident claims by treatment day across the entire year to discover that, in general, more accidents occur in the summer months, and the most accidents are treated the day after holidays and weekends. Contrary to popular belief, the company did not find any spike in pet accidents treated on or following full moons.

Day - 2010 Number of Accident Claims Treated

1. Monday, June 7 206

2. Tuesday, September 7 205

3. Monday, June 14 199

4. Tuesday, June 1 193

5. Monday, June 21 188

6. Monday, August 9 183

7. Monday, April 26 179

8. Monday, June 28 179

9. Monday, April 5 173

10. Monday, August 2 171

The amount of accident claims treated spiked following holidays—particularly Labor Day (No. 2), Memorial Day (No. 4) and Easter (No. 9)—and increased overall during the late spring and summer months. June was the most dangerous month of the year, with 4,145 claims for an average of 138 pets treated each day for accidental injuries and five of the Top 10 most dangerous days of the year. The safest month was December with an average of 108 claims treated each day and only 2 days in the top 50 most dangerous days.

In order to accurately assess the "danger" of a day, the company only analyzed claims submitted for injuries requiring immediate attention, such as broken bones, poisonings, and lacerations. The data revealed that on the average day in 2010, about 118 VPI-insured pets were treated for severe accidental injuries. Of the days of the week, Mondays had the largest average number of pets treated for accidental injuries at 152. Sundays were the lowest at 59.

"The difference in the number of accidents treated between Sunday and Monday may indicate that treatment is more difficult to find on Sundays and holidays," said Dr. Carol McConnell, vice president and chief veterinary medical officer for VPI. "In case of an off-hours or holiday emergency, pet owners should know where to find the closest 24-hour animal hospital and have a plan for covering unexpected treatment costs. Preparation and timely treatment can make the difference between life and death."

While some people may suspect that full moons cause an increase in emergency room visits and accidental injuries, VPI actually saw a slight decrease in the average number of pets treated for accidental injuries—107—on days with a full moon. There was only one "Friday the Thirteenth" in 2010. VPI received 112 claims for accidental injuries on that day in August, which was below the average for the year, month and for Fridays in general.

For a full breakdown of the data, visit http://on.fb.me/dangerousdays.

About Veterinary Pet Insurance
With more than 485,000 pets insured nationwide, Veterinary Pet Insurance Co./DVM Insurance Agency is the No. 1 veterinarian-recommended pet health insurance company and is a member of the Nationwide Insurance family of companies. Providing pet owners with peace of mind since 1982, the company is committed to being the trusted choice of America's pet lovers and an advocate of pet health education. VPI Pet Insurance plans cover dogs, cats, birds and exotic pets for multiple medical problems and conditions relating to accidents, illnesses and injuries. Optional CareGuard® Coverage is available for routine care.

Medical plans are available in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. More than 2,000 companies nationwide offer VPI Pet Insurance as an employee benefit. Policies are underwritten by Veterinary Pet Insurance Company in California and in all other states by National Casualty Company, an A+15 rated company in Madison, Wisconsin. Pet owners can find VPI Pet Insurance on Facebook or follow @VPI on Twitter. For more information about VPI Pet Insurance, call 800-USA-PETS (800-872-7387) or visit petinsurance.com.

SOURCE Veterinary Pet Insurance

Top 5 Selling Human Medications and What Happens When Pets Eat Them

2011-05-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (May 23, 2011) – The IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics recently released a report that included the top five human prescription (Rx) drugs sold in the United States.

“Nearly half of the calls we receive are for pets that have accidentally ingested human medications,” said Dr. Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC and the associate director of Veterinary Services at Pet Poison Helpline. “Recognizing the most commonly sold drugs in the U.S. and how they affect pets can help pet owners be more cognizant of potential dangers associated with these drugs.”

Pet Poison Helpline is a division of SafetyCall International, the world's largest industry poison control and adverse event management center, handling both human and animal calls. The veterinarians and pharmacists work side-by-side to provide multi-disciplinary expertise to the veterinarians and pet owners they assist.

According to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics report, which was released in April 2011, the top five human drugs dispensed in the U.S. are Lipitor®, Nexium®, Plavix®, Advair Diskus® and Abilify®. Because Pet Poison Helpline’s call volume is high for dogs and cats that have ingested human medications harmful to pets, the veterinarians are sharing how these drugs typically affect pets that ingest them. As explained below, some drugs cause only minor symptoms and some can be potentially life threatening. Awareness of these drugs and how they affect pets can save lives. Likewise, in cases where a pet has ingested a non-life threatening drug, awareness can save the pet owner a great deal of heartache.

#1 – Lipitor® (atorvastatin)
Used to reduce cholesterol levels, U.S. citizens spent $7.2 billion on Lipitor in 2010, making it the top selling drug in the country. Generally when pets get into Lipitor, only mild side effects are seen, such as vomiting and diarrhea. Therefore, Lipitor is not considered to have high toxicity levels for pets. While some human drugs are utilized in veterinary medicine, Lipitor is not.

#2 – Nexium® (esomeprazole)
During 2010, Americans spent $6.3 billion on Nexium. It is an anti-ulcer medication and proton-pump inhibitor that results in decreased gastric acid secretion. While it is utilized in veterinary medicine for some pets, mild side effects can include vomiting and diarrhea. Pet owners of dogs or cats that get into this drug should watch their pet closely, but not be alarmed since symptoms will generally subside on their own.

#3 – Plavix® (clopidogrel)
In third place is Plavix, which is a drug that affects platelets in humans, inhibiting clot formation and reducing the risk of stroke. Rarely used in veterinary medicine, $6.1 billion was spent on this drug for humans last year. When pets get into Plavix, it has a wide margin of safety and generally is not considered to be acutely toxic. Only mild vomiting or diarrhea may be seen.

#4 – Advair Diskus® (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol)
Often used for treating asthma and administered through an inhaler, Advair Diskus contains beta-agonist drugs that expand the lungs and steroids that decrease inflammation in the lungs. Americans spent $4.7 billion on Advair Diskus in 2010, making it fourth top selling drug. Because inhalers contain many doses, dogs that chew into them are exposed to massive amounts of the drug all at once. This often results in heart arrhythmias, an elevated heart rate, agitation, vomiting and even acute collapse. Severe electrolyte abnormalities such as very low potassium levels are likely and can be life-threatening without immediate veterinary treatment.

#5 – Abilify® (aripiprazole)
The fifth top-selling drug is Abilify. It contains aripiprazole, an atypical antipsychotic agent that is used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and clinical depression. It is important to keep this drug out of the reach of pets, as ingestion can result in profound lethargy, vomiting, hyperthermia, significant changes in heart rate and blood pressure, and seizures. If a pet ingests this drug, immediate veterinary attention is needed.

In order to keep pets safe from ingesting these and other dangerous human medications, the veterinarians at Pet Poison Helpline offer these recommendations.
• Keep human medications stored in a different location from pet medications. Pet Poison Helpline often takes calls from pet owners who accidentally give their human medications to pets.
• Weekly pill holders are irresistible to some dogs, as they resemble chew toys and rattle. The danger is that a dog could ingest a full seven days’ worth of medications, significantly increasing the risk for poisoning.
• Avoid putting medications into plastic storage baggies before traveling – these are not pet proof (or child-proof), and can easily be chewed into by dogs.
• Hang your purse out of the reach of your pets. Inhalers, medications, sugar-free gum, and other items that are dangerous to pets can be easily snatched out of a purse by a curious dog or cat. Pet Poison Helpline recently produced a video titled “Handbag Hazards” available here http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/Ask-the-Vet-Videos.

Remember that what is safe for humans isn’t always safe for pets. If you think your pet has ingested something poisonous, it is always better (and less expensive) to get help immediately. Contact your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline at 1-800-213-6680 for life-saving help. Pet Poison Helpline is the most cost-effective animal poison control center in North America charging only $35 per call, including unlimited follow-up consultations.

About Pet Poison Helpline
Pet Poison Helpline™, a division of SafetyCall International®, is an animal poison control service based out of Minneapolis available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary professionals who require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. The staff can provide treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species. As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline’s fee of $35 per incident includes unlimited follow-up consultations. Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

Steve Dale's Pet World featuring Dr Justine Lee

2011-05-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

Love of Dog. Or God. Whichever you prefer.

2011-04-23T18:55:00.001-07:00

Now we just have to figure something out for C-A-T.

Cats, beware roof top climbing in Greeley, CO!

2011-03-31T06:42:00.001-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Why you should date a veterinarian

2011-03-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

Why you should date a veterinarian. Previously published at PetMD, by Dr. Justine Lee

While reading The New York Times best seller Freakonomics, I was pleasantly surprised to see Levitt and Dubner list female veterinarians as one of the top three most desirable online daters.

My ex-boyfriend didn’t appreciate me photocopying the page and mailing it to him, but I thought it was important that he realize the obvious: we are hot commodities. (Why, oh why, did you need me to remind you? And why didn’t I take that as my hint to exit the relationship?)

Men are usually "dog" people who love to wrestle with Fido and enjoy some of the hobbies of dog ownership, such as hiking and being outdoors. But men often have a misperception that we women only want a pet so we can fulfill our maternal instincts by grooming it and braiding its hair.

Female veterinarians escape that stereotype — guys know we probably have a higher tolerance for dirt, hair, drool, and mud. And considering that men may realize that they have some similar qualities to dogs (dirt, hair, drool, mud, and of course, loyalty), why wouldn’t they want to jump on the love train?

Currently, 73 percent of veterinary students are women, and nearly 50 percent of practicing veterinarians are, too. If I can make a broad generalization, female veterinarians are hard working, somewhat anal retentive, and outdoorsy; they love animals and are well-rounded. C’mon guys — what more could you ask for?

What do you think? Should the Patty Khulys and Justine Lees of the world get their chance on The Bachelorette, or are we too covered in dirt, bodily fluids, dog hair, and cat abscess fluid to make it?

Me? I’ll be cuddling with my more loyal four-legged friends on the sofa tonight …

Interview on Day Break USA!

2011-03-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

Top 10 pet medical conditions!

2011-03-15T06:11:00.001-07:00

According to Veterinary Pet Insurance's database of more than 485,000 insured pets:

Dogs
1. Ear infection
2. Skin allergy
3. Skin infection/hot spots
4. Gastritis/vomiting
5. Enteritis/diarrhea
6. Arthritis
7. Bladder infection
8. Soft tissue trauma
9. Non-cancerous tumor
10. Hypothyroidism

Cats
1. Lower urinary tract disease
2. Gastritis
3. Chronic renal failure
4. Hyperthyroidism
5. Diabetes
6. Enteritis/diarrhea
7. Skin allergy
8. Periodontitis/dental disease
9. Ear infection
10. Upper respiratory infection

Exotic pets
1. Bowel obstruction
2. Gastritis/vomiting
3. Bladder infection
4. Upper respiratory infection
5. Eye infection
6. Cancerous tumor requiring surgery
7. Arthritis
8. Skin inflammation
9. Skin abscess or pressure ulcer
10. Inflammation of hair follicles

Jury Fails to Convict Baltimore Teens Accused of Abusing Dog

2011-02-28T07:53:00.000-08:00

Whether or not you're a dog or CAT lover, pay heed. This was listed on the ASPCA website... a sad, sad case. Write your MA representative and promote more aggressive animal cruelty laws!

Dr. Justine Lee

In Maryland, a shocking case of violence against animals has concluded, for now, with a whimper: A single juror prevented the jury in the Johnson brothers’ animal cruelty trial from reaching a unanimous verdict, resulting in a mistrial on February 7, 2011. The 11 other jurors reportedly were in favor of convicting the Johnsons.

Twins Travers and Tremayne Johnson, now 19, were accused of dousing a young Pit Bull in gasoline and setting her on fire in the streets of Baltimore in May 2009. Although the dog was saved by a policewoman and treated by rescue workers (who named her Phoenix), her injuries were so severe that she had to be humanely euthanized a few days after the incident.

Nearly two years after her death, Phoenix remains an enduring symbol and the face of animal cruelty victims nationwide—what’s more, the senseless attack served as a catalyst for change in Baltimore. With support from the ASPCA, the city created the Baltimore Anti-Animal Abuse Advisory Commission in November 2010. The commission, whose members include Dr. Randall Lockwood, ASPCA Senior Vice President of Forensic Sciences and Anti-Cruelty Projects, has pledged to provide training on animal cruelty to law enforcement, prosecutors and judges throughout Maryland.

The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office is expected to retry the case against Travers and Tremayne Johnson.

Love me, love my dog! (or my cat!)

2011-02-21T07:32:00.000-08:00

Kudos to Lisa Spector for a great article about our beloved pets!

Dr. Justine Lee

By Lisa Spector, Canine Music Expert, Juilliard Graduate, and co-creator of Through a Dog’s Ear.

In 2006 there were more than 72 million pet dogs in the U.S. and nearly 82 million pet cats, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook (2007 Edition). In the same year, nearly half of pet owners, or 49.7 percent considered their pets to be family members.

How many of those consider their pets to be their sweethearts? In a poll taken of 3,000 British dog and cat owners, 19 percent stated that they would rather have a pet than be involved in a romantic partnership. For 81 percent of the dog owners polled, it would be an instant deal breaker if their date didn’t like their pet. And 79 percent polled stated that they wouldn’t give up their pet for a romantic partner.

A study by the National Institutes of Health revealed that having a pet can help to diminish feelings of loneliness, particularly for women living alone, and compensate for the absence of human companionship. However, owning a pet doesn’t have to disallow meeting a human mate. In the British study cited above, 5 percent of dog owners have been on a date with someone they met walking their dog, with 1.5 percent still dating that person. I am in the U.S. and am amongst those who have been on a date with someone I met while walking my dog (while not being in the 1.5 percent still dating that person.) I have been known to fall in love with a Golden Retriever in a heartbeat, and it may have been possible that I confused who my attraction was for when I looked up at the other end of the leash. However, I believe that how you do anything is how you do everything. So, observing someone’s relationship with their pet can also reveal a lot about the person.

That may account for the recent popularity of online dating sites for pet owners. DateMyPet.com, LoveMyPet.com, and PetPeopleMeet.com are three such sites. On the latter, I read a success story from a woman who met her match when she fell in love with a man who also rescues dogs. Yet, once in a human relationship, people often state they crave the kind of unconditional love they receive from their pets. Can Pets Improve your Relationship?, an article by Dr. Suzanne Phillips, Psy.D., ABPP, states that all the qualities we often want in our mate appear similar to those we experience with our pets. Her reports show that a person in a relationship often wants to be spoken to with the same affection shown to their pet.

According to a survey by Sealy mattresses, 67% of people regularly bed down with their cats and dogs, and many prefer to share their beds with their furry friends than with human partners. Why is that? 51% say their sleep is disturbed by their partner, compared to 38 percent who claim their canines and felines wake them up constantly. But, does the real answer go much deeper than quality of sleep? What do you think? Have our beloved pets replaced human partners or enhanced those relationships? Thanks for clicking on “comment” below and sharing your thoughts. Also feel free to share stories if you met your human partner because of your pet or if you stayed away from someone because you listened to your pet.

Whether your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day is human, furry, feathered, or all of the above, Sanchez and Gina and I wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day. To show my appreciation to Care2 readers, I am offering a 25 percent discount on all product purchases at ThroughaDogsEar.com, valid through the end of the day on Valentine’s Day, February 14. Enter the coupon code “care2vday” at checkout. (May not be combined with other special offers or bundles.) Enjoy music with your human and canine families that has been clinically demonstrated to calm the canine and human nervous systems. Click here to listen to a sound sample from our Music to Calm your Canine Companion series.

Lisa Spector is a concert pianist, Juilliard graduate, canine music expert, and Facebook coach. By combining her passion for music with her love of dogs, she co-created Through a Dog's Ear, the first music clinically demonstrated to relieve anxiety issues in dogs. For the past 14 years, she has owned Lisa Spector’s Music School in Half Moon Bay, CA. She shares her home and her heart with her two adorable "career change" Labrador Retrievers from Guide Dogs for the Blind, Sanchez and Gina.

First confirmed 2011 case of H1N1 influenza virus infection reported in a domestic cat

2011-02-14T12:36:00.001-08:00

INDUSTRY ALERT from IDEXX Reference Laboratories:
First confirmed 2011 case of H1N1 influenza virus infection reported in a domestic cat

February 14, 2011

One cat with severe respiratory disease from Wisconsin has tested positive for the H1N1 influenza virus with the IDEXX H1N1 Influenza Virus RealPCR™ Test.

Two cats from the same household presented to a veterinary emergency hospital in respiratory distress. The owners reported to have been suffering from the flu themselves at the time the cats developed severe respiratory signs. After intensive supportive care that included ventilator support, the 6-year-old male domestic shorthair (DSH) was euthanized. The IDEXX Feline Upper Respiratory Disease (URD) RealPCR™ Panel was performed using fluid obtained at the time of intubation for ventilation and was positive for the H1N1 influenza virus. The second cat, a 10-year-old female DSH, originally responded to supportive therapy but relapsed and was euthanized 8 days after presentation. An oropharyngeal swab was obtained at the time of euthanasia for testing, but it was negative for H1N1 influenza virus. Given the strong-positive quantitative real-time PCR result in the first cat, the H1N1 influenza virus is still the presumptive cause of respiratory disease in the second cat. The shedding period of influenza viruses is short, which may have been responsible for the negative PCR result.

Background

From fall 2009 to early 2010 in the United States, there were several reports of H1N1 influenza virus in animals for which the suspected form of contraction was contact with infected people. In response to the concern for HIN1 influenza virus infection in dogs and cats, IDEXX added the H1N1 Influenza Virus RealPCR Test to Feline URD and Canine Respiratory Disease (CRD) RealPCR panels in November 2009. Subsequently, one dog and two cats were confirmed infected by the H1N1 Influenza Virus RealPCR Test and were reported at that time. From January 2010 until now, no additional infections had been detected.

Clinical Signs

The clinical signs of H1N1 virus infection are likely to resemble those of other common respiratory infections; however, more severe respiratory disease, including pneumonia, may be possible. Clinical signs may include:

* Coughing, sneezing and oculonasal discharge
* Fever, lethargy and loss of appetite
* Dyspnea, tachypnea and respiratory distress

When to Test
Testing should be considered in any pet with evidence of respiratory disease. The shedding period of influenza viruses is short. Samples should be submitted for testing within 7 days of the onset of clinical signs to avoid false-negative results in infected animals.

Would you choose your dog over a romantic relationship?

2011-02-14T10:30:00.001-08:00

While this article was originally written about dogs, I'd have to believe that most cat owners would agree. What do you think?

Dr. Justine Lee

By Dave McGinn, Globe and Mail Update

If you're trying to woo someone with a dog, make sure to put in time petting and playing fetch.

It's puppy love. No, really. On the eve of Valentine's Day, a new poll [http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/02/11/oukoe-uk-britain-valentines-iduktre71a00e20110211] shows that some Britons are so enamoured with their fuzzy, furry, four-legged friends that it might be stopping them from human-on-human romance.

Of the 3, 000 pet owners surveyed, 80 per cent said they would not date someone who didn't like their pet. So if you're trying to woo someone with a dog, make sure to put in time petting and playing fetch.

Then again, it might not matter how much time you put in trying to prove you love that scruffy little fella: nearly 20 per cent said they would rather have an animal companion than a relationship.

Problem? It might be, with 12 per cent saying they felt owning a dog or cat was having a damaging effect on their relationship.

Some people seem to have very good reasons for being jealous of cats and dogs, because if you think they're getting all the attention, you just might be right: 36 per cent of all pet owners said they stroked their pets more than they touched their partners.

Top 10 pet names of 2010

2011-02-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

Brea, Calif. -- Previously released by Veterinary Pet Insurance and DVM360.

Pet owners latched on to the popular “Twilight” series when it came to naming their pets last year. In fact, Bella ranked as the most popular name for dogs and took second place (behind Max) for cats in 2010, according to Veterinary Pet Insurance. The company recently released its list of top 10 pet names for the year.

Other top dog names were Bailey, Max, Lecy, Molly, Buddy, Maggie, Daisy, Charlie and Sophie. Of the nearly half a million pets insured by VPI, only 13 were given the moniker Fido, revealing a trend toward using more human names for pets.

Cat owners favored names like Max, Chloe, Oliver Lucky and Charlie in 2010, while traditional names like Tiger and Tigger fell to the bottom of most-popular list.

Other common exotic names, revealed for the first time in 2010 by VPI, were Charlie, Baby, Sunny, Jack, Kiwi, Bandit, Max, Sammy, Gizmo and, again, Bella.

Some of the most unusual dog names identified by VPI included Pickle Von Corndog, Badonkadonnk and Dog Vader. Cat names included Purr Diem, Bing Clawsby, Chairman Meow, Optimus Pants and Admiral Pancake.

Can cats get poison ivy?

2011-02-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

They can, but thankfully, cats don’t seem to get poison ivy nearly as commonly as humans. Thanks to their long, protective hair coat, the oils from poison ivy just can’t reach the skin. Unfortunately, these oils can be spread from Itchy Izzy to you. Use caution when hiking through poison ivy with Izzy and avoid petting her immediately after. If you bring a towel, dry wipe her off after she's been outside walking through your backyard (while wearing gloves!). Often you can minimize the likelihood of her transmitting these oils to you. If itchy Izzy has short hair and does get poison ivy, try bathing her in a colloidal oatmeal shampoo – they have them for cats too!

Material from "It's a Cat's World... You Just Live In It", available at amazon.com. More information available at www.drjustinelee.com

Copyright © 2008 Justine Lee Veterinary Consulting, LLC.

Can you believe the idiot wants her mailed puppy back?

2011-02-03T20:34:00.000-08:00

Doggone it, woman who tried to mail puppy wants him back

Previously published y By MARY LYNN SMITH, Star Tribune

Last update: February 3, 2011 - 10:00 PM

The Minneapolis woman who tried to mail a puppy wants him back.

"I'm just appalled," said Mitzi Carroll, who learned about the puppy's plight from a TV broadcast in Georgia, where she lives. "And now she wants it back? Really? I have a strong problem with that. How do you put a puppy in a box and try to mail it? That's just animal cruelty."

That's exactly what Minneapolis authorities thought. They charged Stacey Champion, 39, with animal cruelty and impounded Guess, a 4-month-old poodle-Schnauzer mix that postal officials said likely would have been DOA at its Georgia destination.

As word of the pup's discovery in a sealed box with no air holes spread across the country, concerned animal lovers began calling and e-mailing city officials with requests to adopt the black dog.

But Carroll, who already has adopted two dogs and three cats, and other would-be rescuers will have to wait for the outcome of an administrative hearing Monday, at which Champion is scheduled to plead for the dog's return.

That request itself is a bit unusual. "In the four years that I've been here, we never had a person appeal after an animal was impounded because of animal cruelty," said Dan Niziolek, manager for Minneapolis' Animal Care and Control. Of course, city officials can't remember ever handling a case in which someone tried to send a puppy through the mail, either.

In appealing the case, Champion had to pay about $250 in fees for the city to kennel and care for the puppy. If she loses her case before the administrative hearing officer, the puppy would be put up for adoption or she could take her case to the Court of Appeals, Niziolek said. But Champion would have to pay the city $15 a day for the puppy's care until her case was resolved.

Champion also needs to resolve the criminal case for animal cruelty in Hennepin County District Court. Even if she wins the puppy back during her appeal, a judge could restrict her ownership of animals, Niziolek said.

Champion didn't return calls asking about her plans for Monday's hearing.

"I would like to be at that hearing. I really would," said Sally Shortridge, who is outraged over the idea that an adult woman who put a puppy in the mail might regain custody.

"I have nieces and nephews at 12 and 14 who would know much better," she said. "She shouldn't get that poor little puppy back."

Should I get pet insurance?

2011-01-31T08:15:00.000-08:00

After JP, my 12 year-old, rescue pit bull had a dental cleaning, followed by a cancer-like mass removed from his jaw, followed by his spleen and adrenal gland removed 9 months later, I was in the hole $5,000 (and that’s with my professional discount!). One year later, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After a CT, MRI, and stereotactic radiation therapy, I was in the hole a whole lot more... It was just about that time when I was finally considering pet insurance. But was it too late, and is it worth it now?

While pet insurance has been around for over 30 years, it hasn’t grown in popularity when compared to other countries. For example, over 30% of pets in the United Kingdom are insured, compared to < 1% of pets in America. So why is that? First, pet insurance is indemnity insurance, and is different than your human health insurance. Both involve a third-party insurer, but with pet insurance you pay the bill directly to your veterinarian first, then seek reimbursement for the amount (or some part of the bill) by submitting a claim to the pet insurance company. Keep in mind that some pet insurance companies reimburse only a portion of the bill. And, all of them will have pre-existing medical condition limitations or breed-limitations on coverage (in other words, if you own a German shepherd where hip dysplasia is rampant in that breed, it won’t cover your dog for this!).

When it comes to pet insurance, it’s important to educate yourself as a pet owner on whether or not it’s a good fit for you. Ask yourself the following three questions to consider whether or not to invest in pet insurance:

What’s my financial situation?
Pet insurance is beneficial for large veterinary expenses or catastrophic emergencies – in other words, for that dog who swallowed a sock and needs emergency surgery in the middle of the night, to the cat who ran outside and got hit by a car. If you can’t afford a several thousand dollar surgery in the middle of the night, even partial reimbursement may help in your financial situation. Again, it’s important to remember that you still must pay the bill in full, and seek reimbursement later with your veterinary pet insurance. If you can’t afford to put yourself into debt on your dog’s behalf, pet insurance is a great emergency backup plan.

What’s my bond with my pet (i.e., stop treatment amount)?
My pets are family members in my household – they sleep with me, eat with me, share my bed, and have a high pecking order in my family circle! That said, not all pet owners share the same human-animal bond, and may not want to pursue aggressive treatment on their pets (including anesthesia for an MRI or chemotherapy). If you find yourself saying “Well, he’s just a dog,” pet insurance may not be the best option for you, as your “stop-treatment amount” is likely low. If you’ll walk the ends of the earth for you pet – as I would – extra financial help and insurance may best support your needs for your pet.

What’s my tolerance for risk?
If you worry about the veterinary costs each time your dog sneezes, or cringe each time your cat looks at you cross-eyed, pet insurance may be for you. If you aren’t comfortable with the risk of paying several thousand dollars for your pet’s emergency surgery at the last minute, indemnity insurance offers you protection. If however, you find that you tolerate financial risk well, and are willing and able to shell out a few thou’ at 2 am without any problem, you likely wouldn’t benefit as much from pet insurance.

Ultimately, pet insurance does offer the right person and the right pet adequate coverage – especially in cases of emergency, and as costs for veterinary care continue to grow. When in doubt, thoroughly research your options out there for pet insurance and talk to your veterinarian about how to educate yourself on the best pet insurance plan for you and your pet.

