Archive | September, 2008

Sept 28: World Rabies Day

By on September 24, 2008 in Cats, Dogs, Pet Health

Is your pet vaccinated against rabies? If not, veterinarians and health officials throughout the world are urging you to get your pet immunized as soon as possible, and World Rabies Day might be a good day to do it. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), rabies kills more than 50,000 people and millions of animals around the world every day.

Many pet owners make the mistake of thinking that rabies is rare and usually only found in wild animals like raccoons and skunks. But if you have a pet cat or dog that roams free, they could be exposed to rabies if the get in a tussle with an infected wild animal. Rabies doesn’t usually show up right away. When signs occur, it is usually too late – rabies is fatal to both pets and people.

Many states require dogs and cats to be vaccinated against rabies. It’s particularly important with cats since the number of reported feline rabies cases in the U.S. exceed that of all other domestic animals. Often, people think they don’t need to vaccinate an indoor cat, but indoor cats sometimes get loose. Plus, it may be the law, so check with your local authority.

Rabies isn’t something to take lightly. Our U.S. vaccination laws and programs have helped to minimize cases in the U.S., but it has not been eradicated. Many veterinarian clinics will be offering free vaccinations in conjunction with World Rabies Day. You can find some events listed here – scroll down to “United States.”

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Q&A: Dealing with a Pet with Cancer

By on September 22, 2008 in Dogs, Pet Health, Pet Q & A

Question: I am awaiting results on my golden who is being tested for cancer.  They found a large lymph node in the neck.  There is no way I will be able to afford chemo…are there any resources to help me with my grief and ideas on how best to make my dog comfortable?

Answer: It’s becoming more common for our beloved pets to suffer from cancer, but luckily there are many more resources available to help with dealing with this for both the pet owner and the pet.  There are both conventional and holistic cancer treatments now available for our pets, and there are many more options to keep our pets comfortable during their time of illness.

You had mentioned not being able to afford chemo treatments and without Pet Insurance it could get costly, the Humane Society has an article on Help for Vet Care Costs you may find helpful.  They also have short video on When your Pet has Cancer.

A recent publication of Animal Wellness Magazine (Aug/Sept08) has numerous articles featured this month covering Pet Cancer. One of the cover stories is available online:  10 Signs of Cancer in Dogs and Cats.

Lymphoma in Dogs is a specific resource that might be helpful to you given the area where your dog’s tumor developed. Here are some other resources for education and support groups that might be helpful to you:

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Q&A: Help! Cat Scratching Issue

By on September 11, 2008 in Cats, Pet Q & A

Question: I have always had declawed cats.  Recently, I adopted a one-year old cat who has her claws.  I have bought cat scratching toys, but she has not shown interest in them.  The carpet and the mattress have been favored instead.  Can you help?

Answer: Nail scratching is a normal, necessary part of your cats grooming and marking routine.  It keeps her nails healthy as well as letting other cats know she’s been there.  All cats scratch, even declawed cats, though without nails declawed cats can’t do as much damage.  Nail scratching becomes a problem when our kitties choose to use what we consider inappropriate items (i.e. furniture, walls, carpets, etc).  To correct this problem we must train our kitties to use appropriate scratching items.

Unfortunately one training method doesn’t work for all cats.  Though all success stories have some common threads.  Some of those common threads or ideas are:

  1. Patience – no negative punishment
  2. Offering a variety of scratching items
  3. Consistent, positive reinforcement when the cat uses the appropriate items
  4. Making inappropriate items unavailable
  5. Patience again – if one method doesn’t work try another or combine methods.

Steve Dale of Steve Dales Pet World has provided a very nice Internet article “Think Twice Before you Declaw”, this article touches on a lot of the issues and answers that surround this subject.  Other excellent sites that deal with cat scratching are: www.catscratching.com and www.indoorcat.org.  A few articles of interest that you may find helpful are: Declawing and it’s Alternatives or The Definitive Guide to Saving Your Couch from Your Cat or Scratching

Also, remember your vet can also be an excellent resource on assisting you in resolving this problem too.

Lastly, another option to training and declawing are Soft Paws nail caps.  These are glued on soft plastic nail coverings that can be applied to your kitty’s nails at home by you, by your groomer or by your vet.  Most cats seem to tolerate them well and they reduce the damage that scratching causes.  They are not permanent; therefore they must be reapplied as your cat’s nails grow.

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Animal Friends

By on September 5, 2008 in Friday Fun

The animal world can sometimes be strange and humorous. One of the most surprising and endearing things can be when species that are normally enemies somehow rise above their natural instincts to befriend each other. Check out this blog called Let’s Be Friends for amusing and heartwarming photos of some unlikely animal pals.

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