Pulmonary Hypertension in Dogs and Cats
What is Pulmonary Hypertension? Pulmonary hypertension (PHT) is high blood pressure in the arteries leading in and out of your pet’s lungs. If the high blood pressure becomes too severe, it can cause disease and failure of the right side of the heart. Generally speaking, PHT is a sign resulting from another disease that the […]
Understanding Kidney Failure in Companion Cats and Dogs
If you have found your way here, you probably have a pet who has been diagnosed with chronic kidney failure or insufficient kidney function and you want to know what that means and what you should be doing to return your pet to health or to maintain your pet in good condition. In fact, the […]
Kneecap displacement (Patellar Luxation) in Dogs Ranges in Severity
Patella luxation, or knee dislocation, can range in severity from a patella that can be luxated (dislocated) only in extreme extension and then snaps readily into place, to a patella that is permanently luxated medially (toward the center of the dog’s body). One of the causes of patella luxation is an abnormal shape of the […]
Urinary Incontinence in Companion Pets and How it’s Different from Inappropriate Urination to a UTI
When an older house trained house pet begins urinating inappropriately, many owner confuse this and call it urinary incontinence. Differentiating incontinence from other issues is important as the different causes have very different treatments. Incontinence occurs when, often due to age or female dogs spayed young, when a weak bladder sphincter is present. Often this […]
Feline Heartworm Disease
Cats get heartworm infections! Just like dogs, cats get infected with heartworms. But in felines, the disease presents a little differently and is much harder to detect. Sometimes the first symptoms are respiratory issues and death! Feline heartworm disease tends to be more of a lung disease rather than a heart disease as it is […]
Heartworm Disease in Companion Dogs (tomorrow we will cover the disease in cats)
Early infection Heartworm disease is caused by infection that happens when an infected mosquito bites your companion pet. The larvae from the mosquito bite once it enters the dog’s body is a long one and requires movement through the body and maturation over five to seven months. In that time, the worm is growing, maturing, and […]
Flea Anemia in Cats and Dogs
Fleas aren’t just a nuisance. They drink blood and blood loss can kill. With many flea infestations, pet owners have no idea that flea infestation could be lethal. We all know that fleas can make pets itch. Some of us are all too familiar with the spectacular skin inflammation in a flea-bite allergic pet but we often […]
Lower Urinary Tract Disease in Cats (also known as FLUTD) – Continuing Feline Urinary Issues
The diseased lower urinary tract yields the same symptoms regardless of cause. Bloody urine Straining to urinate (can easily be mistaken for straining to defecate) Urinating in unusual places Urinary blockage (almost exclusively a male cat problem) Licking the urinary opening (usually due to pain) A cat with lower urinary tract disease may have some […]
Urinary Obsrtriction in Cats – Part of Our Series on Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease
Blocked cats are emergencies Recognizing The Emergency Male cats that strain to urinate, vocalize and potentially have a change in attitude and may vomit are indicating that they may have a urinary obstruction. That means, they can’t urinate enough to empty their bladders. Mucus, crystals and even tiny bladder stones can clump together to form […]
Transitional Cell Carcinoma in Dogs and Cats
The transitional cell carcinoma (frequently abbreviated to TCC) is a particularly unpleasant malignant tumor of the urinary bladder. In dogs, it usually arises in the lower neck of the bladder, where it is virtually impossible to surgically remove, and causes a partial or complete obstruction to urination. The urethra (which carries urine outside the body) […]