When was the last time you went for a check-up? You know, blood pressure, cholesterol, maybe your blood sugar levels. Or maybe you have recently gone for an eye exam. We have regular checkups because we want to know that we are healthy. We also want to ensure our doctors can pick up any abnormalities as soon as possible. The same applies to your pet. Be it a dog, cat, parrot or rat – all animals need to have regular pet wellness exams to ensure they are as healthy as possible.
Many people consider smoking cigarettes to be a slow form of suicide; even smokers admit that they’re killing themselves, and still it’s not motivation enough to quit the habit. But what if they knew that their second hand smoke was also killing their pets slowly and painfully?
Last year a kitten made headlines when it nearly died because its owner had it on a vegan diet. It survived but only because it was given a steady diet of meat. Cats are obligate carnivores, which means they need to eat meat to survive. They cannot get the protein and nutrients they need from a plant-based diet. However, it’s not as simple as stocking up on beef, chicken and tuna to keep kitty well-fed as they have complex dietary needs. Fortunately, it needn’t be complicated to meet them. Read our guide on cat food and good cat diets to keep kitty healthy.
As most cat people know, cats are finicky eaters. What they scoff down one day they put their noses up the next and let you know in no uncertain terms that they’re not going to touch what you’ve dished up for them. Don’t be too annoyed because their fussiness is partly inherent, as they need to be careful about which foods cause damage. The system isn’t always perfect, however, because kitty may develop a taste for some people that you definitely should avoid feeding cats, such as canned tuna and sushi.
Veterinary acupuncture is becoming increasingly more commonplace as veterinarians and the general public become more aware of the benefits of acupuncture when it comes to treating a variety of medical conditions. Acupuncture can even treat serious conditions, like intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) – slipped disc.
There are 7.5 billion people in the world and an estimated 525 million dogs (cat population estimates are too “fudged” to have value). Approximately 86.4 million cats and 78.2 million dogs call America home. And they all have a significant environmental impact.
You are the proud guardian of an older cat. Well done, you’ve kept them healthy this far. But you’ve noticed, as many people do, that the rounded, curvy kitten you adopted now looks a little gaunt, less like the muscular athlete they used to be. Their nutritional needs are changing, so you need to change their diet accordingly.
It’s heartbreaking to see infants of any species suffer, but sick kittens are particularly adept at pulling the heart strings. One of the most common issues veterinarians see in kittens is intestinal parasites. Pets of any age have intestinal parasites, but they are rife in kittens living in substandard or crowded conditions. Intestinal parasites are generally easy to detect because the symptoms in infected kittens are obvious. We’ll take a closer look the symptoms below.
Kidney problems are fairly common in domestic cats, particularly as they age. The kidney performs the vital functions of assisting in the regulation of blood pressure, controlling the fluid content of the blood, production of certain enzymes and hormones, and removing waste from the feline system. So they’re not something little Sylvester can do without.
It’s never easy watching the ones we love struggling through epilepsy; the seizures are frightening to watch and the confusion and disorientation following a seizure are heartbreaking – and that is true regardless of whether your loved one is an epileptic child, parent or dog.