How to break up a cat fight

2011-01-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

If you’ve never witnessed a cat fight before, there’s no describing the high pitched screaming and fur-a-flying during the process. Then you’ll be able to better understand where the saying “women cat fighting” truly stems from. Cats definitely have an established pecking order (like the head lioness in a pride), but fighting should never be tolerated. ANY cat fight is bad enough to intervene, and should be avoided at all costs. That’s because cat fights can be very dangerous, and can result in deep penetrating bites to the other cat. Fighting can result in severe infections (abscesses), transmission of infectious diseases (such as feline leukemia or kitty AIDS – called FIV), or even sepsis (bacteria entering the blood stream). More importantly, never put yourself at risk by breaking up a fight with your hand (or any other parts of your body!). Cat mouths are very dirty, and can result in a severely infected wound to you, requiring IV antibiotics and hospitalization in some cases. Also, rare infectious diseases (like “cat scratch fever”) can also be transmitted to you if you’re bitten or scratched. When it comes to breaking up a fight, use a broom – or better yet – a stream of water from a garden hose or water bottle… or avoid a fight to start.

Cat fights occur in two environments – when you let your cat outdoors and he meets a new cat exploring “his” territory, or when you introduce a new cat to your household. To prevent and avoid fights, consider keeping your cat indoors, or slowly acclimating cats to new household pets (this may involve isolating the new cat to one room for a week, gradually introducing them to each other, supervising visits initially, and giving each their own private or escape space when fully acclimated).

Tips:

1) In general, avoid owning more than 5 cats – the more you have, the more cat fighting occurs.

2) Even if your cat has tasted the great outdoors, you can transition him to an indoor-only cat. Most vets recommend this for health reasons to prevent trauma, to avoid environmental poisonings found outdoors, and to keep your cat healthier (and fighting less).

3) Inappropriate urinating in the house may be due to kitty litter husbandry, too many cats in the household, or inter-cat aggression.

4) Working with an animal behaviorist or veterinarian to treat inter-cat aggression is key.

Should I buy a FURminator?

2011-01-17T08:08:00.000-08:00

During the spring and summer, pets shed more to help them thermoregulate. That said, you don’t have to tolerate fur-dust bunnies in your home just because you own and love pets. As a vet surrounded by fur and dander all day, I admit it - I hate shedding fur and take it to an extreme with my own pets: I shave them. That’s right – I shave my two short-haired cats down to the peach-fuzz level during the spring and summer to decrease the massive shedding… that is, until I met my first FURminator.

I’ve always just used traditional brushes on my pets: a metal shedding blade scraping brush on my dog, and a metallic slicker brush for my cats. I didn’t realize what injustice I was doing until I tried out my first FURminator – and was appalled at how much hair I could groom out. If you have a cat or a long-haired dog, it’s worth the investment. In fact, after using it once, you’ll realize that you finally found the ideal brush to get that undercoat out. The bad news – if you’re too aggressive, you can actually cause bald or patchy spots on your pets. I noticed this after aggressively grooming one of my cats…but thankfully it grew all back.

So yes, unless you want to invest a few hundred into clippers, the FURminator is worth the investment! Two thumbs up from this vet.

Kitty litter boxes: What you need to know!

2011-01-10T08:02:00.000-08:00

Cat owners outnumber dog owners in the United States by almost 14 million, but it’s surprising knowing how foul-smelling and messy those kitty litter boxes really can be. As long as you hygienically handle your cat’s litter box – in other words, washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling - there are minimal risks to you, provided you’re not pregnant or immunosuppressed. The risk of bacterial transmission from the litter box is relatively rare, but cats fed a “BARF” (“bones and raw food”) diet may be more at risk for carrying and shedding abnormal bacteria (like E. coli, Salmonella or Camylobacter) in their feces. More recently, the potential risk for bacterial spread (Salmonella) has been reported with dry pet food also, and has resulted in multiple pet food recalls. So, to be safe, good hygiene is recommended after handling anything dog or cat: scooping after your pet or handling their food.

The bigger risk that you’re more likely to get from your cat’s feces is Toxoplasma, which is an infectious, single-celled parasitic organism that cats can become infested with and can shed to you. If you’ve ever owned a cat and been pregnant or immunosuppressed (e.g., AIDS, HIV, chemotherapy), your M.D. or veterinarian may have already educated you on this potential risk. While rare, Toxoplasma can be quite dangerous, and can result in miscarriage, birth defects, and neurologic signs. It’s contagious via three ways: (a) via transmission from a pregnant mother to her unborn child when the mother is infected during pregnancy, (b) by handling or ingesting undercooked or raw meat from infected animals (like venison, lamb, or pork), or (c) by inhalation or ingestion of the oocyst (an early “egg” stage of the Toxoplasma) from soil or litter contact (which can happen when gardening, playing in your kid’s sandbox, or from an unhygienic litter box). Toxoplasma oocysts take more than 24 hours to “ripen” and become infectious to you, so daily cleaning of the litter box helps prevent transmission. If you’re pregnant, it’s safer for you to clean the litter box once or twice a day for the duration of your pregnancy, or better yet, let your partner have litter box duty for the next nine months. A few other easy ways to protect yourself are to avoid raw meat (cooking meat to at least 152ºF), using gloves when gardening, washing your garden vegetables well, and being an advocate for keeping cats indoors, as they first are exposed to toxoplasmosis while hunting vermin.

As for where to keep the litter box, it’s based on how much space you have in your digs, and your tolerance for trafficking around kitty litter clay remnants left on the floor. I personally like to keep the litter box out of sight – where you don’t have to deal with the smell and the litter dust. I’d keep it out of the kitchen too, since you’re prepping or cooking food there. Personally, I keep two litter boxes in my furnished basement, but make sure to clean it daily (Remember, out of sight doesn’t mean out of mind!). While it’s not necessarily unhealthy to smell, I do feel that the dust (which is typically bentonite clay) can chronically build up in your lungs. The easiest tip: clean your kitty’s litter box daily to keep both you and your cat healthy!

PetMD: Dr. Justine Lee, to the ER stat!

2011-01-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

Check out my first blog entry at PetMD!

You can also friend me at Facebook.

Shouldn't we all be this relaxed?

2010-12-30T09:13:00.000-08:00

Are black cats bad luck?

2010-12-27T07:00:00.001-08:00

Being an owner of an all-black cat, I personally don’t believe the hype and superstition behind their color. Part of this superstition may have started as early as King Charles I of England, who adored his black cat so much so that he had it under protection and tight guard. When it died, King Charles was coincidentally arrested the following day, and the superstition of bad luck may have started after that. Compounded by that, old folk lore states that fishermen’s wives used to keep black cats at home to keep their men safe at sea, so black cats were often stolen owing to their coveted value. Sailors believed that if a black cat approached you on the boat, it was good luck, but if a black cat approached you and turned away, you were doomed to bad luck. Legend also had it that witches could transform into black cats, causing people to fear them. That said, should we fear black cats in modern day?

As a veterinarian, I personally feel that orange and white tabby males rank first for friendliness, followed by black males coming in as a close second. Calicos come in last for friendliness (see “Why are orange tabbies almost always male while calicos and tortoiseshells always female?” in this chapter), at least at the veterinary clinic, with gray long-haired cats being the most shy. Of course, I don’t have the scientific data to prove it (there is none!), but in my biased opinion, black is beautiful, after all.

Photo from dalla on Flicker

Why are orange tabbies almost always male while calicos and tortoiseshells always female?

2010-12-20T07:00:00.000-08:00

The majority of the time, orange and white tabby (striped) cats are male, while calico (orange or black, with white large “piebalding” patches) or tortoiseshell cats (varieties of white, black, and orange with no white patches) are female. This is due to the complicated sex-linked color gene.

Before we get into sex and genes and colors, know that some veterinarians are cat color biased. For years, veterinarians had mysteriously hypothesized that these color patterns were also linked to the friendliness gene. Interestingly enough, we may now have the scientific research to support this veterinary old wives’ tale: one recent study has shown that when domesticated foxes were bred for friendliness, their coat color got mangier and uglier. Based on this study,7 many believe that coat color is associated with hormones that may make an animal nicer.

I personally believe that orange tabbies are the most outgoing, lovable of all the cat colors while the calico cats are the “queen” of the bunch (“Please don’t touch me. You’re disturbing me.”). If you really must know, calico cats often seem to be the meanest, most feisty cats while in the hospital. Don’t get me wrong – they may be wonderful angels at home, but they put up the worst fight at the veterinarian. Your veterinarian probably doesn’t tell you that once your female feline is at the vet clinic, she pretty much becomes, well, a vicious, drooling, ferocious tiger who’s trying to rip everyone’s eyes out (no, seriously). Whether or not it’s because she’s a female, or owing to the genetic link between friendliness and coat color, she’ll turn into a biting, scratching, screaming, vicious land shark when your veterinarian takes her into the back room. Most vet techs and vets have a healthy respect for these frenzied females. We’re talking drugs (chemical restraint), nets, leather gloves, muzzles, towels, fur flying, chasing, and so on. In fact, if you have a cat this color and know that she’s bad when you bring her to the vet, do us all a favor. Arrange to pick up oral sedatives first – it will make everyone’s life easier!

Color favoritism aside, veterinarians know that most orange and white tabbies are male, while most calicos and “torties” are female. Coat coloration is very complex as it is influenced by many genes and their genetic status as dominant or recessive (which is the strength in ability to be expressed). There are several alleles for each color (described as O for the orange allele (which is the dominant color gene, resulting in the orange color), or o for the black allele (which is the recessive color gene, resulting in non-orange fur). These colors are considered sex linked, as they are associated with the female X chromosome: the O gene is located on the X chromosome, and if you recall your tenth-grade science lessons about Mendel’s peas, you’ll recall the males are XY while females are XX. In other words, since males only carry one X chromosome, they are more likely to have orange fur since it’s also a dominant gene. Since o is recessive, it requires two oo to result in a non-orange color, while Oo yields the tortoiseshell color. To achieve the calico color, O and o both need to be expressed on the female X chromosome, and being that males only have one X chromosome, the majority of calicos are female (more than 90 percent). Voila! So, go ahead and skip eight years of veterinary schooling and sex your new kitten based on its colorings. If you just adopted a kitten, hedge your bets and pick out your favorite boy name for orange tabbies, and girl names for calico or tortie cats. If you ever see a male calico or tortoiseshell, you are (a) lucky or (b) the proud owner of a possible XXY animal, which you can name “Hermie.” (Congratulations, owning a hermaphrodite is quite rare!) While color coat expression is very complicated, know that orange tabbies are almost always male, while calico and torties are almost always female.

Photo from pasma on Flicker

Do cats like to swim?

2010-12-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

Don’t you dare let your boyfriend read this and think he can put your cat into the tub or swimming pool - that is, unless your kitty is a Turkish Van. This unique breed of cat has been recognized by the Cat Fanciers’ Association since the mid-1990s and is one of the only cats that actually chooses to play in the water. Because these cats were bred near Lake Van in eastern Turkey, they have passed on their swimming gene that makes them the Amanda Beard of cats. Not to be confused with the Turkish Angora, the Van has ultrasoft, quick drying fur that helps them regain their hairdo and composure immediately after a dip.

All other non-Van cats usually despise swimming and generally prefer not to be tortured with a bath. While cats may be curious and want to dip their paw in water, most prefer to stay dry and don’t actually want to be completely immersed. I mean, the indignity! How dare you mess up their hair! Most cats descended from the desert regions of the world, where they didn’t routinely go for a swim. While some wild, large cats (such as tigers) love to swim and frolic in the water to cool off, most other large cats like panthers and lions don’t want to stick their head underwater; they’ll only swim to get from point A to point B, or trying to catch their next meal.

Why do cats prefer to drink running water?

2010-12-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Cats are curious creatures by nature and enjoy playing in water while staying mostly dry. My mother, who isn’t a cat person, once called me in dismay while pet-sitting Seamus; she explained that she had to leave the bathroom sink on a slow drip to get him to drink enough water. Otherwise, she never saw Seamus at the water bowl and was worried he was getting dehydrated. I reminded her that cats are desert creatures; they have specially designed kidneys (extra long loops of Henle, if you really must know) to help concentrate their urine and absorb as much water from their kidneys as they can. You hardly ever see cats sitting at the water bowl as much as a dog does for that reason. Personally, I know that Seamus loves to run into the bathroom after I’m done showering to lick up all the extra water. While his kidneys are fine, he likes the variety of different-tasting water (maybe he likes the essence of Dove body cleaner) from a different surface. No need to freak out and leave every faucet on for your cat – that would dramatically increase your water bill and make Al Gore very upset. Most times, healthy cats prefer to drink out of a dripping faucet just for variety, although a plain bowl of clean, fresh water will suffice just fine.

If, however, you notice that (a) your older cat is hovering constantly by the water bowl, (b) he is trying to lift the toilet seat to get a drink, (c) the clumps in the litter box are bigger than the size of your head (or his!), or (d) you’re constantly refilling his dish, bring him to a veterinarian for some blood work and urine testing to nip any medical problems in the bud. That’s because there are some diseases such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism, kidney failure, or feline lower urinary tract disease where thirst and water balance (and hence your cat’s ability to stay hydrated) are impacted; in these situations, it’s imperative to treat the underlying disease and also to ensure that your cat is drinking even more water than normal. Since some cats will drink more out of kitty water fountains (where the water is constantly trickling, like a melodic stream), these gadgets are beneficial if your cat happens to have any of those scary-sounding diseases above. I’d recommend that you run out to your local pet store to get a fountain if your cat is diagnosed with one of these medical conditions – it’s worth it!

Photo by pasotraspaso from Flicker

Holiday Pet Poisoning Myths Debunked!

2010-12-03T21:06:00.001-08:00

Holiday festivities, decorations and rich foods can wreak havoc on undiscerning pets who love to taste test everything that appears new and interesting. While pet owners need to be made aware of the very real and dangerous threats to pets this time of year, the veterinarians at Pet Poison Helpline would also like to debunk several common myths that cause unnecessary stress each holiday season.

Real Holiday Dangers
Lilies, including tiger, Asiatic, stargazer, day and Easter, make lovely centerpieces but are also extremely toxic to cats. These beauties fall into the category of real and acute danger. As little as one or two petals or leaves, and even the pollen, can cause sudden kidney failure. They should be kept well out of kitty’s reach. Thankfully, dogs are not as severely affected by lilies with only mild stomach upset expected.

While not as toxic as lilies, ingestion of Christmas cactus by dogs and cats can cause vomiting and diarrhea. Likewise, the spiny and leathery leaves of the Christmas or English holly can result in significant damage to the stomach and intestines of dogs and cats. The holly’s berries have mildly toxic properties, but are fairly tolerable in most pets. While death is not likely, it’s best to keep your pets away from these holiday plants.

Filling your house with the smell of nutmeg or pine is inviting, but if you heat scented oils in a simmer pot, be aware that it can cause serious harm to your cat. Some liquid potpourris contain chemicals called cationic detergents which can result in severe chemical burns in the mouth, fever, difficulty breathing and tremors. Dogs are not as sensitive to the chemicals but may still suffer burns so it’s still better to be safe than sorry. Scent your home with a non-toxic candle in a safe no-pet zone.

With the holiday season comes delightful baked goods, confections and other rich, fattening foods. However, it is not wise, and sometimes quite dangerous, to share these foods with your pets. Keep them on their regular diets over the holidays and do not let family and friends sneak them these kinds of treats. Some of the most dangerous foods are chocolate and cocoa, sugarless gum and candy containing xylitol, leftover fatty meat scraps, and yeast bread dough.

Holiday Myths Debunked!
According to the veterinarians at Pet Poison Helpline, these are the most common myths concerning pet safety during the holiday season.

Myth #1 - Poinsettias are highly toxic. Although they have a bad rap, poinsettia plants (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are only mildly dangerous to dogs and cats and their relative toxicity has been quite exaggerated. The most problematic component of the plant is its sticky white sap that may cause mild mouth or stomach irritation if ingested. Contact with the skin may also result in mild irritation. However, serious poisoning is not expected from ingestion.

Myth #2 - Mistletoe is toxic. Like poinsettias, American mistletoe, which is a popular plant used as holiday décor, also gets a bad rap. Rumors of its toxic nature are largely attributed to its cousin, European mistletoe. Though ingestion of American mistletoe leaves or berries may cause mild stomach upset, serious or life-threatening poisoning is not likely.

Myth #3 - Fruit cake is a healthy holiday treat. While fruit cake may be a fine food for people, it can actually be deadly to pets. Grapes, raisins and currants are common ingredients in fruit cakes and can result in kidney failure in dogs if ingested. Additionally, fruitcake that has been soaked in rum or other alcohol may also prove poisonous to your pet if ingested. Alcohol is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and can affect pets quickly, causing a dangerous drop in blood sugar, blood pressure and body temperature. Intoxicated animals can experience seizures and respiratory failure.

Myth #4 - Tinsel is a pet-friendly decoration. An ornament that pet owners should avoid is tinsel for decorating trees. If you own a cat, toss the tinsel! What looks like a shiny toy can prove deadly if ingested. While tinsel itself is not poisonous, it can result in a severe linear foreign body, which occurs when something “stringy” wraps around the base of the tongue or anchors itself in the stomach, rendering it unable to pass through the intestines. As the intestines contract and move, the string can slowly saw through the tissue, resulting in severe damage to your pet’s intestinal tract. Treatment involves expensive abdominal surgery. It’s best to keep tinsel, as well as ribbon, yarn and thread out of your pet’s reach.

“Dogs, cats, birds and other pets often use their mouths to investigate new things,” said Ahna Brutlag, DVM, assistant director at Pet Poison Helpline. “Much like small children, they simply cannot resist the temptation to chew on potentially harmful plants, foods and other ‘goodies.’ Thankfully, it’s easy for pet owners to educate themselves about common pet poisons. At www.petpoisonhelpline.com you can view and print our list of toxic foods and post it on your refrigerator as a reminder. This is also a way to discourage your holiday guests from feeding Fido poisonous people food!”

Make this holiday season merrier for you and your pets by keeping dangerous items safely out of their reach. If, however, you think your pet may have ingested something harmful, take action immediately. Contact your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline at 1-800-213-6680.

About Pet Poison Helpline
Pet Poison Helpline is a service available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary professionals who require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. The staff can provide treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species. As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline’s fee of $35 per incident includes unlimited follow-up consultations. Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

Do cats always land on their feet?

2010-11-29T07:00:00.000-08:00

Warning: do not throw your cat up in the air to see if he lands on his feet! Cats are very agile creatures, and they will jump from a counter or tree branch to catch a toy or a bird. While many cats appear to graciously land on their feet, there are some cats that get severely injured from what we veterinarians term “high-rise syndrome.”

Feline high-rise syndrome describes those curious cats that lean and fall out of your apartment window from at least two stories high. Tigger may have just wandered near the window to check out the bugs through the screen, and before you know it curiosity abounds him and he accidentally falls through. Not surprising, the majority of cats that succumb to high-rise syndrome are young (averaging two to three years of age), dumb, and male (76 percent). I guess young, male cats are a bit more reckless and clueless (just like their two-legged counterparts). What veterinarians have found is that the average fall is typically four stories high, and thankfully, the majority of cats (more than 95 percent)survive. Unfortunately, more than a third sustain leg fractures or chest trauma (such as fractured ribs, lung bruises, air leakage from their lungs).6 Understandably, the higher the fall (i.e., more than six or seven stories), the more severe the injuries. (Doesn’t take a veterinarian to have to tell you that, huh?) Being that your average fracture repair and ER visit will cost you between $2,000 and $3,500, help prevent this potentially fatal error by making sure your high-rise windows are all tightly fastened and kid- or cat-proof.

That said, cats appear to “naturally” land on their feet for several reasons. First, cats reach terminal velocity (which is when the downward force of gravity equals the upward force of drag, resulting in a constant speed) at a much faster rate than your average human skydiver. In fact, veterinarians estimate that cats reach terminal velocity at approximately five stories. Cats also have a strong “righting” reflex, which means they can twist and turn themselves into the “right” position until they are correct side up. Because cats are flexible and agile, they have the ability to fan themselves out (by extending their arms and legs) to increase their surface area to minimize the fall. But as you noticed from the studies above, not all cats land on their feet. Avoid the problem and help preserve the other eight lives of your cat: close your window!

Photo from Philipp Klinger from Flicker

Are all cats good mice catchers?

2010-11-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

I’d be lying if I told you all cats were good for something. Don’t adopt a cat because you have a mouse problem; rather, adopt a cat because you want to enjoy his or her company for the next ten to twenty years. Not all cats are good mice catchers, so you may be stuck with a poor mouser. Unfortunately, there’s no behavioral, prescreening, test-drive ability (or return policy) to find out if the cat you’re about to adopt is a good mouser or not. It’s all in the genes, I’m afraid. Not all of us are the quarterback jock with good hand-eye coordination. My cat Echo is a great hunter. I keep him indoors so he doesn’t kill anything, but all the crawling bugs and moths that make it in the house meet a quick demise. My other cat, Seamus, is fatter and lazier and has stared at mice and neither moved nor cared. Could be you might just adopt a really fat, lazy cat.

From Cloud_Nine on Flicker.

twincitieslive.com - Halloween Safety for Pets

2010-11-20T13:02:00.000-08:00

twincitieslive.com - Halloween Safety for Pets

twincitieslive.com - Pet Obesity

2010-11-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

twincitieslive.com - Pet Obesity

Art on a bike - beautiful!

2010-11-20T11:04:00.001-08:00

Granted, this has nothing to do with pets, but it was so beautiful I had to re-tweet!

Why does my cat sleep so much? How many hours does a cat sleep a day ?

2010-11-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Ah, the life of a cat. If we all took a few more catnaps during the week, we’d be a lot less stressed and cranky, don’t you think?

Back before wildcats were domesticated into household pets, they were at the top of the food chain, so they didn’t have to spend much time foraging for food…allowing them to sleep the rest of the day away. Typically, wildcats had short, fast bursts of hunting activity, and once done hunting, killing, and eating, they had the remainder of the day to lounge around. Since then, our domesticated cats have evolved so they can also lounge around for say, sixteen hours a day. Since cats are nocturnal, you may not realize how much your cat sleeps during the day while you’re hard at work. In fact, approximately 70 percent of your cat’s life is spent napping.

As an ER doctor working various shifts (from overnights to late nights to day shifts), I’ve always appreciated that Seamus and Echo slept with me during the day (after my overnight shift) without any disturbance. However, they get their revenge when I try to sleep at night (following a day shift) – playing, running, tackling each other, all around my head at three a.m. After sixteen hours of resting all day, they get bored in the wee hours of the morning. Can you blame them?

Top 10 pet-friendly cities named

2010-11-08T19:08:00.001-08:00

Formerly published in DVM NEWSMAGAZINE Oct 10, 2010
National Report — Portland, Oregon tops the list of Best Places to Live with Pets, according to a new report from Livability.com.

The cities on this list have pet-friendly parks and trails, quality veterinary care, active animal-welfare groups, as well as an abundance of pet boutiques and retail shops.

“But to make the list, these cities also had to offer an incredible quality of life for pet owners as well,” Livability reports in a prepared statement.

“According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), pet owners will spend over $47 billion on their pets in 2010,” says Livability.com spokesperson John Hood. “Obviously Americans take their pets seriously, and we’ve noticed a tremendous amount of interest in pet-related content. So our editors researched cities around the country and looked for cities that were both pet and people friendly. From quality healthcare and higher education to diverse job opportunities and active artistic and cultural scenes, these cities are some of the best places to work, live, play and own a pet in America.”

The top 10 cities include:
1. Portland, Ore.
2. Colorado Springs, Colo.
3. Rocky Mount, N.C.
4. Boulder, Colo.
5. Santa Cruz, Calif.
6. Eugene, Ore.
7. Asheville, N.C.
8. Albuquerque, N.M.
9. Nashville, Tenn.
10. Louisville, Ky.

Why, when you shave your cat, does the hair grow back a different color?

2010-11-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

Be aware that if you attempt to clip your cat’s hair, it may grow back a different color or texture. Tigger’s new shave job will still resemble his previous coat, but it may cause his undercoat to be thicker and his lines to be a bit less dramatic. Shaving Tigger may result in stimulation of an atypical coat pattern or change the normal three-staged life cycle of the hair follicle. I’ve slowly noticed that Seamus has less dramatic tabby lines after all my clip jobs. Don’t get too excited – you can’t make Tigger the tabby into a blond Himalayan.

Photo by Fullofheart from Flicker!

Does it hurt if my cat’s whiskers get cut?

2010-11-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

No, you won’t hurt your cat’s whiskers, or vibrissae, if they get accidentally cut. The whisker itself has no nerves or blood vessels but is firmly attached to a hair follicle and sinus, which has nerve innervation. (Ever accidentally yank out your nose hair? Ouch!) Your cat uses his whiskers as a sensing mechanism and air movement or vibrations allow him to “feel” where he is. You may notice your cat’s whiskers are the width of your cat (or your cat’s ideal weight, I should say), which evolutionarily allows your cat to fit through tight spaces and sense how much personal space he has around him. Please don’t cut those whiskers off – they are actually quite important to let him know how much room he has to wriggle!

Photo from Shawn's Kitty from Flicker!

Veterinarians Warn Pet Owners About Halloween Dangers

2010-10-29T08:06:00.001-07:00

The Four Most Common Hazards around Halloween!

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (October 4, 2010) – During the week of Halloween, calls to the veterinarians at Pet Poison Helpline increase by 12 percent, making it the call center’s busiest time of year. The helpline, which is a 24-hour service, assists pet owners, veterinarians and veterinary technicians who are treating potentially poisoned pets.

“Each year we experience a sharp increase in calls around Halloween, especially during the weekends surrounding the holiday,” said Ahna Brutlag, DVM, assistant director at Pet Poison Helpline.

“Most often, these calls involve pets accidentally ingesting Halloween candy or décor. Chocolate is one of the most problematic candies as dogs and cats cannot metabolize it as well as people. Thus, it places them at risk for poisoning.”

The four most common food-related Halloween hazards for pets are chocolate, candy overindulgence, raisins and candy wrappers.

· Chocolate – Of all candy, chocolate is one of the most toxic to pets. Over the past year, more than 1,100 calls to Pet Poison Helpline involved exposure to chocolate and 98 percent of them involved dogs. Many dogs are inherently attracted to the smell and taste of chocolate, making it a significant threat. In general, the darker and more bitter the chocolate, the more poisonous it is. The chemicals in chocolate that are dangerous to pets, methylxanthines, are similar to caffeine and more heavily concentrated in the darker varieties. In fact, a 50-pound dog can be sickened by ingesting only one ounce of Baker’s chocolate! On the other hand, it may take up to eight ounces, (half a pound) of milk chocolate to cause poisoning in that same sized dog. White chocolate contains very low amounts of methylxanthine and rarely causes poisoning. To avoid issues, keep Halloween candy well out of the reach of pets at all times. If you think your pet may have ingested chocolate, symptoms to watch for include vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, agitation, increased thirst, an elevated heart rate, and in severe cases, seizures.

