A couple of MyPetsDoctor.com readers expressed curiosity about an aspect of last week’s salute of Dr. Leon Turner: the 28-hour semester. Both expressed astonishment that it was possible. One took it as evidence of my dedication to the profession. Actually,…
Dr. Leon Turner is in the spotlight of an ongoing series about people who have been heroes to me in veterinary medicine. I began the educational process toward being a veterinarian while I was still teaching microwave communications electronics in…
Zinc. You can’t live without it. And, neither can your pets. Like so many things, though, more is not better. Overdosing on zinc can be fatal. Zinc is an essential metallic micronutrient, meaning our bodies’ requirement for it is extremely…
“Deeeeep and wide, Deeeeep and wide, there’s a fountain flowing deep and wide.” I never fail to think of that church song from my childhood when it’s time to perform a skin scraping on a patient. I have the late…
Will cats provide the answer to a vaccine for HIV/AIDS? Janet Yamamoto, PhD, professor of retroviral immunology at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, discovered FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) in 1986 when she was a researcher at the…
Acromegaly may be the cause of your diabetic cat having poorly-regulated blood sugar. Acromegaly is defined as an excess production of growth hormone. Growth hormone (GH) is one of many steroid hormones produced by the body. GH is synthesized in…
There is a rumor floating around that Hill’s Pet Nutrition Metabolic diet is the subject of a recall. I have spoken to Hill’s headquarters in Kansas, and they assure me that there is no recall. We were confident that there…
The eating of stool is called coprophagy. Gross to think that he might have kissed you after eating that, isn’t it? “Pica” is defined in Dorland’s Medical Dictionary as “a craving for unnatural articles of food; a depraved appetite as…
Anal sac tumors are insidious. Buried in the tissue between the internal and external anal sphincters, they are often not detected until they are large. By then, they have often metastasized. For anal sac masses detected small, speed is essential,…
Dog jerky treats with Chinese** ingredients have been problematic for several years. And, yet, there is a recent resurgence of news reports, thanks to a renewed push by FDA to warn pet owners about the dangers of these treats. Bottom…
