Why Canned Cat Food is the Best Choice for Diabetic Cats

On various pet health websites, and also in the veterinary hospital I work in, I've seen questions and debates about whether or not dry cat food causes diabetes in cats. To me this question is missing the point a bit.

Just like in people, there isn't necessarily any one or few things that cause diabetes. There are risk factors. Having a lot of risk factors increases your risk of developing diabetes, but doesn't mean that you will. Cats are the same. Dry food may be a risk factor, but plenty of cats live happily their whole life eating dry cat kibble. If they don't have any other risk factors to developing diabetes, then dry cat food alone probably isn't enough to push them over the edge.

The important question, in my mind, is how to best help cats who are diabetic right now. If we could predict these kinds of things beforehand, that would be wonderful, but we can't. Even with every risk factor to diabetes development present, many cats will remain healthy. Living bodies are still mysterious that way.

So without further delay, here's all the information I tracked down in my research about why diabetic cats should eat canned cat food:
Why Diabetic Cats Should Only Be Fed Canned Cat Food

Ask Your Pet Questions Here!

So far in this blog I've mainly been linking to pet health articles I've already written, or occasionally writing a new piece specifically for this blog. Since my main goal with creating a pet health blog in the first place was to answer some common questions many people have about their pet's health, I want to know if there's a subject you'd like more information on, or a question you're having difficulty finding the answer to.

I've found in my 10 plus years of working in the veterinary field that some veterinarians are better at explaining things than others. Also, some pet owners are hesitant to ask more questions when they don't understand something. Or maybe they don't even realize that they don't understand until they've had a little bit of time to think about what they heard from the veterinarian.

I am not a veterinarian. I'm a veterinary nurse with lots of experience. Before going into the veterinary field I was a wild animal trainer, so animal behavior is one of my very favorite areas of special interest. If I don't know the answer to your question, I'll do my very best to find out. Research is another favorite hobby of mine.

Office Chairs: Selecting a Pet Proof Chair, Or Pet-Proofing the Chair You Have

This is my cat on one of our destroyed office chairs. Through a lot of trial and error, I've learned what makes a great pet-proof office chair. When Associated Content asked for an article on the subject of selecting a pet-proof office chair, I knew I had some useful tips to offer. I've been down this road more than once with my own *cough* sweet and loving *cough* cats.
Click here to read the full article.
If you have your own tip, I'd love to hear it. I know there's more than one (or tow) ways to pet-proof a chair! Please share your pet-proofing tip here, or in the AC article comment section.

Dealing with a Broken Bird Blood Feather

A normal feather, fully grown in with no blood in the shaft.
For an illistration of a blood feather, see here.

Blood feathers, also know as pin feathers, are new feathers that still have a blood supply to their shaft to support growth. When one becomes broken, the resulting bloody mess can panic bird owners. Blood feathers can be broken from flapping or banging against the inside of a cage, from a fall, or a wing trim gone bad. Dealing with the broken blood feather is really straightforward, and no cause for drama.

Identifying a Blood Feather

If you've never seen a blood feather on your pet bird, take some time to look at the lower portions on the shafts of the large primary flight feathers on your bird. All feathers start out as pin feathers when they first grow in, but the bigger flight feathers are just the easiest to see.

Most of the shafts will be white, and sort of see through, clear, with full feathering already in place. A blood feather, however, will have a thicker shaft that is dark purple. The color is from the blood filling the inside of that shaft to feed that growing feather. The blood feather won't be fully grown in yet, and may only have a little bit of feathering at the tip that has come in so far. If you don't see any feathers that fit this description, just keep checking back ever few days or so. One will show up eventually.
Read more here.

Safe Summer Outings With Your Dog

Have fun in the summer sun while keeping your dog safe from heat stroke.

Heat stroke can strike when you may not suspect it. Those 100-plus-degree-days at the end of July are sometimes less dangerous than the first few warm days of summer when your pet is less acclimated to the heat. Making judgments based on your own comfort and exertion levels is a good start but there as significant differences in how a person's body copes with heat, versus how a dog's body can. Unlike people, dogs can't sweat. Their only real means to lower their body temperature is through panting. If they get into a situation where their temperature is rising faster then they can pant, they'll be in serious trouble in a matter of minutes.

You would never risk the safety of your beloved pet. You know not to leave him in a car on a warm summer day, you make sure he has plenty of fresh water, and you make sure he has a cool, shady place to rest in the yard. Yet many dog owners, just like you, end up racing to the emergency room every summer anyway, with their dog suffering from heat stroke anyway.

A dog's normal body temperature should be between 100 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. According to veterinarians Roger W. Gfeller and Michael W. Thomas, temperatures over 106 degrees is a life-threatening emergency. At high body temperatures in dogs, organ and brain damage start to occur. The longer the temperature remains elevated determines the severity of the damage. Certain factors can put a dog at greater risk of falling victim to heat stroke, such as age (older dogs are more susceptible,) size (a larger body mass increases risk,) and breed (short nosed breeds such as pugs and boxers cannot pant as efficiently).

