Mandy writes from Florida: I found my 11 year old 25 pound Pembroke corgi, Dot, standing over open bag of diphacinone (a type of rat poison). Amount consumed unknown but assumed to be small. 30 hours later I took her to local veterinarian who took blood for PT/PTT test and started 25 mg pills twice [...]
Dewormings come in pairs. Deworming medication can kill only adult worms, so if your pet is diagnosed with hookworms, whipworms or roundworms, common intestinal parasites, treatment must follow the proper schedule in order to be effective. If the “first deworming” is given today, the “second deworming” will usually be administered in 2-4 weeks. In that [...]
Editor’s Note: As of December, 2011, Immiticide was again available through Merial’s European source. In April, 2011, we reported that Immiticide, the only approved adult heartworm-killing medication in the United States, was in short supply. For months Immiticide has been rationed by the manufacturer, Merial. During this time Merial has found alternative sources for ingredients [...]
Rajiv writes from Kalra, India: Doctor, my Lhasa Apso, 2 years old, ate a rat which had suspected to eaten rat poison. We tried vomiting with salt water and took to our veterinarian who gave injection to induce vomiting however Scooby slept so he gave Vitamin K injection and gave purgative pills for night. Dog [...]
Cataracts in dogs go through recognized stages as they mature. The lengths of these stages of cataracts varies from extremely fast to very slow. Incipient cataract stage is the first, when a lens defect is first noticeable on ophthalmologic examination. Such defects may be extremely small or may consist of streaks or vacuoles extending from [...]
This is Suzy Q and her owner. Suzy Q has heartworms. As discussed in a first and second post on the topic, we know that dogs who have never been on a heartworm preventive, and dogs who have missed one or more doses of their preventive are at greater risk for developing heartworm disease at [...]
Sheri writes: My cat has a cyst just under his left ear. It started out as a lump, and has grown to be a dangling sac. I want this thing gone. The veterinarian says it’s fine to stay, and the issue is that he can’t be put under because of his heart murmur. Is the [...]
Heidi writes, “Our cat, Meowser, has some hard object just below her knee joint. We tried to clip the hair around it to see if we could loosen it. It does not seem to be attached to the main part of her leg, but it may be underneath the skin. Although we had her front legs [...]
“OK, if it’s important, we’ll go ahead and schedule,” said Griffin’s dad. There are very few things your pet’s doctor will recommend that aren’t “important.” In the present case we were calling our client after failing to obtain a response to two mailed reminders and several phone calls. At Griffin’s last visit, seven months ago, [...]
Sandra writes: “But what if my dog has small ones [sebaceous cysts] that kind of pop up like black dots? I gently squeeze them, the contents come out and his skin heals just fine. Is that ok? It’s pretty much like popping a human pimple.” Just can’t resist them, can you, Sandra? I know it’s [...]
Feline Infectious Peritonitis, FIP, is a disease of cats causing a variety of illnesses. FIP is caused by a Coronavirus, so-called because under an electron microscope it looks like a crown or “corona.” There are a variety of coronaviruses that can infect cats and they range widely in virulence. At one end of the spectrum [...]
We have previously discussed the importance of keeping new pets separated from existing pets. Today we will talk about specific tips and strategies for accomplishing that task. No one will tell you it will be easy. You are facing a usually-short period of about three weeks of dual-householding before your new animals can meet the [...]
Hotpacking is a means of using heat, usually moist heat, to enhance healing of a wound, swelling, sprain, abscess or other disease process in the body. Hotpacking provides warmth, which increases blood flow in the area experiencing the additional warmth. Increased blood flow brings with it higher levels of immune system factors as well as [...]
Shirley writes: Our dog died two days ago and the symptoms were those associated with ingesting rat poison. But we don’t have any poison in our house or in our yard. We don’t have rats. We adopted our dog four weeks ago (three years old about 55 pounds). We were with him when he was [...]
Karen writes: My 8 yr old indoor Siamese has had a tiny, tiny cough only in the mornings the past six months. In the morning, she just gives out a tiny one-time-cough and it doesn’t bother her at all. Would heartworm produce more coughing throughout the day? I have taken her to the veterinarian twice [...]
Maria has a dog with Demodicosis and has a question about her: “My Pug has been under treatment for three weeks now. I don’ t see her getting any better. On the contrary I see more patches everyday. When will I see a difference. Will she grow hair again on the patches?” Maria, Demodicosis can [...]
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