Heartworm Injection, Dry Skin & For Ferret Lovers!
LESSEN THE PAIN OF THOSE VET BILLS!
When you make an appointment, always bring any left over medications
that have been dispensed for your pet at previous visits. Most
medications have at least a 1 year expiration which may allow us to use
one or more of these to treat your pet's current problem....this saves
you the expense of a new prescription. Liquid antibiotics are one
exception to this rule; many of these are mixed when dispensed and are
only good for 10-14 days after dispensing (Amoxi drops and Clavamox
drops for example).
6 MONTH HEARTWORM INJECTION PROVING VERY POPULAR
The new PROHEART injection to prevent the deadly heartworm disease is
rapidly replacing old mainstream preventives such as Heartgard,
Filaribits, and Revolution. This newly developed 6 month injection is
proven to be more effective than oral and topical preventives, with
fewer side effects.
Many people like the convenience of not having to remember to give a
pill daily or monthly. The PROHEART injection is comparable in cost to
a 6 month supply of preventive, and there is no office visit or exam fee
as long as we have examined your pet in the past 12 months. We
automatically send you a reminder every 6 months for your convenience!
OK ferret lovers, I know it is a long time coming, but finally an
article for you!
We see many ferrets with hair loss between the ages of 2 to 7. The
large majority of these cases
are caused by a tumor of the right or left adrenal gland. As these
tumors grow, they secrete several different types of sex hormones that
cause hair loss. This is not the same as Cushings disease, which is
seen in dogs with adrenal tumors (these tumors secrete cortisol, not sex
hormones). Adrenal tumor sex hormones can also cause thinning of the
skin, muscle wasting, lethargy and numerous other health problems for
your ferret. Local growth of the tumor (especially on the right side)
can cause invasion of adjacent structures such as the caudal vena cava,
the main blood vessel returning blood to the heart from the lower
body. The quality and duration of life of your ferret will be adversely
affected by this disease.
There are numerous ways to diagnose adrenal tumors including radiology,
ultrasound, hormonal assays (UT college of Veterinary Medicine will run
blood samples for us), and simply the presence of clinical signs in an
appropriately aged ferret. Hormonal assays are probably the most
accurate method of diagnosis, although there is no one test that checks
for all possible hormones secreted by adrenal tumors; this means that if
a particular tumor is secreting a hormone not included in the assay
test, then you will have a false negative result. Since these adrenal
tumors do not secrete cortisol, traditional tests such as the low dose
dexamethasone suppression test and ACTH stimulation test are not
accurate in ferrets.
Although adrenal tumors may become large and malignant, they are
generally locally invasive and rarely spread to distant parts of the
body. Although the exact cause of adrenal disease is unknown, many
people feel that it is due to early spaying and neutering of ferrets,
primarily at ferret farms.
Treatment of adrenal gland disease consists of surgery to remove the
enlarged tumor. If the tumor is affecting the left adrenal gland, then
removal is near 100% in most cases. Right adrenal tumors are much more
difficult to remove completely; many are debulked which generally
removes 50 to 75% of the tumor. Unfortunately many ferrets who have
right adrenal gland disease will require a repeat surgery to debulk the
tumor 1 to 1 1/2 years later. At least one notable veterinarian who
treats ferrets is now advocating cryosurgery for adrenal gland disease -
the problem that I see with this technique is that there have been no
scientific studies to see if it is more effective than scalpel
excision. Another concern is that cryosurgery may be possibly damaging
to surrounding structures such as the caudal vena cava (a VERY important
structure to preserve surgically). Yet a third major concern is
that when the tumor is treated with liquid nitrogen during the
cryosurgery, there is not any tissue left over for histopathological
analysis; it is very important to excise and send in all of the tissue
to identify the type of tumor and to verify that the entire tumor has
been removed.
In ferrets that are considered poor surgical candidates due to advanced
age or illness, there is a new method to treat adrenal
disease. Lupron is an injectable drug that has shown promising results
in restoring new hair growth and reversing other symptoms of adrenal
gland disease. By blocking a hormonal feedback pathway, Lupron
suppresses the release of adrenal tumor hormones with very little side
effects to the ferret. Lupron is given as a monthly injection and costs
approximately $70 per treatment. We have found a compounding pharmacy
in New England that will pre dose vials for individual use. Remember
that surgery is the best first option for a healthy ferret because you
have the best chance of curing the disease. Lupron does not cure the
disease, it only suppresses the symptoms and side effects.
DRY SKIN TROUBLING YOUR DOG OR CAT?
We have the answer! ALLERGROOM shampoo coupled with HUMILAC spray is an
excellent combination to cure seasonal dry skin problems in your pets.
ALLERGROOM is a gentle, soap-free, hypoallergenic shampoo designed for
frequent use to optimize skin and coat condition. ALLERGROOM uses
spherulite encapsulation technology to provide a slow release of the
active ingredients long after the shampoo is rinsed off. Retail price
is $10.73 for an 8 oz. bottle.
HUMILAC spray is a lanolin free, soothing dry skin treatment
incorporating an oil free humectant. It is specially formulated to aid
in the treatment of dry skin and to restore luster to the hair coat
without leaving a greasy or oily film. It can be used every day if
necessary to prevent dryness , flaking, and itching. Retail price is
$10.83 for an 8 oz bottle. Ask Sherri or Amber up front for more info.
on these helpful products.
For those of you who know April our morning receptionist, please include
her in your prayers. She had a rare vascular tumor removed at
Vanderbilit hospital this week and she will require several weeks to
recuperate.
