Posts in Category: Medical Issues

More dogs get regular veterinary care than cats, writes veterinarian Barry Burtis. He suggests many factors contribute, including cats’ general aversion to traveling in carriers, owners’ mistaken belief that indoor cats don’t need regular veterinary care and the feline ability to mask symptoms. Dr. Burtis emphasizes the connection between regular veterinary care and optimum health for cats. The Burlington Post (Ontario) (11/29)

Statistics tell us that dogs visit veterinarians much more regularly than cats. On the other hand, polls tell us both dog and cat owners equally recognize the value of veterinary care for their pets.

So, why the disconnect? Why do you suppose dogs average 1.8 veterinary visits per year while cats get to see us only 0.7 times a year? Are dogs or their owners just hypochondriacs, excessively worried or anxious about illness and health? Are dogs just wimps — limping, whining and crying with every little ailment? Do dog owners just have huge amounts of money they wish to use supporting veterinary medicine? Do cat owners not love their feline as much as dog owners care for their dog? Are cats more resistant to disease, requiring less vaccination protection or other healthcare advice?

In my opinion, none of the above offers a correct explanation for the difference. No, there are other much more likely reasons.

Here are some that come to mind. Cats are homebodies. Getting into a carrier, in the first place, is not a happy experience for many cats, neither is it fun for their owner. No matter how smooth the ride, few cats love to go in the car. The yowling, scratching and sometimes bad odours emanating from the cat carrier can take the pleasure out of the ride for the cat’s car companions, as well. At the veterinary hospital, the cat’s attitude toward the cat carrier usually suddenly changes. It’s the nearest thing to home in that place. Why would they want to come out and be weighed, poked, prodded or needled? No, when a cat fails to see any benefit or value associated with this experience, their behaviour reflects their concerns. Is there anything to make the experience more pleasant for all? Well, as a start, begin at a very early age and continue through their life to build a better relationship between a kitten/cat and its carrier. Bring it out of storage at times other than just before a stressful car ride. That should make the trip a bit easier. Then it’s going to be up to the owner to realize most everyone experiences a bit of stress when they go to see their doctor.

People sometimes mistakenly believe that because their cat stays inside it really does not need the benefit of vaccinations. I believe this is another reason cats fail to get to see their doctor as often as they should.  However, municipal bylaws mandate that all cats — regardless of lifestyle — must be vaccinated against rabies. Panleukopenia, feline leukemia and the respiratory viruses — rhinotracheitis and calici virus — are all diseases that can be protected against. A veterinarian should determine which ones are necessary for an individual cat.

Do some cat owners just believe it’s too expensive to visit a veterinarian? People are usually thrilled to learn about the medicines, treatments and therapies that are available for their pets these days. Especially now with the availability of pet health insurance, I hope not many cats are failing to get the full benefits of healthcare because of cost.

A perhaps more legitimate reasons for cats and veterinarians not getting together as often as they should is that cats mask their illnesses very well. Cats are predators, but they are also a prey species. In the wild, showing weakness is the best way to hasten your decline. Cats often hide even severe arthritis, because they are moving around usually much less than dogs. Using the privacy of a litter box, instead of urinating on a walk like a dog, means cat owners are probably much less aware of volumes of urine a cat is producing, behaviour when a cat is urinating or the appearance of a cat’s urine. Lumps and bumps on a cat’s body surface may be less quickly spotted than with a dog. When a cat vomits, is it just a hairball or is it vomiting for some other reason and the hair just happens to be brought up as an effect, but not the cause of the problem?

How do we make cats equal opportunity users, with dogs, of today’s healthcare for pets? It’s very easy. Just make sure your cat visits its veterinarian at least once per year. It can receive a general physical examination, be updated on vaccine needs, get reliable, current diet and healthcare advice, all with a minimum of stress and expense.

