Thanksgiving Day is rapidly approaching. Thursday night, Friday and through the holiday weekend veterinarians will be treating cases of acute gastrointestinal (GI) inflammation and pancreatitis all over the country. Indeed, all over the world in areas where Thanksgiving is celebrated. Why? Because pet owners will be feeding leftover people food to them, thinking it is [...]
One of the most terrifying maladies a pet owner can face with his four-legged friend is a seizure. Even the mildest forms, in which a pet simply stares off into space disconnected from the world, can be terrifying. When seizures reach the most dramatic stage, the grand mal seizure, the helpless onlooker is terrified. Let’s [...]
A diagnosis of heartworms is not a death sentence, even in a somewhat older dog. Precious “Sweetie” came to see us this week, her first doctor’s visit in her 8-year lifespan. Not surprisingly, having never been on a heartworm preventive and living in a swamp-surrounded, mosquito-laden area of a southern state, her test came back [...]
“Dr. Randolph, is she just too old to have surgery?” Thirty years ago this client’s statement would have applied to any pet over six years of age. Twenty years ago that age limitation might have been set at age ten. For the last ten years age, alone, is not a consideration for which patients we [...]
In an ongoing series, MyPetsDoctor.com has informed you about laboratory tests your pet is likely to have performed as routine screening tests, as preoperative tests, and as tests designed to diagnose illness. Today we’re going to look at tests commonly performed on urine. The most basic is urinalysis, which is performed in two parts. First, let’s [...]
Urinary incontinence is a common problem in dogs and a less common problem in cats. Workup for urinary incontinence begins with a thorough physical examination followed by routine screening laboratory tests: Complete Blood Count (CBC), Chemistry Profile and chemical and microscopic urinalysis. In the CBC we will be looking for anemia which might be driven [...]
Great news for Martha! Martha’s test results are back and I’m happy to report that our initial worries reported July 2, 2009 prior to testing were not confirmed. Martha does have a couple of a common feline kidney problems. It is important to understand about kidneys that they have many, many functions. While we won’t [...]
Here is a real-life example of what can (and did) happen when fear of anesthesia causes a pet owner to delay important needed care. Dutchess came to our hospital in October, 2008, for a routine vaccination visit. We had previously diagnosed cataracts in both eyes, a heart murmur in her chest, a growth that needed [...]
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