Category Archives: Pet Vet Corner Files

From Dr. Kathy – A fever may provide information regarding whether a pet should be evaluated by a veterinarian sooner rather than later. It can also help monitor disease progress. Taking a pet’s temperature: If you do not want to, or can’t take a rectal temperature, your pet’s approximate (very, very close) temperature can beContinue reading “Taking a pet’s axillary temperature”

From Dr. Kathy – There is no single cause & therefore no single treatment for vomiting in cats. This could be anything  from gastritis, IBD, pancreatitis, intestinal parasites, obstruction, heartworms (yes, even indoor cats can be bitten by a heartworm- carrying mosquito), food ingredient intolerance, and on and on and on and on and on.Continue reading “Vomiting in Cats”

From Dr. Kathy – Symptoms of BOAS (Brachycephalic  Obstructive Airway Syndrome) snoring loudly, tiring easily after exercise, coughing, retching or gagging freguently or panting loudly. Flat faced dogs and cats are commonly affected. Symptoms usually worsen with age and with obesity, especially if not quickly corrected. There are several anatomic abnormalities that may be associatedContinue reading “BOAS (Brachycephalic  Obstructive Airway Syndrome)”

There are numerous causes for recurrent or chronic diarrhea in a kitten/cat. The most common cause would be unsuccessfully treated intestinal parasites or organisms – roundworms, hookworms, tapeworms, Giardia (may need an ELISA test). Parasites do not show up in every stool sample, so deworming is often used as an empirical (best medical guess) treatment.Continue reading “Diarrhea in Cats”

From Dr. Kathy – Paw pad abrasions are very common in especially large breed dogs, but can occur in any size dog (or, even a cat) who has either walked on hot concrete, asphalt or sidewalks or who has played very hard outside wearing off the top layer of pad skin. This is like havingContinue reading “Paw Abrasions”

From Dr. Kathy – Here are some hopefully helpful rules of thumb when dealing with a dog’s broken toenail: Broken nails can happen from trauma (nail gets caught on something). They are rarely an emergency. 1) if is just cracked clipping with a nail trimmer may suffice, 2) if broken so that it is justContinue reading “Broken Toe Nails”

From Dr. Kathy – Ear issues can be extremely frustrating to both owners AND veterinarians, especially if recurrent. The dog and cat’s ear is a J-shaped tube, so what you can see is only the tip of the iceberg. In fact, you may not see anything because an infection may be deep within the canal.Continue reading “Ear Conditions”

From Dr. Kathy – The skin has a limited number of ways to respond to an “insult” whether it is a food allergy, an environmental allergy, a bacterial infection, a fungal infection, skin parasites (mange, for example), an immune mediated disease, hormone imbalance, cancer, etc. That means that each individual skin disease can have aContinue reading “Skin Conditions”

From Dr. Kathy – Please accept these comments as advise, not as a criticism or judgement. There is a reason that cavemen cooked their food; they recognized that fewer of their family members got sick or died after eating cooked food. “Dogs” and “cats” in the wild eat raw meat. Our domestic dogs and catsContinue reading “Raw Diets”

From Dr. Kathy – Making homemade pet food is not to be entered into lightly. Online “recipes” are often woefully UNBALANCED. Even veterinary nutritionists use computer programs to help develop BALANCED diets. To purchase all of the required nutrients and micronutrients would be cost prohibitive because they are not usually sold in the small amountsContinue reading “Homemade diets”