Plastic bumpers used to train retrieving dogs appear to leach bisphenol A and phthalates, according to research from Texas Tech University. The researchers found that bumpers exposed to artificial dog saliva and simulated chewing released the chemicals. It’s not known whether the compounds put dogs at risk of any health problems. EnvironmentalHealthNews.org (11/29)

Dog bites BPA: Chemicals leak from plastic training toys

Dogs that chew on plastic training devices and toys may be exposed to hormone-altering chemicals, according to research at Texas Tech University. Bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates – ingredients of hard plastics and vinyl – readily leach from bumper toys, which are used to train retrieving dogs. The new study is one of the first to examine dog products as a potential source of exposure for pets. No one knows, though, whether the traces of the chemicals pose any health risk to dogs. “Some of the dogs are exposed to plastic bumpers from the time they are born until the day they die. We all want our pets to be healthy,” said toxicologist Philip Smith, co-author of the as-yet unpublished study.

Asthma occurs when an allergen incites airway inflammation, resulting in varying levels of respiratory distress, more commonly in cats than in dogs, according to veterinarian Bernhard Pukay. Some cats experience mild symptoms such as coughing fits that resolve on their own, while others can have severe reactions that progress to panting and even death in rare cases, writes Dr. Pukay. X-rays help to make the diagnosis of asthma and rule out other conditions. Treatment depends on the severity of symptoms, according to Dr. Pukay, who points out that some cats may only need monitoring while others require medication.

Question: We have a four-year-old calico cat. About three months ago, she  started wheezing and having coughing spells. These episodes only last for a few  minutes and then she seems perfectly normal afterward. She is still very active  and appears healthy otherwise.

Our vet took chest X-rays and told us she had asthma.  We were also told that  medication was not really necessary at this time.  Is this true? What are the  chances that she will get worse and eventually need treatment?  Could this kill  her?

Answer: Your cat has a condition called Feline Asthma, which has several  other names, including bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis and allergic  bronchitis.  While it can be a problem in cats of all ages, it usually occurs  most often in young and middle-aged cats. Dogs can also get asthma, but it is  much more common in cats.

Put simply, asthma is an inflammation of the airways that is caused by an  adverse reaction to allergens. Specifically, inhaled allergens cause a sudden  contraction of the muscles around the windpipe and this leads to symptoms such  as wheezing and coughing. It is usually difficult to determine precisely which  allergens will trigger a reaction, but grass and tree pollens, house dust,  smoke, sprays (hair sprays, deodorants, etc..) have been implicated.

Typically, a cat with a mild case of asthma will have a dry, hacking cough  that may be confused with gagging, retching or vomiting. These cats will have  episodes of coughing and wheezing, yet can be perfectly fine in between “attacks”.

In more severely affected cats, the coughing and wheezing may become a daily  occurrence and they may experience breathing difficulties to such an extent that  they start open-mouth breathing and panting. In a very small number of cases,  feline asthma can be life threatening. In these cases, an injection of  epinephrine may be necessary during a severe attack.

There are several other diseases that can mimic asthma. Heartworm disease,  congestive heart failure, lung cancer and pneumonia can all show clinical signs  similar to feline asthma. For this reason, veterinarians turn to diagnostic  tools such as chest X-rays or ultrasound, blood tests (including heartworm  testing) and tracheal and bronchial washings (i.e. taking cell samples by  flushing the trachea and lungs).

Depending on degree of severity, treatment of feline asthma can range from  simple monitoring to symptomatic relief of clinical signs. Medications such  steroids, antihistamines, and bronchodilators are usually effective.

Corticosteroids are the most effective drugs for treating feline asthma  because they reduce the inflammation in the windpipe and bronchi.  Bronchodilators are also used in some cases because they help to open up the air  passages to make breathing easier.

While there is no cure for feline asthma, fatalities are extremely rare. In  patients where respiratory distress is not a manifestation and inflammation can  be kept under control with medication, the prognosis for control of this disease  is excellent. Unfortunately if inflammation cannot be controlled, lung damage  can occur and the prognosis is more guarded.

This picture shows Carolyn Davis  and Lazarus and Agatha during Lazarus’s three week check up.

Lazarus had an amazing recovery from his bladder surgery despite his anemia and  his liver issues.