· Candy overindulgence – Pets are indiscriminate when it comes to eating tasty treats and can gorge themselves on snacks and food meant for humans. Large ingestions of sugary, high-fat candy can lead to pancreatitis in pets. Potentially fatal, pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas and very painful. It may not show up for two to four days after the pet ingests the candy. Symptoms include decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, abdominal pain, and potentially, kidney failure or organ damage.

· Raisins – Some people prefer to distribute healthy snacks instead of candy on Halloween, such as mini-boxes of raisins. These are extremely are poisonous to dogs! Very small amounts of raisins (and grapes) can cause kidney failure in dogs and, potentially, cats. When it comes to your pets, raisins deserve the same pet-proofing treatment as chocolate – stored in secure containers far from their reach. Unfortunately, some dogs develop idiosyncratic reactions at any dose – in other words, they can ingest any amount and potentially be poisoned. Therefore, any ingestion of raisins or grapes should be treated as a “poisoning” case. Symptoms include vomiting, nausea, decreased appetite, lethargy, abdominal pain, and severe kidney failure.

· Candy wrappers – Generally when pets eat candy, they don’t bother to remove the wrappers. Ingestion of foil and cellophane wrappers can cause a life-threatening bowel obstruction, which if severe, can require surgical intervention to correct. Watch for vomiting, decreased appetite, not defecating, straining to defecate, or lethargy. X-rays may be necessary to diagnose this problem.

Other Halloween hazards to be aware of include glow sticks and glow jewelry, costumes and candles.

· Glow sticks and glow jewelry – Pets, especially cats, love to chew on these items. Over the past year, Pet Poison Helpline received nearly 80 calls concerning pets that punctured glow sticks or glow jewelry, and 70 percent of the calls involved cats. While not usually life-threatening, their contents can cause pain and irritation in the mouth, as well as profuse drooling and foaming at the mouth.

· Costumes – Pets look cute dressed in costumes, but they might not enjoy it as much as their owners. If you dress your pet in a costume, be sure it doesn’t impair his vision, movement or air intake. If the costume contains metallic beads, snaps or other small pieces, be aware that if ingested, some metals (especially zinc and lead) can result in serious poisoning. Also, don’t be tempted to dye or apply coloring to your pet’s fur. Even if the dye is labeled non-toxic to humans, it could still be harmful to pets.

· Candles – Keep candles out of the reach of curious noses and wagging tails. Sometimes pets don’t realize something is hot until they get burned.

During this Halloween season, help keep your pet safe. If you think your pet has ingested something poisonous, the veterinarians at Pet Poison Helpline suggest that you get help sooner than later. It’s always easier, less expensive, and safer for your pet to be treated earlier, versus when he’s showing severe symptoms. Contact your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline immediately at 1-800-213-6680.

About Pet Poison Helpline

Pet Poison Helpline is a service available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary professionals that require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. Staff can provide treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species. As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline’s fee of $35 per incident includes follow-up consultation for the duration of the poison case. Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

twincitieslive.com - Halloween Safety for Pets

2010-10-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

twincitieslive.com - Halloween Safety for Pets

Are all cats good mice catchers?

2010-10-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Funny!

2010-10-21T14:43:00.001-07:00

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/kitty_pet

How well do cats see in the dark, and why do they have vertical pupils?

2010-10-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Cats have evolved to become nocturnal hunters and are much more sensitive to light than humans, having “minimum light detection threshold up to [seven] times less than that of humans.” In addition, cats have vertical pupils to help finely control the amount of light coming in to their back of their eye. Their pupil can become round or oval when dilated to allow more light in during the evening hours, making their night vision more accurate. Likewise, a vertical pupil can constrict down to a tiny, thin slit to prevent too much light from entering their eye during the day.

Ever wonder why your cat sometimes gets red eye in photos? Well, cats have a tapetum which is that reflective green, blue, or red hue in the back of their eye. This tapetum is 130 times more reflective than a human’s. Between having a higher sensitivity to light, a vertical pupil, a hyperactive tapetum, and a retina that has more rod photoreceptors cells (which helps with visual acuity in low light) than cone cells (which help with color and detail), cats have exceptional night vision to help with their hunting prowess, or to attack your head at three a.m.

Why do cats hiss?

2010-10-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

It might just be a weird veterinary thing, but when I notice two work colleagues arguing in front of me, sometimes I hiss at them. It’s my animal way of communicating to them that they’re fighting like cats and are being, well, kind of catty. I guess non-animal people would think that’s really weird. That said, why do cats hiss?

Cats hiss to sound intimidating and to scare away whatever is threatening them. Just like when snakes hiss, other creatures probably know to stay away from this sound, as it’s generally not associated with anything good (i.e., you’re about to be bitten or pounced upon). By changing the shape of their tongue and pharynx (the tissue right in front of their voice box), cats are able to sharply release a jet of air while spitting some saliva in the process. As a veterinarian, I’m used to hearing the sound frequently (while I’m restraining or treating them), and I always proceed with caution. Be aware, cat lovers. If you’ve just approached a cat (or person) who’s hissing at you, get the point and quickly back away.

Photo from Tante Bluhmes from Flicker

Veterinarians Warn Pet Owners About Halloween Dangers

2010-10-10T20:25:00.001-07:00

The Four Most Common Hazards

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (October 4, 2010) – During the week of Halloween, calls to the veterinarians at Pet Poison Helpline increase by 12 percent, making it the call center’s busiest time of year. The helpline, which is a 24-hour service, assists pet owners, veterinarians and veterinary technicians who are treating potentially poisoned pets.

“Each year we experience a sharp increase in calls around Halloween, especially during the weekends surrounding the holiday,” said Ahna Brutlag, DVM, assistant director at Pet Poison Helpline.
“Most often, these calls involve pets accidentally ingesting Halloween candy or décor. Chocolate is one of the most problematic candies as dogs and cats cannot metabolize it as well as people. Thus, it places them at risk for poisoning.”

The four most common food-related Halloween hazards for pets are chocolate, candy overindulgence, raisins and candy wrappers.

• Chocolate – Of all candy, chocolate is one of the most toxic to pets. Over the past year, more than 1,100 calls to Pet Poison Helpline involved exposure to chocolate and 98 percent of them involved dogs. Many dogs are inherently attracted to the smell and taste of chocolate, making it a significant threat. In general, the darker and more bitter the chocolate, the more poisonous it is. The chemicals in chocolate that are dangerous to pets, methylxanthines, are similar to caffeine and more heavily concentrated in the darker varieties. In fact, a 50-pound dog can be sickened by ingesting only one ounce of Baker’s chocolate! On the other hand, it may take up to eight ounces, (half a pound) of milk chocolate to cause poisoning in that same sized dog. White chocolate contains very low amounts of methylxanthine and rarely causes poisoning. To avoid issues, keep Halloween candy well out of the reach of pets at all times. If you think your pet may have ingested chocolate, symptoms to watch for include vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, agitation, increased thirst, an elevated heart rate, and in severe cases, seizures.

• Candy overindulgence – Pets are indiscriminate when it comes to eating tasty treats and can gorge themselves on snacks and food meant for humans. Large ingestions of sugary, high-fat candy can lead to pancreatitis in pets. Potentially fatal, pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas and very painful. It may not show up for two to four days after the pet ingests the candy. Symptoms include decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, abdominal pain, and potentially, kidney failure or organ damage.

• Raisins – Some people prefer to distribute healthy snacks instead of candy on Halloween, such as mini-boxes of raisins. These are extremely are poisonous to dogs! Very small amounts of raisins (and grapes) can cause kidney failure in dogs and, potentially, cats. When it comes to your pets, raisins deserve the same pet-proofing treatment as chocolate – stored in secure containers far from their reach. Unfortunately, some dogs develop idiosyncratic reactions at any dose – in other words, they can ingest any amount and potentially be poisoned. Therefore, any ingestion of raisins or grapes should be treated as a “poisoning” case. Symptoms include vomiting, nausea, decreased appetite, lethargy, abdominal pain, and severe kidney failure.

• Candy wrappers – Generally when pets eat candy, they don’t bother to remove the wrappers. Ingestion of foil and cellophane wrappers can cause a life-threatening bowel obstruction, which if severe, can require surgical intervention to correct. Watch for vomiting, decreased appetite, not defecating, straining to defecate, or lethargy. X-rays may be necessary to diagnose this problem.

Other Halloween hazards to be aware of include glow sticks and glow jewelry, costumes and candles.

• Glow sticks and glow jewelry – Pets, especially cats, love to chew on these items. Over the past year, Pet Poison Helpline received nearly 80 calls concerning pets that punctured glow sticks or glow jewelry, and 70 percent of the calls involved cats. While not usually life-threatening, their contents can cause pain and irritation in the mouth, as well as profuse drooling and foaming at the mouth.

• Costumes – Pets look cute dressed in costumes, but they might not enjoy it as much as their owners. If you dress your pet in a costume, be sure it doesn’t impair his vision, movement or air intake. If the costume contains metallic beads, snaps or other small pieces, be aware that if ingested, some metals (especially zinc and lead) can result in serious poisoning. Also, don’t be tempted to dye or apply coloring to your pet’s fur. Even if the dye is labeled non-toxic to humans, it could still be harmful to pets.

• Candles – Keep candles out of the reach of curious noses and wagging tails. Sometimes pets don’t realize something is hot until they get burned.

During this Halloween season, help keep your pet safe. If you think your pet has ingested something poisonous, the veterinarians at Pet Poison Helpline suggest that you get help sooner than later. It’s always easier, less expensive, and safer for your pet to be treated earlier, versus when he’s showing severe symptoms. Contact your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline immediately at 1-800-213-6680.

About Pet Poison Helpline
Pet Poison Helpline is a service available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary professionals that require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. Staff can provide treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species. As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline’s fee of $35 per incident includes follow-up consultation for the duration of the poison case. Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

Oscar the cat, predicts death... yet again!

2010-10-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

Grim rea-purr: The cat that can predict death
Previously printed by VICTORIA MOORE

The footsteps down the corridor of the Steere House Nursing And Rehabilitation Centre are light but purposeful as Oscar makes his way towards the end of the hallway and stops outside room 310. The door is pulled firmly shut and, untroubled, he sits down outside it, and waits some 25 minutes until a nurse's aide appears, her arms full of dirty linen.

"Ah, Oscar," she smiles, and with a nod, almost as if she were expecting him, allows him to pass into the room where a frail elderly lady, her body ravaged by cancer, is sleeping fitfully. Oscar sniffs ostentatiously around, resists the blandishments of the relatives gathered round the bedside, struts out and continues on his round. For the lady in room 310, the time has not yet come.

The patient in the next room into which Oscar pokes his grey-and-white head is not so lucky. This time, Oscar weighs the situation carefully, then leaps on to the bed and curls up beside the woman lying in it. A few moments later he is spotted, snuggled up there, by a passing nurse who immediately raises the alarm, not kick-starting a security alert to rid the ward of an unwanted intruder but a frenetic flurry of activity as medical records are fetched, a priest is called, and relatives are alerted to the likelihood of the patient's imminent demise. Because Oscar, as everyone in this nursing home is agreed, has special powers - more even than the doctors and palliative care specialists who come to tend to the terminally ill here.

For like a harbinger of bad news, Oscar is able to discern the exact moment at which the angel of death comes to stand at their bedside. It is an unusual skill, certainly. All the more so because Oscar is just a cat. The fluffy, two-year-old, grey and white brindled pet was adopted by the dementia unit at the home in Rhode Island and named by its residents after a famous American hot dog brand. Oscar curls up next to patients who have just a few hours to live

Yet his skills of divination are beyond question - and have even been the subject of an article in as august a publication as the New England Journal Of Medicine. To date he has predicted the deaths of 25 patients, and done so with such accuracy that he has completely won the trust of even the initially incredulous medical staff.

"This cat really seems to know when patients are about to die," says Dr David Dosa, a geriatrician at Rhode Island hospital who also attends patients at Steere House. "We started to see something was happening about 18 months ago and at first I think we were all very sceptical. But it's not an unusual occurrence for patients to die here, so we've had plenty of opportunities to witness and observe the phenomenon."
The first signals come as early as two days beforehand, when Oscar leaves his usual favourite solitary spots under a doctor's desk or sunbathing in the windows of an empty office and begins doing his rounds, padding round the corridors of the unit, visiting patients but never lingering.

"When somebody's not ready to die, he leaves," says Dr Dosa. "He doesn't settle in their room until the day they die. Sometimes it can be as much as four hours beforehand, but he's universally there, curled up on their bed, two hours before they take their last breath." Oscar was just a kitten, a small, stray bundle of fur, when he arrived at the home in July 2005, and since then he has not failed to spot a single death. On occasions, his skills have been sorely tested, for example when a visiting palliative care expert, Dr Joan Teno of Brown University, noticed that a patient seemed to be running out of time.

"I think it was around the 13th patient," she says. "Their breathing had changed, and their extremities were cooling. We'd already noticed Oscar seemed to have form in predicting when someone was about to die so I asked if he'd been in. Mary the nurse said, 'No' and I said, 'Oh, let's put him in there and let him keep his streak going.' "So we did. Oscar went in, sniffed around - and promptly left the room. The next morning I asked how things had gone overnight and was told the patient had died at 2.30am - about ten hours after I'd predicted. And Oscar had gone back into the room, and stayed there, two hours beforehand. So he's obviously a better prognosticator than I am."

As far as those who work there are aware, there is only one death at which Oscar has not been present - and that wasn't because he didn't notice it, but because relatives of the patient asked for him to be removed from the room.

Standing outside, Oscar began such a noisy commotion of frenzied caterwauling, miaowing and scratching at the door that he had to be removed from the unit. Clearly, he wanted to be in the room and was not happy about being told he had to stay away.

His insistence was all the more peculiar because although Oscar purrs contentedly as he nestles close to those who have just hours to live, he normally prefers to stay aloof from human company.

As Dosa puts it, "Oscar is not usually particularly friendly. He actually doesn't like spending time with either patients or staff. Sure, you can usually bribe him with some food if you want to, but that's about it." So what draws him so strongly towards those who are nearing the very end of their lives?

"That's actually the most puzzling part of it," observes Daniel Mills, a specialist in veterinary behavioural medicine at Lincoln University. He believes the idea that a cat, or indeed another animal, might be able to intuitively sense the proximity of death is not nearly as fanciful as it seems.

"Animals are particularly sensitive to a whole range of cues of which we are not always aware and can pick up on minute chemical changes," he explains. "For example, you can train a dog to predict an epilepsy fit in a patient before they even sense it themselves, or even detect cancer, so it seems reasonable to suppose you might be able to train a cat to detect that a person was terminally ill, particularly as they have such a good sense of smell. "The challenge is that it's hard to see what the cat might get out of it. After all, the person they've gone to sit with dies - so why should it engage in that sort of behaviour?" He postulates that one 'admittedly far-fetched' reason might be that metabolism changes shortly before a person dies, "and often the body makes a last-ditch surge. So perhaps they get a little warmer, and the cat seeks them out because of that. It would be very interesting, macabre though it sounds, to see video footage of this happening, to get a better insight." Others have also speculated that the cat might be responding to physical signals - subtle changes in smells and hormones - not fully understood by humans but detectable to the whiskery feline nose.

Laurie Cabot, the 'official witch' of Salem, Massachusetts, where the infamous 17th century witchcraft trials were held, has another theory. In her view, Oscar is acting as a 'familiar' - the term witches of old used to refer to the cats who were their constant companions - which means that he is in psychic communication with the patients he visits. "He knows they are going to die because he is picking up on their brainwaves," says Cabot, a descendant of a family that arrived in America on the Mayflower with the Pilgrims. "Science has found that the brainwaves of cats never go into Beta mode, they are always in Alpha. And it is in the Alpha range that all psychic things happen. "This little cat Oscar knows all the patients in the unit and he is trying to help them, just like the cats that I've always kept will curl up on my chest and try to heal me if I feel upset or am ill. In this case, though, Oscar is not trying to heal, he is clearly trying to help these people walk over into the other world."

Cabot might find further support for her theory in the fact that Oscar does not leave the patient after they have died, preferring to stay with the body until the undertaker arrives. Then those who have cared for the patient escort the corpse out in a procession to honour the patient. Oscar, because he lives in the locked dementia unit, is not allowed off the premises, but he always walks with the funereal procession to the door, and watches as it leaves.

Dr Teno shares Cabot's idea that Oscar is a compassionate cat, but she prefers a slightly more prosaic explanation for the way he behaves.

"He's not a bad omen," she says, "He comforts the dying patients - and what's striking is that, in a centre that offers a real gold-standard in end-of-life treatment, Oscar seems to be mimicking the behaviour of those who work there. He makes the room feel like more of a homely setting, and has become part of the soothing ritual."

Certanly, some relatives of those who have had the 'Oscar experience', feel his contribution was positive. "Oscar's presence gave a sense of completion and contentment," says Jack McCullough of East Providence, whose mother and aunt both died at Steere. "What could be more peaceful than a purring cat? And what sound more beautiful to fill one's ears when leaving life? He brought a special serenity to the room." Not everyone might agree; but although Oscar is the only one of the home's six cats to behave in this way, he might not be unique.

Since his story began to hit the American papers, his nursing home has received dozens of e-mails and letters from people all over the world who say they know a cat that appears to have similar powers.

And as long as Oscar continues to predict, rather than to curse, there can surely be no harm in it.

Here is a list of recalls from the FDA:

2010-10-08T07:47:00.001-07:00

Thanks to petplace.com for listing out this recalls! FYI!

09/07/2010 The Hartz Mountain Corporation Recalls Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treats Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

08/30/10 P&G Voluntarily Recalls a Small Amount of Dry Cat Food

08/29/10 P&G Recalls Small Number of Bags of Cat Food From Stores in Loveland, Colorado

08/13/2010 Merrick Pet Care Recalls Filet Squares & Texas Hold'ems 10oz Bag (Item # 60016 All Lots) Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

08/09/2010 FDA: Salmonella risk from frozen rodents fed to reptiles

08/03/2010 Merrick Pet Care Recalls Texas Hold'ems 10 oz Bag (Item # 60016 Lot 10127 Best by May 6 2012) because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

07/30/2010 P&G Expands Voluntary Limited Recall of Specialized Dry Pet Foods Due to Possible Health Risk

07/28/2010 Evamist Hormone Spray May Cause Illness in Pets

07/27/2010 Mice Direct Recalls Frozen Reptile Feed Because of Possible Health Risk

07/25/2010 P&G Recalls Two Lots of Prescription Renal Diet Cat Food due to a Possible Health Risk

07/15/2010 Feline's Pride Expands Nationwide Recall of its Natural Chicken Formula Cat Food Due to Salmonella Contamination Salmonella

07/02/2010 Merrick Pet Care Recalls Beef Filet Squares for Dogs Treats 10oz Bag (Item #60016 Lot # 10084TL7 Best By March 24, 2012) Because Of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

07/02/2010 United Pet Group Voluntarily Expands Recall of Nutritional Supplements For Dogs to Include Additional Tablet and Powdered-Form Products for Dogs and Cats Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

07/01/2010 Feline's Pride Issues Nationwide Recall of its Natural Chicken Formula Cat Food Due to Salmonella Contamination

06/22/2010 United Pet Group Voluntarily Recalls Pro-Pet Adult Daily Vitamin Supplement for Dogs Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

06/18/2010 Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. announces a voluntary recall of Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Chicken Dry Dog Food Due to a Possible Health Risk

06/18/2010 Kent Nutrition Group, Inc. Conducts Nationwide Voluntary Recall of Kent Feeds Swine Products

06/09/2010 P&G Recalls Specific Canned Cat Foods Due to Low Levels of Thiamine (Vitamin B1)

06/02/2010 Kent Nutrition Group, Inc. Undertakes Limited Recall of Kent Feeds 20 Lamb DQ45 Medicated

04/12/2010 Response Products Voluntarily Recalls Advanced Cetyl M Joint Action Formula for Dogs Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

5 Life Skills You Already Have that Can Make You a Great Blogger

2010-10-08T05:43:00.001-07:00

I need to learn from this phenomenal St. Paulian...

This guest post is by Sarah Von from Yes and Yes.

If you’ve just started a blog you are, no doubt, using your best Google-fu to hunt down every last post giving advice to novice bloggers. There’s heaps of great information out there, but it can get a bit overwhelming for the true beginner. Tweeting and SEO and HTML, oh my! Never fear. Many of the skills that make you an awesome friend/partner/human being will also make you a great blogger!
Work your strong suits

When you sing karaoke, you know you can rock Bob Dylan, and when you’re buying jeans, you know you should stick to boot-cut because they makes your butt look great. The same approach goes for blogging.

We can’t all be Pulitzer-worthy prose writers. Nor does everyone have an unerring eye for good design or a never-ending fount of ideas for amazing posts. But you’re probably pretty good at one of those things, most of the time.

Make the most of your talents! If you’re a good writer but a bad designer, find a good template and then leave it alone. If you’ve got a great eye for design but tremble at the sight of an empty page, maybe you’re meant for tumblr blog rather than something based in Blogger or Wordpress. If you’ve got heaps of great ideas but lack the words to convey them, take a writing class or have a writer friend look over your posts in exchange for a nice dinner

Rest assured that very, very few bloggers have got the market cornered on every area of expertise. While there’s always room for improvement for all of us, don’t make yourself crazy sweating the details on an aspect of blogging that doesn’t really interest you.
Be reliable

In real life, you wouldn’t back out of wedding you RSVPed to attend. Hopefully, you’d never forget to pick up your best friend at the airport. Showing the people in your life (whether they’re here in person or out there on the Internet) that you are reliable is super-important.

I am not exaggerating when I say that many of my favorite blogs have a special place in my heart because I know that every morning I will find new content on them. And I will find that new content every day at the same time. It’s such a bummer to find a blog that you love, only stop by on Music Monday or Food Tuesday and just see posts from last week. That’s how blogs get removed from my RSS feeds.

You don’t need to post seven days a week to develop a loyal readership, but if you say you’re going to post new content every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, well, for the love of Pete, do so! And if your posting is going to be spotty for a while, tell us. People will take you (and your blog) seriously when you take it seriously.
Be a considerate conversationalist

Being able to make conversation can open so many doors for you. And it’s not hard! Ask people questions about themselves, actually listen to their responses and talk about topics that are of interest to both of you (not your Atkins diet or your dog’s health problems).

The same goes for the Internet. It might be tempting to write that post complaining about your coworker who took credit for your new marketing plan. And if you really, really want to, by all means post away! But before you click the Publish button, consider what you’re hoping to accomplish by publishing a negative post, which is probably of interest to a very small group of people.

Many successful bloggers include personal content in their blogs and allow readers a glimpse behind the proverbial curtain. However, unless you are a hilarious and excellent writer, you will probably struggle to find a large readership if your blog consists solely of posts detailing who makes you angry, how you feel about Grey’s Anatomy, and what you bought at Target today.

Write about a topic that interests you and then ask your readers how they feel about it. Respond to their comments. Write posts that are useful to them. If they email you asking for advice, write a post answering their questions. Engage your readers and show them that you value their input.
Make friends and help them out

Life’s a lot more fun with friends, isn’t it? It’s great to have people around you who share your interests and get excited when good things happen to you.

Increasingly, the line between real-life and Internet friends is blurring and one of the greatest things about blogging is all of the wonderful, clever, talented people that you will meet. It’s incredibly easy to make friends through your blog. Leave comments on blogs that you like and respond to your readers’ comments. Email bloggers directly and tell them that you like what they’re doing. Link to great blog posts and include friends in your blog roll. Do post exchanges. Nominate your blogging friends for awards. Let your readers know who your Internet friends are — we all like to be in on the fun!
Be the most attractive version of yourself

I am not possession of rock-hard abs, Michelle Obama arms or a designer wardrobe. However, that doesn’t mean that that I’m ready to throw in the towel and spend the rest of my days in yoga pants and a ponytail. It’s a fact of life that people judge us by our appearance: when we take care of ourselves, people notice.

You don’t need to hire a personal trainer or a stylist to look great, and you don’t need a graphic designer to create a good looking blog. You’d be amazed what you can find by googling “free blog templates.” Keep your page clean and uncluttered and resist the urge to fill up all your whitespace with animated ads or buttons.

Less really is more. Many people will fall all over themselves to navigate away from a blog with tiny white text on a dark background, oddly sized photos and animated flower that keeps blowing kisses at them.

Think about blogs you love and their visual design. Do they have a uniting color scheme? Are their pictures always the same width as the text column? Is the text fully justified? Take a few cues from the bloggers who seem to have it figured out!

There are many, many things you can do to create an great blog. But if you’re already an awesome human being, you’re more than halfway there!

Sarah Von posts daily about travel, style, design, and adventure on Yes and Yes. Sometimes, she really is waiting for you to stop talking about your Atkins diet so she can tell you her funny story.

Pet product review of Trimline Veterinary Recovery Collars

2010-09-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

As a veterinarian, I’ve prescribed a lot of Elizabethan collars (aka “funnel hats”) in my lifetime. These collars are designed to protect pets – not torture them – by preventing them from biting, licking, or scratching certain areas of their body that may be affected by a disease or by a veterinarian’s well-intentioned hands (i.e., a surgical incision, a bad infection, a feeding tube, etc.). Over the past few decades, these Elizabethan collars (or “E-collars”) have steadily improved in quality, color, and patient comfort. E-collars used to be difficult to assemble and opaque. They then improved to clear hard plastic with Hook-and-Loop fasteners (i.e., “Velcro”), making them easy to remove and clean. The newest addition to the e-collar world: Trimline’s blue, soft, flexible collars.

There are several pros and cons of Trimline collars, and in general, I have used them successfully… although mostly in cats. The pros are that Trimline e-collars are soft and comfortable, and easier for pets to maneuver around hard-to-navigate spots (like the covered kitty litter box!) without banging around loudly (scaring the pet in the process). They are also relatively easy to clean – they have a water resistant (read: NOT WATER PROOF), laminated fabric that allows for a quick wipe down (with a damp terry cloth or sponge). The cons: they have a draw string, and some owners don’t apply these correctly (i.e., either too loosely – where a pet can get their jaw, mouth, or paw stuck in the opening or completely remove the collar themselves – or too tightly!). The other con: for serious conditions, these collars may not always cut it (i.e., post-abdominal surgery), but this is highly dependent on the individual animal. Their last con: the fabric, while soft and light, does have a “crinkling” sound that can frighten cats – although it’s much improved over the hard plastic sound of your cat’s head and collar hitting a wall or the kitty litter box lid.

