Pet Herbal Info Blog

Caring For Your Pet Naturally and Holistically


Archive for August, 2010

Is Pet Health Insurance An Option?

Most pet owners aren’t aware that health insurance for their loved animals has been available for about 15 years now. However, both the availability and restrictions on most plans have made this type of health insurance out of reach for most pet owners.

Interestingly enough, pet health insurance has changed in the past couple of years. Now, animal owners are able to afford medical procedures previously prohibitive because of the cost. But many skeptics are concerned that health insurance for pets will see an increase in the red tape us humans already encounter every day.

Animal medicine is one of the few health care services that isn’t financially dependent on health insurance. Medical, dental, surgical and pharmaceuticals are all pretty much covered by health insurance in humans, but veterinary patients are responsible for all of that, themselves. Or, at least their owners are.

Health insurance for pets is very similar to insurance for humans. The same fees, deductibles, coverage rates and plans are all in place, with different plans based on the age, species, and general health of your pet.

One of the major problems that veterinarians face is diagnosing liver disease in dogs and a possible liver failure. The liver is a multidimensional and a multi-functional organ in the body that also has an immense reserve capacity with self-regenerative properties. During the course of performing its functions, the liver aids and is aided by quite a few of other organs in the body. Due to this inter-relationship, it is often affected with primary as well as secondary diseases.

Usually most of the ailments have specific symptoms that make it easy to identify the disease easily. The symptoms of liver disease in dogs , however, present two major problems:

* They surface very late, often when the disease has progressed to an extent that treatment poses a major challenge.
* They duplicate with symptoms of other minor conditions, which often lead to confusion over whether it is liver disease or any other disease that is manifesting itself.

One of the indicative signs of liver failure is the yellow appearance of gums and mucous membranes, observed in jaundice. Jaundice is associated with excess levels of bilirubin, an orange-yellow bile pigment.

Symptoms of asthma in dogs include heavy breathing, panting, use of chest muscles to breathe, odd gum color and lethargy. Learn about treating an asthmatic dog with help from a staff veterinarian in this free video on dog health and pet care. Expert: Dr. James Talbott Bio: Dr. James R. Talbott is a staff veterinarian at Belle Forest Animal Hospital and Kennel in Nashville, Tenn. Filmmaker: Dimitri LaBarge

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  • Filed under: Cats & Kittens
  • Essential Oil Safety And Cats

    By Sue Martin

    Please be wary of any animal practitioner or supplier of essential oils claiming that their products or techniques are completely safe to use with cats: the statement is both inaccurate and unsafe. No matter what their claims say, nothing will change the unique physiology of a cat.

    Generally, essential oils consist of hydrocarbons or monofunctional compounds from mono-and sesqui-terpenes, together phenylpropanoids and other volatile aliphatic and aromatic substances.

    Many terpenoids are rapidly absorbed orally and dermally by the cat’s system and are metabolized in the liver. Due to their volatile nature, inhalation of essential oil components is also possible, and these enter the bloodstream via the lungs, also to be metabolized in the liver.

    The terpenoids and their metabolites are often conjugated with glucuronic acid (glucuronidation) and glycine depending on the type of terpenoid and animal species involved. The conjugated metabolites are usually more water-soluble and are easily excreted through the kidney and feces.

    Cats are known to be deficient in their ability to eliminate compounds through hepatic glucuronidation (they lack enzyme glucuronyl tranferases) . Glucuronidation is an important detoxification mechanism present in most animals except cats. Lack of this important detoxification mechanism in cats may result in slower elimination and thus build up of the toxic metabolites in the body causing toxicity problems.

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  • Filed under: Cats & Kittens
  • Equine Water Walker

    GG Engineering`s Walter Walker www.ggengineering.com.au

    I have had my cat for 14 years, he’s still healthy and running around… well I had him litter box trained for the first 4 years. Then he just started going outside and using the restroom. The only problem is that I’m moving from a house in the country to an apartment in the city. I’m afraid to let him out to roam around… I won’t be moving for about another 2-3 months. Is there anyway I can possible re-train him in the litterbox?

    Herbal Help for Dog Parvo

    About Parvovirus

    Parvo is a viral disease that affects dogs. This illness can cause severe digestive symptoms, as well as fever and shock and may even prove fatal. Parvovirus attacks rapidly dividing cells like those in the lining of the gastrointestinal tract as well as developing white blood cells. In this way parvovirus leads to symptoms like bloody diarrhea, vomiting and loss of proper immune system functioning. Puppies are more commonly and more severely affected than adult dogs due to their still-developing immune system. Puppies can easily succumb to this disease, especially when the virus infects the muscle of the heart.

    The first indications of Parvo in an infected dog are usually high fever, lethargy and loss of appetite. Later, vomiting and diarrhea develop. The stool is often bloody and may have a yellowish color and noticeably foul odor. Without effective treatment, dehydration, shock and even death may follow.

    How do dogs contract Parvovirus?

    Canine parvovirus is carried by dogs, many of whom show no symptoms themselves. The virus is also shed in the diarrhea of infected dogs and can subsequently survive in the ground and the outside environment for a very long time – even several months.

    Cat Training At the Louisiana SPCA

    Over 3 weeks in June 2008 the Louisiana SPCA hosted 14 campers in 7th and 8th grade. 4 cats were trained: Cornish, Mia, Nezzie, and Tux. After thier experiences with the campers they were put up for adoption. After the camp all the campers wrote about what thier favorite thing to do at camp was. Overwhelmingly, the answer was train the cats!

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  • Filed under: Cat Training
  • My girlfriend is Certified dog trainer and has clients wanting to have her board their dog while training for one month. How much would you charge an individual for one month?

    mhlnk.com – Click the link above for Pet Bounce pet arthritis, arthritis dogs, arthritis cats FREE bottle offer straight to your door. pet bounce, buy pet bounce, purchase pet bounce, pet supplies, dogs symptoms, dog symptoms, dog health, pet health, dog problems, dogs health,…

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  • Filed under: Dogs & Puppies
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