How to Medicate a Cat....

If you've ever had to give your cat medicine, you know it can be difficult. Cornell University's Feline Video series demonstrates proper techniques to use to give your cat medicine. I'm lucky; see how difficult it is medicating my cat cyber:

Sites We Like....Kitten War!

Who's the cutest kitten of them all? Visit Kittenwar.com to find out! See them battle head to head, pick a winner, and see if everyone else agrees! Best of all, submit your own kitten for battle! Remember, though, as they say: "All of our kittens are winners, really."

In The News .... Veterinary Breakthroughs of 2007

ABC News has an article on veterinary breakthroughs of 2007. Among them are the melanoma vaccine, the dental disease vaccine, Slentrol for weightloss, pain medication for cat, breed-specific diet, neutraceuticals, and genetics test. They are developments in veterinary medicine worth mentioning but whether they are the "best" breakthroughs is debatable...

Healthy Weight, Healthy Pet: Body Condition Score - Cats

This installment of our Health Weight, Healthy Pet series, will focus on determining the body condition score for cats.

The guideline is similar to that of the dogs. However, it is more difficult to determine a cat's body condition score (BCS) based on visual markers. Most cats will not stand still and straight for us to check for the abdominal tuck. Below is a simpler way to help you evaluate your cat's body condition.

1) With your cat standing in front of you, gently run your fingertips along the side of your cat. It can be with and/or against the direction of the haircoat. Can you easily feel the ribcage?

Yes. Go on to Step 2.

No. Go to Step 3.

2) If you can feel the ribcage, can you feel the ribs themselves?

A. Your cat may be too thin if you can easily feel the ribs, spine, hips, or other bony prominence such as the shoulders. Review the chart to see if your cat is too thin.

B. What if you can feel the ribcage but not easily feel the ribs? What if there is a thin layer of fat covering the ribs? If you can feel the ribs with some light finger pressure, then your cat is likely in ideal body condition. Congratulations!

3) If you cannot feel the ribcage, can you feel the indentation of the waist when you run your fingers from the front legs to the rear legs? If you are not sure, close your eyes (or do not look at your fingers) and repeat the exercise.

A. If you can feel the waist indentation, your cat may be fine or just slightly overweight. The BCS may be between 5 and 6. Excellent! Check the chart if you are interested in a number score.

B. If you cannot feel when you pass the ribcage or the waist indentation, your cat is overweight. Move your hand over the lower back and hips. Can you feel a significant layer of fat or padding? If yes, your cat is likely very overweight. Follow the guideline in the Purina chart to determine a score.

If your cat is too thin or too heavy, ask your family veterinarian for advice. A medical work-up may be needed to rule out problems such as kidney disease and hyperthyroidism in underweight senior cats. More often, though, slight diet or lifestyle changes may be all that are needed to get your cat to a better weight and in better health.

Next up: Petfit.com, a site to help guide and motivate us to a healthy weight and a healthy pet.

Holiday Safety

It’s the time of the year where families and friends get together to celebrate the coming of the new year. In the hustle and bustle of last minute preparation, you have many people to see and places to go. Let’s not make the veterinary emergency hospital be one of them. There are unexpected illnesses, sudden deterioration of chronic illnesses, etc… but more often, the below problems land more pets in the emergency room than anything else --- problems that are avoidable with a little foresight.

Food: Any food that your pets are not accustomed to --- too fatty, too spicy, too rich --- can lead to intestinal upset and/or pancreatitis. Unless your pets are used to the following, it is best to avoid the following:
- No fatty parts and no skin (poultry, pork)
- No bones, period. Cooked ribs, chicken or turkey bones may seem like a good holiday treat, but they can splinter and cause obstruction or serious injury to the intestines. Some people may recommend raw beef bones (knuckle bones or oxtails) which are “safer” than poultry bones. But we still see patients with intestinal upset (not necessarily intestinal obstruction) from the raw beef bones so we can’t recommend them.
Instead, treat your pet to some lowfat chicken broth over the regular dry food. Or if you want to share your dinner, add a few morsels of boneless, non-fatty meat, green beans, or potato in their food bowl. Just to be safe, stay away from onions and garlic. We don’t know if your pets are sensitive to them. Remember, these are given as treats or to add flavor to their regular diet --- they are not to replace the usual meal. Do not treat your pets to a whole “holiday meal.” You may do more harm than good.