Some pets will leave their incision completely alone – never licking, scratching, or irritating the area, while some pets will constantly lick and chew to the point that they have opened up their incision (spilling their intestines on your carpet). Likewise, certain e-collars work on certain animals. Having clinically used these quite a bit, I find them most useful for mellow, sick cats. Cats typically hate hard plastic e-collars, and I find that they tolerate these relatively well for short periods of time (i.e., not for more than a few weeks!). I typically use this when I have put a temporary feeding tube into a cat’s nostril (going down into their esophagus). Cats, who are very agile and flexible, need some sort of e-collar on AT ALL TIMES if they have a feeding tube in place – even removing the e-collar for a few minutes can result in one swipe that removes a hard-earned and placed feeding tube. In the hospital, I use Trimline blue e-collars in sedate or mellow cats, or those cats with feeding tubes. I don’t use these blue e-collars for any blocked cat (with a feline urethral obstruction), as I want to be 110% positive the cat doesn’t get that urinary catheter out (which then requires yet another expensive sedation!).
In dogs, I haven’t found these collars to be as successful. Often, dogs can bend or flex the soft plastic, eventually figuring out how to access their intended target. Nevertheless, these collars are worth checking out – but your pet should still be closely supervised while they are on to make sure they are 1) appropriately applied, 2) aren’t getting around to their incision or affected area. My general experience is that if you absolutely cannot afford to get that e-collar off (i.e., for the health of your pet, it must 100% stay on), I’d stick with a more torturous clear, plastic, hard e-collars. For more laid back pets with something more “inconvenient” (i.e., “stop licking at your hot spot on your leg”), this blue e-collar is more comfortable. That said, if your pet figures out how to get out of it, a permanent plastic e-collar is a must in the future. These blue e-collars worth a try though, particularly if you’re of the feline persuasion!

Poisonous plants to pets!

2010-08-31T21:50:00.001-07:00

Pet product review of Greenies "Pill Pockets"

2010-08-26T20:07:00.001-07:00

As a veterinarian, I’ve dispensed a lot of medications for both dogs and cats…that is, until I had to start medicating my own pets. I’ve became a lot more empathetic now that I’ve realized that I can barely pill my own cat (who runs away from me), and that my dog will not take pills in cheese or peanut butter. In fact, pilling my own pets has smartened me up on what meds pets really need. As a result, I’ve started prioritizing pills – in other words, I rank the order of importance of each prescription for pet owners, so they know which pills are an absolute MUST give, and which ones they can skip if they are getting desperately fed up with pilling.

Since then, my life has changed… thanks to Pill Pockets. I regret not inventing these, as it was one of those “duh” products that came out, making you wish you had the money-making patent. Whoever owns a dog that needs to be pilled chronically, pay heed. The Greenies Pill Pockets are awesome… that is, for dogs, at least.

My dog recently got put on a bunch of medications, and he’s super picky (although less so, since getting put on steroids!). Being that he needs a total of 5 medications a day, I found Pill Pockets to be a true life saver, as they improve both my dog’s and my quality of life. These little tasty, greasy, soft, malleable pockets are designed so that you can stick the pill (or multiple pills) in the center, and seal them into a hidden ball of “treat.” It’s like playing with palatable play-dough. Drop it in the food, and voila, it “makes pills a treat to give!”

The pros: Pill Pockets are easy, convenient, tasty, and come in multiple flavors (Dog: beef and chicken; Cat: salmon and chicken. It also comes in a hypoallergenic flavor - duck and pea - for both species with food allergies). More importantly, they are palatable - dogs seem to love them. Another pro is that they come in multiple sizes, and I’m able to stuff 5 pills – yes all 5 pills – into the larger “capsule” dog Pill Pockets.

The cons: One of my two cats won’t touch Pill Pockets. This is, of course, the cat who actually needs to take medication. He also won’t touch Feline Heartgard monthly chewable pills either, so I suspect he doesn’t like moist treats. So, try at your own risk, particularly if you have a finicky cat. The other con is that Pill Pockets are a bit greasy – they have a high vegetable oil content. As ingredients are listed in order of use, vegetable oil is #4 for the dog pill pockets. While this doesn’t affect the health of your pet, a hand-washing is a MUST after playing with Pill Pockets (which you should always do when handling your pet’s meds, anyway). That said, I know that the vegetable oil is needed to keep the Pill Pockets malleable (easy to fold and maneuver). The other con – cost. They’re not cheap, and if your pet is on loads of meds, it can certainly add up. Try jamming 5 pills in one capsule to help. But anything for Fido, right?!

For dogs, 5 stars. For cats, I'm only giving 3 stars, as only one of my two cats will eat them!

Pillingly yours,

Dr. Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC

5 changes to make this month

2010-08-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

5 changes to make this month

You may have seen the bumper sticker “Help me be the type of person my dog thinks that I am…” After all, pets love us unconditionally and seem to ignore all our faults, stress-attacks, and bad moods. As a result, it’s our responsibility as pet owners to afford our dogs and cats (aka, family members) the emotional, financial and physical attention that they need – to make sure we’re providing an environment that is healthy, safe, and mentally stimulating to them. As a small token of appreciation to our loyal four-legged friends, let’s dedicate this month to following these 5 simple, veterinary-recommended tips on how to treat your pet right.

1. Cut out 30% of the food
Loving your pet doesn’t mean feeding it more… in fact, your actions may reflect otherwise. I generally consider obese pets poorly cared for, as the pet owner isn’t looking out for the best health of their pet and may not be exercising them as much as they should be. Studies have proven it – the skinnier your dog, the longer he lives. On average, you can extend your dog’s life by almost 2 years1,2 by just cutting out the calories. The same is likely true for humans (and cats!) too. Being that 40-70% of pets are overweight or obese, I can tell almost all of you to cut back on 30% of the pet food right now. First, use a measuring cup when scooping out your pet’s dinner, so you know just how many calories you’re serving, and when in doubt, cut back on the snacks and table scraps. Find low-fat, high-fiber snacks to make your pet feel more full. Canned pumpkin, green beans, carrots, and low-salt, low-butter popcorn are great places to start! Finally, switch to a senior pet food – even if your pet technically isn’t “senior” yet. It’ll contain more fiber and bulk so yes, he’ll poop more, but he’ll shed more weight in the process!

2. Take an extra walk around the block
The more you exercise with your dog, the more weight your dog loses, and the more weight you lose too. After a long stressful day, the last thing you may want to do is take your dog on a time-sucking walk or run, but it’s important for your pet’s health and important for your mental health. Take the extra 10 minutes out of your day to take another loop around the block. For you cat owners, time yourself with a clock and laser pointer and dedicate a whopping 5 minutes of exercise time a day with your cat. When you exercise with your pet, you release natural endorphins while burning calories, and it’s a great way for both of you to feel better.

3. Start a pet savings account
If you can’t afford – or haven’t had time to research – pet insurance, do the next best thing. Start a savings account just for your pet, and don’t dip into it unless it’s for a pet emergency. Simply saving a dollar a day will help for those middle-of-the-night emergencies which are costly… and as your pet ages, the more you need to potentially save! My tip is for each year that your pet is over 10 years of age, save that much for each week of his life (i.e., $11/week for an 11 year old dog!).

4. Skip the vaccines this year
Never thought you’d hear a vet say this, right? As your pet ages, the less vaccines he or she needs – typically only those that are required by law. Instead, save the money for blood work which evaluates your pet’s kidney, liver and thyroid function function, and white and red blood cells. The sooner you do this, the sooner you can detect metabolic problems (like kidney failure or diabetes), and the sooner you can treat them. Talk to your vet about making this switch.

5. Splurge on a good toy
If you can’t afford doggy daycare or a dog walker, splurge on a good toy for your pet instead. Environmental enrichment (i.e., how to prevent your pet from getting bored at home) is important for all species. For dogs, a treat-stuffed Kong toy may provide hours of entertainment (just make sure to cut back on the dog food since you’re providing more calories this way!), while for cats, a sisal scratching post, feather on a string, or a laser point (human required) is a must. I also love cat window rests, so your cat can enjoy the great outdoors from the safety of inside.

References:
1. http://www.purina.com/Company/448Study.aspx
2. Kealy RD, Lawler DF, et al. Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs. JAVMA 2002;220:1315-1320.

Biography:
Dr. Justine Lee is a veterinary emergency critical care specialist and the Associate Director of Veterinary Services at Pet Poison Helpline. She is also the author of It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet and It’s a Cat’s World… You Just Live In It.5

Cleaning risks for pets

2010-08-13T22:35:00.000-07:00

Check out my tips on safe Spring cleaning around your pets at: twincitieslive.com - Cleaning Risks for Pets

Cleaning Risks for Pets

Everyone is doing spring cleaning but cleaning products can be very harsh towards pets and even household birds. Dr. Justine Lee, Associate Director of the Pet Poison Helpline gives us tips for keeping your pets safe when you’re doing your spring cleaning.

• Strong acidic or alkaline cleaners pose highest risk – the most dangerous cleaning products are those which may cause corrosive injury or chemical burns. These include rust removers, toilet bowel cleaners, lye, drain cleaners and calcium/lime removers.

• General cleaners are safe in small doses – cleaners such as glass cleaners, spot removers and most surface cleaners have a wide margin of safety. If ingested in small amounts, most only cause mild vomiting or diarrhea. Also, if they touch pet’s skin, they may cause mild irritation. Therefore, it’s still wise to keep these products out of reach.

• Read the label – cleaning labels can provide helpful information, as long as you understand the terminology. Key words to look for include "danger" and "warning" as this indicates products with higher toxicity or the potential to cause chemical burns. Items that use "caution" as their primary signal word are "less toxic" than those using "danger."

• Risk varies by type of animal – birds and other exotic pets may be more sensitive to cleaning products, especially products that are aerosolized. “Birds have a unique respiratory anatomy called air sacs, which results in particular sensitivity to fragrances and aerosolized chemicals,” says Dr. Justine Lee, Associate Director of Veterinary Services at Pet Poison Helpline. To be safe, aerosolized products should not be used in the same room as caged or free birds.

• "Natural" does not always mean "safe" – some natural products can and will cause just as many problems as more traditional cleaners.

• No need to worry about Swiffer Wet-Jets – it is a common internet rumor that Swiffer Wet-Jets are dangerous for dogs. In fact, no evidence exists that suggests Swiffer products are dangerous to animals when used properly.

• When spring cleaning, be safe and keep all pets out of the area of cleaning until the room is well ventilated and all cleaning products have dried.

The best thing any pet owner can do is to be educated on common household toxins, and to make sure you pet-proof your house appropriately. Make sure to keep cleaning products up and out of your pet’s reach, but when in doubt, if you think your pet has been poisoned, contact your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline at 800-213-6680 with any questions or concerns.

How to give your pet an injection!

2010-08-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

Pet Obesity

2010-08-09T22:31:00.000-07:00

Help combat pet obesity with Dr. Justine Lee on:

twincitieslive.com - Pet Obesity

Pet Obesity

Obesity in humans is a national epidemic and it’s happening more and more in pets. Dr. Justine Lee, Associate Director of Pet Poison Helpline, weighs in on what you need to do to keep your pet healthy.

Dr. Lee is author of “It’s a Cat’s World…You Just Live In It’. The Feline Rescue’s 2010 Book Fair will be held Saturday and Sunday, August 14^th and 15^th. Meet Dr. Lee there for autographed copies of her book where 25% of proceeds go directly to Feline Rescue for care of cats.

How to pill a cat!

2010-08-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

Veterinarians vs. MDs

2010-08-06T21:32:00.001-07:00

VPI Pet Insurance counts the poisons that send dogs to the veterinary hospital

2010-08-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

Previously published on Jul 31, 2010 in DVM NEWSMAGAZINE

Brea, Calif. -- VPI Pet Insurance has released numbers on the most common toxins behind its pet poisoning claims after trips to the veterinarian. VPI reports its policyholders spent more than $6.6 million between 2005 and 2009 treating their pets for poisoning.

Accidental ingestion of pet or human medications drugs was the most common source of pet poisoning claims between 2005 and 2009, costing policyholders an average of $791 per claim and accounting for nearly 25 percent of the total poisoning claims. The most expensive type of poisoning, heavy metal poisoning, cost an average of $952 per claim.

These are the number of claims by toxin for VPI Pet Insurance claims from 2005 to 2009.

Poison / No. of claims
Drug reactions/accidental ingestion of drugs: 5,131
Rodenticide: 4,028
Methylxanthine: 3,661
Plant poisoning: 2,808
Household chemicals: 1,669
Metaldehyde: 396
Insecticide/organophosphate: 323
Heavy metal toxicity: 288
Toad poisoning: 270
Antifreeze: 213
Walnuts: 100
Alcohol: 75
Strychnine: 28

When in doubt, call an animal poison control (e.g., Pet Poison Helpline at 800-213-6680) for assistance with treating poisoning cases!

Emergency Vet Interview from LoveToKnow Cats

2010-08-04T07:46:00.001-07:00

LoveToKnow Cats interviews veterinarian Justine Lee about everything from how to handle an emergency with your cats to poison control. Read this in-depth, exclusive interview at: http://cats.lovetoknow.com/Emergency_Vet_Interview

Proctor and Gamble Iams Eukanuba Recall July 2010

2010-07-30T20:39:00.001-07:00

The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) issued a voluntary recall on July 25, 2010 of two specific lots of its therapeutic renal dry cat food in North America due to a possible salmonella health risk. As a further precaution, P&G is voluntarily expanding its recall to include additional veterinary formulas and some specialized Eukanuba dry pet food.

P&G Pet Care wanted to make sure veterinarians were aware of the situation as soon as possible to help you address any client concerns. The health and welfare of pets and their owners is our top priority.

These products are made in a single, specialized facility. In cooperation with FDA, P&G determined that some products made at this facility have the potential for salmonella contamination. No salmonella-related illnesses have been confirmed. As a precautionary measure, P&G is suspending operations at this facility and recalling all dry pet food products manufactured at this plant, which include:

Product Name Version “Best-By” Dates UPC Codes
Iams Veterinary Dry Formulas All dry sizes and varieties 01Jul10 – 01Dec11 All UPC Codes
Eukanuba Naturally Wild All dry sizes and varieties 01Jul10 – 01Dec11 All UPC Codes
Eukanuba Pure All dry sizes and varieties 01Jul10 – 01Dec11 All UPC Codes
Eukanuba Custom Care Sensitive Skin All dry sizes 01Jul10 – 01Dec11 All UPC Codes

No canned food, biscuits/treats or supplements, including ProstoraMax are affected by this announcement.

If you need additional information, please call our veterinary line at 800-535-8387. Concerned pet owners may be directed to call P&G toll-free at 877-340-8823. We apologize for any inconvenience this situation may cause you and want to assure you that P&G Pet Care is taking all the necessary steps to ensure our product quality meets your expectations.

Top 10 signs that you've gone to a bad vet!

2010-07-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

Safe Pet Considerations for your 4th of July

2010-07-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

Safe Pet Considerations for your 4th of July
Pet Poison Helpline offers tips for keeping pets safe during this time of celebration

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (June 30, 2010) – When celebrating with family and friends this 4th of July, remember that fireworks can be hazardous to your pets. Dr. Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC and the associate director of Veterinary Services at the Pet Poison Helpline, wants pet owners to be aware of the potential dangers of fireworks. “Pets are curious and will get into trouble if left unattended around fireworks,” said Lee.

How Fireworks Can Harm Your Pet:
· Most fireworks are toxic to pets. They contain hazardous chemicals such as potassium nitrate, which is an oxidizing agent. They can also contain charcoal or sulfur and coloring agents, which are potentially dangerous heavy metals.

· When ingested, pets can develop gastrointestinal issues like vomiting, a painful abdomen, and bloody diarrhea. The severity of pet health issues resulting from ingestion will depend on the type of fireworks and the amount that was ingested.

· Pets ingesting large amounts can suffer tremors or seizures, along with acute kidney failure, bone marrow changes, shallow breathing and jaundice, which is yellowing of the skin.

· Exposure to lit fireworks can result in burns to the nose, face, lips, or inside of the mouth, as well as eye irritation and conjunctivitis.

· Noise factors: If addition to the poisonous hazards associated with fireworks, many pets are frightened by the loud noises they make. Fireworks can cause anxiety to those pets that are noise-shy. Dr. Lee states, “If your pets are gun-shy, thunderstorm phobic or noise-shy, consider talking to your veterinarian about anti-anxiety drugs or sedatives that can help them relax during fireworks.”

Simply keeping your pets out of the reach of fireworks will prevent them from being poisoned this 4th of July. Keep pets a safe distance away by securing them on a leash or in the house during firework displays. If your pet ingests fireworks this 4th of July and is suffering, do not induce vomiting. Immediately seek help by calling your veterinarian, emergency veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline at 800-213-6680.

About the Pet Poison Helpline
Pet Poison Helpline is a service available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners, veterinarians and veterinary technicians that require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. Staff can provide treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species. As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline’s fee of $35 per incident includes follow-up consultation for the duration of the poison case. Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

Pet Products Vets Love to Hate

2010-06-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

As an animal-lover, I can’t resist browsing through the pet boutique catalogs that come my way. After all, how else are my pets going to be the cool kids on the block? With the advent of the Internet, we’re seeing lots of pet products marketed towards our four-legged friends. That said, just because you love your poochie doesn’t mean you should buy indiscriminately. Dog lovers spend $43 billion dollars(1) a year on pet products, but that doesn’t mean that all of us have “SUCKER” written across our forehead, does it? As a vet, I look with even more critical eyes—and frankly, a lot of what I see makes me cringe. Well, when it comes to certain products, heed this vet’s advice and avoid these losers.

Magnetic beds
Perhaps you’re thinking about spending a pretty penny on an anti-arthritis, magnet-laden bed. There’s pretty extensive human research disputing the benefits of magnets and their ability to increase circulation and reduce inflammation. Most research shows that it’s the placebo affect that is beneficial, and not the magnet itself. While there isn’t any veterinary research, it’d be worth doing - as pets aren’t affected by the placebo affect to the extent that humans are. In the meantime, Dr. Choi, an associate professor in integrative medicine at the University of Minnesota, recommends seeking more aggressive treatment for arthritis (like weight loss, cartilage-protective drugs like glucosamine chondroitin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, and acupuncture) instead of just “support” itself (like a magnetic bed), as the magnets just don’t cut it.

Pet pockets and purses
Notice how the Paris Hiltons and Brittany Spears of the world love to tote their Chihuahuas around in a pet purse? You may have seen these pet purses, pet pockets, pet slings (which look like a Baby Bjorn), or pet backpacks that allow people to carry their dog or cat over the shoulder or around their waist while they run errands, go hiking, or clean the house. First of all, your dog doesn’t want to clean with you. And like your husband, your dog definitely doesn’t want to run errands with you either. He’d rather be home chewing on a bone or licking his privates in private. And chances are, with the growing problem of pet obesity, your dog should be walking with you, not having him carry you around for exercise sake. While you may love your pet just as much as any human child, don’t stick your loved one in a piece of nylon, no matter how durable it looks. More importantly, while you may think you have a good grasp of your pet while he’s sitting in your new nylon contraption, you don’t. If you’re out for a walk or in the lobby of your vet’s clinic, a barking, snarling, lunging dog is all it takes for your cat to escape from his nylon “restraint” and go flying up your face, nails a slashin’ and tail a fluffin’, as he unintentionally bolts away forever. While the extremely mellow cat that’s well adjusted to traffic, loud noises, and barking dogs may tolerate a pet purse well, your average cat that’s never been out of the house will definitely not enjoy the ride. While we vets prefer that you keep your cat indoors, that doesn’t mean the annual trip to the vet should be skipped just because you don’t have a secure carrier. Lastly, while some of these purses or slings have an attachment for you to latch your dog’s collar onto, now your dog will just choke himself as he tries to jump to the ground to play. With these unsecured carriers, I worry about a quick escape or even a quick drop in the event of a stumble. I can’t tell you how many broken front legs I’ve seen from jumping out of these things. When transporting pets, it’s always worth splurging on a well-secured, lightweight, easy-to-carry carrier (i.e., Sherpa) or one of those cool, netted, pet strollers instead (although, once again, I’m assuming your dog could use the exercise).

Hypoallergenic body wipes
Being that pets can’t wipe themselves to keep clean, grooming duty is often left up to you. For those dirty dogs, you can purchase hypoallergenic body wipes… these are basically just like baby butt wipes to help wipe away a dirty bum, dirty paws, or just a greasy coat in general. So, do cats need these wipes too? Thankfully, cats are more fastidious cleaners, so they lick and groom themselves without your help. If you’re so inclined and want to try these pet wipes, read carefully before you buy them. If you’re using them to keep the fur cleaner, sure, they help. But remember that these hypoallergenic body wipes don’t make your pet hypoallergenic – it’s just that the wipes are made up with ingredients that usually don’t cause allergies (like aloe vera, purified water, vitamin E, and even Hawaiian Awapuhi extract).

Some people think that these hypoallergenic body wipes help minimize allergies. Sneezing from that cat of yours? Sure, you can try these wipes, but when it comes down to it, it’s hard to wipe away cat allergen Fel d 1, which is what causes those runny, red, itchy eyes. With dogs, the allergic reaction is due to the hair, while with cats it’s from the allergen in the dried saliva (known as dander)… which accumulates on everything from its fur, to its skin, to your clothes, to your furniture. So, for people who are allergic to dogs, they can buy a breed-specific dog like a Bichon or poodle to minimize allergies (these breeds don’t shed, and need to be groomed and trimmed frequently). Unfortunately, cat lovers are usually out of luck. Unless you frequently groom (daily brushing), shave (lion cut, here I come!), bath (your cat will hate you), and saliva proof (impossible) your cat, these body wipes don’t work as well as one would hope. First of all, these wipes often lack the “juice” (despite their purified water, sorbitol, and aloe vera) and are often a bit too dry to effectively wipe off dried saliva. While they’ll help clean off the dirt, dingle berries, shedding fur, grease, and yes, probably small amounts of dander, they aren’t great for getting all of it off. If you have mild allergies, and can implement other habits to minimize dander (like keeping your cat out of your bedroom, where you spend most of your time; using a HEPA air filter; grooming your cat frequently; vacuuming frequently, etc.), sure, these wipes will help those minimally affected by allergies keep it under control. Those severely affected, however, won’t get any relief from these wipes… it’s just too hard to wipe away dander. While there aren’t any studies done by veterinary dermatologist, it’s not a product they typically recommend. Don’t worry though – if that doesn’t work, you can always get a hypoallergenic cat.

While Time magazine may have voted it one of the best medical inventions of 2006, Allerca Lifestyle Pet’s hypoallergenic cat, which was first available in 2006, is probably not the first thing I’d run out and buy… especially at the asking price of $31,000. Depending on how “exotic” you want your new hypoallergenic cat to be (perhaps with some African Serval or Asian Leopard Cat blended in), the price can go up to $125,000. Don’t get me wrong – I love my cats and all, but I’d sooner buy one or two cars (or perhaps half a house) before I pay that much for one cat. As a vet, I do believe the science of being able to create genetic divergences – which is what Lifestyle Pet’s did - by minimizing the cat allergen Fel d 1. That said, for all that money, those cats should be able to scoop their own litter box, wash their own food bowl, and bring in your mail while they’re at it. Most vets wouldn’t run out and buy one – we’d rather adopt and save a life… but of course, most of the time, we’re not the ones with the severe allergies (that’d be a bad occupational hazard). These cats must be popular, as there’s a one- to two-year waiting list; thankfully, money can buy happiness in this instance - if you pay an extra $1,950, you can reduce your wait from two years to just a few months.

Anti-Stress Treats and Calming Sprays
When you leave your house for the day and are worried that your pets are stressed by your absence, is it worth investing in products to mellow them out? No, we’re not talking about giving your dog a Prozac or your cat some kitty crack, but we’re talking about those good ole’ company money makers – anti-stress treats and calming sprays. Some people feed their dogs anti-stress treats – there are biscuits or rawhides with some random vitamins, green tea, and chamomile. Others spray their animals with calming sprays. While sipping some green tea may settle you, the minimal amount of caffeine within it is unlikely to relax your four-legged friend. As for those calming sprays, they often sell well because some of them work well; however, you must be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. Some of the effective sprays contain pheromones, which are natural hormones are help settle down your pet. The pheromone sprays [such as Feliway or Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP)] do seem to work, and many veterinary behaviorists recommend them to help mellow out some patients – but keep in mind that it doesn’t work in every pet… just like how every woman doesn’t respond to Drakkar. If you don’t notice a beneficial response, don’t bother continuing to buy the pheromones.

The less effective sprays (i.e., knockoffs) contain mostly Vitamin B and a random assortment of herbs. And unless you like paying a lot for Vitamin B (which is water soluble and very safe, since it won’t accumulate in your pet’s body – he’ll just pee all your hard, earned money away), I wouldn’t bother with these other types. Again, there are still other more holistic, natural sprays that contain herbs like chamomile and lavender that may have a calming effect, but the effect is negligible… otherwise veterinary behaviorist would be recommending these cheaper calming sprays instead of the pheromone ones. Remember, some of these products only contain vitamins in either an edible or water form. If these anti-stress, vitamin-packed rawhide treats worked, I’d be eating them, and vets would be spraying our clinics constantly to stop the constant barking.

HINTS:
• When it comes to picking a pet product, do your research. Read product reviews, blogs, and consumer reports if available. Remember, there’s a lot of info on the Internet, and when in doubt, ask your vet or survey your fellow dog park owners!
• Often times, if the product doesn’t work in humans, it won’t work in our pets. While there’s more limited veterinary research on certain topics, check to see what the human research tells us.
• Think twice before you pick it up – dogs and wolves have survived for thousands of years without these products, and would you randomly spray a product on your kid without finding out what all those ingredients were? Be discriminating when it comes to your latest pet purchases.

Skeptically yours,

Dr. Justine Lee

Resources:
1 http://www.appma.org/

Biography:
Dr. Justine Lee is a veterinary emergency critical care specialist and the Associate Director of Veterinary Services at Pet Poison Helpline. She is also the author of It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet: Everything you ever wanted to know about your four-legged friend and It’s a Cat’s World… You Just Live In It: Everything you ever wanted to know about your furry feline.

Fleas

2010-06-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

When it comes to fleas, America spends about $1 billion a year on preventative medications.1 Apparently, our hatred for histamine-releasing, itch-causing fleas runs deep. That said, approximately 46% of American pets2 still have some level of flea infestation despite all those powers, dips, spray on products, and flea bombs. Find out how - and why - it’s so important to rid your life (and house) of these pests.

Where your pets are picking up fleas
No matter how meticulous you may think your house is, dogs and cats are exposed to fleas – and it’s likely from the backyard, playground, dog park, beach, or boarding kennel. Fleas have an incredible jumping ability, and while you may not suspect so, they leap onto any four- (or two-) legged victim with voracity and speed (after all, they don’t have wings, and need to be able to jump high). Once they grab a host (i.e., your dog or cat), they crawl to safety, hidden under all that fur and dander. After biting your pet for a blood source, fleas are able to produce “flea dirt” or dried blood – which their eggs, pupae, and larvae then survive off of as their future meal.

