Scratchings-and-Sniffings

A Cat Owner's Guide to Kidney Disease

2009-11-09T07:59:00-05:00

I just watched an awesome video. It's a video on dealing with kidney disease for cat owners and it's available on the Partners In Animal Health website. The video is by the Cornell Feline Health Center and made possible by a grant from Purina Veterinary Diets.

This video can be an excellent companion to the several posts we've done on feline kidney disease including the Podcast Yvonne and I did with Dr Grace Long just last September.

This video is broken down into five chapters, each dealing with a certain aspect of kidney disease. It takes about twenty five minutes to view the entire video but if you have a cat afflicted with kidney disease it will be time well spent.

The first chapter covers diagnosis of kidney disease. This chapter features real life stories from cat owners and covers the early warning signs that you might see in a cat developing kidney disease. You'll also learn about the various diagnostic tests and procedures your veterinarian might perform to determine whether your cat might actually have kidney disease.

The second chapter is about kidney disease in general. They do a great job of explaining normal kidney function and demonstrating what goes wrong in the diseased kidney and how that translates into some of the signs you may see in your cat.

The third chapter is about therapy options. They cover the role of diet and explain why a change in diet helps slow the progression of kidney disease. They describe the alterations in key nutrients that make up a good kidney diet and explain how these different nutrient levels affect kidney function.

The diet they use in the video is Feline NF, one of the Purina Veterinary Diets available from your veterinarian. They also discuss the various medical therapies available to manage kidney disease and why each one might be effective.

The next chapter covers what you can expect if your cat has to be hospitalized to treat an episode of renal insufficiency. You'll learn about the role of intravenous fluid therapy and why and how we "flush the system" with a procedure known as diuresis.

And finally, the last chapter gives some hands on instruction in how to manage a chronic renal failure patient at home. At some point you may have to give your renal failure patient sub cutaneous fluids and this chapter does an excellent job of showing the proper way to administer this important fluid therapy.

This video is a must for cat owners dealing with this all too common problem. I'm sure you'll find it very informative and you'll come away with a lot of knowledge about how a normal kidney functions too. My friend Edwenna is really going to like this. I'm going to give her a call right now.

Camp Bow Wow Denver

2009-11-07T06:48:00-05:00

Whoohoo! Look what I found on the PetCentric site: a camp for dogs in Denver! Regular readers will remember that our move to Denver is pending. We hope to be on the road the week of Nov. 16th and in our new home (living out of boxes) by the 22nd! Yay!

Of course, this is a lot of great, fun stuff on the PetCentric site, but when I saw the mention of Camp Bow Wow, how could I resist clicking over to see what it was all about? Mind you, they have camps all over the place and I see one in Littleton, CO and Fort Collins, CO and more than one in Denver. They describe themselves as "Colorado's Premier Doggy Day and Ove®rnight Camps" and add that they "...provide a fun, safe and upscale environment for dogs to play, romp and receive lots of love and attention!"

Wow, if only there were such places back in the day when I was a vet-tech. I think I would love working in a doggy daycamp - this one, especially! I see at the footer of their webpage that they offer advice on How to Socialize Your Dog and even How to Start a Dog Walking Business. Fantastic!

I'm so thrilled with all the good attention pets are getting these days. And yet, I feel compelled to remind all that this week is at the tail end of National Shelter Appreciation Week so I would encourage you to visit your local shelter; volunteer, walk a few dogs, pet a few cats, bring some items the shelter needs (pet food, toys, leashes, whatever - ask ahead, they'll tell you what they need).

While we can afford to give our pets the very best, not everyone is able to do so. And, those who have the terrible task of relinquishing a pet to a shelter want to know that their dog or cat will find a forever home with someone like us (like you) who loves and cares for pets like they're family. (one caveat: no my dog is not allowed on the bed or the couch! sorry!)

