Priest Lake Veterinary Hospital Newsletters

Newsletter for January 2003

New Years Resolutions for your Pet,
Foods that can be Dangerous
& New Equipment At Priest Lake

PET ADOPTION

We have a number of pets on our adoption board...ranging from young cats and dogs to a couple of older pets. Please call April or Leslie if interested in adopting.

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS FOR YOUR PET? WHY NOT?


With a new year upon us comes the age-old tradition of resolutions. Did you know that vowing to diet and exercise is the most common pledge people make? Did you know that many pets need you to make weight loss and exercise a priority for them, too?

The buddy system is a great motivator. If you are one of the many people who are going to follow through with a responsible diet and exercise program, consider including your faithful pet.

A recent survey indicates that 80 percent of pet owners think their pets are the right weight or underweight. But veterinarians report at lest 25 percent of the pets they examine in private practice are overweight. Learn to think in percentages: three extra pounds on a cat can be 30 percent extra weight. Eight extra pounds on a dog that should weigh 40 pounds is 20 percent too much!

Do you think your cushy tabby cat is just right? Most cats only need to weigh eight to ten pounds. Think your dog's wide silhouette is just due to his fluffy hair? You should be able to feel your dog's ribs with slight fingertip pressure, and your dog's shape when viewed from the top should not remind you of your favorite ottoman.

Just as you should ask you physician about your weight loss program, the same is true for your pet. Always check with your other family doctor -your veterinarian - first. He or she can tell you how much weight your pet needs to lose. It is also very important to make sure that your pet does not have any other diseases which can be caused by obesity and which also must be managed. A complete physical examination is needed, and some times blood tests are indicated.

Extra weight places extra demands on all of the body's organs. Some of the serious complications of obesity found in our pets are damage to joints, difficulty breathing, increased stress on heart function, lack of stamina, diabetes and an overall decrease in the quality and length of life. Obesity can also be a sign of thyroid and other hormonal imbalances.

Your veterinarian will recommend a nutrition plan that is tailored to your pet's needs and will advise you on the level of exercise your pet can tolerate. You can get some helpful hints on healthy treats for you pet and how to deal with begging.

For pets, exercise can be fun time spent with you. Cats will often run around after a toy on a string. Even in chilly weather, your dog can benefit from an abbreviated walk or some time spent playing outside with you.

Consult your veterinarian soon about a diet and exercise plan that's right for your pet. Make sure you and your pet have many healthy, active years ahead of you.

- Courtesy of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association

SOME FOODS ARE NOT PET FRIENDLY

There is a crash and clatter, and you look up just in time to see the holiday turkey disappearing down the hall! By the time you have caught up with the culprit, a large portion of the meal has disappeared. What should you do? (Other than call for Chinese.) Unfortunately, you could have a
food-related medical problem on your hands.

Dr. Kent Davis, a veterinarian at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana, says, "Sometimes pets sneak treats that they shouldn't, but many pet owners also give the pets a little of whatever they are having because they want to include their pets in the festivities of the holidays. While these pet owners have good intentions, feeding pets foods that they are unaccustomed to can lead to gastrointestinal upset and food-related veterinarian visits."

Feeding inappropriate "treats" can often cause vomiting and diarrhea.  Occasionally, eating these foods can also lead to pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas produces digestive enzymes and insulin, which the body needs to use the nutrients in food. Inflammation of the pancreas can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, and a whole host of other problems that can be life threatening.

Another gastrointestinal problem associated with the holidays is gastroenteritis, which is just fancy term for an upset stomach. Dr. Davis says, "Animals usually get this from foods that they are not used to eating, such as high-fat or high-sugar foods."

Dr. Davis says, "One of the major problems that we see during the holidays is chocolate toxicity." Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine that causes severe heart problems and is toxic to almost all animals. There is more theobromine in baking chocolate (about 400 mg per ounce) than there is in milk chocolate (about 45 mg per ounce), and the lethal dose for a dog
is about 45 mg per pound of body weight. This means that a lethal dose for a 20-pound dog would be only about six pieces of kiss-sized baking chocolate.  If the dog has just recently eaten the chocolate, then the best treatment is to induce vomiting; however, if it has been some time since the chocolate was eaten, then the contents of the stomach have probably moved to the intestine. Dr. Davis says, "This is a serious problem. Unfortunately once the chocolate has been digested, the only thing that we can do is to give supportive treatment."

Other foods that are toxic to animals are onions and garlic. Even foods spiced with garlic or onion salts should be avoided. These foods contain sulfides, which can cause hemolytic anemia (destruction of red blood cells).

It may seem from all of this information that there are no foods that you can share with your pet. Do not despair, however! , "There are many things that are perfectly fine to share with your animals friends. In fact, almost anything that is healthy for us to eat is okay for them to have. Vegetables make especially good treats."

Dr. McCollum warns that 30-40% of dogs and cats develop diarrhea from dairy products...especially milk.

In the end, the best solution to this dilemma may be to avoid table food of any kind and stick to treats that are made just for your animal companions. If you have any questions or concerns about what foods are safe for your pet, please contact us.

NEW EQUIPMENT AT PRIEST LAKE!

We recently purchased a hematology blood counter for performing complete blood counts on pets. This is exciting new technology which will help us to diagnose pets health problems in minutes. In the past, we had to wait 2-5 days for blood results from a conventional laboratory; even then we could only get results for dogs and cats due to the large volume of blood needed for the testing. Our new machine only takes a tiny sample and will analyze blood cells in a wide variety of pets including dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and small mammals such as ferrets, rabbits, and guinea pigs.

Our new high tech Doppler blood pressure monitor allows us to measure systolic blood pressure in dogs and cats with various health problems. We are finding that many pets with kidney disease and thyroid disorders have high blood pressure. Let one of our drs. know if you would like to have your pet tested.