How to spot them
Fleas are the size of the tip of a pencil, and can be seen with the visible eye – provided you can see through all that hair and undercoat. Common areas where fleas hide on your pet include the lumbar region, the area near the tail, the belly, the inner thighs, and the neck. The best way to find if your pet has a problem is to purchase a flea comb, which has fine teeth to snag those fleas and flea dirt. An easier way to spot a flea problem is to look for flea dirt – those small black specks that look like ground pepper. If you see this, you have a flea problem - and it’s in all your pets, not just one - as fleas will rapidly infest the environment. These black specks are dried blood, and if you moisten these specks, you’ll notice a blood-red color on the towel.

What damage fleas cause
When a flea bites you or your pet, the bite results in a small raised, reddened, itchy hive that crusts over. However, it’s the saliva that a flea injects into the skin that can be a problem – it may result in flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) – a sensitivity reaction in some pets that can cause a severe allergic reaction that results in intense itching and chronic hair loss. In pets with FAD, it only takes one flea bite to cause a problem. Some dogs (especially those long-haired breeds) develop a moist dermatitis (the dreaded hot spot) instead - that’s because they get so irritated from the antigen in the saliva that they chew their skin raw. Regardless, flea bites are an uncomfortable feeling for all, and flea problems should always be treated. Not only will you relieve your pet of annoying itchiness, but you’ll help reduce tapeworm problems, the risk of transmission of other rare diseases, and anemia (from getting all the blood sucked out!). Because the flea acts as a host for the tapeworm egg Diphylidium caninum, your pet can ingest a flea (while grooming and chewing), allowing the tapeworm to grow in your pet’s intestine. Within a few weeks of ingestion, you’ll notice small, white, rice-like, sticky segments of tapeworm hanging out by your pet’s rectum – all thanks to that flea. Likewise, some outdoor cats (particularly those who live in the Southwestern region of the USA) are often infested with the rodent flea Oropsylla montana, which can carry the bacteria Yersinia pestis, which causes plague. While treatable, this is a serious disease, as it’s contagious to people, reportable by law to the CDC, and also used as a chemical warfare agent! Finally, I’ve seen some kittens so severely infested from fleas that they die from anemia - which could have been easily prevented with one convenient dose of flea product.

How to treat them
When it comes to fleas, you want to nip the problem in the bud before it results in a severe environmental contamination of your whole house. Thanks to veterinary prescription spot-on treatments, you can help avoid those chemical home and lawn sprays, flea collars, defoggers, powders, shampoos, and dips. While there are OTC products, they aren’t quite as effective and can be quite toxic to your other pets (especially for cats! Remember dog-specific flea products should never be used on cats). It’s definitely worth splurging on the “good stuff” and getting the safer prescription products (which come in either an oral or topical form). There are different products you can use, and they basically either act as birth control (or insect growth regulators – or IGRs) or adulticides (which kill adult fleas). IGRs [like lufenuron (found in Program) and methoprene (found in Frontline Plus)] work by preventing certain stages of the flea (the egg, pupae, and larvae) from being able to develop into a full blown adult. This is important because one adult flea produces 40-50 eggs a day, and up to 2000 in one flea’s lifetime.3 These IGRs are very safe, as they don’t affect your pet’s body at all, but again – only kill future fleas. Some flea products contain both an IGR and an adulticide, such as Frontline Plus (fipronil + methoprene). The adulticides are typically chemicals like fipronil (Frontline), imidacloprid (Advantage), imidacloprid with permethrin (Advantix), selamectin (Revolution), and oral nitenpyram (Capstar). Confused by all these chemicals? Check out some great resources by the FDA to help you decide.4 These chemicals aren’t systemically absorbed in your pet’s body and work by being absorbed in the hair follicles and skin oils instead. Unfortunately, the fleas have to bite your pet to get killed off, but it’s the easiest, safest, and most effective way of reducing the flea burden on you and your pet.

HINTS:
• Despite what you think, Brewer’s yeast and essential oils don’t effectively reduce a flea problem, according to veterinary parasitologists. In fact, some essential oils can cause severe allergic reactions in some pets - especially cats - so use them with caution!
• If you do have a flea infestation in your house, vacuum frequently to help suck up those eggs, larvae, and pupae lying on the carpet and pet beds. Make sure to throw that vacuum bag away immediately, or they’ll hatch in the bag and crawl out, re-infesting your house.
• Splurge when it comes to flea products – veterinary-prescribed products are safer, more effective, and more environmentally friendly. The key to treating fleas is prevention, prevention, prevention!

Signing off flea free,

Dr. Justine Lee

References
1 Brakke Consulting, Inc., The U.S. Flea Control and Heartworm Markets Report, 2006.
2 Lilly pet owner market research, January 2006, http://www.comfortis4dogs.com/about-fleas/, accessed March 7, 2009.
3 M.W. Dryden, Integrated Flea Control: Flea Control for the 21st Century; presented at the North American Veterinary Conference, January 2001
4 http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/2001/petchart.html

Biography:
Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC is a veterinary emergency critical-care specialist and the associate director of veterinary services at Pet Poison Helpline. She is the author of It’s a Cat’s World…You Just Live in It and It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet.

Catios bring cats outdoors (safely!)

2010-06-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

Great article for all us cat lovers!
Previously published in New York Times on June 16, 2010

‘Catios’ Bring Cats Outdoors

By JENNIFER A. KINGSON

WHEN it comes to their homes, there are few things New Yorkers prize as much as a little outdoor space — a terrace, perhaps, or a small deck in the backyard.

Their cats feel the same way.

So some cat owners who would never dream of letting their pets roam free outside have come up with a creative compromise: an enclosed space — usually in the form of a screened-in porch or deck — that allows them to share the great outdoors.

Please don’t call it a cage. They prefer the term “catio.”

“The cats, they like to sit out there,” said Stefanie L. Russell, 44, referring to the balcony of her 12th-floor Greenwich Village apartment, where a homemade enclosure keeps her three Burmese cats safe. “Before, we basically didn’t use the balcony at all, because we were afraid that the cats would fall or jump.”

Two years ago, she and her husband, Robert Davidson, who are on the faculty of the N.Y.U. College of Dentistry, fenced off half the balcony, which runs the length of the apartment. They used industrial-grade PVC pipe and heavy black netting, creating a fully enclosed space that they decorated with furniture, plants and carpeting. Now the couple and their 9-year-old daughter, Sophie, leave the terrace door open for Oliver, Lily and Jackson, who are, as Ms. Russell put it, “the type of cats that love to run out in the hallway.” The cats seem happier, she said, and there has been an unexpected bonus: “Before, we used to have pigeons nesting on the balcony, and it was just a mess.” These days, the birds keep their distance.

Catios have made inroads in the suburbs, where they range from small, practical structures — like a box made of wood and chicken wire — to all-out fantasy cat playgrounds, replete with tunnels and scratching posts. But such enclosures remain a rarity in the city, where giving up even a square foot of real estate to a litter box can seem like a sacrifice.

Still, the forfeit felt worthwhile to Mary Sillman and Martin Stein, who set aside half their small deck in Park Slope for Buster, a 9-year-old gray cat adopted from a shelter who had been using the deck off their one-bedroom apartment as an escape hatch. “I did go and find him, but I had to climb over backyard fences and bother neighbors,” said Ms. Sillman, 55, a graphic artist. Two years ago, Mr. Stein, who is an architect, built a catio the size of two phone booths that Buster can get to through a window. “It’s just been the greatest thing for him,” Ms. Sillman said. “He just loves looking into the gardens below and people’s backyards.” Although the couple have less outdoor space for themselves, they do not mind, Ms. Sillman said. “It’s kind of like we’re sharing the deck.”

Another Park Slope resident, Rose-Marie Whitelaw, turned her entire 10-by-20-foot deck into a haven for her seven cats. Using pipes, chicken wire and deer fencing, she erected a seven-foot railing that the cats cannot climb, then spray-painted it black so it would be less obtrusive. “I’m kind of handy with copper piping and a blowtorch,” said Ms. Whitelaw, 50. She and her husband, Russell Piekarski, have an outdoor picnic table where they eat meals among the cats in nice weather. Sliding glass doors lead to a kitchen and home office, and the cats can usually go in and out all year round. “When the snow is piled to here, Julius makes tunnels,” said Ms. Whitelaw, referring to her large orange tomcat.

These catios are the do-it-yourself variety, but several companies, most of them mom-and-pop, sell ready-made cat enclosures or build custom ones. A big name in the market is Kittywalk Systems, a nine-year-old business in Port Washington, N.Y., run by Jeff and Lise King. It sells modular cat enclosures — tubes and rooms — that can be used individually or fashioned into cat-size kingdoms, much like the Habitrail system for hamsters.

“People can be very creative,” said Mrs. King, who designed her first cat pen a decade ago for her daughter’s kitten. “You’re really only limited by your imagination and your pocketbook.” She now sells enclosures in dozens of shapes and sizes, some with fanciful names like the Penthouse (with three tiers of hammocks) and the Ferris Wheel (it looks like one). Kittywalk also sells strollers for cats and dogs. And as a support-the-troops gesture, the Kings have sent cat enclosures to American military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The thing that gives me the most gratification is that cats like my products,” Mrs. King said.

Even indoors, a cat enclosure can be a boon, said Carole C. Wilbourn, a cat therapist in Manhattan who recommends them to clients struggling with what she calls “inter-cat hostility.” “I have cases where someone is introducing another cat, and they have a studio apartment,” Ms. Wilbourn said. “It’s kind of hard for them to put up a barrier” for the cats to get used to each other without fighting, she said. An enclosure keeps the cats separate — but within eye range — until they get along.

VETERINARIANS disagree over whether it is depressing for cats to spend their lives indoors. Some, like Drew Weigner, a cat specialist in Atlanta, believe that outdoor space offers cats emotional benefits. While it is safer for them to stay inside, “in an enclosed yard, they’re going to get more exercise,” Dr. Weigner said. “Plus, there’s the intellectual stimulation, quote-unquote.” Dr. Weigner advises suburban cat owners to keep outdoor enclosures off the ground, to guard against fleas and other parasites. He pointed to the American Association of Feline Practitioners’ Web page on environmental enrichment, which recommends several types of fencing for suburban cats.

Arnold Plotnick, a veterinarian who owns the Manhattan Cat Specialists practice on the Upper West Side, agrees that stimulation is good, but does not think that cats need to go outside. “Cats are really fine being indoors their entire lives,” he said. “That’s why they’re the perfect New York City pet.” But he warns about high-rise syndrome, in which cats leap or fall out of unsecured windows.

For cat owners in the city, there are a few off-the-shelf options. On the low end of the market are collapsible, stand-alone enclosures that can be used on a terrace or deck (or indoors) and cost as little as $40. For people with small yards, there are room-size enclosures — typically with a few shelves where cats can sleep or look around — that can be bought or built for $125 to $500.

In suburbia, where space isn’t a problem, catios tend to be more elaborate. “We have some clients that decorate the inside as if it’s just another room — a picnic table, cat grass — so they can hang out there with their cats,” said Kris Kischer, founder of Habitat Haven in Toronto, which sells dog and cat enclosures.

She offers predesigned kits “that are sort of in the Ikea realm, very easy to put together,” and does custom installations. “Some clients fax in exactly what they want, other clients send us photos and then give us a call,” Ms. Kischer said. “Then we can talk about measurements and we can design what they need for their space.” Among her customers are Madelaine Ann Hare and her spouse, Patti Holloway, who live in a six-bedroom house in Toronto with three Abyssinian cats. Ms. Kischer turned their second-floor porch into a cat enclosure, then built a 25-foot walkway that extends to a large oak tree and encircles it. The structure is about 20 feet off the ground. The cats are “in and out of there all day and night,” said Ms. Hare, 59, a retired lawyer. “We leave it open March through October, and the cats are perfectly safe there. Nothing can get to them.” The cats — Jasper, Quincy and Nelson — are well known to the neighborhood squirrels, Ms. Hare said. “They calculatedly come and look for the cats and wait for them,” she said. “The squirrels will circle the tree, and the cats will chase after them, then the squirrels will turn around and chatter at the cats.” Ms. Hare’s tree fort may sound elaborate, but it is modest in comparison with what Kara and Dean McCormick built at their home near Port Jefferson, N.Y. The couple, who have four cats, were engaged on April 15, 2005 (a nod to Mrs. McCormick’s profession as a tax accountant) and began planning their dream catio the next day.

Using products from Ms. Kischer and instructions from a Web site called Just4Cats.com, the McCormicks erected two large outdoor pens connected by a 44-foot tunnel. The front enclosure — 10 feet square and 7 feet high — abuts the house and has a cedar floor and shelves where the cats can lounge. From there, the long tunnel, which is about seven feet off the ground, leads to a larger enclosure with a bench where the McCormicks like to sit. The cats go out in all weather, Mrs. McCormick said, especially when she starts running the vacuum. “We wanted our pets to go out safely and not annoy the neighbors,” she said. “We wanted them to enjoy the wildlife, the songbirds, get fresh air and get some exercise.” The couple is now planning home renovations, which will include adding a second floor and — yes — expanding the cat enclosure.

Kate Benjamin, who runs the style blog ModernCat.net, sees catios as part of what she calls the modern pet movement, which holds that people shouldn’t have to sacrifice taste or comfort to live with pets. On her Web site, Catioshowcase.com, she collects images of well-designed cat enclosures, and on her blog, she showcases hip-looking cat beds and litter boxes. “I look for well-designed products for living with cats, other than some ugly carpet-covered scratchers,” said Ms. Benjamin, 39, who lives in Phoenix and has seven cats. Her own catio has shelves for climbing, a built-in litter box and a floor-to-ceiling scratching post. She is passionate about her vision for pet products. “I want to see the whole market expand so that people can really enjoy having pets and not have things that bother them,” Ms. Benjamin said. “It’s really about a lot more than design and aesthetic — it’s about taking away any reason that people would abandon a pet.”

What You Need to Build a 'Catio'

Cat owners who want to create a safe outdoor space for their cats have several options.

• Do-It-Yourself: equipment like PVC piping, heavy mesh nets and chicken wire is available at Home Depot and other supply stores. Various Web sites offer photos, construction tips and other pointers.

• A Web site called just4cats.com sells a book with detailed drawings and instructions on building a cat enclosure, for $25 plus $5 shipping. The site also has an attractive gallery of its customers’ installations.

• Kittywalk Systems (kittywalksystems.com) sells modular cat enclosures that can be used individually or combined into elaborate cat playgrounds (think of them as Habitrail for cats). Among the freestanding models are a 6-foot-tall teepee ($399.95) that can be set up on a balcony or deck and a 5-foot-tall “penthouse” with enough hammocks for three cats ($179.95).

• Habitat Haven (habitathaven.com) is a Canadian company that sells predesigned do-it-yourself cat enclosure kits. It also offers supplies and advice on making custom enclosures.

• SafeKitty (safekitty.com) is a mom-and-pop company in Buxton, Me., that sells off-the-shelf and custom-made enclosures, starting at $449 for a standard 6-by-6-by-6-foot box. The pieces are made with white cedar from the Maine woods.

• Petco (petco.com) sells a stand-alone outdoor enclosure called the ABO Gear Happy Habitat Cat Tent. It is 3 feet high, 74 inches long and 63 inches wide, and costs $41.97 when ordered online.

• Doctors Foster and Smith (drsfostersmith.com), a pet supply company, sells a no-frills 5-foot collapsible tube called the Fun Run Outdoor Cat Enclosure for $39.99.

Pet Vaccines 101

2010-06-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

Just got a card in the mail reminding you to bring in your pet for vaccines? Well, make sure you take the time to re-educate yourself, as we vets have recently changed our vaccination guidelines.1,2 While we used to recommend annual vaccines, it’s now changed to an annual exam with vaccination every three years.

Think about it – when was the last time you got vaccinated? Add to that - we humans live about five to ten times longer than our pets, and don’t get half as many vaccines, right? Our pets are generally well-vaccinated and protected from certain viruses after a certain age, provided they’ve gone through the proper puppy or kitten series, so we want to minimize the extra chemicals we’re injecting into them. Now, don’t interpret this as skipping out on your annual vet visits – you should still go every year for a physical exam, heartworm test, flea and tick preventative, and routine care. Just know what you’re getting into when you’re bringing your pet to the vet.

So what vaccines are we talking about giving, and which ones can you skip? When in doubt, consult your vet on your pet’s exposure, environment, and age, which all play a role in how often we vaccinate and which vaccines we recommend. Typically, the vaccines with all those extra letters – like FVRCP or DHPP (which vaccinates for three to five major viruses in one vial) – is strongly recommended for your cat or dog, respectively. This, along with the rabies vaccine, is a must for your pet, especially since it’s often state law!

But what about those extra vaccines your vet may be offering? In general, I only recommend the short-acting kennel cough vaccine if you’re boarding your dog frequently, taking your pup to doggy day care, or traveling to dog shows. Otherwise, skip it. Likewise, if you don’t live near a stream or pond where your dog may catch leptospirosis, it’s likely not necessary (hence, you can get the DHPP instead of the DHLPP). At the same time, if you’re fostering shelter animals and exposing your own pets to all those coughing, sneezing, and diarrhea-covered furry balls of infection, you better make sure your pet is well-vaccinated and protected against a few others (like coronavirus and feline leukemia, just to name a few).

As for those vaccines against Giardia, FIP, and random other diseases, I usually avoid them. But be sure to discuss the most up-to-date research1,2 with your vet. Take the controversial Lyme vaccine – which still stirs lots of debate. Currently, the top Lyme experts in the field don’t use or recommend them – they prefer preventatives instead (like Frontline or Preventic collars).3 That’s because dogs that are vaccinated may develop worse signs when infected with Lyme disease, and can develop more severe forms of kidney failure (Lyme nephropathy). So, all that said, what’s a pet owner to do?

Pediatric pets
Now, if you just adopted a new puppy or kitten, know that their immune system is very immature, and they require more frequent vaccines to booster their immunity and protection against bad viruses. Young pets need a vaccine every 3-4 weeks of age (starting at 5-6 weeks of age) until they reach 14-16 weeks of age. Yes, that means you’re going to the vet at least 3-4 times in the beginning of puppy- or kitten-hood! Some people naively think that the one vaccine from the breeder is protective, but it actually doesn’t do “anything” to protect your pet - it’s those additional vaccines that are necessary to stimulate the immune system after it recognizes the first vaccine. Once your pet goes through those 3-4 vaccines, she’s finished her pediatric series, and will need a vaccine once a year thereafter for just a few more years.

Adult pets
Once an adult, vets speculate that your pet’s immune system is adequately protected, depending on how often you exposure your pets to other animals, and what kind of stress they are under. If they aren’t competing at the Westminster surrounded by hundreds of dogs, then you’re probably OK vaccinating every three years once your pet has reached adulthood (3-7 years of age). When in doubt, you can always have a blood titer done instead of a vaccine, to see if the antibody response is adequate.

Geriatric pets
Finally, the golden years…for a dog, that’s over 7 years of age (depending on the size) and over 12 years for a cat. By this point in your pet’s life, your pet should be well protected, provided you went through the above mentioned protocol. Instead of getting vaccines at this age, splurge on blood work instead, especially since your pet is more likely to get metabolic problems (like underlying liver or kidney) in these geriatric years. Not only are you avoiding an unnecessary vaccine, but the tests will let you pick up problems earlier, allowing you to treat them sooner and more successfully.

Complications
Like any drug or chemical, vaccines are designed to protect – but do potentially come with a rare down side. Minor effects include an allergic reaction to the vaccine, which you discover hours later after your puppy has been vaccinated – that cute swollen muzzle and face need to be treated! Rarer, less proven side effects of vaccines include the hypothetical link between too much antigenic stimulation (the components of a vaccine that stimulate the immune system) and resulting immune diseases (like lupus, or immune destruction of your red blood cells and platelets!). Lastly, for you cat owners, make sure you know about the controversial feline leukemia (FeLV) vaccine. I’m not a big fan of this vaccine, because it’s not as effective as all those other vaccines out there (versus the feline and canine distemper vaccine which prevents the disease by 99%). In fact, the FeLV vaccine isn’t protective – it only reduces the severity of the disease, and your cat can still get this deadly disease! More importantly, back in the mid-90’s, this vaccine was one associated with a rare, but aggressive cancer called vaccine-associated fibrosarcoma. Since then, they’ve modified the vaccine and done extensive research to prevent this, but just to be safe, I avoid it unless your cat is one of those high-risk cats: one that likes to roam the great outdoors, is immunosuppressed from cancer or FIV (the feline equivalent of HIV), or has exposure to a lot of random cats (like if you’re not appropriately quarantining those cute foster kittens from your own). All those rare, scary medical risks aside, when it comes to vaccinating your pets, keep in mind that sometimes less is more.

TIPS:
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), and the Veterinary Cancer Society (VCS) have established vaccine recommendations for both dogs and cats in an attempt to minimize unnecessary vaccines and reduce the incidence of feline vaccine-induced cancer. Check out their websites for more information. For you cat lovers, check out Cornell’s Feline Health Center for everything you need to know about vaccinating your cat.4

So, what do all those abbreviations stand for?
D: Distemper
H: Hepatitis (Adenovirus-2)
L: Leptospirosis
P: Parainfluenza
P: Parvovirus

FVRCP
FVR: Feline viral rhinotracheitis
C: Calicivirus
P: Panleukopenia

How often do you get your pet vaccinated? Ever have a "fight" with your vet about vaccines? Tell us about it!

Signing off, unvaccinatingly yours,

Dr. Justine Lee

References:
1. http://secure.aahanet.org/eweb/dynamicpage.aspx?site=resources&webcode=CanineVaccineGuidelines
2. http://www.catvets.com/professionals/guidelines/publications/?Id=176
3. Littman MP, Goldstein RF, Labato MA, et al. ACVIM small animal consensus statement on Lyme disease in dogs: Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. J Vet Intern Med 2006;20(2):422-34.
4. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/newcat.html

Biography:
Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC is a veterinary emergency critical-care specialist and the associate director of veterinary services at Pet Poison Helpline. She is the author of It’s a Cat’s World…You Just Live in It and It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet.

The 3 things cats do to drive people crazy—and how to get yours to stop…

2010-06-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, your loveable, flawless feline friend does indeed have the occasional irksome behavior…and that’s without the chemical effects from catnip. Despite how much we love our cats, there are some things we as owners shouldn’t tolerate. For the sake of your physical and mental health, find out what you can do to get your cat to stop driving you nuts .

Ankle attacker
If your cat is attacking your ankles, that’s not normal… nor should it be tolerated. While you may think it’s initially cute as it fulfills your desires to be wanted, your ankles don’t appreciate being the butt of your adolescent cat’s predatorial drive. Your cat’s pouncing on you is an attempt to chase or hunt you down. Help save your ankles and redirect your cat’s pent-up frustrations of play toward something inanimate like a toy instead. Ankle attacking is a sign of boredom, so make sure you’re exercising your cat to provide it some much needed physical and mental stimulation. A good 10-15 minute exercise time with a laser pointer or cat toy will tucker him out so he doesn’t attack you. Just make sure you put some physical distance between you, your ankle, and the toy, so he doesn’t associate playtime with any body parts. Lastly, don’t be lazy and use your foot to rub your cat’s belly when he’s lying there in that sun beam, or you’ll have good reason to be attacked. After all, you don’t want your body parts associated with anything annoying. If all else fails, try negative reinforcement – that spray bottle or Super Soaker water gun - so you can squirt him in the act when he’s actively attacking. Finally, if you’ve tried all else without success, another housecat to tackle instead may be what he needs for some mental stimulation and exercise.

Counter surfing
Ever wonder what your cat does when you’re off at work? Walk all over your counter and table tops. While you may think it’s cute, it’s not hygienic or healthy to tolerate your cat’s counter surfing. Remember where those paws have been? The dusty kitty litter footprints should be a gentle reminder to a) clean the litter box and b) bleach the counter tops. Because of the risk of bacteria or toxoplasmosis spread through fecal-oral contact, it’s best to keep her paws off counters, stovetops, and tables. Try these hints. First of all, be a neat freak. The less crap there is on your counter tops, the less there is to play with. Next, try applying double-sided tape onto the surface you want your cat to avoid. When your cat jumps up, she’ll quickly learn that having her lovely paws stuck to the counter isn’t very fun. Be aware that you’ll have to replace the tape often, as she’ll test the counter tops to see when that tape is gone. If you’re not a neat freak, use empty aluminum cans to line the edge of your counter tops (with a few coins inside to make a homemade rattle and provide some scary noise); after a few inadvertent, loud knock downs, it’ll dissuade and scare your cat away from those countertops.

Using your house as a scratching post If your cat likes to scratch, it’s because it feels good. Not only is he marking with his scent glands (which are under his paw pads), but he’s scratching because he’s trying to wear down those nails. Help minimize your cat’s desire to scratch by keeping his nails trim, so he’s less tempted to naturally wear them down on your sofa – besides which, shorter nails cause less damage. Next, splurge on good scratching posts made of material that feel good to scratch: twine, coarse rope, carpet, or sisal (a type of material that looks like carpet). Most importantly, make sure the post is well placed (like right in front of your sofa). If you just bought a cheap $2 cardboard scratching post and hid it in the dark, dank corner of the basement where nobody wants to go, it’s not going to work. Although it may affect your feng shui, you’ll need to keep the scratching post in the center of the room or next to the vertical or horizontal surface where your cat scratches. Most cats prefer to scratch vertically, so it may be worth getting one that allows him to take out his scratching frustrations that way. Finally, make your furniture less appealing by applying double-sided tape or aluminum foil to the scratched area –that sticky or cold, metallic, crinkling touch will send your cat running away. Your cat will quickly learn that the sofa’s scratching surface isn’t quite as fun and appealing as it used to be. The bad news is that as soon as you take away the tape or foil, your cat may be right back at it with a vengeance. Finally, try bribery. Entice your cat to play around that new scratching post by sprinkling catnip or placing treats or toys on it. Worst-case scenario, some people end up resorting to declawing. I personally don’t perform this surgical procedure, but if it means you not surrendering your cat to the humane society or (even worse), euthanizing your cat, then I support your decision. And of course… if all else fails, you have vet approval to use the trusty Super Soaker.

Hints on keeping your cat from going crazy:
1. Instead of ignoring the behavior, make sure to use negative or positive feedback appropriately. If you actively catch your cat in the act, you can “reprimand” him for it so he associates it with something negative. Likewise, if your cat uses the scratching post like he’s supposed to, reward him immediately with a treat for positive reinforcement.
2. Don’t let boredom reign in your household. A lot of behavioral problems are related to either too many cats in the household or lack of mental stimulation or physical exercise. Indoor cats particularly need more, so make sure to play with your pet.
3. Don’t give up. If your cat is still crazy, consider professional help like a veterinary behaviorist, as your cat may need drugs too. You can find them at: http://www.veterinarybehaviorists.org/

Do you have a crazy kitty? What tricks did you employ? Let us know!