Shelters are the last resort for these cats and dogs, and the good people who manage them deserve our attention. If you can't visit and help out, consider donating items or even cash. Cash goes a long way to helping care for these animals. It's been said that a society will be judged by how it treats the least among it, and our pets are often among those considered "the least." They are NOT expendable and they are NOT replaceable the way a piece of furniture or a pair of shoes is replaceable.

When we're settled in CO, I'm going to interview the Camp Bow Wow® folks. I wouldn't be surprised to find out they are supporters of their local shelters.

More on Allie and Weight Loss

2009-11-06T06:03:00-05:00

One of Allie's human friends read the post we did this week and sent me a couple of questions. She wanted to know what it was about the weight loss that helped with Allie's arthritis. And she wanted to know whether Allie could keep the weight off just by exercise alone.

On the first question, it is well documented that weight loss has a positive impact on the severity of arthritis. The first reason is simply one of force. Carrying extra weight puts more force on the arthritic joint with each weight bearing step. More force leads to more wear and tear on that joint and a more rapid progression of the degenerative process.

More force equals more pain in an existing case of arthritis, too. People with arthritis that lose weight report less pain after weight loss and thermal imaging in arthritic dogs that lose weight shows less heat and inflammation in affected joints. These dogs are also capable of exerting more force on affected joints after weight loss. We take both results as indicating less pain even though dogs can't tell us they hurt less.

If an obese dog experiences greater pain on movement they are less likely to exercise and more likely to become even more obese. It becomes a vicious cycle leading to more degenerative changes in the affected joint.

The other interesting development is the conclusion that obesity itself leads to higher levels of inflammation. We did a post on this not long ago.

Obese individuals have higher levels of circulating markers of inflammation. It appears that body fat is the source of these inflammatory markers and that many diseases may be the result of chronic inflammation ultimately traced to obesity. It is known that obese individuals not only have a higher incidence of knee pain associated with arthritis but also a higher incidence of pain associated with the joints of the hand. Since hand joint arthritis is not associated with the forces of weight bearing, the thought is that some form of systemic inflammation is responsible.

So Allie benefits in two ways: By losing 14% of her body weight she is exerting less force on her painful joints and experiencing less pain. As a result she is able to run with Bob again. The ability to exercise helps her lose weight and keep it off and she has less body fat and less total inflammation.

As to whether she could lose weight with exercise alone, recent research would say no. The current thinking is that the combination of diet and exercise is the key to weight loss. That is why it is so important for overweight arthritic dogs to lose weight. Less pain equals the ability to exercise.

We did a post on this, too and there is a good article in the NY Times just this week that reinforces the notion that a diet change is needed.

According to this article, the idea of an "after burn" where you continue to burn fat after exercising, is not the case. It's a calorie in calorie out story and if you replace the calories you burned through greater exercise by post exercise eating you don't lose an ounce.

Exercise has lots of benefits, though. Arthritis pain tends to wane with exercise and is recommended for arthritis sufferers. Exercise improves weight loss when combined with dietary intervention and consistent exercise tends to reset metabolic energy expenditure making it easier to keep the weight off after you've lost it.

And exercise improves mood. Just ask Allie. There is nothing she'd rather do that hit the trail with Bob or Sue. And they feel the same way.

Cat with H1N1 - How did that happen?

2009-11-05T12:47:23-05:00

Yvonne sent me a message this morning about a cat that had been diagnosed with H1N1. Since her source was Fox "News" I didn't take it too seriously. I thought it was probably Fox "News" trying to blame President Obama for flu in cats.

I did take a gander at the AVMA Flu site and sure enough they had a press release up already. They got their info from the veterinarians in Iowa involved in the diagnosis and treatment of the cat in question. This 13 year old cat had the misfortune of living in a household with sick humans. It is thought that the cat's people spread the flu virus to the cat.

