I have a list of what I call "chum" topics on the blog, topics that are guaranteed to bloody the waters and bring in the sharks and ruin my little oasis of calm and rational discussion. While I don't mind talking about controversial things, it's not worth it unless we're trying to find some common ground- right? Which is why I've waited a good long time to say how I feel about declaws, because it never seemed to accomplish anything. But times change, and I think based on what I'm seeing around ... Read more »
Cats
What Your Natural Health Magazine Doesn’t Want You To Know
After the fifth time someone forwarded me "The Shocking Truth Your Vet Is Hiding" type articles in the past week, I had to take a stop from my scheduled 12 Days of Clinics to address it. I debated on a few clickbait titles for this post: alt: "Why Magazines are Getting Away With Murder" alt: "The Shocking Truth These Publishers Are Hiding" It doesn't really matter what the title is or if it related to the content anyway, but I imagine you already know that. But let's step back a moment, ... Read more »
Cures what ails ya
In the olden days, people used to turn to carnival medicine men or the back pages of Look Magazine for the latest way to solve all of their problems. People don't change, just the technology. Now we have the internet to turn to. If the web is to be believed, and it always is for some reason, there is a new cure for all the world's ills. That cure is coconut oil. It's good for your hair, your skin, your GI tract, your dog, your mental health, and your aura. It's anti-inflammation and ... Read more »
Awesome App Alert: Pet First Aid
You're on a walk with your dog. He looks tired. You don't know if he's just tired from the walk or if he's showing early signs of hyperthermia. What do you look for? Unless you have a lot of experience with dogs or happen to have an emergency medicine textbook on you, you might not know. But thanks to increasingly cooler and better apps, you can get some immediate reassurance from your smartphone. The latest must-have app for dog and cat owners just came out, and at $0.99 there's no reason ... Read more »
Summer Reading List, Vet Version
It says right there on my FAQ that I don't do book reviews. Not because I don't like doing it, but because approximately two seconds after the review book arrives I start to get emails: "didyougetitdidyoulikeitwhensthereview" from the publishing house interns whose job it is to do things like that. Which is completely fine, except for the fact that I don't read very quickly and I just couldn't handle the pressure. I will do book reviews, just as long as no one cares when I get around to it. ... Read more »
Spay Day, that Golden study everyone’s talking about, and why I still happily remove testicles.
Today's the day- 2013 Annual World Spay Day! I have to tell you, it doesn't tickle the old joy centers quite the way, say, Ben and Jerry's Free Ice Cream Cone Day does, but it's here and I'm glad it exists. Now, two things to note before I give my thoughts: 1. Although it's called "Spay Day", the event encompasses both spay and neuter. Nobody's trying to leave the fellas out, I think it just rolls off the tongue better this way. 2. Yes, I know it's a Humane Society of the United ... Read more »
Do What’s Right
Last night at the North American Veterinary Conference I was sitting with a group of wonderful veterinary students, and we were chatting about practice and whatnot, when all of a sudden it occurred to me that I was the senior veterinarian in the group. As in, the things I was saying were now the Pearls.Of.Wisdom from on high, and the idea that I've been doing this long enough to have wisdom to impart is simultaneously horrifying and delightful. Wow, I'm the wise one! Good Lord, I'm the old ... Read more »
Adopt the net: Transitioning a rescue pet into a new home
We, the collective animal loving internet, have done a great job of telling people to "Adopt, Don't Shop." We do it so much that people say it without thinking, assume without asking, and demand without discourse. Now, don't get me wrong: I absolutely support the concept, and this is why I am here writing a post today in honor of Petside's Pet Net Adoption Week. It's why I've adopted lots of pets over the years. But this is only half the equation. We tell people they should adopt, and why they ... Read more »
3 Tips for a Happy Cat Vet Visit
It's National Take your Cat to the Vet Week, which ranks right up there with Get Your Annual Prostate Exam Week and Pull Off Your Toenails Week on the fun scale. I know it's not fun, for you or for the cat. It's a necessary evil, one of our first lines of defense in catching disease processes early before they are crisis situations. In fact, most vets recommend taking your cat in twice a year, though we know from surveys that less than half of you take your cat in unless he or she is sick. Do ... Read more »
We love food allergies! Come to the party!