Signing off,

Dr. Justine Lee

Biography:
Dr. Justine Lee is a veterinary emergency critical care specialist and the Associate Director of Veterinary Services at Pet Poison Helpline. She is also the author of It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet and It’s a Cat’s World… You Just Live In It (Three Rivers Press).

Caring for geriatric pets

2010-06-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

Nowadays, you really can get a cat scan for your cat, or a total hip replacement for your dog (at the cost of your own arm and leg!). Thanks to the improvement in the quality of veterinary medicine, our pets are living longer than ever. I tell my dog, JP, and my cat, Seamus, that they need to live till at least 15 years of age… otherwise I’m not sure how I’ll deal! Want some secrets from a neurotically-attached, pet-obsessed vet on how to make your pets live longer?

Keep ‘em thin
One of the easiest (but toughest for owners!) ways of helping your pet live longer is to starve them. Seriously. Remember, feeding more doesn’t mean you love them more! Back in 2002, the “Purina Study,” a 14 year long study evaluated 48 dogs fed a control-fed versus a restricted-fed diet, and the results were amazing. Not only did dogs live an average of almost two years longer (11.2 vs. 13 years of age!), but restricted-fed dogs had a dramatic decrease in osteoarthritis (OA) and the need for medical treatment for OA.1-4 By 8 years of age, 77% of the control-fed dogs had evidence of OA in multiple joints, compared with only 10% of the restricted-fed dogs – isn’t that proof enough? Overall, the restricted-fed dogs weighed less, had lower body fat content, were healthier, and were able to push back their requirements for medical treatment by two years; so, make sure to cut back on that kibble (by at least 25%) to help delay the onset of signs of chronic disease. Being that 40% of our pets are obese, if you really love your pet, cut back on the treats, table food, and the calories (and consider switching to a low-calorie, lower-protein food) while increasing the exercise. After all, this advice applies to you too.

Lumps, bumps, and everything bad
As your pet ages, the chances for medical problems increase, such as kidney failure or cancer. Most of the time, people notice the signs too late – which makes for an expensive ER visit and a poorer prognosis. Chances are your pet’s pretty stoic, but make sure to look out for early signs of a problem such as vomiting, decreased appetite, shivering or shaking, crying or whimpering, a change in urination or thirst, weight loss, coughing, increased breathing rate, or growing lumps and bumps. As soon as you notice any symptoms, get your pet to a vet for blood work, x-rays or lump biopsies (called aspirates) right away. The biggest mistake I see is owners waiting too long to go to the vet…why chance it? In fact, the next time you go to your vet for routine stuff, skip those vaccines and put that money towards annual blood work instead if your dog is over 8 or your cat is over 12 years of age. You won’t regret it in the end.

Aches and pains
Being that some of our most popular dogs (such as Labrador and golden retrievers) are so predisposed to hip dysplasia and osteoarthritis (thanks to pet obesity), it’s important to make sure your pet isn’t in pain, which results in a poorer quality of life. Aside from a massive diet (I want to feel ribs, folks!), the use of glucosamine therapy (like Cosequinn) or orthopedic beds are first places to start. The next line is veterinary NSAIDS; owners are usually shocked how much spring in their step their pet has gotten back! Of course, these aren’t benign so you don’t just want to be popping pills constantly. Your goal: to get your pet to be able to play or walk like he used to years earlier.

Wanna kiss?
If your pet’s breath is so foul, take a look why. Severe dental disease, such as large chunks of plaque, a red line near the gum (gingivitis), bleeding gums, or ulcers on the tongue are signs of problems that need to be checked out right away. Untreated, oral bacteria from a really infected mouth can spread to the bloodstream or even the heart valves. Cancerous oral masses or metabolic problems (like kidney failure or diabetes) may also cause that bad breath too. While anesthesia and a dental cleaning are riskier in older patients, it’s important to keep those pearly whites white.

How to assess your pet's quality of life:
While no one wants to talk about it, it’s important that you know how to assess your pet’s quality of life as they age. When in doubt, ask a vet.
• If your pet stops eating, that’s their way of telling you they feel like crud.
• If your pet is crying, whimpering, acting really clingy or hiding – especially for cats - check with your vet if it’s time for some type of pain relief.
• If your pet doesn’t act like they used to (i.e., doesn’t want to go for a walk, acting aloof, doesn’t want to play or get in the car anymore), he’s not up for living…

Signing off,

Dr. Justine Lee

References:
1. http://www.purina.com/Company/448Study.aspx
2. Kealy RD, Lawler DF, et al. Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs. JAVMA 2002;220:1315-1320.
3. Kealy RD, Olsson SE, et al. Effects of limited food consumption on the incidence of hip dysplasia in growing dogs. JAVMA 1992;201:857-863.
4. Kealy RD, Lawler DF, et al. Five-year longitudinal study on limited food consumption and development of osteoarthritis in coxofemoral joints of dogs. JAVMA 1997;210:222-225.

Biography:
Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC is a veterinary emergency critical-care specialist and the associate director of veterinary services at Pet Poison Helpline. She is the author of the new book It’s a Cat’s World…You Just Live in It.

What should I feed my pet?

2010-06-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

Feeding your four-legged friend

Back in March 2007, the devastating pet food scare resulted in over 60 millions cans and pouches of pet food, along with several million pounds of dry kibble to be recalled. Due to melamine contamination, a chemical used in plastic, glue, fertilizer, and cleaning products, an unknown number of dogs and cats succumbed to kidney failure – some fatally. Turns out that the wheat gluten in the pet food (along with rice protein and possibly corn gluten from South Africa) was “contaminated” from China, and that some of our American pet food companies were getting their sources from unregulated international suppliers. That said, please know that 90% of the pet food industry wasn’t affect by this recall… it was a few bad apples that ruined the batch. Justifiably, many owners didn’t know where to turn next, and what food was safe to feed their pets. Immediately during this time, I had some owners switch to home cooked or raw food diets, some unsuccessfully. Despite their good intention, I had a few fatal complications as a result (like bones stuck in the esophagus to severe pancreatitis). Before you surf the ‘Net and discover all the wrong information out there, read on to find out what’s best to feed your four-legged friend.

When it comes down to it, stick with a reputable, large, research-based pet food company, and your pet’s health is in good hands. Top brands include Science Diet, Iams or Eukanuba, and Purina. Check out their website to make sure that the company supports veterinary-recommended, humane research to ensure progressive developments and updates. Rest assured that all pet foods are regulated and approved by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) organization, which is like the animal FDA, and monitors the nutritional content of animal food to ensure that diets are appropriately balanced for that species. That said, this doesn’t mean that AAFCO checks where the ingredients came from – hence the melamine scare – so you still have to be a wise consumer and do your research. Start by reviewing the ingredients listed on the bag, which are listed in order of content. If peanut hulls are the first ingredient, turn elsewhere! This crappy filler, while full of fiber, probably isn’t the #1 (or #2, #3, etc.) ingredient that you’d want to eat either. Remember, just because a vegetable or grain (like corn and rice) is one of the first ingredients on your dog’s bag of food doesn’t mean it’s bad – it just means most of the protein is a vegetable versus protein source (which is less expensive, but just as effective). If you don’t know what all the ingredients are, ask your vet. Some sound scary, but are just another name for a vitamin or amino acid. At the same time, understand the semantics – beef “flavored” should make you ask “Where’s the beef?” and move on to something better.

Organic and preservative free food
What exactly is in that all natural, organic, preservative-free, holistic bag of dog or cat food? When it comes to “all natural,” know that ingredients that are available for the pet food industry include human non-edible pet food-grade byproducts (such as parts of the animal that we don’t normally eat such as tendons, cartilage, and organs) – and that still counts as au natural - to human grade ingredients (your filet mignon). As for “organic,” while it’s ideally better (and some companies truly get organic vegetable and meat sources), remember that the FDA doesn’t even have good regulations for human organic foods… so they aren’t double checking on your pet’s organic food just yet. When it comes to pet food quality organic foods, there are no organizations verifying that it is truly organic. We’re trusting the pet food company here to believe what’s really in that bag.

Lastly, preservatives. Keep in mind that this helps keep the fat in the food from going rancid and the food from spoiling. It can actually be more dangerous to feed rancid, moldy food that is “preservative free.” Before buying any bag, check the expiration date on that bag of food, and more importantly, make sure there are no tears in the bag or any staining on the outside of the bag (such as grease on the outside, or any area where moisture may have wicked into the bag). If the bag isn’t lined with a plastic lining or isn’t 100% water proof, your pet’s food can indeed spoil. The other concern is that while the pet food manufacturer may not have put any preservatives in, there’s no accountability or way of knowing what the supplier put in it prior to purchase.

Homemade diets
Have the time and money to burn and want to cook up some grub for your dog? Go for it! Some owners love to cook for their dogs. Personally, I can barely cook for myself (not including an additional twelve paws), so I probably have some patients who eat better than I do. The good thing about homemade diets is that they can be made specifically for your dog’s special needs (particularly if your dog has inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease, kidney failure, or cancer). Keep in mind that you can’t just rely on Joy of Cooking or Internet surfing to concoct a canine diet. That’s because common nutritional problems can result from inappropriate dietary supplementation or inappropriate balancing including: not enough calories; deficiencies in microminerals, vitamins, and calcium; and supplementing too much protein. Also, when feeding a homemade diet, be aware that you must give your dog a daily PetTab and other veterinary-recommend supplements to balance the food appropriately. Notice how I said dog? You can’t cook for your cat, and here’s why.

Cats are completely carnivorous and require essential amino acids (such as taurine), ruling out a vegetarian, vegan, or home cooked diet. Homemade cat diets are often deficient in energy density, fat, and palatability (which is the result of substituting vegetable oil for fat) and are rarely balanced, meaning those extra veterinary daily cat vitamin-mineral supplements aren’t even helping. Yes, I know you can find veterinarians blogging about how to make a homemade cat diet out there on the Internet, but I’d really rely on the specialists of veterinary nutrition or internal medicine here before preparing a homemade diet for your pet!

Bones and Raw Food Diet (BARF)
Some breeders and owners advocate the BARF diet (bones and raw food), which uses raw, uncooked meat, liver, pasta, and eggs as part of their diet as a way of bringing their dog “back to the wild.” That said, you don’t let him eat your cat, chase down prey for food, roll in wolf scat, negate medical care, or sleep outside in the dirt to bring him back to the wild, do you? Because the BARF diet is not AAFCO approved or balanced, veterinarians have some big concerns about feeding it. The biggest problems are the trace mineral and vitamin deficiencies seen when this is fed as a primary diet. Zoo vets discovered this decades ago when they were feeding animals, as raw meat contains more phosphorous than calcium, which can result in bone abnormalities and secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism. While this sounds like a mouthful, it’s a serious chronic, degenerative, painful nutritional disease that results in fractures and bone deformities from inappropriate diet. Secondly, the BARF diet can be dangerous because of the risk of uncooked meat harboring bacteria (like E. coli or Salmonella) – despite your hand washing. Because of the risk of food handling safety with raw meat, the implementation of the BARF diet is not advocated in households with children, elderly, or the immunosuppressed.1 Even if you have the most sterile kitchen that Mr. Clean would be proud of, the bigger concern is that you are colonizing your dog’s intestines with these deadly bacteria… in other words, your pet may not have a problem with it, but can shed Salmonella as part of his or her normal gastrointestinal bacteria flora when you scoop that poop! I have also seen some rare, severe complications and fatalities from starting the BARF diet in an unaccustomed intestinal tract, as it could potentially cause inflammation of the pancreas (called pancreatitis) and severe bloody diarrhea. On the other side of the coin, I’ve had some clients rave about it. Either way, before considering a BARF diet, do your homework and consult with a veterinary nutritionalist to make sure you’re feeding a balanced diet.

Cats
No doubt cats will be cats, and do things differently just because they can. When it comes to your finicky feline, don’t even think about making any sudden changes when it comes to your cat. Cats resent any sudden change in life, and you cannot starve a cat until he eats. Unlike your dog who can go on a hunger strike to protest the new cheap dry food, your cat doesn’t have that same luxury. If your cat goes more than three to five days without eating enough, he can develop hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver syndrome. This causes jaundice, generalized malaise, weight loss, and even liver failure or clotting problems in severe cases. Most cats require an expensive ultrasound and temporary feeding tube to solve the problem, which can run you $1500-2500. With that amount of money, you could have bought a pallet of his favorite feline Friskies!

Also, keep in mind that all seafood diets (like canned tuna from the grocery store) have higher levels of an enzyme that breaks down taurine. While you may think that you’re spoiling your cat feeding him canned tuna his whole life, you can cause severe amino acid deficiencies by doing this! You should never feed this unbalanced, all seafood diet alone as the primary diet.

Tips:
• Check out Home-Prepared Dog and Cat Diets: the Healthful Alternative by Dr. David Stromberg,2 a retired veterinary gastroenterologist from UC Davis. He’ll tell you the correct way of feeding your pets!
• While there are Internet dog forums abounding on topics like diets, holistic medications, and pet food rants, don’t believe all the hype - some of these sites provide inaccurate information.
• Make sure to research the topic carefully, and when in doubt, consult a veterinary nutritionalist.

Most importantly, there are a lot of different opinions out there. I've had cat owners scream at me (seriously folks?!) for feeding my cats dry food. While they are right in that cats don't need the extra carbohydrates found in dry kibble, they don't volunteer to to pet sit and come over 2-3X/day to split a can for my two cats.

I've seen dogs on crappy, Walmart food live till 18 and dogs fed organic, preservative free gourmet meals die at 6 from horrible cancer or metabolic disease. Keep in mind that diet is important but it's not the ONLY contributing factor to pet health.

What do you think?

Signing off,

Dr. Justine Lee
References:
1. Freeman LM, Michel KE. Evaluation of raw food diets for dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2001;218(5):705-709.
2. D. R. Strombeck. Home-Prepared Dog & Cat Diets: The Healthful Alternative. (Ames: Iowa State Press, 1999).

Home remedies for pets

2010-06-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

As a veterinary emergency specialist, I’m lucky that I have a concoction of supplies, equipment, and tools at home in the event that my pets need some TLC without requiring a 2 A.M. visit to the emergency clinic. Here are some tricks of the trade about what home remedies are laying around your house that may help you avoid an expensive trip to the vet.

Hot spots
Have one of those extra hairy beasts that constantly gets hot spots during the summer? Most Golden retrievers, Labradors, or Newfoundlands succumb to these hot spots (aka “moist dermatitis” or “superficial pyoderma”). Hot spots are usually triggered by allergies, fleas, insect bites, or excessively wet skin folds that can’t air out normally and end up accumulating moisture, resulting in an overgrowth of the normal skin bacteria. Once your dog starts to itch, it becomes a vicious cycle and he ends up excoriating half his skin and fur off, much to your dismay! They should call them “quick spots,” as these can spread fast – within a few hours, your dog may have scratched the area so badly that it’s now four times larger.

Keep in mind the vet dermatological trick of the trade: if it’s wet, keep it dry; if it’s dry, keep it wet. If your dog will tolerate it (it’s really itchy and uncomfortable!), use grooming clippers (not your husband’s razor) to gently clip away a large amount of hair on and around the hot spot. You don’t want to clip too close to the hot spot as you’ll cause more irritation, but you want to remove enough hair that it lets the area “breath” to allow it to dry. Make sure to clip 1-3” around the periphery of the hot spot, which will allow the wound to dry quickly without that extra hair in the way. Next, use a cool, damp, clean terry cloth or 4X4s to gently blot away the area after you clip. Whatever you do, don’t put any ointment on that site. While your instinct is to coat it with cortisone or triple antibiotic ointment, that’s the worst thing that you can do. Instead, consider applying one of these home remedies to the hot spot, two to three times a day: a dilute (1:1) solution of water and apple cider vinegar, Domboro’s solution (an aluminum acetate astringent that dries out the wound, found OTC at any pharmacy), or even wet black tea bags. You can either soak a terry cloth in the solution or put it in a clean, new water sprayer and spray it on. For the tea bags, gently apply them to the site and cover them with a terry cloth, holding them for 10 minutes. Avoid putting anything on the hot spot that will irritate it more (like salt, cayenne, oils, etc. – would you like lemon juice in your wound?). Again, keep the moist dermatitis dry and non-irritated – which means not letting your dog itch at it – that’ll require an Elizabethan collar (aka funnel hat) for a few days too. The biggest thing about hot spots is the sooner you catch them, the easier they are to treat. If you catch it early, voila – this may fix it! If it’s really bad, check with your vet if things don’t improve in a day or two - some dogs require oral antibiotics and steroids.

Minor wounds
Have an accident prone dog who likes to scrape himself up? When it comes to wounds, remember that a small puncture could be a tip of the iceberg. If your dog just got attacked by another dog, it’s always best to have a vet check it out, as a small wound can have severe tissue injury underneath. But, if it’s a small scrap from running through your rose bushes, you may be able to check it out at home. While some pets won’t let you touch them once they are injured at home (which is why we vets resort to drugs to sedate them to alleviate their pain), you can try carefully inspecting the site to see how bad the wound is and to make sure no foreign material (i.e., thorns, dirt, splinters, etc.) are inside. If it’s superficial and minor, you can try the following: first, apply some sterile KY jelly to the affected area. This doesn’t act as a barrier to germs or anything, but is designed to help prevent the fur that you’re about to shave from entering into the wound, allowing it to be gently wiped away after you clip it. Use grooming clippers to remove as much hair around the wound as you can. This will allow you to visualize the wound better and let it heal with less infection. Next, use warm, wet 4X4s diluted with povidone iodine to wipe away the KY, blood, fur, and debris on the wound.

Once the wound is more “clean,” take a closer look to see how deep it is. If the wound is bigger than the tip of your pinky nail, appears to be deep, or if continues to ooze or be painful, go to vet to double check. If it’s small and minor, you may be able to manage with conservative nursing at home. First, apply a warm compress to the area three to four times a day, for 10-15 minutes each time; this will increase draining from the area, allowing it to heal more quickly. Next, gently blot away any discharge with a damp terry cloth. Once it’s dry, apply some aloe vera gel (by just breaking the plant open) to the area; simply break the plant open for the clear gel, but make sure to avoid the white saponins that are released on the edge of the plant – these can cause minor irritation. You can apply this two to three times a day for 3-4 days. While you may notice a small amount of pus and blood for the first day or two, the wound will slowly granulate in – in other words, scar over slowly. While it may not be the prettiest (you can start calling your dog “Scarface” instead), it may heal just fine.

Gastrointestinal upset
One of the most common presenting complaints that I see in the ER is vomiting. Most owners are upset to see their pet vomit once or twice, but have no hesitation in promptly feeding him again – only to have him vomit up that meal. Duh. If you were sick from last night’s Mexican food, would you want someone to offer you a burrito again? In cases of gastroenteritis (acute inflammation of the intestines or stomach, resulting in vomiting and diarrhea), it’s always best to rest the gut – in other words, to not feed your pet any food for at least 12 hours (provided he’s healthy and not a diabetic with other problems!). Most people don’t want to torture their pet by skipping a meal, when that’s what he may need. If, after a 12 hour fast, there’s no vomiting, start back with a tiny amount of a bland diet (like boiled chicken with boiled rice with no fat, skin or bones or canned tuna). And when in doubt, start slowly. As long as your pet is holding down tiny amounts, you can gradually increase the frequency and amount over the next few days, only to gradually wean in his normal food once he’s better. If he’s still vomiting despite this, rush him to a vet, as he’ll likely need x-rays done to make sure nothing is stuck in him. Don’t make the classic mistake though – don’t feed through illness and let that stomach rest!

When in doubt, you can try some more benign OTC medications like H-2 blockers (anti-ulcer medications) like Pepcid AC. It’s a relatively safe medication and will help decrease the stomach acid and hopefully minimize the vomiting. Typically these are 10 mg tablets, and are relatively inexpensive (0.5 mgs per pound every 24 hours). Lastly, while it won’t be fun to coat the walls in pink Pepto, you can give your dog some Pepto-Bismol to help settle the stomach for a few days. The dose is typically 5 mls per 10 lbs of dog, every 6 hours. Keep in mind there are small amounts of aspirin in Pepto, so you shouldn’t use this concurrently when your pet is already on an NSAID. And since cats are particularly sensitive to the aspirin component, I’d only give one day’s worth for our feline friends. When in doubt, always check with a vet!

Allergic reactions
Isn’t it cute when you let your dog out and ahhh! He comes back in all puffy-faced and swollen? Dogs show allergic reactions differently from cats and humans, and usually develop severe hives or swelling of their face, muzzle, and ears rather than the classic anaphylactic reaction that requires an epi-pen (please don’t use your epi-pen on Fido). If you’re not sure what caused the reaction (you didn’t see your dog get stung or didn’t apply a new carpet cleaner), first try bathing your dog with a mild dish detergent like Dove – it may be a contact irritant that triggered this reaction, and until you get it off, his hives will keep on coming. Next, consider OTC Benadryl – the plain kind, without the extra decongestants. Typically, the dose is 0.5 to 1 mg per pound, so your typical Labrador would get 50 mgs worth orally every 8 hours until those hives go away. Word to the wise – most dogs get very sedate from Benadryl, but the rare dog gets hyperactive and flies off the handle. Good luck. If the hives don’t improve within a few hours, or if your dog starts getting worse or having difficulty breathing, he’ll need that 2 A.M. visit to get IV injections instead.

When in doubt, always contact your veterinarian for assistance, as not all drugs, wounds, etc., can be managed without a vet!

Signing off,

Dr. Justine Lee

Pet Poisons to Avoid!

2010-06-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

Things around the house that don't seem poisonous... but are…

At the young age of seven, I came to the childhood recognition, like every other girl out there, that I wanted to become a veterinarian. Being a die-hard animal lover, I was shocked to find out decades later that the way I medicated my childhood dog was deadly. I used to gently place the daily prednisone pill for my dog, Yi-nian (which translates into “man’s best friend” in Chinese) in the middle of a grape, only to have him gulp it down without suspecting anything. Little did I know that my loving way of medicating him could have been slowly killing him.

Nowadays, as an emergency critical care veterinary specialist, I’m well aware of all the acute toxicities out there, and have had both sad and happy outcomes – with most of the toxicities having been preventable. One of my favorite survivors was a dog named Harper. She had eaten over two pounds of raisins, and the owners didn’t realize that grapes and raisins were poisonous. The owners ended up bringing in Harper days later once she was lethargic and had stopped eating; by that point, she had already developed severe kidney failure. Unfortunately for her owners, her bill topped out at $8,000 (but fortunately, we were able to save her from the brink of death). Had the owners known about this toxicity earlier, they could have brought Harper into the vet immediately after they noticed their raisin container empty – and we could have induced emesis (pumped her stomach and made her vomit) for about $300 without her developing any kidney failure to begin with… had she vomited up all the poison. That said, the unusual thing about grape and raisin toxicity is that it is idiosyncratic – in other words, it causes kidney failure in some dogs but not all dogs, and it’s not dose-dependent (in other words, one dog can eat a tiny amount and develop severe toxicity, while another dog can eat pounds of grapes or raisins without it ever causing a problem). It’s an individual effect – some dogs may never be affected (thankfully, like Yi-nian), and some are severely affected. When in doubt, keep them out of paws’ reach.

Didn’t know that grapes or raisins are poisonous to your dog, or that the bouquet of flowers that your beau got you can kill your cat with one leaf? When it comes to commonly known toxins, most pet lovers know that household poisons like chocolate, antifreeze, and poinsettias are poisonous. Unfortunately, as an emergency veterinary specialist, I’m still shocked that people don’t know about the more dangerous toxicities out there that are sitting right in your house or yard. Here are the most common toxicities that are suddenly showing up as problems, at least in my ER.

You know that pack of gum you have in your purse? If your dog likes to stick his schnooz in your purse to dig around for something tasty, be aware. With the increase in popularity of sugarless gum (i.e., Trident, Orbitz, Ice Breakers), we've been seeing an increased number of toxicities from xylitol, an artificial sweetener. While this doesn't cause a problem in humans, it causes severe hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and acute hepatic necrosis (liver failure) when ingested by dogs. As little as one pack of gum or two muffins made with this sweetener can be fatal without immediate treatment, which includes decontamination (in other words, inducing vomiting and pumping the stomach immediately), activated charcoal (to bind up all that poisonous product), and intravenous fluids. Thankfully, most animals recover quickly, but the sooner we find out – the better. That way it’s easier for us to decontaminate the toxicity from their system.

Another common toxicity that’s dangerous when your dog rummages through your purse is that cute plastic chew toy – you know, your asthma inhaler. While you may think that metal albuterol inhaler is too tough to chew through, your dog’s sharp teeth often easily puncture the container. If this happens, and your dog inhales a jet of albuterol, he can collapse and get extremely weak. This can immediately cause a life-threatening drop in the body’s potassium, one of the electrolytes important for salt balance, resulting in potentially fatal arrhythmias. Immediate IV fluids, treatment, and continuous heart monitoring (with an electrocardiogram) are necessary to treat this toxicity acutely. So when in doubt, keep those purses out of reach.

For those of you who have pet-proofed your house, don’t think you’re immune. Think you’re safe leaving your pet outside in your fenced-in yard? While we commend you for providing a nice, “safe” yard to play in, I never recommend leaving your pet outside unsupervised. There are numerous backyard toxins that could rapidly poison your pet. For example, that compost pile in the corner of the yard. There’s a reason why gardening stores tell you to fence in and cover your compost – all that rotting organic matter actually contains fungal-like chemicals called aflatoxins and mycotoxins in it, and can quickly poison any animal (including wildlife). Clinical signs are seen within hours, and include severe trembling and seizures that result in hyperthermia (a high temperature from having severe muscle tremors). Treatment includes intravenous (IV) muscle relaxants and IV fluids, and thankfully, compost toxicity is rarely fatal with treatment. While I commend you for composting for the sake of the environment, fence off your pile for the sake of your pets.

Likewise, if you let your cat outdoors, your neighbors’ Easter lilies, Asiatic lilies, Oriental lilies, and even some day lilies (are you getting the hint?) can kill her. As little as one leaf, pedal, or bite of stem can cause severe, irreversible kidney failure within as little as a day, and even aggressive hemodialysis and IV fluids may not help. Signs include generalized malaise, lack of urination, vomiting, and not eating, and if you notice those signs by then, unfortunately it may be too late. When in doubt, keep this common backyard plant and more common floral arrangement plant out of your cat’s reach.

If you notice your pet get into something, never assume it’s safe. A lot of products out there are very toxic to dogs and cats, as they have a different metabolism than we humans . When in doubt, contact a vet or a Pet Poison Helpline immediately. While there may be a fee to be seen by your emergency vet or to call a helpline, it’ll detect a problem sooner and help protect your pet and your pocketbook.