- No chocolate for pets.

Other holiday hazards include:
- Decorations: Tinsel can twist up the intestines. They are especially dangerous to cats and kittens who tend to play and eat them. Ornaments, if swallowed, can cause intestinal obstruction. Even the water at the base of the tree contains secretions that can cause a stomachache. Unless you are there to supervise, it is best to make the tree off-limits; use barriers or have the tree in an area where you can block off access.

- Poisonings: Ivy, holly, mistletoe, hibiscus, poinsettia, lilies and Christmas greens can all cause gastro-intestinal upset if ingested in certain amounts. Some of them can be toxic to animals. Place holiday plants high off the ground. And if you have acrobatic cats, leave the plants in a room where the cats can’t get to them.

- Guests: Boisterous friends and families can frighten pets. Stressed out Fifi may not appreciate having loud kids petting and pulling on her. Designate a quiet and secure room for your pets’ retreat. And if there’s risks of your pets taking off when the door is left open, make sure they have ID collars and/or are microchipped.

Just like us, some pets may be stressed by the holidays. Stress can manifest itself in many ways: behavioral problems, loss of appetite, and excessive grooming to name a few. The problems can lead to serious medical issues such as hepatic lipidosis or “fatty liver” in cats. Contact your veterinarian or the emergency services for advice at early signs of problems --- before they become costly and life-threatening illnesses.

Healthy Weight, Healthy Pet: Body Condition Score - Dogs

In a previous post, we mentioned using the 9-point body condition score (BCS) system from Purina to evaluate our pet's weight.

You can determine your dog's body condition score (BCS) by following these steps:

1) Facing in the same direction, stand behind your dog. Lean over and place both of your thumbs on either side of your dog's backbone. Spread both hands across her rib cage. You want to be able to feel her ribs without having to exert too much pressure. Thick coats or long hair can make this difficult. Check the above chart. Based on ribs palpation alone, is your dog too thin, ideal, or too heavy?

2) Kneel down to your dog's level to examine the profile. Can you see the abdominal tuck? Another way to detect the abdominal tuck is to run your hand along your dog's underside, from the chest towards the belly (abdomen). If you feel your hand moving in an upswing motion as you move off the chest and rib cage to the abdomen, there's an abdominal tuck. As a pet gets heavier (BCS 8 and 9), she loses the abdominal tuck; your hand may drop downward instead upward.

3) Have your dog stand on all four legs in front of you. Stand behind your dog as in step 1 and look down at your dog's back from overhead. Do you see a waist behind the ribs? It's not a classic hourglass figure, but you should be able to see at least a slight curve inward behind the rib cage.

What is your dog's body condition? Did you come up with a body condition score?

Remember, there are other factors such as breed characteristics and conformation that may affect the BCS.

We use this 9-point system but we do not like the descriptive labels. The labels designated to the BCS are misleading. There are many pets with BCS 6 that we consider "healthy." And there are a few with BCS 4 that we don't consider "ideal" at all. We may say a pet is overweight or underweight then add on a BCS. But we often don’t give just a BCS alone since assuming a BCS of 4 is ideal may be inaccurate under certain circumstances. Even with these limitations, the body condition score system is a valuable tool in evaluating and monitoring our pet's weights. Once we have a way to recognize and monitor a problem, we have a better chance at finding a resolution.

Coming Up: Body Condition Score - Cats

Cold Weather Tips....

Brrr! Us Southern Californians often get spoiled living in our warm climate. Every once in a while, though, it gets cold even for us, as it has been the past couple of weeks. In fact, because of our warm climate, we are often less prepared for cold episodes than the rest of the nation. Here are some cold weather tips & reminders for clients, courtesy of Veterinary Partner. Follow these simple instructions and your companion will thank you!