Subscriber Archive
Cats are predators wherever they live. Satisfy those essential primal urges with this cool Indoor Hunting Feeder.
Question: I have a cat who yells and yowls while riding in the car. He starts as soon as I push him into his cat cage. He hates the veterinary clinic. Dr. Nichol: Spewing obscenities and invective during car travel is cat-speak for “I’m homicidal. No, I really am.” Your boy knows that his destination won’t be a feline amusement park, more likely an exam with vaccinations. He’d rather file his knuckles with a cheese grater. There is a better way. Despite their protected lives, our cats hide their illnesses to avoid appearing vulnerable to predators. They’re selling the idea that they have the magic to heal themselves. They’re lying. Deep down, they know at early diagnosis and treatment saves lives. They need modern medicine to feel good and live long as much as you and I. Fear of travel and the funky smelling destination derails this good train. It…
This is serious business. We want our dogs to be trustworthy with children despite kids being, well, kids.
Question: I have 2 cats, 2 years old, that I got at a shelter 1 1/2 years ago. They had at least one feral parent and they are fine except they are almost impossible to be lap cats. I have one trained to sit on my lap but she is very skittish and finicky. The other one won’t sit on a lap unless she kneads my female partner’s underarm. It can get quite irritating. Dr. Nichol: Your kittens might have been cuddle bugs but who they turned out to be was the product of multiple factors. The sensitive period for their socialization to people dogs, and other cats was 2-9 weeks of age. It was during this window of time that their immature brains formed early memories and neural connections that became indelible parts of their personalities. It’s a safe bet that they missed out on exposure to nice folks…
A twisted stomach, filling with gas is a painful medical and surgical emergency. If you have a large breed, deep chested dog you need the facts on bloat, also called gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV).
I stole a few minutes between appointments to call the hospital phone number Greg Trujillo had given me. I’d committed to updating him on Sadie. I drummed my fingers on the desk while waiting for the receptionist to track him down, knowing my next client was also waiting. When Greg picked up I explained his dog’s so-far, so-good status. It turned out that the same was true for Susan, his wife. The poor guy was stressed to the max. I wished them both godspeed and promised to stay in touch. Sadie’s temperature had dipped to 99 degrees but by 7 PM was hovering around 100 – low normal for her species. Her eyes were open and her paws were moving a little. She hadn’t seizured for several hours. I knew that with overnight care, we had a shot at getting her through this. Under normal circumstances, the pet parent would…
Dogs of any age who struggle with Separation Anxiety are miserable – and so are their people. Incessant barking disturbs neighbors; frantic attempts to escape can damage your home. You can spot the signs early and help your puppy adapt.
Third in a series Lying semiconscious in the hot summer sun had driven big, fuzzy, and black-haired Sadie’s temperature into heat stroke territory. Her seizuring ratcheted it to 105. I directed our assistant Doug to pack alcohol-soaked gauze sponges between Sadie’s foot pads to dissipate heat. She also needed treatment for shock, not to mention Golden Malrin fly bait poisoning. With a bit of luck I got an IV started, no easy feat with a dog on the edge of vascular collapse. Amos marked the time on the bottle of lactated ringers and raised it high on the IV stand so it would run fast. (Yes, fluids came in glass back then and, no, infusion pumps had not yet made their debut.) Golden Malrin is a methomyl carbamate toxin. It attracts flies but it can kill anybody. I gave IV atropine to counter its neurologic effects. A series of IV…
We love dogs and so do our kids. When encountering a canine beauty with a gently wagging tail you want to make friends and rub his fuzzy little head. Are you sure the dog is safe to pet? Its person may think so but they could be wrong.