News

[From Tufts January 2012 Issue]

The American Veterinary Medical Association recently produced a five-minute video, available on its website, about the controversial procedure of declawing. Its recommendations for pet owners boil down to this: First, try some of the many non-surgical alternatives to stop cats from scratching your favorite easy chair or carpet. If these dont work, and it becomes a choice between declawing and surrendering your cat to an animal shelter or, even worse, euthanizing him, consider the surgery.

Heres what is involved in the procedure: Each of the cats claws and the third bone of every toe are removed with a laser, blade or nail trimmers. If the bone is not removed, the claw will eventually grow back. Most often, the procedure involves only the front paws. A laser reduces the risk of bleeding, and some veterinarians believe that it also …

I have a 2-year-old, neutered male seal-point Siamese. Ever since we adopted him, he has been mean, often biting and scratching. In the past year, he has calmed down somewhat, but every now and then when he is sitting in my lap, he suddenly attacks and bites me really hard. A couple of months ago, I had to make an appointment with my doctor because I developed cat scratch fever. Even with medication, my arm still bothers me. Why is my cat acting so weird and so aggressive? We got him when he was a kitten, and we are very kind to him.

[From Tufts February 2012 Issue]

If you need further motivation to brush your cats teeth regularly, consider this alarming statistic provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association: More than 70 percent of cats show some sign of periodontal disease by age 3.

No, that is not a typo. It is age 3. Not only does periodontal disease cause bad breath, gingivitis and tooth loss, infection in the mouth can spread through the bloodstream to internal organs and lead to life-threatening conditions, including diabetes and kidney disease.

February is Pet Dental Health Month, a vital campaign sponsored by the AVMA and supported by the Veterinary Oral Health Council.

Most people have no idea that dental health is so important to their pets, and thats why Pet Dental Health Month is such a great idea, says Larry Corry, DVM, AVMA…

The most common kind of liver mass that we see in a cat is a lesion called a biliary cyst, or hepatobiliary cystadenoma, and theyre benign, meaning that they dont tend to spread to other places in the body, explains Dr. Berg. Theyre often not very invasive into the liver, so in many cases, they can be removed with a fairly straightforward surgery."

Frustrated and perplexed as to why her cat Caleb was chewing and ingesting non-food items, Stephanie Billingham, PhD, a psychologist, came to me for help. She couldnt seem to stop this 4-year-old blue point Siamese from eating part of the cuff from a pair of pants, chewing holes in socks and t-shirts and curiously, consuming wrappers.

[From Tufts March 2012 Issue]

The eyes of cats and dogs are quite similar to our own, but there are notable differences. Feline eyes were designed with the night hunter in mind, one reason that cats have the largest eyes of any meat eater. If our own eyes were proportionally the same, human eyes would be eight inches across.

The difference between cat and dog eyes goes beyond size. The way pets see influences how they interact with each other — and with us.

"Placement of the eyes in the skull affects the animals' ability to see, as it affects their binocular field of view versus monocular field of view," says Christopher Pirie, DVM, veterinary ophthalmologist and Assistant Professor at Cummings School of …

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[From Tufts April 2012 Issue]

It's Sunday night. Your veterinarian's office is closed, but your cat has vomited a few times in pretty short order. Do you:
a. Take her to the nearest veterinary emergency room?
b. Give her some fresh water to settle her stomach?
c. Wait and see how she's doing the next day?

Your cat has come in from outside with some puncture wounds on her back but otherwise seems okay. Is the right course of action to:
a. Jump in the car and have her x-rayed right away for internal injuries?
b. Keep a close :…

[From Tufts April 2012 Issue]

How guilty should you feel when you leave your cat alone for a few days?

If your cat is healthy, not very, say the veterinarians at Tufts Cummings School. "You can't be a prisoner in your own home. You can't never go on holiday," maintains the head of our Animal Behavior Clinic, Nicholas Dodman, BVMS. Even Dr. Dodman's own tabby, Griswold, who is deaf but likes to cuddle and comes running to be tickled and petted when he feels the vibration of footsteps, has to make do without housemates when the Dodmans are out of town for a couple of days.

Fellow Tufts vet Linda Ross, DVM, agrees that a cat in good health can be left alone sometimes. "Some of my cats do get lonesome," she says. "And they like to…

[From Tufts May 2012 Issue]

"It's a little bit creepy," says Catnip Editorial Board member Elizabeth Rozanski, DVM. "Larvae migrate from the intestine into the bloodstream and, from there, to the lungs, where they set up housekeeping. They get bigger, maturing into adult worms, and then lay more eggs, or larvae." In the meantime, the worms can cause asthma-like symptoms — difficulty breathing, coughing, and, if things become severe enough, even emphysema, fluid in the lungs, or pneumonia.

Lungworm disease usually occurs in kittens, particularly kittens "from sketchy backgrounds," says Dr. Rozanski — those who live almost entirely outdoors and eat …

[From Tufts May 2012 Issue]

Q I know there are dog treats that say on the label that they will prevent tartar and periodontal disease. Any such products for cats?
LaVerne Gurley
Humble, Texas

Dear Ms. Gurley,
A A number of cat treats are labeled as good for the teeth, but none has received the seal of acceptance from the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC), the only independent company whose word is accepted by the veterinary community at large. However, there are cat foods for the regular diet that contain the seal, which means the product can help with plaque and tartar control. They include Hill's prescription Diet Feline t/d and Science Diet Oral Care Diet for Cats (go to www.VOHC.org for the complete list).

…

If you compare the Guaranteed Analysis on a can of wet cat food to the one on a bag of dry kibble, the dry food would seem the obvious choice because it shows much higher percentages of protein, fat, and fiber. But thats only because canned food, which contains more water, is more dilute. The nutrients the cat actually ingests in a serving are more dependent on the product than the form in which its delivered. There is no inherent reason to feed canned or dry food other than pet or owner preference, says Lisa Freeman, DVM, PhD, a veterinary nutritionist at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. What is important is to select a good-quality food manufactured by a well-known, reputable company. Granted, for cats with lower urinary tract problems, including bladder stones or cystitis, wet food makes a better choice because of its higher moisture content.

[From Tufts June 2012 Issue]

Annabelle, a 5-year-old Ragdoll, had been lethargic with little appetite. She was hiding under the bed - unusual behavior for her. The intact cat also had vaginal discharge. Her owner, Ragdoll breeder Denise Celona of Rutland, Massachusetts, took her to the local veterinarian, thinking the cat had developed a uterine infection called pyometra. An x-ray was inconclusive on that score, but it did show that the heart was enlarged and ovoid, or egg-shaped, which is not normal for cats. At that, Annabelle and her owner were referred to the Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine.

By the time emergency and critical care specialist Sean Majoy, DVM, saw Annabelle, she was having difficulty breathing. Her respiratory rate was up significantly. On examination, her,…