Some Spring Flowers Could Kill Your Pet

Spring is here = my allergy nightmare...

Just a reminder, there are a lot of blooming plants that could be very toxic to your animals if ingested.

Did you know that Lilies can cause kidney failure in cats? All parts of the lily plant are considered toxic to cats and consuming even small amounts can be life threatening.

Here's a list of Toxic and Non-Toxic plants from ASPCA.

* Pay attention to your dog at the parks, especially if  the your dog has a tendency to eat grass/plants.

Allowing Pets To Sleep In Your Bed Increases Chance Of Catching Diseases

via AolNews.com

What?!  Does this mean I can't snuggle with my dog in bed anymore?  Most of the pet owners I know sleep in the same bed with their pets!

A study to be published in next month's issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Emerging Infectious Diseases says that sleeping with your pets increases the chances of contracting anything from parasites to the plague.

The experts in zoonoses (diseases or infections transmitted from animals to humans) reported:

"The risk for transmission of zoonotic agents by close contact between pets and their owners through bed sharing, kissing or licking is real and has even been documented for life-threatening infections such as plague [and] internal parasites."

"We wanted to raise the attention of people, as sleeping with a pet is becoming quite common, and there are risks associated with it, even if it is not very frequent, but when it occurs, especially in children or immunocompromised people, it can be very severe."

The study also shows that disease from cats is far more prevalent, and often more serious.

Some examples:

• Cat scratch disease - is known to infect 20,000 people each year and is caused by a simple scratch or bite from a cat who has infected fleas or flea feces (gross) on them.  The pathogen can cause swelling of the lymph nodes and sometime lethal damage to the liver, kidney and spleen of humans.
• A 9-year-old boy from Arizona got the plague because he slept with his flea-infested cat.
• A 48-year-old man and his wife repeatedly contracted MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which their physicians eventually attributed to their dog. The animal "routinely slept in their bed and frequently licked their face," the California experts reported.

Scarrry...  Apparently a Japanese woman even contacted meningitis after kissing her pet's face!

Make sure to take your pets in for regular checkups & don't forget about flea preventative treatments all year long!

Well... I think I'm still going to snuggle with my dog tonight.

Home Remedies for Dog Ticks, Fleas and Ear Mites

Did you know that if your dog has ticks/ear mites, you can just use olive oil to suffocate the bugs so they'll let go of your pet's skin?  That's good to know!

via Dogster.com

Did you know that cats can transmit Toxoplasma parasite to us??

WTH?  I was just watching the National Geographic and learned how our domestic cats can transmit Toxoplasma parasite...  Makes you think 2x about not cleaning your litter box daily & just tossing the dirty cat litter in the trash bin!

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Toxoplasma is the third leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States. More than 60 million men, women, and children in the U.S. carry the Toxoplasma parasite!!  Wait, huh? what?!!

How this parasite can be transmitted from an infected cat: 

• Accidental ingestion of oocysts after cleaning a cat's litter box when the cat has shed Toxoplasma in its feces
• Accidental ingestion of oocysts after touching or ingesting anything that has come into contact with a cat's feces that contain Toxoplasma
• Accidental ingestion of oocysts in contaminated soil (e.g., not washing hands after gardening or eating unwashed fruits or vegetables from a garden)
• Drinking water contaminated with the Toxoplasma parasite 

Learn more about Toxoplasma & how to prevent/reduce the risk of infection...

Canine Parvovirus season

I often have to tell customers why we require vaccination records for grooming before we take in new dogs, especially puppies.  Just imaging our dogs out and about sniffing and walking through all kinds of wonderful stuff daily, you know they can't bathe themselves everyday!  They are exposed to viruses that can be easily prevented with vaccines.  A Nor Cal vet recently saw an increase in Parvo.  Parvo is a commonly known nasty virus & can easily spread directly/indirectly through a sick dog.    See full story via Andersonvalleypost.com

"The virus attacks the gastrointestinal system and can lead to lethargy, vomiting and bloody diarrhea."

"The virus passes from the dog through feces, and the virus can live for seven years in the soil, King said. Dogs that are kept indoors are not protected from the virus either, as people can carry the virus from the outside on the bottoms of their shoes. The change in weather can bring it up out of the ground."

So protect your furry kids!  The best treatment is prevention!

When Hormone Creams Expose Others to Risks

"Veterinarians around the country are reporting a strange phenomenon: spayed dogs and cats, even some puppies and kittens, are suddenly becoming hormonal.

In female pets, the symptoms resemble heat: swollen genitals, bloody discharge and behavioral problems. Male animals are showing up with swollen breast tissue and hair loss. Standard treatments and even repeated operations have had no effect.

Now vets have identified the culprit. The pets were all owned by women who used hormone creams on their hands, arms and legs to counter symptoms of menopause. Animals who licked or cuddled their owners, or rubbed up against their legs, were being inadvertently exposed to doses of hormone drugs."

See full story - nytimes.com

Top 10 Dog and Cat Medical Conditions of 2009

According to VPI - One of Nation’s Largest Pet Insurers, these are the top 10 reasons why we take our furry kids to see the vets.  Yup, we were just there for ear infection on Monday...

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