| articles printed in the East Orlando Sun |
February 2007 Pet Health Welcome to Pet Health. We plan on writing a new article every month and will cover a wide variety of topics from the broad categories of wellness, nutrition, and behavior. We hope this series of articles help you enhance the wellbeing of your favorite pets. Let’s go! Did you know that February is National Pet Dental Health Month? Most people don’t realize that the “fear of gingivitis” is not just a human problem. Our pets are also at risk from gingivitis, periodontal disease and tooth decay. In fact, the American Veterinary Dental Society (AVDS) has found that 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats show signs of oral disease by the age of three, as indicated by bad breath, a change in eating habits, pawing at the face, and depression. As in humans, good oral hygiene can improve our pet’s general health more than allowing them to eat better. If the plaque and tartar build up enough to cause bleeding gums and tooth decay, infections become more likely. If the infection enters the blood stream, it could affect the heart, liver and kidneys as well. The AVDS offers three simple steps for good dental health. Step One: Take your pet to the veterinarian for a dental exam. Step Two: Begin a dental care regimen at home. Your veterinarian can suggest steps that may include brushing your pet’s teeth with an approved toothpaste. Step Three: Schedule regular veterinary checkups that can uncover little problems before they become bigger. You say you don’t have a dog but instead have 2 rabbits? They also need dental care! You’ve seen the four large incisors they use to slice through vegetation (or your shirt). They also have two tiny incisors called peg teeth, directly behind the upper incisors and six upper and five lower cheek teeth they use for chewing. Rabbit teeth never stop growing but bunnies that continually chew fiber (grass hay) keep them properly worn down. Rabbits may not get enough tooth wear if only offered prepared pellets. The resulting sharp points or edges can cut the cheeks or tongue potentially causing abscesses. Another rabbit dental problem happens when teeth become misaligned or become crooked. The growing teeth can cause abnormal pressure and can cause root impaction, elongation, or inflammation. Rabbits are very good at hiding health problems so you must help! If you notice your bunny not eating his normal ration, eating it slower, drooling, or totally not interested in food, there’s a problem. Make an appointment with your rabbit savvy veterinarian immediately. Healthy pets are happy pets. Gregory Gensheimer, Ph.D.
March 2007 Does your dog have fleas? If your answer is, “Oh, I see one every now and then” congratulations. You are very diligent with flea control on your pet as well as in and around your house. Fleas and flea control are an either / or proposition. Either you control the fleas or the fleas will infest your pet and house. Flea prevention is much, much easier (and much cheaper) than eradication. The most common flea is called the cat flea but it bites dogs, cats, bunnies and us without preference. Itchy bites on our pets or on our ankles are the least of the flea problems. Pets and people can become sensitized such that a single bite can cause severe itching and scratching. Fleas can also give us and our pets tapeworms. Is this mental picture enough to convince you to remain diligent regarding flea control? A comprehensive flea control program considers the characteristics of the pet and the locations most frequented by the animal. Fleas can only live and propagate when they can live on warm-blooded animals. This close association is now used as the primary mode of flea control. That is, the best preventatives are those that use the pet to deliver the treatment to the flea. The most common preventatives consist of ingestible pills / liquids, injections, collars and spot treatments. In general these treatments prevent fleas from laying eggs or prevent the eggs from hatching though some will also act to kill fleas. This class of compounds is called insect growth regulators and is typically of low toxicity. There are a number of ways these chemicals are applied; the most common are the “topical spot-ons” such as: Advantage™, Frontline™, or Revolution™. Program™ or Sentinel™ are common ingestibles. And the old flea collars have been re-designed to kill flea eggs and include: Ovitrol/Ovitrol Plus™ Fleatrol™ and Relieve™. This list is by no means an endorsement. Not all products work equally well in every situation and sometimes, animals can be sensitive to the treatments. Do not be discouraged if you see a flea or two now and again. You may want to do some investigation if you see more than this. Did you forget this treatment cycle or is your pet bringing the fleas from the outdoors? You may want to spot spray your pet’s regular lounging area for a quick knockdown. You may also have to periodically treat the exterior of your home. Of course, when in doubt, consult your veterinarian and above all, do not scrimp on the By:
May 2007 Mosquitoes are responsible for the transmission of heartworms to our pets. There are 16 known species of mosquitoes that transmit heartworm disease east of the Mississippi. Eleven of these species of insects are living in abundance in Florida. With our temperate climate, the pesky creatures rarely die off. This makes transmission of diseases by them a year round possibility. So, our pets that reside in Florida are more susceptible to acquiring this potentially deadly disease. But wait- it’s preventable! Heartworm disease in dogs and cats can sometimes be difficult to diagnose and is often mistaken as a respiratory issue. The signs of heartworm disease in dogs during the early stages may go unnoticed or they may not exhibit any clinical signs at all. Dogs in the later stages of infection may show signs such as a cough, exercise intolerance, shortness of breath, decreased appetite, and weight loss. In cats, the signs are often vague, such as vomiting or diarrhea. They sometimes show signs such as lethargy, difficulty breathing, weight loss, cough, and sometimes death. Your pet should be tested for heartworms yearly, or as directed by your veterinarian. A blood test can detect the presence of these worms, which reside in the right side of the heart and pulmonary arteries. In addition to the above blood test, your veterinarian may recommend additional bloodwork, radiographs, and possible ultrasound to determine the extent of damage done by the existing worms. If your dog is diagnosed with heartworm disease, the treatment can be expensive, painful, and may cause death. Your pet will most likely be treated with an adulticide, which is given in a series of 2 or 3 injections, depending on the severity of disease. After injections of the adulticide, the worms in the pulmonary arteries start to die and travel deeper into the lungs where they collect in tightly coiled bundles, decay, and then are eventually cleared by the body. This process may take months and is not without side effects. Unfortunately, for cats there is no approved treatment for heartworm disease. Therefore, monthly prevention is a must. Preventing this possibly deadly disease from occurring in your pet in the first place is the key. Heartworm prevention should be administered year round in Florida in both dogs and cats. Talking with your veterinarian about heartworm prevention is paramount. Gregory Gensheimer, Ph.D.
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