Category: Pet welness

How to Prevent Mouth Issues in Pets

veterinary surgical proceduresApproximately 46,300,000 households in the United States own dogs, and 38,900,000 households own cats. Every pet should make frequent trips to a vet for routine checkups, but sometimes, veterinary surgical procedures must be performed to keep your pet in good health. If your pet is scheduled to undergo a minor veterinary surgery, rest assured — they’re in good hands. Here’s a look at one of the most common minor veterinary surgical procedures vets perform.

Tooth extraction is listed as the top surgical procedure performed on cats according to Veterinary Pet Insurance. It’s also the third most common procedure for dogs. The average cost of a dental tooth extraction procedure is just under $1,000. It’s important to understand that keeping your pet’s mouth in good dental health is one of the best ways to prevent the need for an emergency veterinarian.

As your pet ages, they are likely to develop periodontal disease as an adult. This causes breakdown of gum tissue that can lead to bacteria escaping into the bloodstream and potentially causing an infection. If your pet’s immune system isn’t strong enough to kill the microbes, it’s likely to lead to a heart infection.

Another little-known fact about cats is that they can be seriously harmed from prolonged cigarette smoke exposure. If your cat lives with someone who smokes cigarettes indoors, the noxious smoke and all its chemical components can actually seep into the cat’s fur. Then, when they groom themselves, which is generally several times a day, the toxins will get into the cat’s mouth and cause some serious issues.

Regardless of the environments in which your pets live, it’s important for them to maintain a healthy diet. Doctors recommend a diet of mostly raw foods that trace back to the animal’s roots. For example, it’s recommended that cats should not eat seafood since ancestors of today’s house cats did not hunt from the sea. Even though most cats enjoy seafood, there are other alternatives your cat will enjoy as well. Remember to look at the ingredients and try to limit the preservatives in your cat’s food.

Overall, keeping your pets healthy is a proactive effort. Taking small steps to reduce health risks, and taking advantage of veterinary services are the best ways for your pet to live a happy and healthy life.

Caring For Our Furry Friends Why Veterinary Care Is So Important

Jamestown veterinary hospital nc

America loves pets! The APAA says there are as many as 80 million dogs and 96 million cats in the United States; more than 30% of homeowners have a cat, while almost 40% have a dog. Our pets quite often dictate our choices, from where to live to what to buy, and our behaviors. They are part of the family. We adopt over 2.5 million pets from shelters each year, according to the ASPCA. Caring for our precious canine and feline friends — and the myriad other pet options Americans choose — means accepting that at some time in their lives our pets will become ill or injured. From pet cancer to arthritis, coping with pet diagnoses can be very difficult.

A veterinary care center is always the first port of call when an animal is ill or injured. Older pets should visit the vet every six months, while younger (under 10 years) dogs and cats should see a vet at least yearly. Regular check-ups can result in early detection of pet cancer, for example. Almost 50% of deaths in older animals is due to some sort of pet cancer. Cats tend to have a lower incidence of cancer than dogs or humans, according to the National Canine Cancer Foundation, but feline cancers tend to be more aggressive.

Almost a quarter of all dogs will develop a tumor at some point in their lives, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Common cancers in dogs include skin and abdominal cancers. The risk of breast cancer in dogs can be reduced by spaying the dog at six to 12 months of age. Treatment options vary, with some forms of cancer being more treatable than others.

Veterinary hospitals can provide testing and treatment services for a variety of ailments, including teeth inspection and dental cleaning, tumor removal (often the best option for cancer diagnoses), and even pet food suggestions. Keeping your pet healthy involves ensuring regular vet check-ups, monitoring your pet for symptoms, and ensuring a healthy diet and exercise.

The Strange, True Tale of the Zombie Cat

Veterinarian for dogs

Recently, the strange, true tale of how one cat, which seemed to be dead for all intents and purposes, clawed its way out of its shallow grave and found its way back to its owners has been making its rounds on the Internet.

Ellis Hutson’s cat, Bart, was hit by a car and left for dead on the side of the road. Hutson said that he buried Bart under a foot of earth where he found the poor feline.

Somehow, though, Bart was able to dig his way through the earth, and found his way to Hutson’s neighbor’s front lawn… days later.

With no explanation for how it was possible, telling Bart’s rescuers that he was dead sure the cat had died, Hutson rushed the feline to the nearest advanced veterinary care center, where he immediately underwent the necessary pet surgery to save his new life.

The veterinary care center’s veterinarian for cats said that Bart had severe head trauma, a broken jaw, a dead eye, and other injuries. The vets there wired his fractures together and put in a feeding tube. The Save-A-Pet Medical Fund helped Hutson pay for Bart’s medical bills.

At the time, Hutson believed Bart had freed himself, but he now suspects that his other cat, which played with Bart all the time, might have gone looking for his brother and dug him up.

Fortunately, the veterinary care center says he’s likely to live, but is also likely to lose his eye.

Now, Bart is resting quite contentedly and perks up whenever someone comes near to give him a scratch, said a spokesperson with the veterinary care center that treated Bart “the Miracle Cat.”

“He was a brave boy,” the veterinary care center’s spokesperson said. “He is spending the night with our good friends at Tampa Bay Veterinary Emergency Service so he can be monitored. He will return to us in the morning and [will] need a week or so to recover before going back home.” More like this.