Today | Pet Care
Pet Care – March 2021
Feline Feeding Pitfalls
by Dr. Carla Edwards
Though we want our cats to eat all at once, we may be doing more harm than good. By thinking about their natural behavioral instincts, we can help our cats from becoming too thin or too heavy and eliminate stress.
Mimicking their ancestral need to hunt for food, cats “graze” by eating small amounts at a time. If we suspect they are walking away from the food because they don’t like it or are fussy, we tend to change foods or add treats that may indeed get them to eat more at a time until they go back to eating less and we change foods again. This not only causes stress, but also causes them to become overweight.
For those with multiple cats, feeding them all at one time in one area can lead to problems and stress. Cats prefer to eat alone and can get anxiety when they are forced to eat in a group. The tension can create a negative association with eating, and they eat less. The same tension may cause other cats to overeat, thinking that the other cats might get their food if they don’t eat it. This can also cause regurgitation. Sure, it’s more difficult to feed cats separately but it may be worth the effort to eliminate stress, overeating, regurgitation, or weight loss.
If you have a fussy eater or an overeater, there are many things you can try to prevent both, if you consider their natural behaviors.
- Measure the appropriate amount of food per day for each cat.
- Feed small amounts of food more frequently with an option to use a timed feeder and a treat ball to encourage exercise.
- Vary stations and include a high location, a secluded spot, and one up or downstairs.
Pet Care – Jan/Feb 2021
The Slip Felt Around the Yard
by Dr. Jain
There are several diseases that can affect the stifle (knee):
1) partial to full tears of the cranial cruciate ligament (rarely the caudal ligament)
2) arthritis from age
3) bone cancer above or below the actual joint
4) patella luxation (kneecap).
Patella luxation is when the kneecap moves out the femur groove it normally slides up and down in and moves to the inside (medial) of the groove. This results in an inability for the leg to support weight due to the quadriceps muscle group attached from the hip to the patella pulling with no bone support. The classic sign is an animal holding its leg up in pain. A dog can also have a congenital (birth) defect that allows the patella to easily slip out of the groove. After the initial tear, usually the animal is not in pain, but can’t use the leg. In mild cases, you can readjust it yourself or the dog may learn to stretch its leg straight to slip it into the groove again. The severity is measured on a 1 to 4 grade scale with 4 being the worst. This determines the likelihood that surgery is going to be needed.
A grade 1 or 2 is a mild luxation and requires rest or simply being aware of what is happening. It usually means the patella is in its groove most of the time with grade 1 requiring us to push it to the inside and grade 2 occasionally slips on its own. A grade 3 is mostly out of the groove and this along with a grade 4 (always out of the groove) will require surgery to correct.
The surgical correction will depend on the grade and how long the condition has been going on. These may include:
1) a simple imbrication (tightening of the outside joint capsule), 2) screwing a “ridge stop” device to inside of the groove to raise the height to prevent slippage, 3) deeping the groove (trochleoplasty), and 4) cutting the attachment point on the tibia and moving it more lateral (outside) of its original location (tibial tuberosity transportation). Grade 4 luxations are the most difficult and therefore may require a board-certified surgeon.
It is important to note that even low grade luxations may require surgery if the instances are occurring frequently enough and the condition is more common in small breed dogs where there is shorter leg muscles and bones and less muscle usage.
Pet Care – December 2020
Two Ways to Help Your Pet
by Dr. Peter Gasper
Many things affect the health of our pets. A number of these influences are out of our control.
Veterinarians never know what malady might await them when they enter an exam room. A dog with diabetes? A cat with hyperthyroidism? A dog with an ear infection? We never know.
Veterinarians do know that there are two actions we can take that will bolster the health of our pets over their lifetimes.
#1
We can work to maintain our pets’ ideal body weight.
Obese pets are more at risk to develop cancer, arthritis, respiratory compromise, diabetes, liver disease; any one of which will result in a reduced life span.
#2
We can brush our pets’ teeth.
