Newsletter

Dental care is vital to your pet's health! If you've already established a dental care program for your pet, you're off to a great start. But if your pet hasn't received a dental exam from your veterinarian, it's time to get started. February is National Pet Dental Health Month, the perfect time to schedule a dental exam for your pet and develop a home care regimen for your best friend.

Why is dental care so important for your pet? Periodontal disease is the number one diagnosed problem in pets - by the age of two, more than 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats have periodontal disease in one form or another. The buildup of plaque and tartar on your pet's teeth leads to bacterial infections that can enter the bloodstream and infect other parts of your pet's body. Periodontal disease has been linked to heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease, osteoporosis and other problems.

The good news is that periodontal disease is easily prevented. Routine dental cleanings and a home dental care regimen can eliminate the plaque and tartar that lead to gum disease and oral infections. During a dental cleaning, your veterinarian also performs a complete oral examination of your pet. This includes screening for oral cancer, broken teeth and cavities. Spotting these problems early on makes them easier to treat and improves your pet's overall oral health.

Your pet's dental cleaning is more involved than the same process you go through at the dentist's office. Anesthesia is required to keep your pet still and comfortable during the procedure. Because of this, your pet undergoes a thorough physical examination before each dental cleaning. Laboratory blood tests, as well as other diagnostic procedures are also used to screen for potential problems and risks before anesthesia is administered. Using these results, we develop a safe anesthetic protocol specifically for your pet.

During a dental cleaning, tartar is removed from your pet's teeth with a hand scaler. Next, a periodontal probe is used to check for pockets under the gumline - where periodontal disease and bad breath start. An ultrasonic scaler is used to clean above the gumline and a curette is used to clean and smooth the teeth under the gumline and in the crevices. Finally, the teeth are polished and an anti-bacterial solution is used to help delay future tartar build-up.

Dental care doesn't end in your veterinarian's office. Brushing your pet's teeth at home is an added level of protection against gum disease. In order to be most effective, brushing must be done at least three times a week; however, daily brushing is ideal. Brushing your pet's teeth can be supplemented with antiseptic rinses. Some pet foods and treats are also effective in preventing plaque and tartar buildup. However, there is no substitute for regular brushing and professional dental cleanings.

Schedule a dental examination and cleaning for your pet today. Your best friend will thank you!

There are many ways to communicate with your cat. Although we don't speak the same language there are ways to understand what your cat is trying to tell you through vocalization and body language.

MEOW!

If you listen closely to your cat's vocalizations throughout the day, you might notice that she or he expresses far more than a typical meow. Along with body language and the "signatures" produced by marking with scents glands, claws or urine, vocalization is an important and expressive communication tool for cats. Cats use sound to let other cats and humans know if they are happy, scared, or angry.

The range of cat vocalizations can be broken down into three broad categories: murmurs, vowel patterns and strained intensity patterns. To put it into human perspective, cats can go from whispering to screaming depending on the situation. Murmurs, produced while the mouth is closed, include purring, chirping, and mating vocalizations. Vowel patterns include the more recognizable "meow" and are produced when the cat opens its mouth and then closes it. Strained intensity vocalizations are, in contrast, generally a sign of distress and are produced when a cat holds its mouth open with a prolonged sound. Such emotional sounds also include growling, hissing and screaming. Though hearing these sounds can be distressing to a human, it is equally if not more upsetting to the cat.

Tricks of the Tail

A cat's tail acts as an extension of its feelings and as a warning of its intentions. A good rule of thumb is, the higher the tail, the better the mood. Broad swishing indicates agitation or annoyance, while twitches are a sign of excitement and curiosity. If you notice your cat giving you the signal of annoyance by swishing his tail from side to side, it might be wise to keep your distance. Often a batting paw will follow a swishing tail! A straight tail with a slight curl at the end (imagine a tail in the shape of a question mark) indicates general contentedness and is a sign of a happy cat. A puffed tail generally means that something has spooked the cat, hence the picture of a black cat with an arched back and puffed tail that is commonly associated with Halloween.

Watching Ears

In general, a cat will hold its ears erect and forward. This means that it is relaxed, following a daily schedule or offering a friendly greeting. When the ears go down, however, watch out! Ears laid flat and back against the head indicates aggression. This helps keep them out of the way of teeth and claws if a fight erupts. Ears back but down indicate fear, but aggression is always a possibility depending on the cat's personality. A frightened cat can often be an aggressive cat.

Cats are a communicative bunch. If you pay attention to your cat and know how to read the signs you are given, you can have an open and mutually beneficial relationship. If you can avoid handling him in a way that makes him unhappy, this avoids the risk of turning your happy, purring kitty into an angry, growling kitty, making life for both of you that much more enjoyable!

Dogs are not only our friends, but also our protectors. And in this case, they even keep our beds insect-free! Today, dogs are increasingly being used to help sniff out bed bug infestations around the nation. Companies like "Sniff K9" even offer bed bug certification programs – where dogs run the show. Sniff K9 works with people at their own homes, or those in the hospitality and retail business to ensure that rooms and products are bed-bug free. You can also buy these bed-bug sniffing companions.