HINTS:
• When in doubt, always call an emergency veterinary clinic if you saw your pet ingest something abnormal – the receptionist or technician may be able to counsel you on what to do when your pet gets into something toxic.
• When it comes to our pet’s health, always call one of the Poison Control Hotlines across the country to find out more information: www.petpoisonhelpline.com

Signing off,

Dr. Justine Lee

How to be a pet owner without your house smelling like it

2010-06-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

By Justine A. Lee, DVM, DACVECC

When I first rescued Seamus, my grey and white tabby kitten, from an abusive household, I was ready for the responsibilities of pet ownership: scooping kitty litter, buying food, and keeping him healthy. It was a reciprocal relationship, right? I loved him, and he loved me right back. What I wasn’t prepared for was how much stink he came with. Luckily, I’m a neurotic once-a-day-kitty-litter-scooper, so I was able to keep the pet odors down. However, once I adopted my second cat Echo, a black adult male cat, I was shocked at how doubling the number of cats in the household seemed to triple-fold the mess, kitty litter duty (literally), and odiferous essence. Regardless of how many pets you have, you don’t want your house smelling like it, right? So, what’s a pet owner to do to limit the stinkiness of living with our pets?

It’s pretty apparent that the more pets you have, the more potential for reek. That said, there are a few things you can do to minimize the stink. First of all, make sure your pet doesn't have a medical reason for their stink. When in doubt, take your pet to a vet for a routine physical exam. Make sure your vet takes a good look at those pearly whites, as that’s one of the primary sources for malodor. Certain breeds like greyhounds and poodles are two of the worst breeds that are predisposed to tartar build-up, which results in severe halitosis. Your pet may need a dental cleaning every few years to help keep his or her breath fresh. In between those teeth cleanings, brush your pet’s teeth to help keep away that plaque. Once that plaque hardens into tartar, you’re out of luck – your vet will have to scrap it off with special tools during a dentistry done under anesthesia. When brushing, keep in mind that you don’t need a fancy pet toothbrush – simply use a small swatch of old pantyhose or a clean, dry 4X4 gauze, wrap it around your index finger, apply a small amount of pet toothpaste to it, and rub the sides of your pet’s teeth to help scrape away that plaque (without getting bitten in the process). You can also use other grooming tools such as doggy toothpaste or prescription-strength mouth spray (such as Chlorhexidine oral spray, since your pet can’t gargle). This is an antiseptic, anti-bacterial mouth spray that will help keep some of that odor down too. Most dogs generally don’t need it, but if your dog has really foul, unhealthy teeth, it’d be a healthy option to help keep that oral bacterial count down. Don’t despair for those of you who can’t keep up with your dog’s dental disease - there are experimental anti-plaque vaccines coming out for some of these more troublesome breeds!

While you’re at the vet, also make sure to have your vet check out your pet’s skin and ears. Notice how when you give your dog a good pet-lovin’ rub-down that you end up with a brown, waxy, greasy film on your fingertips? That’s because some breeds like Labrador retrievers, basset hounds, cocker spaniels, and West Highland white terriers may have inherited seborrhea oleosa (a fancy way of saying, greasy skin and dandruff). This is the same condition that makes certain people break out with acne or dandruff more than others. Untreated, this makes the skin and fur too moist, predisposing your pet to an underlying, foul-smelling yeast or bacterial infection. Breeds with floppy ears (like cocker spaniels, basset hounds, and clumber spaniels) or those who have a love for swimming (labradors and golden retrievers) are also more predisposed to chronic ear infections. With those floppy or constantly wet ears, moisture gets trapped in the middle ear (the inside part that you’re not supposed to put a Q-tip in), allowing bacteria and yeast to grow in there. If you have one of these ear-affected breeds, make sure to occasionally clean your pet’s ears once or twice a week with a safe, gentle ear solution like Oti-Clens or OtiCalm. On the contrary, don’t over-clean those ears – otherwise, you can create a yeast infection (by taking out all that healthy bacteria that are supposed to be in there normally). Finally, don’t let your pet’s ear or skin infection get out of control, or you, your pet, and your house will pay – that’s because if your dog has a yeast infection in his ears and is scratching at them with his paws, he’ll soon spread that infection to his feet and the rest of his skin – making his whole body stink too. Once your pet’s medical condition is treated appropriately by your vet, you can maintain your pet’s freshness by using doggy body anti-yeast wipes (MalAcetic) or sprays (which kill the yeast wherever you wipe, minimize the smell and the number of tub visits), degreasing shampoos (like a prescription Chlorhexidine shampoo, which kill yeast, bacteria, and certain fungus too), and even doggy cologne.

For you cat lovers, use a covered litter box and scoop! While those cute little charcoal filters on top of the box barely make a difference, the cover helps keep in the stink from diffusing throughout your house. The cover also prevents your cat from splashing kitty litter or accidentally spraying urine outside of the box. The most important part of keeping the cat smell down is to have good kitty litter habits. First, you should have n+1 litter boxes per cat. In other words, if you have three cats, you should have four litter boxes, depending on how much room you have in your abode. Cats are very territorial when it comes to their bathroom habits (and use urine to mark their spot), and often prefer to have their own box. Secondly, make sure you use clumping instead of clay litter – not only do veterinary behaviorists say that cats prefer clumping, but it makes it easier to scoop out the stink (and it’s more environmentally friendly to just scoop out the clumps and poop instead of dumping the whole litter box out each week). Most importantly, scoop that box frequently. I’m often shocked that pet owners tell me they only scoop their litter boxes once or twice a week (that’s the equivalent of you flushing every other day!). While kitty litter duty seems laborious, gross, and dirty, you should be scooping daily. This is the #1 way to keep the stink down, but more importantly, it’s medically healthier for your cat. Keeping a hygienic box helps prevent bladder or colon problems (like cystitis or constipation). If your litter box is too dirty, your cat is only going to want to go in it once a day instead of three times a day, fear of getting his paws dirty. If your cat happens to have crystals in his urine, and he’s holding his urine to avoid stepping into a nasty box, those crystals get more concentrated, predisposing him to a life-threatening bladder blockage (called a urethral obstruction). Lastly, scooping daily helps monitor your cat better. After all, how else are you going to know how long your cat has had diarrhea for, or if his piles of urine are abnormally-sized unless you scoop? If you notice larger clumps of urine than normal, it could indicate that your cat has diabetes or even kidney problems. Lastly, scooping daily also prevents behavioral problems (like urinating on your dirty pile of laundry or pooping right outside the box). Get the hint if your cat is doing this – he doesn’t want to step inside the dirty litter box because there’s no room left to walk in or cover up his excrement. Cats are fastidious and clean by nature, and appreciate a clean litter box. Help your pets out by sparing them the discomforts of itchy skin, ears, and dirty boxes, and your house guests the pet odor. After all, when it comes to our pets, we all love them… but don’t have to tolerate the stink.

Some basic tips to keeping a pet, odor-free house:
• Make sure to have good, clean, fresh ventilation: open your windows and screen doors, turn on fans, and let the house air out.
• Use a HEPA filter in the most pet-occupied room – where your litter box is hiding or where your dog’s bed is. Not only will it make the air fresher for you, but it’s healthier air for your pet to breathe!
• Use a dilute 10% bleach solution to launder those pet beds, collars, leashes, kitty litter boxes, and dog toys frequently. Do it on the first of the month, so you always remember when it’s time to clean.
• For those of you with central air or heat, make sure to change your furnace filter at the start of each season (I do it monthly!) to hide the stink. This catches all the pet dander and fur, and once again, makes it healthier air for you to breath.

Signing off,

Dr. Justine Lee

Do you need to take your pet to a veterinary specialist?

2010-05-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

As a board-certified veterinary emergency specialist, I’m often amazed at what owners will put up with from their vets. Take a recent client of mine. She’d brought her sick cat to her regular veterinarian, who said Felix needed to stay for intravenous fluids. The vet didn’t have 24-hour care, though. So Felix’s owner picked her cat up at 5 P.M. and drove him to the local “after-hours” emergency clinic; the next morning, she got to the clinic before it closed at 8 A.M. so she could bring Felix back to her vet. She did this a total of seven times over the course of four days before she and Felix ended up in the emergency room of the university vet school where I work.

When I saw her, she was physically, mentally, and financially exhausted. And Felix was really, really sick—he was in severe kidney failure and needed much more aggressive care than either his regular vet or the after-hours clinic had been able to give (a feeding tube to start him on some much needed calories, a urinary catheter, and a special catheter in his jugular vein to maximally flush toxins out of his kidneys). Don’t worry: Felix survived. But it was touch and go, and the process cost his owner thousands more than it needed to.

I promise I don’t have my eye on my wallet when I say this: There are times when your pet needs someone other than the wonderful vet you’ve been using for years. People tend to be reluctant to ask if a specialist might be helpful—who wants to risk causing offense or hurt feelings? But from my vantage point at what’s called a tertiary-care center, where the very sickest animals end up, I’d say that’s one of the biggest mistakes people make at the vet.

Here’s a simple way to think about it: If you’d need to go to a specialist for a problem, your dog or cat probably does, too. A general practice vet doesn’t usually do hundreds of ultrasounds or bone marrow tests a year even if he has the equipment, so it would be strange if he were as adept at doing the tests as a dedicated veterinary ultrasonographer (AKA radiology specialist) or internal medicine specialist, respectively. Same holds true for other advanced or invasive tests or treatments. If you’re really uncomfortable raising the issue with your vet, keep in mind that unlike in human medical care, you don’t actually need your vet to refer you to a specialist—you can just pick up the phone.

On the other hand, another common mistake I see is that people don’t go to their regular vet enough—fast enough, that is. It can seem reasonable to wait a while to see if your pet’s decreased appetite, lethargy, or general malaise improves on its own. But it actually takes a lot for your tail-thumping dog or self-contained, stoic cat to show those signs of illness. For those sorts of somewhat vague symptoms, it’s generally fine to wait a day—but if you wait two days with no signs of improvement, you can have a full-blown emergency on your hands. Of course, no fair taking my advice as license to wait around if you just saw your dog lap up antifreeze or your cat’s been munching on dental floss or poisonous lily plants!

The third major error in my book is that people think their vet is all about vaccines. I know you can’t believe a bona fide veterinarian is actually suggesting this, but chances are good that if your pet isn’t a baby, you should skip the shots this year. The reason: Once he’s gone through the full puppy or kitten series of shots and has had annual vaccines for four to five years, his immune system is in good shape. At that point, to get the maximum protection with the fewest possible side effects, current veterinary recommendations are to switch to vaccines every two or three years—depending on your state’s laws on rabies shots (which must be kept up to date). Now, don’t interpret this to mean you get to kiss your vet goodbye between-times. A middle-aged or geriatric pet still needs an annual physical exam, which should include routine blood work to check how well her kidneys and liver are working, and to look at her electrolytes and red and white blood cell counts. Abnormalities in these levels can be warning signs of disease, so those tests can help you detect a problem sooner rather than later. But if your vet pushes for yearly vaccines, know that you can decline them. That’s right, folks—just say you’re electing not to vaccinate this year, according to the latest recommendations, and would rather have just an annual exam.

When in doubt, demand the best care for your pet. Felix’s owner did, and it ended up saving Felix’s life. After all, with the improvement in the overall quality of veterinary care and increase in veterinary specialists available, we want our pets to live as long as we humans do! It’s one thing to be needle- and doctor-phobic yourself… just don’t make the same mistakes with your pet!

Have any bad experience with your specialist? Let me know!

Signing off,

Dr. Justine Lee

Biography:
Dr. Justine Lee is a veterinary emergency critical care specialist and the author of It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet: Everything you ever wanted to know about your four-legged friend and It’s a Cat’s World… You Just Live In It: Everything you ever wanted to know about your furry feline

3 mistakes people make at the vet

2010-05-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

I’d hate to toot my own horn, but veterinarians topped the 1999 Gallop poll for most trusted professions in America, beaten only by nurses and pharmacists. We even came before medical doctors, kindergarten teachers, clergy, and judges. When it comes to our pets, Americans puts a lot of trust into their veterinarians, and we appreciate that.

That said, sometimes people make mistakes when they take Fluffy or Fido to the vet. As a board-certified veterinary emergency specialist, I want you to be the best advocate for your four-legged family member and for yourself. Based on my own MD appointments, I realize that the whopping ten minutes of time you get with the doctor can fly by or be overwhelmingly stressful. All the questions that were in your head have, voila, disappeared, and you’re kicking yourself for not remembering to ask that question. Well, when it comes to taking care of our pets, avoid these three mistakes people make at the vet.

First, be a strong advocate for your pet! The first place to start is by simply maintaining a good medical record at home. If you have blood work done at your vet, ask for a copy. Every few years, ask for an updated copy of Fido’s medical record so you have it on hand if you ever have to rush to an emergency veterinarian or decide to up and move. Next, know your rights; in the case that Fido is really sick, you can always self-refer Fido’s case to a board-certified specialist or to another veterinarian if you’re worried about the diagnosis, prognosis, or simply, just want a second opinion. Most people are too embarrassed and don’t want to offend their veterinarian--but when it boils down to Fido’s health, let’s do what’s best for Fido. Lastly, if you have a lot of questions for your vet, do your research (on reputable Internet sites, please!) and bring a list of questions to ask your vet so you make sure all your points are addressed. Keep the list short and to the point: three to five main questions… otherwise, your vet will worry more about you.

Secondly, skip the vaccines this year, but make sure to still have an annual exam. Once your pet has gone through their whole puppy or kitten series, followed by annual vaccines for four to five years, studies have shown that Fluffy’s immune system is well protected! Current veterinary recommendations are to make sure Fluffy has an annual exam, but we’ve moved vaccines to every two to three years, depending on your state’s Rabies law. If you own a middle-aged to geriatric pet, talk to your vet about getting routine blood work (such as a complete blood count or chemistry panel) every year instead of the vaccines.

Thirdly, when something’s wrong, don’t wait to see a vet. Fido and Fluffy can’t tell you where it hurts. I often see people waiting too long before they finally take their pet in to their vet. Signs such as increased thirst or urination, decreased appetite, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, lethargy, panting excessively, not wanting to move, collapse, pale gums, a racing heart, or generalized malaise are all basic signs that you should bring your pet to a vet right away. For you cat lovers out there, watch your cat’s kitty litter habits. If you notice bigger clumps in the litter box, please don’t wait too long to bring Fluffy in; common diseases like chronic kidney failure, diabetes mellitus, or even hyperthyroidism can be fatal without treatment. Likewise, a lack of urine in the litter box after a day or two could mean your male cat has a bladder obstruction and may need to be rushed to the ER. Most people wait too long, and it’s more expensive to treat when you wait until your pet needs to go to the ER or be admitting into the hospital. Remember, it takes a lot for your generally happy-go-lucky cat or tail-thumping dog to show you signs that he’s sick.

Avoid these three simple mistakes the next time you visit the vet. Since Fluffy and Fido can’t speak up for themselves, we as veterinarians and you as owners have to.

Have any suggestions for other mistakes to avoid making at a vet clinic? Send me your comments!

Signing off,

Dr. Justine Lee

References:
Nurses Displace Pharmacists at Top of Expanded Honesty and Ethics Poll (press release, Princeton, NJ: The Gallup Organization, Nov 16, 1999). Available from http://www.colnurse, org/cno/new2/glp111899. html. Accessed 8 May 2000.

Biography:
Dr. Justine Lee is a veterinary emergency critical care specialist and the author of It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet: Everything you ever wanted to know about your four-legged friend.

Flea-Proof Your Pets

2010-05-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

How to keep your dog, cat and house free from these oh-so-common pests.

If you have pets, fleas are a fact of life. Nearly half of all dogs and cats become infested with them at some point—despite the over $1 billion Americans spend annually on products to control the pesky critters. Once your pet has them (those that play outdoors are especially susceptible), you’ll find that fleas can rapidly take over your house. They can also cause your animal serious illness, including hair loss, dermatitis, and tapeworms (because they’re hosts to the worms’ eggs). Fleas may even carry bacteria that are contagious to humans. But you can keep fleas at bay—or prevent them in the first place—with these three easy steps:

Prevent an infestation
Save yourself a lot of trouble by using a topical prescription preventative such as Advantix or Frontline Plus every 30 days (but especially during warm-weather months). Both are liquids that are applied between a cat or dog’s shoulder blades and keep infant fleas from developing into full-blown adults. If you have a dog, you can also opt for pills that have the same effect (like Comfortis or Program); they are usually given once a month and may even come combined with heartworm medication (like Sentinel). These products are safe. They are also more effective than OTC home and lawn sprays, flea collars, bug bombs, shampoos, and dips, which are potentially toxic to you and your pet when used inappropriately or inproperly.

Spot them—and destroy them—fast
Sometimes an infestation occurs despite your best efforts, so if you notice early symptoms (such as your pet’s excessive scratching or small, itchy flea bites on you, the owner!), here’s what to look for: The pesky critters are the size of the tip of a pencil, so if you separate your animal’s hair to look for them, they’re visible to the naked eye. They most commonly hide on or around your pet’s lower back, tail, belly, inner thighs, and neck. A flea comb, which has fine teeth, will snag both the bugs and flea dirt: small, black specks of dried blood that turn red when you sprinkle them on a wet paper towel.

Get rid of them for good
If you find evidence of an infestation, move to a vet-recommended topical product that will rid your pet of adult fleas once and for all. Unfortunately, the fleas have to bite your pet for the pesticides to take effect—but it’s the easiest, safest, and most effective way of eliminating them. Your pet gets relief in 5 minutes and could be flea-free in as little as 12 hours.

Get rid of fleas hopping around your home by vacuuming frequently to suck up adults and eggs lying on the carpet, furniture, and pet beds. Throw away the vacuum bag away immediately, or fleas will crawl back out, re-infesting your house.

Parasitically yours,

Dr. Justine Lee

Biography:
Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC is a veterinary emergency critical-care specialist and the associate director of veterinary services at Pet Poison Helpline. She is the author of It’s a Cat’s World… You Just Live in It and It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your

3 diseases your pets can spread to you!

2010-05-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

1) Cat Scratch Disease (CSD)
Those bared kitty claws can potentially transmit the bacterium Bartonella henselae into the wound, leading to an infection with symptoms ranging from fever and swollen lymph nodes to abdominal pain. About 40% of cats carry this bug during some stage of their life, though they remain symptom-free. Be extra careful around kittens—they carry the bacteria more than grown cats and tend to scratch more during play.

Prevent it: Keep feline nails neatly trimmed. If you do get scratched, rinse the wound well with soap and water; if you develop an infection at the scratch site, consult your doctor about antibiotics.

2) Larval Migrans (aka worms)
Intestinal worms are found in your dog or cat’s feces—and can be spread to you by direct contact with contaminated soil. Puppies may be born with them, but both pups and kittens can also pick them up during nursing. Touching contaminated feces can result in a skin infection; if you forget to wash your hands before sitting down to a meal and ingest the eggs, the worms can travel through the body, causing a variety of symptoms with sometimes devastating effects: A cough can mean they’ve migrated to the lungs; permanent vision problems—and even blindness—are possible if they end up in the eyes. The brain, lungs, heart, liver, and other organs can also be affected.

Prevent it: Deworm your pet regularly at vet visits. This means starting at 2 or 3 weeks old, for every 2 weeks until 8 or 9 weeks of age, and then monthly until 6 months of age, and then as recommended by your vet. And make hand-washing a priority—especially after any exposure to animal feces. If you think you’ve been infected, your physician can determine the severity of your case and help you choose the right treatment.

3) Fungal Infections (AKA ringworm)
The same type of infection that causes jock itch and athlete’s foot (called dermatophytosis, or more commonly, ringworm) is found in our pets. Cats carry ringworm on their fur more frequently than dogs and are typically asymptomatic; dogs will almost always show signs of the infection, such as raised, circular lesions and hair loss. When passed on to humans, you’ll also notice red, raised lesions on your body. As a vet, I’ve gotten a ringworm rash on my neck after my stethoscope touched an infected animal.

Treat it: Use an OTC antifungal cream. Unfortunately, ringworm can’t be prevented. Luckily, though, humans are the wrong host —so it won’t survive for long, and will disappear in a few weeks with regular cream applications.

Have you caught anything bad from your pets? Help spread the word and let us know!

Signing off,

Dr. Justine Lee

Biography:
Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC is a veterinary emergency critical-care specialist and the associate director of veterinary services at Pet Poison Helpline. She is the author of It’s a Cat’s World…You Just Live in It and It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet.

How to travel with your pet

2010-05-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

Leaving behind pets when you travel is tough—but before you pack up any furry friend, take note: cats are generally bad travelers. They don’t like being confined to carriers and tend to get anxious in cars, so it’s best leave them at home with a sitter or board them at a kennel. Dogs, on the other hand, are more adaptable, and therefore better travel companions. Here’s how to prep for your pup’s trip:

Before you go …

See your vet. If you are traveling across state lines or out of the country, you’ll need a health certificate (dated within 10 days of travel) to verify your dog is healthy and current on her vaccines. Talk to your vet about sedatives—especially if you have an anxious pup or your trip is long. (This is also the best way to handle a cat, if you must bring her along.) And consider anti-nausea mediations as well—pets get car sick, too!
Research emergency vets. Find several veterinarians at your destination or along your route if you’re driving. Program both your vet’s phone number and an animal poison control phone number into your cell in case of emergency (such as Pet Poison Helpline at 800-213-6680).

In the Car...

Keep your dog leashed in the backseat. Driving with your dog in your lap is not only illegal in some cities and states but it’s also distracting. More importantly, you can end up in a serious accident if she wanders near your brake pad.
Coordinate rest stops. Every time you pull over for a bathroom, stretching, or water break, extend the same courtesy to your dog. Just be sure leash her before you open the car door.
Consider your pet’s comfort. If it’s hot and you have to leave her in the car for even a few minutes, it’s imperative to park in the shade, leave water out (in some states, you can be ticketed for leaving a pet alone without water), and the windows cracked open or the A/C running—cars can heat up rapidly in hot temperatures, resulting in fatal heat stroke. Likewise, in extremely cold temps, leave the heat turned up to prevent your pup from freezing.

On a plane …

Investigate your airline’s pet regulations. Each carrier has its own set of policies, so make sure you know the requirements for specific crate types or brands, temperature restrictions (if it’s too hot or too cold, your pet can’t travel with your luggage), identification or labeling protocols, and water and food requirements. Check with the airline weeks in advance so you have time to prepare.
See if you can carry on your small breed. Some airlines will allow you to take certain miniscule dogs or cats on board in a soft-sided carrier. This often requires a $50 to $100 fee each way, and your pet must stay in the carrier under the seat at all times (which may require lots of sedation).
For more tips, check out AVMA's tips.
Fly direct if possible. And choose early morning or late evening flights in the summer to avoid peak heat hours.
Hydrate your pet when you land. But wait until your pet settles down before offering any food, as travel can upset her stomach. Finally, keep her in her crate until you are outside—most airports won’t allow your animal to wander.

Signing off while traveling the world myself,

Dr. Justine Lee

Biography:
Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC is a veterinary emergency critical-care specialist and the associate director of veterinary services at Pet Poison Helpline. She is the author of It’s a Cat’s World…You Just Live in It and It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet.

Three pet tips you must live by

2010-05-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

Do you love your dog or cat? Do me a favor -follow these three easy tips to make everyone's life healthier and happier!

1) I will not feed my dog or cat table scraps
Studies show your pet will live a longer, healthier life if she’s in good shape, yet 40 to 70 percent of the pet population is obese. The extra pounds strain your animal’s musculoskeletal system, heart and lungs. To maintain a healthy weight, a cat should be consuming around 200 calories a day on average, and a large dog needs just 800—but it’s impossible to keep track when you toss her leftovers from your plate. Just one slice of bacon or an ounce of steak, for example, has about 50 calories—and the high fat content can lead to a host of health issues, including inflammation of the pancreas, vomiting, and diarrhea. To help break the habit, opt for a low-cal pet snack if she begs during dinner, or keep her in another room altogether when you sit down for a meal.

2) When I say no, I’ll mean it
As hard as it is to reprimand that furry little face, setting rules will make for a better-behaved and (believe it or not) happier animal. Owners don’t realize they are often to blame for their pet’s neuroses—such as jumping up during feeding time or scratching up furniture—because they don’t consistently discourage the bad behavior. Get your family on the same page when it comes to enforcing rules: For example, make sure everyone in your family gets your dog to sit and stay before you pour his food or open the door to let him out (and acknowledge when your pet listens with a simple reward like a pat on the head or a scratch behind the ears). With cats, if she’s tearing up your couch or furniture with her claws, be extra firm with your no's (i.e., she may need a water gun spray as a reminder), and provide a catnip-laced scratching post as an alternative. Be consistent with positive feedback, too—when she chooses the post instead of the couch, be prepared with a treat.

3) I will take my pet for an annual check-up
Just because your pet is indoors doesn't mean she doesn't need routine care! My years working as an emergency room vet taught me one important lesson: if owners brought their animals in for more regular exams and sooner (versus waiting until their pet's symptoms are really bad), they would not only avoid many expensive visits to the ER vet, but also save their pet from suffering. Chronic kidney failure, hyperthyroidism, and diabetes are three common conditions all marked by symptoms that are easy to dismiss, such as excessive drinking, urinating, and weight loss. A simple check-up and routine blood work could prevent many fatal cases. You should also see your vet twice a year for an oral exam—dental disease can lead to deadly organ infections. Remember: the sooner your vet diagnoses and treats any potential problems, the better the prognosis.

How much does it cost to euthanize a cat?

2010-05-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, there’s a cost to everything, and I’ve been disheartened to hear clients say “If I knew it was going to be so expensive, I would have just shot him at home!” The price to euthanize Fido depends on each veterinarian’s fees, which can range from $45 to $250, so call around if you are concerned. In general, your family veterinarian or farm veterinarian will be less expensive than going to a veterinary school, although autopsies may be offered at a lower cost there. Regardless, please don’t try anything at home. At the same time, some people expect Fluffy to “die peacefully at home,” when realistically, that rarely happens. Don’t wait for Fluffy to slowly suffer when you could potentially alleviate any suffering or pain. There are house call veterinarians who can come to your home so you have more privacy and peace. But either way, you’re going to be reaching or the wallet. Just consider it your last gift to your poor, loyal canine. And in those last few days, make sure to give him all the filet mignon and ice cream he wants!

Material from It's a Dog's Life... but It's Your Carpet, available at Amazon.com. Copyright © 2008 Justine Lee Veterinary Consulting, LLC.

Just how satisfied are you with your job?

2010-05-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

I'm grateful to find out from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) that veterinarians have a very high level of job satisfaction. We rank just behind clergy, teachers, and psychologists, and above physicians and lawyers too. We vets ranked well above average compared to all jobs. Now if we could only teach everyone to pronounce "veterinarian" correctly. In my book, I list "What is Justine’s biggest veterinary pet peeve?" as one of the questions. Well, on the first day of orientation at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, the dean of the veterinary college told us this sage advice: if you learn one thing from veterinary school, learn how to pronounce “veterinarian.” It’s not “vet-re-narian”. It’s “vet-er-in-ar-ian.” In the same way, it’s not “vet-ran” rather, it is “vet-er-an.” Could be an Ivy League ivory tower (i.e., snotty) thing to say at our first day of orientation, but it’s since become a big sticking point, just as my mad, old professor predicted. Word to the wise.