But our concern with today’s physical exma on his three week recheck and suture removal

Is that he is experinecing some neurologic issues. This may be related to his liver’s inability to

Digest proteins in his diet. Last week this happened and Carolyn lowered the protein in his food

and Lazaarus improved. But it only took a little bit of fish protein in his diet this morning to bring

on the neuologic symptoms again. We are watching Lazarus closely with hope in our hearts!

How many more times can Lazarus defy the odds?

Lazarus was well named by Carolyn Davis. She adopted him the day before he was to be put down as an unwanted stray at a pound. Lazarus has turned into my most miraculous patient because he escaped death from three terminal diseases.

In 2008, when Lazarus was eight years old, he developed stage five terminal leukemia. At presentation, Lazarus had been vomiting blood and had a white blood cell count (WBC) of 659,500! The WBC normal  ranges from 6,000-18,000. He was at end stage crisis from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. His overall prognosis was poor (less than 4 months). Carolyn would not allow a bone marrow biopsy because she did not want the risk since he was so sick (risk:benefit ratio).

We entered Lazarus into our Pawspice program. Pawspice rhymes with hospice but it is much much more! Pawspice embraces palliative medicine (reduces the signs and discomfort of illness) and offers kinder gentler standard chemotherapy. Lazarus’ chances for a long life were grim but Carolyn felt that as long as he did not feel sick from the treatments, she wanted us to try to save him.  She said, “I want to save him. I want him to be the miracle dog!”  Lazarus responded to the gentle chemotherapy and he survived stage five leukemia!

Two years later in 2010, Lazarus was swimming in Lake Arrowhead. He developed a severe infection of his liver (hepatitis). The infection concentrated in the tiny pathways of his bile system. Lazarus developed  yellow jaundice of his skin. He he had bloody small bowel diarrhea and extremely elevated liver enzymes. His liver biopsy diagnosed hepatitis with an infected biliary system  (suppurative cholangiohepatitis).

Rcently, Lazarus started having blood in his urine. When we checked his bladder, we found a large tumor involving the apex of his bladder. We tried to control the bleeding with an infusion into his bladder. Despite our efforts, his urine continued to be bloody. It became obvious to all of us, especially to his mom, Carolyn, that Lazarus would need surgery to remove his bleeding bladder tumor. There was no other feasible alternative. Despite the risk, surgery had to be done because Lazaruswas losing so much blood in one week that he required blood transfusions!

Of course, Carolyn was on board for the surgery. She almost demanded the surgery. We had to remind her that Lazarus had a special pre-existing history and co-morbid conditions. Read about his skirmishes with death in my Lazarus blog of September 24, if you don’t remember Lazarus! He is the miraculous survivor of near-death liver failure, horrible hepatitis and raging acute leukemia. All these factors, including his severe anemia, put Lazarus into the “high surgical risk” category.  I needed Carolyn to understand that Lazarus could die.

Dr. Villalobos founder of Pawspice (rhymes with Hospice) applied and received an Angel Fund Grant from the AHF-SCVMA.  Thank you Dr. Villalobos!

In June, 2011, Kira Davidson’s boyfriend took her to Disneyland for her birthday.  It was a great day – until they returned home and Kira found her dog, Gypsie, shaking and acting “really strange.”

Gypsie, a 4-year-old Manchester terrier Kira had rescued “straight off the street” a year earlier, was “shaky and she’d never been shaky before. I figured that maybe it was because it was colder that night. The next morning, I woke up and I went out to get her some dog food. When I came home, she was excited and jumping like she normally does and we went upstairs. The next thing you know, I turned around and she was falling and tipping over and then she really fell down and I freaked out.

“My first instinct was to feel her heart and I noticed it was very, very, very slow. So I took her to my local veterinarian in Pasadena.  He said there was a heart murmur and it was beyond what he could do because he’s not a heart specialist.”

The veterinarian referred Kira, who lives in Temple City, to the Advanced Veterinary Care Center in Pasadena. Fearing an expensive treatment, Kira – who had been laid off from her job with an insurance company days before – went to a couple of other veterinarians first. She was told the same thing that the first practitioner had said.  So she took Gypsie to Advanced Veterinary Care.