The recent surge in these services is due to an increase in bed bug infestations experienced around the country. "Bed bugs are no longer common simply in cheap motels," stated the co-founder of Sniff K9, "but are now frequent at even 5-star facilities and luxury boutiques."

Dogs are used because of their incredibly keen sense of smell. What dog is best for the task, however, may be up for debate. Sniff K9 uses Labradors because they are characteristically fearless, especially when it comes to searching small spaces, relatively low maintenance, and are particularly good at detecting scents. Although seemingly odd or unconventional, the method appears to be a rather effective and quick way to keep these unwanted guests out of your bed.

One aspect of cats' behavior which some owners find difficult to accept is hunting, especially when the cat insist on bringing her prey home. Hunting is a very strong instinct in cats and the techniques can be while watching young kittens at play. As the kittens grow older, the skills are finely honed through further play and by watching the mother and mimicking her when she hunts.

Hunting is entirely natural for cats and takes place even when they are well fed at home. They evidently enjoy the hunt, stalking patiently and carefully, moving forward and freezing with single minded concentration until they are close enough to pounce. If the cat returns with her kill and presents it to her owner, the reason is possibly because you should congratulate her on her hunting prowess. There is really no point in trying to punish your cat for hunting as it is a part of her nature that is so deeply rooted that to try and eliminate it may well cause her a lot of confusion. Playing catching games with your cat using toys may help to relieve some of her urge to hunt.

One solution is to put a bell on her collar so that the birds and other likely victims can hear her coming. If you do this, make sure that the collar has an elasticated section so that she can escape if it gets caught up on some object. It is important to worm your cat regularly, particularly if she hunts. Consult your veterinary hospital for more advice on de-worming.

Half of all dogs will develop some sort of cancer in their lifetime and one in four dogs will die. These are the sad statistics of this dreaded disease that affect people and pets. Canine cancer is so prevalent that it is the leading killer of dogs over the age of two. The Canine Cancer Project is now underway to help fund studies aimed at eliminating canine cancer in the next ten to twenty years. Watch this video to learn how you can help eradicate cancer in your dog’s lifetime!

Ultrasound is a non-invasive, modern technique that produces a visual imprint of the interior of the body. It allows the doctor to achieve a depth of detail that is not possible with X-rays.

Veterinary Ultrasound Machine

Abdominal ultrasound allows the user to fully examine the liver, gallbladder, spleen, adrenal glands, pancreas, kidneys, urinary bladder, and parts of the stomach and intestines. Ultrasound examination of these organs is crucial when a diagnosis depends upon seeing inside an organ, or when surgery or anesthesia would not be desirable. Abdominal ultrasound is completely painless, and generally can be performed using no anesthesia or sedation. Abdominal ultrasound has revolutionized the study of liver diseases, and is crucial to treating many types of cancer.

It’s fairly easy these days to find someone to walk your dog, feed your cat, or clean your rabbit’s cage while you are out of town. But many people, even in urban areas, are finding ways to keep chickens. These are not family pets; they are primarily food sources. They provide fresh eggs, keep bug and pest populations down, and are fun to have around the yard. The problem? It’s not easy to find someone to watch the henhouse when owners need to fly the coop.

Chickens can be aggressive and dangerous. When threatened, they will flap their wings, fly up at your head or arms, and peck with their beaks. They often attack the hand that tries to take their eggs.

Fortunately for bird keepers, some enterprising pet sitters, like Easy Acres Chicken Sitting in Los Angeles, have added chicken sitting to their menu of offerings, and for $20 a day, they will clean the coops, collect eggs, and drop off food and fresh water. This company will even let free-range chickens out and collect them at the end of the day.

In a slow economy, it pays to be creative, especially for small companies and individuals trying to stay afloat. Expanding the list of species is one way that pet sitters can gain new clients. Those who aren’t “chicken” to care for urban and suburban flocks will find that more and more people are opting for fresh eggs and looking for intrepid caretakers for the birds.

We all claim that we have the smartest cat. And maybe you do. But is your cat a musical genius?

Ketzel, a cat from the Upper West Side of Manhattan, sure was. Ketzel died this summer at the age of nineteen, but has left in her paw steps a musical legacy. Ketzel was a composer – an award-winning composer, in fact, who won a prize at the Paris New Music Review’s One-Minute Competition for a piece she pawed onto her owner's piano one morning in 1996. Morris Cotel, one of Ketzel's owners, was the chairman of the composition department at the Peabody Conservatory, who claimed Ketzel as "one of his best students." Cotel was shocked the morning Ketzel composed her one-minute-wonder, which he claimed to have a "structural elegance … with a beginning, middle, and an end." Cotel took note of his cat’s masterpiece and submitted it to the competition. Although he explained the composer's identity in the entry form, the judges were not told that "Piece for Piano, Four Paws," truly was written by four paws.

Ketzel's piece premiered in 1998 in Peabody. It was later performed in Europe, over public radio, and at the Museum of the City of New York, where the composer herself was in attendance. After announcing Ketzel's piece, a meow was heard from the back of the hall acknowledging her new claim to fame.

Now that is one smart cat.