Good dental health is essential for your animal’s longevity. Here’s how to handle it at home.

2010-05-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

You brush your teeth every day, but only 10% of owners do the same for their pets. As a vet, I’m embarrassed to admit that while brushing my own dog’s teeth recently, I found a cancerous tumor that had probably been growing for weeks (luckily, he completely recovered after surgery). We all have slip-ups, but regular lapses in oral care can lead to halitosis, chronic mouth pain, tooth loss, or even the undetected oral tumor! What’s worse, over 80% of dogs and 70% of cats show signs of dental disease by age 3, which can cause bacteria from the mouth to enter the bloodstream, leading to rare but deadly infections in the heart, kidneys, and liver. Here, three tips to keep your pet’s mouth healthy:

1) Brush for 1 minute, once a week
That’s enough to fight plaque buildup and help prevent gingivitis. Using a regular toothbrush is best, but if it’s too hard to maneuver in your pet’s mouth, you can wrap a small piece of pantyhose or cotton gauze pad around your finger instead; for toothpaste, add a dab of a chicken or liver-flavored varieties (available at a pet store or at your vet). To calm a fidgety pet, massage his face and cheeks first, then brush for 10 or 15 seconds, working up to a minute gradually. So you don’t forget, work the brushing sessions into your regular weekly routine—pick the same day and time (Sunday morning, for example) and stick to it. If you spot brown or yellow tartar, set up a professional cleaning.

2) Know what a healthy mouth looks like
Regularly examining your pet's teeth and gums makes it easier to spot any developing abnormalities. After the weekly brushing, lift her cheek flaps and take a closer look. What’s normal: pink gums, white teeth, and decent breath. What’s not: redness near the gum line, bleeding after brushing, discoloration, or irregular growths or masses. Watch your pet’ habits too: If you notice she’s pawing at her face and mouth or chewing differently, it could indicate an unhealthy mouth and warrants a trip to the vet.

3) Get teeth-friendly treats
To keep her teeth clean between brushing (or if she won’t cooperate when you come near her mouth), try a pet-friendly treat designed to help scrape off tartar. Rope chews, rawhides, or even re-formulated Greenies (specially designed goodies designed to remove tarter when eaten) are all good choices; water additives and mouth sprays, on the other hand, aren't all that they're chalked up to be. While these may reduce plaque and tartar buildup, they don't scrape away bacteria the way brushing or dental treats can and often don't taste good - leaving a metallic taste in your pet's mouth and a pet that may not be drinking enough. Find more helpful tips at www.petdental.com.

Heed These Breeds
Miniature Poodles, Yorkshire terriers, and greyhounds are breeds more predisposed to dental disease, and cats with underlying infectious problems—like feline leukemia or feline immunodeficiency virus—are also more likely to suffer from gum disease. If this describes your pet, do a mouth check twice a week and seek vet care immediately if you notice a problem.

How to keep your pet's HEART health!

2010-05-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

Six years ago, while volunteering at a local animal shelter, I was examining a cat and was shocked to hear a congenital heart murmur so loud that it vibrated through his chest. I decided to adopt him and named him Echo—short for “echocardiography,” as I saw lots of these expensive ultrasounds in his future. Thankfully, Echo is still doing well today, but his story sheds light on the importance of monitoring your pet’s heart. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Watch your pet’s weight. Just like us, extra pounds adds extra strain on their hearts—and 40 to 70 percent of the pet population is overweight or obese. If your vet determines that your furry friend is a part of this group, he may recommend a healthier feeding plan to help cut 25% of your animal’s daily caloric intake (and remind you to lay off those table scraps). It’s important to keep your pet active as well. Even animals with heart murmurs or other pre-existing conditions need to exercise to stay healthy— just check with your vet about any possible restrictions or problems. In general, aim for 10-15 minutes of exercise per day for your dog and 5 minutes for your cat – come on folks - that's NOT that much TIME!

2. Give your pet heartworm medication once a month. One bite is all it takes for a mosquito to transmit microscopic worm larvae to your pet, which then develops into large adult heartworms that clog the heart and lead to heart failure. For dogs, all you need is a once a month oral or topical medication to prevent heartworm infection. You can choose a six-month supply for mosquito season, or opt to keep your pet on meds all year long. The test used to diagnose heartworm in cats is not always reliable, so I personally recommend that all felines—even if they stay indoors—be put on preventative medications year round. Find out more information at the American Heartworm Society: http://www.heartwormsociety.org

3. Ask your vet to check for heart murmurs. Cats with murmurs will have shortened life spans, so once diagnosed, they’ll need a heart ultrasound (or the fancier scientific terminology "echocardiogram") to determine the severity, along with medications to help prevent heart failure or life-threatening clots. For dog owners, I’m not as alarmed by a heart murmur, but it’s still important to take proper precautions—especially if you own a small dog (like a miniature poodle) or a large breed (like a great dane). See your vet to rule out chronic valvular heart disease—a leading cause of heart murmurs—and Dilated Cardiomyopathy, a fatal type of heart disease. If your pup is diagnosed with either of these conditions, frequent heart work-ups (consisting of a physical exam, chest x-ray, and echo) are a must!

How to keep your pet safe this summer!

2010-05-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

Veterinary emergency care specialist Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC, tells how to pet-proof all your outdoor spaces. This summer, the biggest dangers to your pet’s health may be in your own backyard. Here are the top three problem areas to watch:

In the garden

Azaleas are common backyard shrubs that can be toxic for dogs and cats if ingested, resulting in severe drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, heart arrhythmias, or an abnormal heart rate.
Japanese yew, with their tempting, juicy red berries and evergreen needles, can cause vomiting, diarrhea, severe heart arrhythmias, and coma in all pets and be fatal if even a small amount is eaten. Shrub clippings from any of these plants should be promptly swept up and removed.
Backyard lilies (like a day lily, Asiatic, Easter, or Stargazer lily) and their pollen can cause acute kidney failure in cats. Ingestion of as little as 2-3 leaves can be fatal, so remove these plants from your yard if you let your cat outside.

In the garage

Rose and garden plant food can contain potentially fatal compounds called organophosphates or carbamates. If your dog tries to eat a bag of it (or soil that’s been treated with it), he could suffer severe drooling and urination, diarrhea, profuse vomiting, shock, and even death when left untreated.
Fireworks are dangerous enough once lit, but they’re also a threat to curious dogs that might try to eat them beforehand. Made with chemicals like potassium nitrate, and parts (like a fuse) that could get stuck in the stomach, fireworks can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, seizures, and shallow breathing. Keep your Fourth of July supply out of reach, and clear your yard of debris after you set off your display.

On the patio

Barbecue scraps and fatty leftovers can give your pup severe pancreatitis, causing vomiting, diarrhea, severe abdominal pain, and even death.
Charcoal briquettes, which dogs seem to love to lap up or steal from the grill, can easily get stuck in the stomach, causing vomiting and requiring surgery.
Corn-on-the cob and peach pits are also a huge no-no because they can lodge in a dog’s intestines.

First Aid
As soon as you realize your pet has ingested something toxic, do not try to administer home remedies, but contact your vet or the Pet Poison Helpline. In some cases, you may be able to induce vomiting with professional guidance—but many times, a trip to the doctor will be necessary for a full checkup, IV fluids, and even surgery.

Justine says…

Keep Pets Safe!
If you notice your has pet ingested something poisonous, call the Pet Poison Helpline at (800) 213-6680 for first aid advice.

Just how bonded are you to your pet?

2010-05-05T12:14:00.001-07:00

May 3, 2010 | By Kevin Kisthart, previously published in Zootoo.

After a long, stressful day, nothing is better than coming home to your best friend frantically awaiting your arrival right at the front door. As excited as you are to see your pet, there is no doubt that your pup is just as excited to see you.

This initial excitement is very easy for humans to pick up on, but during many other times throughout the day, you are on the same wavelength as your dog and may not even know it.

According to a survey done by Pup-Peroni and Kelton Research company, 75% of people say that by reading their dog's body language and facial expressions, they can tell exactly what their dog is thinking. We can tell when they are happy or sad, and they can tell the same about us.

The Pup-Peroni survey reports that over 40% of people agreed that their dog would be more likely to pick up on their bad mood than their best friend. Dogs are very perceptive animals and can sense our feelings and emotions, as they have a good understanding of human social cues.

Though your pup may not always know exactly what we are thinking, their expressions and body language usually tell us everything. We know when they are happy and want to play, and we know when they are sad and know when they have done something wrong. And there’s no bigger sign of what your dog is thinking than seeing him with his head cowered and ears flat — right before finding out the garbage is all over the kitchen floor.

While it’s easy for us to pick up on how our dog is feeling, believe it or not they know what we are feeling as well, and most of the time they know just what to do. According to the Pup-Peroni survey, an overwhelming 89% of dog owners said that their dog has tried to comfort them in times of need. Dogs don’t even have to give us a pep talk to try and cheer us up. All it takes is a simple wag of the tail, and a nice shared moment with your best friend.

That’s the beauty of the simple relationship between humans and canines. They don’t try and lecture us, judge us, tell us what to do, or ever let us down when we need them the most. In fact, most people prefer the company of their dog over their human friends when they are down, and that’s why they truly are our four-legged family members.

Tell us what you think about “Canine Communication: Survey Results Reflect Bond Between Owners and Pets” below. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at hfinnegan@zootoo.com.

5 Ways to Add Another Pet to Your Family

2010-05-03T20:26:00.001-07:00

Veterinary emergency care specialist Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC, explains how to safely introduce a new pet into your home

Start Pups Outdoors: Introduce new dogs to each other in secured, neutral territory. Both should be leashed so you can control the speed of the meeting--and pull them apart in case of a fight. Avoid introducing dogs inside, especially if your current dog is protective of his turf.

Trim Kitty's Claws: The sharper or longer the nail, the more injury can occur--like puncturing the cornea, resulting in permanent blindness! I've seen this in puppies introduced to cats, and it can be devastating.

Create a Safe Space: This may be a crate to run into or--for any new cats--a dog-free zone secured by a baby gate. Keep your dog on a leash in the house so you can restrain him, use a basket muzzle for the first few weeks, or consider keeping him crated while the new cat explores. Most important, make sure your pets are supervised.

Mind Mealtimes: Some pets are more nervous about eating in front of another pet and may feel threatened, causing them to eat sporadically--or not at all. Feed new pets using separate bowls in separate rooms until they're well adjusted. If you have a new cat, it's imperative that you make sure she's eating, as she may be more apt to hide.

Splurge on an Extra Litter Box: Until all your cats get along, keep litter boxes in different areas of the house. Cats often feel trapped inside a covered box and don't know if someone will attack them during their most vulnerable moment. Offering several bathroom options curbs inappropriate urination in your home.

Justine Says
Check with your vet or animal trainer to make sure that your breed can be safely socialized with the new additions to your family.

Pet Poison Helpline Helps Educate Pet Owners on Safety of Topical Flea and Tick Products

2010-04-07T08:58:00.001-07:00

MINNEAPOLIS, April 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — With the start of flea and tick season approaching, pet owners are once again wondering about the safety of topical flea and tick products and many have contacted Pet Poison Helpline looking for answers. This comes on the heels of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announcing results from their ongoing review of Spot-On products, so named because they are typically applied to the back of the neck or shoulders of dogs or cats to control fleas and ticks.

Last year the EPA and Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Authority (PMRA) noticed an increase number of adverse events reported to manufacturers regarding the use of common over-the-counter and prescription flea and tick products. This prompted the agencies to ask manufacturers to provide information regarding adverse event reports they receive from owners. Pet Poison Helpline, a Minneapolis-based animal poison control call center which provides advice for consumers and veterinarians, has also been tracking such incidents and working with manufacturers to aid in the collection of complete and accurate information regarding such adverse effects, allowing for an informed assessment of their safe and effective use.

After compiling, reviewing and analyzing much of the data provided to the EPA, Pet Poison Helpline experts concurred with EPA's assessment that when used correctly, the incidence of severe and fatal effects resulting from the application of flea and tick products is extremely low as compared to the number of applications that pet owners apply each year. And, when serious events occur, it is most commonly a result of misuse. For example, when dog products are applied to cats or when owners misread, misuse or miscalculate the dose or product that is appropriate for their animal.

"Data can also portray a disproportionate view of the issue, since the majority of reported incidents represent minor or non life-threatening events," said Dr. Rick Kingston, president of regulatory and scientific affairs for SafetyCall International and Pet Poison Helpline. "Owners may think that serious adverse effects are common and expected, but fortunately, the data does not show that animals are being seriously injured when flea and tick products are being applied properly."

If Spot-On products are safe, what do pet owners need to know?

Treatment with a fast-acting topical flea and tick medication on a pet can cause itching or brief irritation at the application site, as the product does its job and kills pests. As the animal reacts to this irritation, it can begin to fidget and scratch. For a loving pet owner, the animal's discomfort can be worrisome, prompting concerns regarding the pet's safety.

In addition, for some flea and tick products, a small proportion of treated animals may also develop a side effect called paresthesia – a tingling sensation at the application site. Fortunately, in the majority of cases it is a mild and self-limiting effect, but it does account for a large number of the reported incidents, and small breed dogs are commonly involved. Still, the occurrence of any adverse effect for any treated animal with a Spot-On product remains low across the board.

Based on sales and distribution data individually presented to the EPA by various companies, the overall incident rate for flea and tick products was calculated to be approximately 16 incidents per 100,000 applications. Additionally, the overall incident rate for cases classified with either a major or fatal outcome was about one in 200,000 applications. These data demonstrate that Spot-On products are generally safe when used appropriately and according to the directions.

Advice for consumers

When applied properly to pets, flea and tick products can help protect both humans and animals from flea and ticks, but also prevent transmission of infectious diseases (like Lyme, Erlichia, etc.). Adverse reactions in dogs or cats resulting from misapplication can include skin effects such as irritation or redness; gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting or diarrhea; or more serious effects to the nervous system such as trembling, appearing depressed or seizures.

"The key to ensuring pets' safety when using flea and tick products is to be vigilant about following the instructions on the package," said Dr. Lynn Hovda, DVM, DACVIM, director of veterinary services for Pet Poison Helpline. "Knowing the exact size and weight of your pet and not assuming a product can be used for all types of animals is essential for using the correct medication and appropriate dose on your pet.

Dr. Hovda recommends the following tips to ensure correct use:

Read and follow the directions on the product.
Know the exact size and weight of your animal and use the correct dose amount. Don't guess.
Use a product for the animal in which the product was intended, i.e., do not use a dog product on a cat.
Consult a veterinarian before using flea and tick products on weak, aged, sick, pregnant or nursing pets.

Always monitor your pets for signs of adverse reactions, especially when using products for the first time. When in doubt, consult a veterinarian, the manufacturer (most offer emergency medical information numbers on the label), or call the Pet Poison Helpline for treatment recommendations and general assistance.

About Pet Poison Helpline

Pet Poison Helpline is a service available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners, veterinarians and veterinary technicians that require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. Staff can provide treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species.

As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline's fee of $35 per incident includes follow-up consultation for the duration of the poison case. Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

About SafetyCall International

SafetyCall International operates a 24/7 adverse event call center. SafetyCall professionals are nationally-recognized experts in the collection and interpretation of spontaneously reported incident data reported directly to the manufacturer. By providing innovative, high-value services to industry and government, the professional staff of SafetyCall has been actively enhancing product safety for over 25 years. During this time, our staff has managed over 1.5 million product incident cases, positively impacting the safety of products worldwide. For more information visit http://safetycall.com.

Top 10 pet ailments!

2010-03-08T10:35:00.001-08:00

Brea, Calif. -- Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI) has released its list of the top 10 medical conditions for which claims were submitted last year for dogs and cats. VPI received more than a million claims in 2009.

The most common ailment in dogs? Ear infection, coming in at nearly 68,000 claims and an average cost of $100 per visit. And in cats? Lower urinary tract disease, with a total of 3,700 claims at an average cost of $260 per visit. Here's the complete list:

Top conditions in dogs
1. Ear infection
2. Skin allergy
3. Skin infection, or hot spots
4. Gastritis, or vomiting
5. Enteritis, or diarrhea
6. Bladder infection
7. Arthritis
8. Soft tissue trauma
9. Noncancerous tumor
10. Eye infection

Top conditions in cats
1. Lower urinary tract disease
2. Gastritis, or vomiting
3. Chronic renal failure
4. Hyperthyroidism
5. Diabetes
6. Enteritis, or diarrhea
7. Skin allergy
8. Periodontitis, or dental disease
9. Ear infection
10. Eye infection

German translation of "It's a Cat's World... You Just Live In It"

2010-02-21T10:35:00.001-08:00

Who would have thought that my cat book would get translated into German? Apparently It's a Cat's World... You Just Live in It means Hunde haben Herrchen - Katzen haben Dosenoffner. Cool!

Don't let your pet be the victim of a quick 'fix'

2010-02-07T11:40:00.001-08:00

Spaying or neutering your pet at home might sound faster and cheaper, but it's against the law, and authorities say it can be deadly.
By: Peter Passi, Duluth News Tribune

Bill and Nancy Cox adopted Kitty Cat, a 12-year-old German shepherd, after the dog’s former owner forfeited the animal that became dangerously ill when an illicit castration went awry.

Many pet owners who try to neuter their dogs or cats on the cheap — without the help of a veterinarian — soon find out they’ve made a costly decision.

Case in point: Meet Michael Scinocca and Elizabeth Sally Liabraaten of Duluth. About a year ago, they took Hoss, their 2-year-old Labrador retriever, to a local acquaintance and operator of a hobby farm who offered to fix their dog.

A criminal complaint states that the botched procedure left Hoss bleeding and in shock. His worried owners sought follow-up care that same day at Affiliated Emergency Veterinary Service, and the bill exceeded $2,100, according to court documents.

“They probably paid five to six times what the cost of getting it done professionally would have been,” said Dr. Amanda Bruce, an attending veterinarian.

Unfortunately, Hoss isn’t the only pet victimized by an in-home castration to come to the attention of local authorities recently.

Animal Allies reports that twice in the past six months it has received seriously ill animals as a result of an unprofessional castration. The cases involved a 12-year-old German shepherd with the unlikely name of Kitty Cat, and a tabby cat named Angelo.

Jim Filby Williams, Animal Allies executive director, says the recent local spate of home castrations are disconcerting. “It’s not like the owners of these animals in any way are cruel,” he said. “Their intentions are generally good, and in many cases they are wracked with guilt.”

Williams said that in many cases, he believes confusion arises from the fact that it is legal for owners of farm livestock to castrate their own animals.

But Dr. John King, executive director of the Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine, said that when it comes to cats and dogs, only licensed veterinarians are legally authorized to perform castrations.

“The standard of care for companion animals is different than the standard for food animals,” he explained.

David Dale Hanson, 50, of Duluth, who was convicted of practicing veterinary medicine without a license for operating on Hoss, said he was unaware that it was illegal to castrate cats and dogs until he was prosecuted in April.

Hanson explained that he has spent his life working with livestock — including pigs, goats, horses and cattle — and has castrated many animals. Likewise, he has performed the procedure on his own dogs, but this was the first time he had helped someone else with a dog that wasn’t his own.

“I’ll never do it again,” said Hanson, who ended up with $735 in fines, a year of probation and thousands of dollars in legal expenses.

Hanson said it was never his intention to pose as a veterinarian and noted that he received no pay for castrating Scinocca and Liabraaten’s dog and cat, the latter of which suffered no complications.

“I did it as a friend for these people — not to make any money,” he said.

Hanson also believes any complications involving Hoss were blown out of proportion. He said he’d feel differently if his actions had been reckless or purposefully cruel.

“I will not stand for animal abuse, and if someone was guilty of it, I would turn them in in a heartbeat,” he said.

But Dr. Roger Pitt, a veterinarian who volunteers at the Duluth animal shelter, said that regardless of intentions, castrating a dog or a cat without proper anesthesia or sedation is plain cruel.

“If someone were on the other end of that, they’d think twice about it,” he said.

King said veterinarians provide post-operative pain management for dogs and cats in the wake of neutering, and they also take steps to minimize the risks of infections.

“When something like this is done in a garage, it is not a sterile procedure,” he said.

Dr. Mary Wictor, the veterinarian who cared for Kitty Cat, said the German shepherd was badly infected when his owner finally sought care for the animal.

“If left untreated, there’s no question in my mind that he would have died,” she said. “One of his testicles was hanging outside of his body, and you could smell dead tissue rotting the moment he walked in.”

Wictor said pus from his wound had matted the fur on the inside of his legs and had to be shaved off

Williams said Kitty Cat’s owner was forced to give up ownership of the dog because he was unable to bear the cost of the emergency care the animal required.

But Kitty Cat found a new home, thanks to Nancy and Bill Cox of Midway Township. The Coxes went to visit Animal Allies a little more than a month after Bill had undergone back surgery. The couple was taken with Kitty Cat’s sad story, as well as his mellow demeanor.

“When we went to visit, he was so quiet. All that moved was his eyes,” recalled Nancy Cox. “I told myself not to look in his eyes, because the eyes get me every time.”

Since becoming part of the Cox family, Kitty Cat’s health has returned and his weight has climbed from 67 to 85 pounds.

Nancy believes both dog and master have helped one another convalesce.

“He [Bill] and Kitty Cat really recuperated together,” she said.

How are dog people and cat people different?

2010-01-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- Do you rejoice at the sound of barking but cower at a meow? Or do you look at a cat and feel an instant sibling-style connection?

With the proliferation of Web sites cultivating photos and videos of animals doing cute things, it's easier than ever to get your daily fix of the pet variety you have, or wish you had. Ever wonder what your preference for cats or dogs says about you?

A team of researchers led by psychologist Sam Gosling at the University of Texas at Austin wanted to find out. They posted a questionnaire online as part of a larger study about personality called the Gosling-Potter Internet Personality Project.

About 4,500 participants answered questions that measured their personality inclinations in five areas: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. These five dimensions have been shown in previous research to encompass most personality traits. They also indicated whether they considered themselves cat people, dog people, both or neither.

It turns out that the "dog people" -- based on how people identified themselves, not on what animals they actually own -- tend to be more social and outgoing, whereas "cat people" tend to be more neurotic but "open," which means creative, philosophical, or nontraditional in this context.
To love cats, you have to be able to love things for themselves; they have their own life, they aren't necessarily dependent on you. Your dog kind of lives for you.
--David Bessler, veterinarian
RELATED TOPICS

* Pets
* Psychology
* Cats

Dog people scored significantly higher on extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness measures, and lower on neuroticism and openness than cat people, the survey found. The effect persisted regardless of gender of the respondent.

"Once you know the findings, it kind of falls into place," Gosling said. "You think, 'of course, agreeableness and extraversion -- dogs are companionable, they hang out, they like to be with you, they like your company, whereas cats like it for as long as they want it, and then they're off."

But this foray into your deeper pet subconscious isn't the final word, Gosling says -- after all, if the findings had been reversed, they would also make sense to some people. These are, of course, generalizations and don't apply to every individual.

"It means that if you knew nothing else about them, that would be your best guess," he said.

The findings do make sense to 12-year-old Naveen Rajur, a "loving dog boy" in Andover, Massachusetts, who considers dog people to be outgoing and active. He also agrees about the agreeableness and conscientiousness of dog people because they "always have to want to take care of the dog and always kind of be by its side."

Fabian Bonasera of Norcross, Georgia, who must give away his two cats soon because he and his wife and son are moving to Iceland, said the cat findings are about half-true of himself -- he considers himself laid-back and easy-going rather than neurotic, but the "openness" does resonate with him.

"They just like something a little more soft, more gentle," he said of cat people. "They're good pets, they're more independent, they do their own thing."

Cat rescue volunteer Eddye Sheffield, of Gadsden, Alabama, said she's seen all kinds of cat owners, and can't pin down personality traits that apply to all cat people. Outsiders might label Sheffield herself a "crazy cat lady" because she has 11 cats, she said, but she doesn't view herself that way.

"All of them are rescued cats and they need a place to go, and I had room, that's how I ended up with that many," she said. Owning that many has also gotten her more involved in rescue efforts, which has put her into more contact with other people, not less (score one for extraversion).

Veterinarian David Bessler, senior emergency clinician at NYC Veterinary Specialists in New York City, said he was a dog person growing up, but that owning a cat has "converted " him. It hasn't changed his personality, but he can imagine that dog people and cat people have personality differences.

"To love cats, you have to be able to love things for themselves; they have their own life, they aren't necessarily dependent on you," he said. "Your dog kind of lives for you."

Participants in Gosling's study were recruited to the study through search engines, portal sites, voluntary mailing lists, and word of mouth from other visitors. The study will appear in the journal Anthrozoos in September 2010.

The findings are useful for identifying the right pet for a particular person, and for pet therapies, Gosling said.

Is it that people choose pets that are like them, or that pets change people over time? Research has not come to a conclusion on this question, experts say.

Beyond personality characteristics, people may have physical features in common with the animals they like or own. A study by University of British Columbia psychologist Stanley Coren found that women with long hair liked Springer spaniels and beagles, which have long ears, and women with short hair liked the short-eared basenjis and huskies.

A study by Michael Roy and Nicholas Christenfeld found that participants could match photographs of owners to their purebred dogs about 67 percent of the time, based on appearance alone. Results suggested that the owners selected dogs that looked like themselves and did not grow to look like the dogs over time, as there was no relationship between how long the people had lived with the animals and how similar they looked.

Both of those studies are mentioned in an upcoming book called "Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why it is So Hard to Think Straight About Animals" by Hal Herzog, professor of psychology at Western Carolina University.

Herzog told CNN there are plenty of reasons why a cat person would own a dog, or vice versa: allergies as well as other lifestyle factors, such as space for the animal, come into play.

Herzog and his wife consider themselves dog people, but own a cat, Tilly, because they can easily leave her alone when they go away for the weekend.

Although he appreciates cats, he does not feel that owning one has changed his personality. But, Tilly is fairly social for a cat, he said, which may have something to do with how she was raised.

Empty-nesters such as Herzog and his wife, as well as retirees, are among those increasing pet ownership in America, he said.

About 37 percent of American households have dogs and 32 percent have cats, but the cat population (82 million) is significantly higher than the dog population (72 million), said Herzog, citing 2007 data from the American Veterinary Medical Association. That's because people tend to own multiple cats, as they are more amenable to many people's lifestyles, he said.

People tend to gravitate toward the animals they were raised with, Herzog said. Cat owners tend to be raised in cat families, and dog owners tend to be raised in dog families. In fact, one study found the animal you like is the one your grandparents lived with, he said.

The field of anthrozoology, the study of how animals and people relate to one another, only recently took off, Herzog said.

"I think our interactions with animals shed a lot of light on larger issues in human psychology," he said. "With pets it's things like attachment and why we're altruistic toward other creatures, especially creatures that we're not genetically related to."

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