“They were very accommodating and we found out that her heart wasn’t working right and the only way to save her was to put in a pacemaker.”  The hospital filled out forms for an Angel Fund grant to help Kira and AVCC matched the grant.  “So basically they saved us $1,000 on the pacemaker. And within about a week I had found out what was wrong with Gypsie and she was on the surgery table. She has always been a very fit dog. She’s got a lot of muscle, more than fat. So she was the first patient of theirs where they actually had to implant the pacemaker under her muscle, instead of just under her skin. The pacemaker is the exact same thing they put in a person. And it turned out really good. Dr. [Sarah] Zimmerman said she loved the result. She said she wanted to do it that way on more dogs.”

Today, Gypsie is a healthy, normal terrier.  She can keep up with other dogs.  She jumps and runs and plays.  “She’s fit!” Kira says happily.

But her dog would be gone by now, if she had not gotten the pacemaker, Kira believes. And she is delighted to have Gypsie back – just as she was before last June.

The Rodriguez family’s 12 year old pomeranian – Pinky – had bladder, ureteral and kidney stones that had to be removed surgically.  In order for the family to afford the surgery, The Advanced Veterinary Care Center applied for an AHF-SCVMA Angel Fund Grant.  This helped the Rodriguez family save the life of their beloved Pinky!

The Portnoy family thanks the Northridge Pet Hospital for applying for and receiving a grant from AHF-SCVMA’s Angel Fund.  Their domestic shorthair cat – Fifi – had an ulcerated growth between her paw pad and needed attention to several teeth.  Fifi is recovering nicely.

Feline acne, which is associated with overproductive sebaceous glands, usually appears on the chin, according to veterinarian Keeley McNeal. If the cat responds with rubbing and scratching, it can break the skin, causing a bacterial infection with draining skin pustules. If acne is caught early enough, applying topical benzoyl peroxide may clear it up, according to Dr. McNeal, but more advanced lesions require antibiotics, and she said it can be difficult to catch an early case of acne. “Cats can be pretty good at hiding it until they’re really miserable,” Dr. McNeal said.

Because Smokey, 9, has such dark gray fur, his owner Nanette Goode of Joliet didn’t see the bumpy rash, but she could feel it.

So she researched his symptoms online and discovered Smokey had feline acne, which she treated with apple cider vinegar, as opposed to the traditional remedy of benzoyl peroxide.

“Getting a cat to comply with peroxide more than once is hard,” Goode said.

Within two weeks, Smokey’s acne had healed to a scab. Goode then eliminated what she believes caused the outbreak—his plastic food bowl—and replaced it with a stainless steel model.

“Bacteria can get in the scratches and grooves in the plastic,” Goode said, “and that can get on their skin when eating.”

Dr. Keeley McNeal at the Animal Care Center of Plainfield said feline acne often appears worse than it really is. It typically presents as little lumpy blackheads on a cat’s chin. Affected cats may look as if they’re stopped grooming themselves.

Feline acne is not breed specific, nor does it necessarily run in families, McNeal said. Certain cats may simply experience overactive sebaceous glands.

These glands produce a substance called “sebum,” which waterproofs hair and keeps skin supple. Allergic cats are at greater risk for developing it, possibly because their skin is already inflamed.

If the acne itches and the cat responds by rubbing, scratching and licking it, the chin may also become infected and painful. If the chin turns red and/or oozes pus, the acne will require antibiotic treatment. Otherwise only topic treatment with benzoyl peroxide wipes may be sufficient. Catching the acne before it reaches that point may be tricky.

“Cats can be pretty good at hiding it until they’re really miserable,” McNeal said.

The acne should heal in two to three weeks. If not, the cat might have an underlying condition (such as feline herpes, which can lower the immune system), a recent chin injury or another disorder.

For instance, indoor/outdoor cats that enjoy hunting can wind up with ulcers on their chins and lips from mites they pick up while eating mice.  Infections that don’t clear up should be smeared under a microscope to rule out possible fungal infections. Certain skin parasites can also resemble feline acne.

Pale and white cats that like to lie out in the sun are especially prone to developing squamous cell cancer. An affected cat’s ears and lips will appear sunburned. A skin biopsy can detect the presence of skin cancer. See your veterinarian any time a wound does not heal.

