posted by Tess on Sep 24
The continuing trend in the upward weight spiral isn’t restricted to the human population anymore. While we recently reported that more than 60 percent of men and women are Overweight or obese in this country alone, studies also indicate that that canine Obesity is certainly a significant problem in the United States.
Studies indicate that a staggering 40 percent of domesticated canines in the United States are considered Overweight, a term applied when a dog is anywhere from 5 to 20 percent over the ideal body weight for its size and breed.
Excessive weight and Obesity in dogs pose significant health threats, as well as affect their quality of life on a day-to-day basis. When a pet is Overweight, they have to exert more energy just to move around.
Overweight pets become Sluggish, and often tend not to get the amount of exercise necessary for them to stay healthy. It also detracts from their ability to play and enjoy the outdoors, which in most cases, dogs practically live for!
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posted by Tess on Sep 19
Worms in dogs and cats are tenacious parasites and treatment can be frustrating. In spite of the treatment that you may adhere to for your pet, there is always an underlying risk of re-infection. This is due to the fact that worm larva and eggs can stay dormant in the tissues and intestines for a long time before maturing. The above mentioned condition makes prevention a pertinent aspect of controlling worms in dogs. It is also important to note that some intestinal parasites can only be controlled and total eradication is not possible.
Prevention and treatment of worms depend upon the typical lifecycle of each type of worm. Dog tapeworm and cat tapeworm infest cats and dogs mainly when an infected flea or rodent is consumed. One species of roundworms need a foreign host to mature whereas others can infect cats directly. Some others can infect kittens through mother’s milk too.
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posted by Tess on Sep 18
Parasitic worms in dogs and cats normally reside in the intestines. The one aspect of these parasitic worms is that worm larvae and eggs can remain dormant for years in tissues and wait for an appropriate trigger to surface and infest your pet. In many cases it is the stress factor that acts as a trigger for worms to migrate. Feline parasites like roundworms and hookworms can surface abruptly in advanced stages of pregnancy and transmit to the young ones.
Kittens can get infected while in the womb of the female cat or through the milk of the infected mother. Adult cats can get infected by ingesting worm infested feces. They can also fall prey to these parasites if they consume a prey that is infected. Larvae of roundworms can migrate to various parts of the body and can travel up to the eye and cause damage to vision. Vomiting, diarrhea, an extended abdomen, dehydration, Weight Loss and listlessness are other common symptoms that manifest themselves among cats infested with worms.
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posted by Tess on Sep 13
Tumors form due to abnormal multiplication of cells and can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors are harmless and do not spread. Malignant tumors are progressive and characterized by an uncontrollable growth that metastasizes to other parts of the body.
Apart from the above mentioned properties, tumors can further be classified according to the category of the cells that they affect. Eyelid tumors are a less common type of feline cancer that mostly affects white and older cats. They are also more prevalent among cats that remain outdoors in the sun for long periods of time.
Cancer in dogs and cats is a life-threatening condition that can originate in one part of the body and spread to the others. The issue with the condition is that the symptoms of cancer remain masked or hidden for a long time and surface when it is too late. The symptoms of liver cancer in dogs can remain hidden for a long time since they can be wrongly diagnosed as digestive problems or parasitic infections.
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posted by Tess on Sep 12
Hookworms are relatively more dangerous than other types of worms in dogs. Left untreated, hookworms can lead to death. This is particularly true for young puppies.
Hookworms are ravenous creatures that suck blood by sticking themselves to the intestinal walls of the host. The hookworm larvae can even burrow into the skin of the human foot or leg causing itchy lesions. Hookworms are not so common among the feline parasites that infect cats, but if they do infect a cat, they can be equally problematic for cats, dogs and humans alike.
The most common species of hookworm that infects puppies is Ancylostoma caninum. The natural habitat of this species is warm and humid areas in countryside but they are known to survive almost anywhere. Although the most common mode of transmission to puppies is through mother’s milk, hookworms can also penetrate the skin and get into a puppy’s body. Once inside, they cling to the intestinal walls with their hooks, a characteristic which gives them their name.
