Leash Aggression or Anxiety and How to Improve Your Dog’s Walks
What is an Unwanted Leash Behavior? This refers to a dog’s response to something in their environment which is triggered by anxiety, fear, or frustration. Though it is not limited to these behaviors, the dog may express their concerns by barking, growling, lunging, jumping up, and pulling. As much as reactivity can occur in different […]
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)
What is FIV? FIV is an RNA virus called feline immunodeficiency virus. It is similar to HIV in people, only FIV is the feline version. The life expectancy of the FIV positive cat is variable. Some die within 5 years of infection. Others go on and live long lives, however, may cats, at some point […]
Allergies and Itching in Canine Companions
Coping with an itchy pet can be an extremely frustrating experience for a pet owner and can truly test the limits of the human-animal bond. Persistent scratching and chewing by a dog can also result in open wounds to the skin and pain to your pet. The following information is intended to help provide pet […]
Why Do Dogs and Cats Eat Feces?
Eating fecal material, called coprophagia, can be an extremely distressing issue for dog and cat owners. Whether it’s the pet’s own feces or someone else’s, the act itself is not always a pleasant thing for pet owners to witness. Why does this happen, and what can you, as a pet owner do about it? Below […]
Infected Bite Wounds
An abscess forms when an infected bite wound heals over on its surface and traps the infection inside. Fever is generated as the infection incubates. Diseased tissue and the inflammatory cells liquefy into pus. The pus breaks through the overlying surface skin and drains, leading to foul odor, pain, and discharge. The area may or […]
An Intestinal Parasite You May Not Think of: Coccidia
What is Coccidia? Coccidia is a single-celled organisms that infects the intestine. They are microscopic protozoal parasites detectable on fecal tests. They are not worms but protozoa and infect through shedding of cysts. Coccidia requires different anti-parasitic medication then what’s used for parasitic worms. Coccid is also not visible to the naked eye. Coccidia infection causes […]
Why are my Cat’s Eyelids Prominent? Haws Syndrome in Cats
Haws syndrome is an elevation of the third eyelid in both eyes. It can happen when the cat is sick with something not related to the eye itself. The third eyelid, or nictitating membrane, is a transparent eyelid found in cats, dogs and some other mammals. Its purpose is to moisten the eye as well […]
Fleas: An Ongoing Problem for Cats and Dogs
While there are thousands of flea species in the world, pet owners should be concerned with only one: Ctenocephalides felis, the cat flea. This is the flea found on our pets (cats, dogs, rabbits, and other species) in 99.9 percent of cases. In order to understand how to control the damage caused by this tiny little animal, […]
Feline Upper Respiratory Infection
Symptoms Sneezing Nasal discharge Runny eyes Cough Oral or nasal ulcers Sniffles Fever Hoarse voice Or any combination thereof The agents of feline upper respiratory infection are contagious and occur most frequently when cats live in groups. Getting infected is easy; a cat just simply shares the environment with an infected cat – just like […]
Preparing for Disaster for Your Pets
Pet owners want to do what’s best for their pets in case of a disaster. For reasons related to health and space, pets are sometimes not allowed in public emergency shelters or must be in animal-specific shelters. Disaster animal sheltering is addressed first at the local level, so check with your local authorities once a […]