Although feline acne is unsightly, cats cannot pass it onto humans or other cats in the household. There is also no way to prevent it, but feline acne will also not limit the cat’s day-to-day life or prevent it from participating in any special events.

And, unlike humans, cats won’t sit before a mirror brooding about what the other cats are thinking about their appearance.

“They can still go to prom,” McNeal said with a chuckle.

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are working to identify the factors that explain the virulence of Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete that causes Lyme disease, which affects animals and an estimated 30,000 people in the U.S. per year. Using advanced technology, the team is testing the pathogen’s 1,739 genes in an effort to find the ones responsible for its ability to spread so readily. The findings are expected to help develop vaccines, diagnostic tools and treatments

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2012) — Investigators at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have accelerated the search for the bacterial genes that make the Lyme disease bacterium so invasive and persistent. The discovery could advance the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, which affects an estimated 30,000 Americans each year.

Scientists hope to use this information to unravel the mystery of how the spiral-shaped bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease. Ticks carry the bacterium and transfer it to animals and humans when the tiny spider-like creatures bite. The Lyme disease microorganism was discovered in 1981.

“We believe that this will be one of the most significant publications in Lyme disease in the next several years. This global approach will help ‘move the field forward’ and also serve as a model for other pathogens with similar properties,” said Steven Norris, Ph.D., the study’s senior author and the vice chair for research in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the UTHealth Medical School.

The bacterium can invade almost any tissue in humans or animals and trigger an infection that lasts from months to years. Its symptoms include a reddish rash that often resembles a bull’s eye and flu-like symptoms. The disease can lead to nervous system problems, joint inflammation and heart abnormalities. Most instances of Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics.

“Our long-term goals are to screen, identify and characterize the virulence determinants of the Lyme disease bacterium and thereby dissect the mechanism of pathogenesis in mammals and ticks,” said Tao Lin, D,V.M., the study’s lead author and assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the UTHealth Medical School. “With this information, we will have a clearer picture about the virulence determinants and virulence factors for this fascinating microorganism and the mechanism of pathogenesis behind this unique, invasive, persistent pathogen.”

Norris, the Robert Greer Professor of Biomedical Sciences at UTHealth, and Lin are running tests on the 1,739 genes in the bacterium to see which genes impact the microorganism’s ability to spread disease.

To do this, they mutated the bacterial genes and gauged the impact in a mouse infection model. Overall, 4,479 mutated bacteria were isolated and characterized. Whereas it took researchers about three decades to knock out less than 40 bacterial genes, Norris and Lin knocked out 790 genes in a comparatively short period of time; some genes were “hit” multiple times. A newly developed screening technique, which involves signature-tagged mutagenesis and Luminex®-based high-throughput screening technologies, can also be used to identify infection-related genes in other bacteria.

“This kind of study enables us to better understand the disease pathogenesis at the basic level,” said Charles Ericsson, M.D., head of clinical infectious diseases at the UTHealth Medical School. “In time, such understanding of virulence properties might enable us to develop vaccine candidates, better diagnostic tools and perhaps even targeted drug intervention.”

Norris and Lin are on the faculty of The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston.

Previously, Norris helped develop a method based on one of the bacterium’s proteins, called VlsE, for diagnosing Lyme disease. The test, which is now used worldwide, involves detection of VlsE-specific antibodies, which are often found in people and animals infected with Lyme disease.

Also participating in the study from UTHealth were Lihui Gao, D.V.M., Chuhua Zhang, Evelyn Odeh and Loic Coutte, Ph.D. Mary B. Jacobs and Mario Philipp, Ph.D., of the Tulane University Health Sciences Center collaborated on the study as did George Chaconas, Ph.D., of The University of Calgary in Canada. Mutated strains produced through this study are being made available to the scientific community through BEI Resources.

The study is titled “Analysis of an ordered comprehensive STM mutant library in infectious Borrelia burgdorferi: insights into the genes required for mouse infectivity.” The project described was supported by Award Number R01AI059048 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.