OK, I guess that is probably overstating things to say I love food allergies. I don't love diseases. But I love talking about food allergies, for reasons not known even to me. I just think it's fascinating stuff and there is still so much we are trying to figure out. As many of you know, Apollo has food allergies. He had a late onset in life, at 7 years of age; he had been on fairly consistent diet ingredients most of his life. He had shown some symptoms of dietary intolerances before he ... Read more »
Hey Internet: Normal Sized Cats are Cute Too
The internet is obsessed with cats. We all know this. But for some reason, it is particularly obsessed with fat cats. I'm not talking slightly round, I mean morbidly obese balls of fur with little eyes peering out in mute supplication. Pictures of people holding a 25 pound cat dangling helplessly from their arms like a kid in a snow suit are especially popular. And then they become news items like Meow, who would have been just another sad shelter relinquishment except for the fact that ... Read more »
Inside Natura: Part One
What makes a pet food good? How do you pick a pet food? I'm genuinely curious. The number of choices out there is dizzying, isn't it? It's one of the biggest challenges of being a pet owner, standing in those aisles, peeking up and down at the bags and trying to figure out based on the information we have at hand what is going to be the best choices for our pets. But where do we get our information? From our own research. From the guy in the pet store. From the vet. From the company who ... Read more »
Eat this, not that: Easter edition
It may not rival Thanksgiving or Halloween in terms of numbers of ER vet visits generated, but Easter still has its share of pet related dangers, especially when you have a dog or cat who is prone to the occasional counter surfing. If you have a pet who never does this, pat yourself on the back. Good work. Now for the rest of you, the best way to manage the weekend is to make a few simple substitutions so that if Fluffy does manage to grab a bite of something when you're not looking, the worst ... Read more »
Scientific progress goes boink: viruses, renal failure, and you
A thin, dehydrated cat presents to the clinic with the complaint of malaise, inappetence, and weight loss. I tent his skin and watch as I let go, the gummy flap at the nape of his neck sitting still instead of snapping smartly back in place. His breath has the sour smell a vet might describe as "uremic", common in cats with renal failure as the kidneys are overwhelmed with their job of filtering waste from the blood. Bloodwork confirms what we suspect: this older cat is in kidney failure, and ... Read more »
What’s in your meal? Aside from BS
Every now and then I get a sample of food for the dogs to try. As I've said before, I rotate through multiple brands, and if I've written about a specific food on the blog, it's one I've given to the dogs at some point. I don't mind trying new brands- my local pet store just started carrying some new brands this week, and I bought a couple to try out. I'm not averse to new foods, as long as giving the label a good once over doesn't give me reason to feel otherwise. I look for several things: ... Read more »
Hill’s Science Diet Ideal Balance Giveaway
The holidays are right around the corner- and to celebrate I have the first of a series of giveaways running between now and the New Year! To kick us off, I have TEN chances to win either: Hill’s® Science Diet Ideal Balance™ Grain Free Adult Chicken & Potato Dinner dog food - OR - Hill’s® Science Diet Ideal Balance™ Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Dinner cat food So here's the interesting thing about pet food nutritionists, and this is the same across the board in terms of the big ... Read more »
Animal Use in Pet Food Research: The Hill’s Approach
One of my primary goals when I am invited to tour a pet food manufacturer is to see their animal welfare policy in action. It's probably one of the most commonly asked questions when it comes to pet foods: do you use animals to test your foods? And how do you use them? There was a time, a little over a decade ago, when animals were used quite a bit by various companies. They were used in various ways, including terminal studies in which the animals were euthanized at the end of the study. ... Read more »
Hills Tour Part 1. By-products: What’s in a name?
Last week I had the pleasure of joining some of my favorite pet bloggers out in Topeka to tour the Hill's Pet Nutrition campus. I really enjoy going to these types of events for a lot of reasons: one, I always learn something. Two, it's really helpful from my perspective to get to meet the individuals behind a brand and get a feel for who these people are and how they embody a company's vision. (I own a grand total of two sweaters, by the way, neither of which actually provides any actual ... Read more »