First of all let me say that this is interesting news but not at all that shocking or unexpected. In fact it was probably just a matter of time. I did a flu post a few weeks ago and at that time there were no known cases of H1N1 transmission between pets and people. At least that I knew about. It turns out that on October 9th a case of H1N1 was confirmed in a pet Ferret. Like the Iowa cat, this Ferret lived in close proximity to sick people and is thought to have been infected by it's owners.

How can this happen?

The most common types of flu viruses are called Type A Flu viruses. Type A flu viruses are known to infect both people and animals. Usually these viruses are species specific. H1N1 is a type A virus, as are the common flu viruses infecting cats and dogs; H5N1 and H3N8 respectively. Interestingly, cats got H5N1 from infected birds and the dog flu virus, H3N8, came from horses. Birds play host to all known Type A flu viruses.

The H's and N's in the flu virus strains refer to proteins on the surface of the virus. The configuration of these proteins and the configuration of the receptors on the cells of potential hosts determines whether a specific flu virus can infect a particular species. In most cases these viruses are species specific except for birds and in some cases pigs.

For the H1N1 virus to cross over to a cat from a human, slight changes in the surface protein configuration would have to occur for the virus to make the cat sick. This is uncommon but obviously not impossible.

The real question is whether this is serious or not. The answer is probably not. Sick people should take precautions to keep from spreading the flu. Stay home and refrain from close contact with susceptible family members. Those precautions should extend to family pets. The vast majority of pets are still not at high risk of getting the flu from their owners.

And the opposite is even more unlikely. There are no known instances of a pets spreading H1N1 to an owner. Transmission from people to people is much more likely to occur and to remain the real meaningful problem. It's highly unlikely that an infected cat is going to come into close contact with other cats or people outside the family. That alone would limit the spread.

Both the humans and the cat in the Iowa situation have been treated and recovered. If you get the flu and you have a pet take reasonable precautions. Limit close contact with your pets. If your pet develops flu like symptoms take them to the vet and don't play kissy face with them.

It's highly unlikely that they have the H1N1 or any flu that can transmit to you or the kids.

Barking News: Cat Diagnosed with H1N1

2009-11-05T07:52:33-05:00

Yes, it's true - the story is out of Iowa.

"A 13-year okd Iowa cat has been infected with swine flu, veterinary and federal officials said Wednesday in what is believed to be the first case of the H1N1 virus in a feline in the United States," this report from Fox News says.

A spokesman from the Centers for Disease Control says, "We've known certainly it's possible this could happen... This may be the first instance where we have documentation that transmission occurred involving cats or dogs."

Understanding pet food labels: A Scratchings & Sniffings Podcast

2009-11-04T05:47:00-05:00

Pet food labels - how to read them and what to look for. A Scratchings & Sniffings podcast with Dr. Grace and Dr. Larry.

Allie gets fit - a successful Lab weight loss story

2009-11-03T11:27:37-05:00

We just got back from three days of camping, hiking and biking in the Chiricahua Mountains of Southeast Arizona. We do this trip every fall with a bunch of friends and we have a blast.

Bob and Sue always bring their Labrador Retriever, Allie, with them. She's a great old gal, she really enjoys the camping and this year she was the first of our group to summit Silver Peak on Saturday. The hike to Silver Peak is five miles straight up. You gain three thousand feet in elevation and the trail is relentless. It's worth it at the top though.

I was right behind Allie and as I followed her I noticed something different. This year she had a waist. In years past she looked more like the typical ten year old lab. Kind of like a coffee table.

She seemed quite spry as she alternated between blazing the trail for us and going back down the trail a ways to check on Sue. She'd be gone a few minutes and then she'd be back on my heels until I gave way so she could resume the climb in the lead. If we went ten miles, Allie probably went fifteen before it was all said and done.

That night around the camp fire, as we humans licked our wounds, I commented on Allie's impressive performance. Sue reminded me that I had suggested last year that Allie could stand to lose a few pounds. Allie's vet here in town had suggested the same thing to Sue at Allie's annual check up.