Preventing heat stroke is always better than treating it after the fact. Dogs with heavy coats can be kept trimmed short during summer months. When you're on an outing with your dog, make sure to provide them with plenty of rest, shade, and cool drinking water, even if you feel fine yourself. Don't count on your dog to limit himself. Many will literally play until they drop, so it is up to you to set restrictions. Signs of heat stroke to watch for include: increased breathing, heavy panting, excessive salivation that may progress to a dry mouth, grayish or red gums, disorientation, lethargy, and at the most severe, collapse and death.

At the first sign of overheating, you need to start helping your dog to cool off, and seek veterinary care immediately. If your dog can still drink, offer cool water. You can also use water to cool his body. Use water that is cool, but not cold. Don't use ice as it will cause the blood vessels in the skin to constrict, and actually slow the heat exchange needed. Good areas to focus on are in the groin, tummy, and armpit areas because there is usually less hair to get in the way. If you have any available, use rubbing alcohol on the pads of the feet or even the skin. It evaporates even faster than water does so it will speed up the cooling.

After doing what you can to lower your dog's temperature, get him to a doctor without delay. Minutes count. If you have a phone available, it's best to call ahead and let the veterinary hospital know you're on your way. They can then make any preparations necessary to treat your dog as soon as possible. Even if your first aid produces positive results it is still important to seek medical attention to determine how much damage, if any, has been done. Blood tests may be necessary, as well as hospitalization and fluid therapy depending on if any organ damage has occurred.

Summer outings are all the more enjoyable when your dog buddy comes along. Being aware of these danger signs, and knowing what to do should your dog get more heat than he can handle will make sure you have many, many more enjoyable summer days together.

Ear Infections Inside and Out

Common ear infections in children and dogs are different problems

Even though veterinarians and pediatricians both use the term “ear infection”, they aren’t referring to the exact same condition. Not all doctors are great at explaining exactly what is happening inside your dog, or child's ear.

There are ear infections, and then there are ear infections. My baby had an ear infection recently. I was shocked! There was no black debris in her ears. She didn’t shake her head, or have smelly ears like my dog did with his ear infection. Why would they say she had an infection without any of these symptoms?

I didn’t really think that, but it did get me wondering. The pediatrician made her diagnosis by looking in my baby's ears, just like veterinarians do for dogs and cats. Yet I know that unlike dogs, who most commonly get external ear infections, or otitis externa, children usually get middle ear infections (otitis media). If the infection wasn’t in the actual ear canal, what was the doctor seeing in my child's ear to diagnose the infection?

Dog ear infections can be caused by a number of factors: water getting trapped in the dog's ears from bathing or swimming, allergies, or foreign objects (like foxtails) to name a few. Some dog breeds may be more prone to developing infections due to differences in ear anatomy. Deep ear canals and large floppy earflaps can trap moisture and provide a perfect little breeding ground for bacteria or yeasts.

When the veterinarian looks into a dog or cat ear, they aren’t just looking at the debris. They are looking at the skin inside the canal, at the eardrum, and to see if there are any foreign objects present. Then they may take a swab sample from the dog's ear canal and examine it under the microscope. Treatment will depend on what type infections they find, but will usually involve an ear wash and a topical ear ointment. Oral antibiotics and steroids may be used for severe infections.

For babies and children the ear infection isn’t usually in the ear canal, it’s in the middle ear behind the eardrum. When human children get an external ear infection, it's called ‘swimmer’s ear’. When the pediatrician looks into a child’s ear they may see a bulging or inflamed eardrum. Puss may be visible through the eardrum as well. The child may pull or rub their ears, but mine did not. Frequently babies will run a fever.

Anatomy comes into play for the babies too. Their ears are not yet fully developed, and the Eustachian tubes (sometimes called auditory tubes) are short and lay more horizontal than those of an adult. Any bacteria or fluid that makes it into the Eustachian tubes of an adult normally drain right back out again when they yawn or swallow. In a baby, it’s easy for the fluid to get trapped, especially if the child has recently had a cold or other infection that caused the tubes to swell a little.

Some doctors will give oral antibiotics to a child for an ear infection, some will not. Topical medication wouldn’t be effective since the infection is on the inside of the baby's eardrum where the medication wouldn't reach it.

Babies and dogs can also get inner ear infection which affects balance and hearing. This can be more serious condition, but fortunately, is also much more rare both in dogs and children.

Regardless if it's your child or your dog (or both) that has the infection, you should make sure to follow the instructions from their doctor in order to clear it up. Understanding what is happening inside that infected ear will help you understand and follow through with any treatment prescribed.

Warning About Online Pet Pharmacies

Buying pet medications online can be convenient and save you some money. There are a few problems that unwary pet prescription shoppers need to be aware of to avoid serious problems, however.
Most of the well known pet pharmacies are fairly reliable, but read more here to learn the tricks that can keep you and your pet safe.