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posted by Tess on Sep 11
It may sound a bit strange but the way your dog’s head is shaped has a direct correlation with the risk of developing a nasal tumor. A dog with a long head is more susceptible to nasal tumors than dogs with a short broad heads. The benchmark is a cephalic index, which is the ratio (in percent) of the maximum breadth to the maximum length of the skull. A cephalic index of 75 or less is considered to be a long head.
The logic for a long head to be more susceptible to cancers is simple. The long head has a longer nasal passage and therefore, provides a larger area for environmental carcinogenic substances to accumulate. These substances like smoke from tobacco, indoor coal or kerosene combustion and flea sprays can harm the nasal passage significantly. Breeds with short heads are associated with abnormal narrowing of nasal passageway and are typically mouth breathers. This reduces the risk and the exposure of the spongy bones of the nasal passages to environmental carcinogens is reduced.
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posted by Tess on Sep 10
Hookworms are considered to be the most pathogenic of all canine and feline parasites including Roundworms and dog tapeworm.
Hookworms are excessively greedy blood suckers and cause extensive loss of blood. They ‘hook’ on to the walls of the intestines and draw out blood and ingest it directly. Some can bite and cause lacerations which result in blood leaking. To add to the miseries, the esophageal glands of the hookworm secrete an enzyme that inhibits blood coagulation.
Hookworms can penetrate skin and infect humans as well. Barefoot humans and children who play in areas where dogs defecate are at a high risk of infection. A study of the lifecycle of hookworms can go along way in achieving the goal of treating hookworm infection and eradication of hookworms from the environment.
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posted by Tess on Sep 7
There are five types of intestinal worms in dogs that infect dogs of all ages.
* Roundworm.
* Dog Tapeworm.
* Hookworms.
* Whipworm.
* Heartworm.
Roundworms mainly affect puppies. Out of the two species of roundworms, Toxocara canis and Toxascaris leonine, the former is more prevalent in dogs than the latter. They are about 2cm long when they enter the intestines of a dog. But within a matter of ten days they grow to a length of 6cm. The adult roundworm lives in the small intestines of a dog. There are different paths that the roundworm can take to finally reach there. In the case of puppies, the infection is passed to the young puppy while he is still in the uterus.
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posted by Tess on Sep 4
Of all the body organs, the skin is not only the biggest but also the most problematic organ of the cat’s body. Most medical conditions demonstrate symptoms that relate to skin and coat. In addition external factors like physical trauma and Parasites can also affect the skin in a significant manner.
Like dog skin problems, cats can also suffer from skin disorders that are self limiting and chronic conditions that require treatment over a protracted period of time.
Pruritus: The Itchy Cat
Itching brings forth almost an amazing array of changes in a cat’s skin. Constant itching can make it impossible for the veterinarian to ascertain whether the skin condition has caused the itching or whether the excessive itching has caused the skin lesions. Besides itching, pruritus causes symptoms like symmetrical feline hair loss, damage to skin due to intense scratching and Miliary dermatitis. Miliary dermatitis relates to appearance of multiple crusty lesions that are greasy and filled with cat dandruff. It can also lead to Eosinophilic granuloma complex, a condition where linear inflamed crusts are accompanied by oozing red areas near the chin and the trunk.
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posted by Tess on Sep 3
The l iver is an important organ of the detoxification system in the body. Every human being and pet is exposed to carcinogens. These carcinogens are substances that cause cancer. The liver purifies these carcinogens to a large extent keeping the toxicity levels down.
But in cats, the fungi that appear on spoiled cat-food, specific pesticides and food additives, dyes, plants and animal tissue become toxic only after being metabolized by the liver. These substances can therefore, potentially cause feline cancer in the liver in cats.
Primary liver tumors are rare in cats and most of the times liver cancer in cats appears as a result of metastasis from other cancers. Primary liver tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors do not cause much trouble to the cat unless they grow big enough to encroach upon other organs that are close by. In certain cases benign tumors in the liver may result in lowering blood sugar levels in the cat.
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