Seems Allie is getting a little sore on her hind end as is so common in older Labs. Her hips are a little arthritic.

Along with an RX for Previcox, Allie's vet recommended a weight loss program. As we've mentioned many times before on these pages, weight loss is as important as anti inflammatory medication in managing arthritic joints in dogs.

Allie's vet put her on a special diet and calculated the amount of food she could have in a day. Sue and Bob were fastidious about her food intake and included Allie in their active life style. Both Sue and Bob are trail runners and fast hikers.

As the pounds were shed, her activity increased. She used to go for walks with Bob. Now she goes for runs with Bob, and Sue said it had been years since that happened. And it's not just the drugs by the way. Allie only needs the medication when she acts sore and she doesn't get it every day, according to Sue.

We could have all used some meds on Saturday night after that hike to Silver Peak. Although, the wine, whiskey and beer seemed to help some of us.

Allie started her weight and exercise program in July this year. She tipped the scales at 84 pounds on the fourth of July and she weighed in at 72 pounds this morning. According to my remedial math skills she's lost 14% of her body weight in four months. She probably has about five more pounds to go to get totally lean and mean.

So why was Sue successful with Allie's weight loss while so many other dog lovers have trouble? I think it's the combination of getting off to a good start with a supervised program, adding the component of regular exercise and paying attention to success. It's probably worth the extra money to use a special weight loss diet especially if it comes with some professional oversight.

Sue's vet calculated the calories for Allie and provided a special measuring cup with specific instructions. Sue got into the habit of feeding a certain amount and keeping an eye on Allie's body condition. She even weighs Allie from time to time but she can see the results with her naked eye, too.

Truth be told she has switched to a lower calorie food she buys at the grocery store but she is still getting results. She's compared calories per cup,is keeping an eye on Allie's figure and is still getting good results. That's the key. So many people go back to their old habits and the pounds come back after a while.

Sue is feeding Fit and Trim right now and that's a good choice. I like the new Beneful Healthy Weight ,too. Any time you can crack the 1500 kcal per pound or get in around 300 kcal per cup with more than 5% fiber you are looking at a product that will help keep the pounds off. Fiber is important. It contributes to healthy bowel movements, dilutes calories and contributes to a sense of satiety or fullness that is really helpful when you are trying to shed pounds.

PVD OM is the king of weight loss products from Purina. With only 1238 kcal per pound and 266 kcal per cup it's really low in calories. OM has around 10% fiber, a high protein to calorie ratio and the magic of soy isoflavones we talked about in a previous post. If you want to get off to a flying start OM is the way to go.

The key though, is paying attention to your dog. Sue can see Allie's body changing and her conditioning improve. She's active and pretty darn perky for a ten year old. And that's the way Sue and Bob like it.

Pet Sitting: A Scratchings and Sniffings Podcast with Sherry of Sherry's House

2009-11-02T11:11:15-05:00

Sherry's Pet Sitting: A Scratchings & Sniffings podcast.

Listen to a professional pet sitter as she describes what she does, why she does it, and how she makes it work. This is part one of our fun discussion. (listen carefully for the story of her 110 pound lapdog! very funny! IMHO)

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

2009-11-01T06:45:00-05:00

Did you know that 70% of all antibiotics sold in the US are fed to swine, cattle and poultry? How about that 90% of the hogs and 97% of the poultry in the US are grown on industrial "farms"? An industrial farm is a giant factory where swine and poultry are housed in confinement. Some people actually call them "factory farms."

These farms are nothing like my Uncle Red's farm where, as a youngster, I spent entire summers taking care of pigs, chickens, cows, horses and the farm cats and dogs. It was that experience that first got me thinking about becoming a vet.

Uncle Red's farm would be called a "hobby" farm these days. Unless, of course, it's a sub division.

Another interesting tidbit about the use of antibiotics on factory farms is that the vast majority of antibiotic use is for perfectly healthy animals. Antibiotics are routinely fed to cattle, swine and poultry at low levels to increase weight gain and prevent the spread of disease in crowded conditions.