The bacteria involved in poor oral hygiene can travel through the body of our pets, causing problems in other organs. Pets with poor oral hygiene are more at risk for heart disease and renal disease; all also leading to a reduced life span.
While the hazards facing our pets seem limitless, we can do our part in decreasing those hazards.
Pet Care – November 2020
A Senior Moment!
by Dr. Carla Edwards
As our beloved pets get to those senior years, we all want to deny the fact that they are getting older. Some signs are physically obvious like greying of the muzzle, more warts/growths, decreased mobility, stiffness, and hearing or vision loss. But what about the less obvious cognitive changes that develop gradually?
- Sleep/wake cycle changes-restless at night, sleep more during the day
- Loss of in-house training
- Interaction changes: not seeking attention, not wanting to be petted, or greeting you suddenly even if you were home all day.
- Disorientation, confusion, walking into a room and staring, pacing, barking more frequently, nightly meowing or howling.
- Increased anxiety
- Grooming less frequently
- Alterations in appetite
These symptoms may be Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome which is a progressive disease and may start with only a few symptoms. If Cognitive Dysfunction is caught early, treatment may slow the progression down. This is the time to talk to your veterinarian who can go over the symptoms, do a thorough physical, and evaluate blood work to help eliminate some of the other diseases our elderly patients may have. Further neurologic work-up and imaging may be necessary to look for tumors or evidence of strokes that mimic symptoms of cognitive dysfunction.
Some pets respond to a veterinary drug called Anipryl-Selegiline HCI to increase dopamine. Others may benefit from nutraceuticals that help improve neurotransmitter function and lessen free radicals with increased antioxidants. Several prescription diets have been recently formulated to contain more antioxidants, essential fatty acids, and medium chain triglycerides. Some suggest brain stimulation with toys that release treats or searching for a ball underneath the right cup like a puzzle.
Cognitive dysfunction is not curative, but, just like Alzheimer’s disease, slowing the progression and enjoying our pets longer is worth a try.
Pet Care – September 2020
Bottoms Up!
by Dr. Sanjay Jain
Bottoms up! Or down, in some instances. The anus and other areas of the animal’s derriere can have chronic issues which are sometimes sudden in nature. The result is the animal exhibiting pain and inappropriate behavior. Let’s discuss some of the common problems:
- Anal glands can be full, causing the classic scooting on the floor or licking the area. The pet is trying to express the fluid buildup by applying pressure to express the glands. These glands have a putrid smell these are the same glands a skunk sprays when scared. They are sometimes expressed during grooming, but this varies from groomer to groomer and you may need to ask. If the gland doesn’t empty, it can abscess to the outside causing bleeding and a lot of pain. Using a higher fiber food or adding fiber supplements can help to bulk the stool up to express the glands naturally during a bowel movement as Mother Nature intended. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatories with anesthesia are needed in abscessed cases.
- The anal glands can also develop tumors which in many cases are cancerous with some causing high calcium levels that lead to excessive drinking/urination and more serious problems.
- Surgery is the treatment for tumors followed by radiation therapy at UW-Madison which costs thousands of dollars. Surgery is also needed for constant leakage of anal gland fluid or chronic relapsing of impacted glands with both glands usually removed. If your dog has the glands removed, remind the groomer to make sure they don’t try to express a gland that isn’t there anymore.
- Another mass is the perianal (near the anus) tumor which are smooth and look like polyps. These often are benign, but can be locally aggressive cancers. Overproduction of hormones in either of the testicles in intact dogs or one of the hormones of the adrenal glands can contribute to these and surgery is the only option. It is advisable to remove these sooner than later due to the amount of skin available and the close proximaty to other structures like the anal glands. These masses can ulcerate either from trauma or if allowed to get large enough, can outgrow their blood supply, but this is rare.
- The rectum (just inside the anus) can get inflamed from parasites like whipworms, bacterial infections, or allergies of the skin causing similar signs, so a veterinary exam is needed to assess the problem.