Raw Food for Your Feline Friend
Via: NaturalNews
If you are a cat owner, more than likely you understand the importance of providing your feline friend with optimal nutrition. Your cat’s nutrition can be a very confusing topic if you are like a lot of pet owners out there. Nutrition is not a simple topic to cover; the amount of contradictory information available is enough to make a professional animal caregiver cringe. When you take your cat to the vet for a routine checkup you are told she’s overweight and given a wet food to try. The wet food is important because cats don’t drink enough water to stay fully hydrated on a dry commercial food diet. The first three ingredients on the can read: water, liver and beef. Those ingredients don’t look so bad. Since canned food is predominantly water, why wouldn’t the first ingredient be water? Notice how general the ingredients are though. Liver, well there aren’t many mammals that don’t have one of those. Beef is a little more specific but then you are left wondering about the quality; Was it a downer cow? The list of ingredients on this particular food is well over 20, many just as vague as the first few. As you move through the ingredients list you come across quite a few ingredients that you can’t pronounce and don’t know what are. Would you eat something with an ingredients list like this? Would you eat it every day of your life? Do you feel like this would promote a happy and healthy life? If these questions resonate with you, raw food may be a good option.
Spot the Warning Signs of Cancer in Your Pet
Via: MarketWatch
November is National Pet Cancer Awareness Month
Cancer in pets is more common than you think. It is the number one natural cause of death in geriatric cats and dogs and accounts for nearly 50 percent of pet deaths each year. Some breeds are especially susceptible to cancer.
Although the leading cause of death in older cats and dogs, cancer also is the most treatable disease when compared to life-limiting diseases such as congestive heart failure, renal failure and diabetes. An educated and dedicated veterinary health care team is essential to caring for cancer-stricken pets.
“It is crucial for pet owners to take their pets to the veterinarian twice a year to monitor them for early signs of the disease,” says Dr. Gregory Ogilvie, a California Veterinary Medical Association member, world-renowned oncologist and director of the California Veterinary Specialists (CVS) Angel Care Cancer Center in Carlsbad, California. “Routine blood tests also can help identify problems early.”
Commons signs of cancer for pet owners to watch for include:
— Unexplained bleeding or discharge
— Loss of appetite
— Oral odor
— Abnormal swellings or swollen lymph nodes
— Drooling or difficulty eating or swallowing
— Changes in exercise or stamina level
— Lameness
— A sore that does not heal
— Chronic weight loss
— Change in bowel or bladder habitsThe best treatment for cancer is prevention. Dr. Ogilvie recommends feeding cats and dogs a high-quality, balanced diet with low amounts of simple carbohydrates and high amounts of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. He also advises pet owners to ensure their pets exercise regularly and eliminate pets’ exposure to industrial chemicals and tobacco smoke. Talk to your veterinarian to determine what’s best for your pet.
If your pet is diagnosed with cancer, there is hope. Advances in veterinary medicine and technology offer multiple treatment options, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgical procedures. Above all, enhancing your pet’s health, well-being and quality of life is the ultimate goal.
In Hard Times for Humans, Hardships for Pets, Too
Via: NYTimes.com
With all the talk of bulls and bears lately, what’s happening to cats and dogs?At New York City’s main animal shelter, monthly calls to the volunteers who can help people keep their pets through tough financial times doubled, to 225 from 115, between January and September.
“We knew how valuable the program was, but now something like this hits, and people can’t afford vet care,” said Richard P. Gentles, the director of administration services for the shelter, Animal Care and Control of New York City. “Some can’t even afford food.”
Volunteers who work for the shelter’s four-year-old Safety Net program provide struggling pet owners with low-cost boarding or pet-training services, food donations, lists of apartment buildings that allow pets, even legal help if a landlord is trying to illegally evict a pet owner.
As the country’s financial crisis has deepened, more pet owners are asking the shelter for help.
Sadie Judge, 50, has been living with friends and relatives ever since she got sick and lost her teaching job at Brooklyn College as well as her apartment.
“I kept saying, ‘At least I’ve got my kitty cats,’ ” Ms. Judge said. But in early September, without her permission, she said, her roommate’s boyfriend took her four cats, Michael, Michelle, Molly and Gunzu, to Animal Care and Control, on East 110th Street between First and Second Avenues.
Ms. Judge said that after learning from her niece where her cats had
been taken, she was told that she had 24 hours to get them out or they
would be put up for adoption. But she had nowhere to take them. She was
in tears when she happened to look up and see the Safety Net poster. Within two days, her cats were in two separate foster homes, and she
hopes to get them back when she finds permanent housing.
Dog Dental Care Tips
Via: PetMD.COM
PetMD, (www.petmd.com), a free online resource for pet health information and services, encourages you to brush your dog’s teeth on a regular basis. Let’s face it, you don’t want to kiss someone with stinky breath. You like your kisses to be sweet, and from someone who brushes their teeth. The same should go for your beloved canine friend.The same dental health issues you deal with, apply to your dog, too. Regular brushing helps keep your dog’s teeth and gums in tip-top shape. And most importantly, keeping tartar buildup and cavities under control will give your dog sweet, minty fresh breath.
Cleaning doggy teeth is actually very simple. Because dog’s teeth are spaced more widely than yours, there’s no need for flossing. And you can use either a special toothbrush made for dogs, or a special finger glove brush that allows you to brush with your finger.
Also, there’s no need for rinsing and spiting. Since dogs can’t use human toothpaste, there are special types which you can buy that don’t require rinsing.
Proper care can help diabetic pet live a long, happy life
By DR. LARRY BAKER
The grandfather of Melissa Farnsworth of Decatur died in California, a few weeks ago. Her grandfather owned a small adorable apricot-colored, quiet-mannered poodle.
Cutie Pie was pushing 10 years of age and was probably spoiled rotten by her owner. She ate just about everything she wanted. For many years, she also received two injections of insulin every day. Cutie Pie had diabetes. After the death of her grandfather, Farnsworth adopted Cutie Pie as her own and drove her all the way back from California.
Cutie Pie just didn’t seem to be doing well. Her blood sugar seemed out of control, and she didn’t eat well. To make matters worse, Cutie Pie and Farnsworth were in a minor automobile accident, which probably added to Cutie Pie’s stress level. In spite of appropriate diabetes therapy, Cutie Pie seemed to go downhill rather quickly, losing the ability to stand, and her major organs began shutting down. She died a few hours later as Farnsworth was visiting her in the clinic.
Many people are unaware that pets suffer from diabetes in similar ways that people do. Usually the first sign of the disorder is increased thirst and urination. Some pets have an increased appetite but lose weight. Cataracts occur from diabetes in dogs, just as they can in people, but are rare in cats.