So why should we care?

We should care because of the alarming increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria. The same bacteria that can infect our dogs, cats and ourselves. Bacteria become resistant when they are exposed to low levels of antibiotics over time.

This is exactly what happens in industrial farming. Our pets and our families can get exposed to these bacteria through contaminated meat and produce and through direct environmental exposure. If we or our pets are exposed to a resistant strain and develop an infection as a result, it becomes that much more difficult to treat. It is estimated that antibiotic resistance adds 4 to 5 billion dollars in additional cost each year to the over burdened US Health Care system.

These facts came to light for me with the release of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Production. The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health collaborated on the report.

I first read about this report in a veterinary journal. I was sort of surprised to hear that the American Veterinary Medical Association took issue key recommendations made in the report. The American Association of Bovine Practitioners was not too thrilled, either.

No one is talking about restricting the use of antibiotics in sick animals. Veterinarians will still have access to the full array of antimicrobial agents for our dogs and cats and for sick farm animals, too. However the general manager of your local industrial swine confinement operation, cattle feed lot or poultry house would not be able to dump sacks of antibiotics into the feed and water of his animal units. Studies cited in the Pew report point out that better sanitation and less over crowding in feed lots, poultry barns and swine confinement units would do as much to prevent the spread of disease as the low level feeding of antibiotics.

That does not seem too unreasonable to this veterinarian. In the interest of pet health and public health, I guess I'll have to take issue with the AVMA and the Bovine practitioners on this one.

National Dog Show & Rufus the Colored Bull Terrier

2009-10-30T06:19:00-04:00

So, who watches The National Dog Show on Thanksgiving Day? Come on, fess up. You know you do. Okay, maybe some of you don't. Maybe some of you are stuck watching grown men throw a fat, brown ball around a messy field, and pretend that jumping all over each other isn't being overly aggressive, because it's all part of the game.

The rest of you should consider watching The National Dog Show, presented by our sponsor, Purina, of course. You know I'll be watching. (Tom will probably play remote control tag with me, but he'll be watching, too!) Here's some interesting news about the show: Rufus, the colored Bull Terrier, is appearing at the Ronald McDonald House of New York, on Tuesday, November 3rd... working as a therapy dog.

Oh yeah, that's next Tuesday. So, if you're in NY, you can be there to see Rufus! Rufus is the "National Dog Show Canine Ambassador for Kids" - which is why he's appearing at the Ronald McDonald House. We all know Ronald McDonald houses provide "temporary housing for pediatric cancer patients and their families" right? We have one here in Rochester. I'm pretty sure it does the same thing. This charity has been around for a long time. And, it's exciting to know Rufus is going to be part of the attention we give to the parents and kids of the Ronald McDonald House.

I love this paragraph in the press release the good folks who work on this campaign shared with me: "The greatest Colored Bull Terrier in dog show history, Rufus is a Canine Ambassador for "The National Dog Show by Purina," and the Kennel Club of Philadelphia. He has retired from the show world to work as a therapy dog, interacting with kids and adults alike at schools, hospitals, nursing homes and animal rescue leagues. Rufus does therapy work for Angel on a Leash and is certified with Therapy Dog International."

Oh, yeah, they also note that Guideposts Magazine will be covering the event for an article they're doing on Rufus. The Guideposts Magazine has a great Animal Angels page. I recommend a visit, if you're looking for great inspiration.

We'll talk more about The National Dog Show, as it gets closer. I love The National Dog Show. I wish I could be there.

And...as a last announcement - did you see our new Facebook Fan Page? There's a badge on the homepage of this blog, and you can just click it and get right over to the actual page and become a fan! Oh please do - we have LOTS of exciting things planned for that page (think contests and sweepstakes and videos and stories and just a whole bushel barrel o'stuff!)

Thanks!