Tag Archives: cat

November 2017 Pet of the Month – “BEAR” Pessin

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Calusa Veterinary Center would like to introduce our November 2017 “Pet of the Month”.

He is “BEAR” Pessin. 

Bear came to our family in 2009 just a few months after we had adopted three other rescue kitties. It was love at first sight for this tiny little fur ball, although he was a quite sick at the time. Excellent care from Dr. Krawitz made him healthy again, but he later suffered from serious urinary blockages, requiring special surgery. We jokingly refer to it as his sex-change surgery, and now Bear is our transgender cat. In spite of all the poking and prodding he undergoes to keep his urinary issues under control, Bear remains a sweet little guy, with not a mean bone in his body. He loves to play and cuddle with his buddies, both feline and human. He’s also smart. We have a guest room that we try to keep cat-free for friends and family who have allergies. Of course, this makes the room of great interest to all the cats, but only Bear has figured out how to open the door. We now have to keep that room locked all the time so he can’t break in.  

Congratulations to “BEAR” and The Pessin Family for being voted Calusa’s November 2017 Pet of the Month!

The J.M. Smucker Company Announces a Limited Voluntary Recall on Certain Lots of Canned Cat Food Due to Low Levels of Thiamine (Vitamin B1)

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Orrville, OH – The J.M. Smucker Company today announced a limited voluntary recall on certain lots of 9LivesTM, EverPetTM, and Special KittyTM canned cat food due to possible low levels of thiamine (Vitamin B1).

The issue was discovered by the Quality Assurance team during review of production records at the manufacturing facility. No illnesses related to this issue have been reported to date and the product is being recalled out of an abundance of caution.

Cats fed diets low in thiamine for several weeks may be at risk for developing a thiamine deficiency. Thiamine is essential for cats. Symptoms of deficiency displayed by an affected cat can be gastrointestinal or neurological in nature. Early signs of thiamine deficiency may include decreased appetite, salivation, vomiting, and weight loss. In advanced cases, neurological signs can develop, which include ventroflexion (bending towards the floor) of the neck, wobbly walking, circling, falling, and seizures. Contact your veterinarian immediately if your cat is displaying any of these symptoms. If treated promptly, thiamine deficiency is typically reversible.

The affected product was distributed to a limited number of retail customers from December 20 through January 3, 2017.

The affected production includes the following:

Brand Product Description UPC Code Consumer Unit Lot Numbers Units per Case Selling Unit Size UPC Code on Case
9Lives Meaty Pate Chicken and Tuna 7910052238 6354803 12 13 oz 7910052228
9Lives Meaty Pate Seafood Platter 7910000402 6356803 24 5.5 oz 7910000402
9Lives Meaty Pate Seafood Platter 7910000367 6355803 6 4pk
5.5 oz each		 7910003670
9Lives Meaty Pate Super Supper 7910000327 6358803 24 5.5 oz 7910000327
9Lives Meaty Pate Super Supper 7910000286 6358803 6 4pk
5.5 oz each		 7910002860
9Lives Meaty Pate Super Supper 7910052239 6355803 12 13 oz 7910052229
9Lives Meaty Pate Super Supper 7910052239 6364803 12 13 oz 7910052229
9Lives Meaty Pate with Chicken and Seafood 7910000364 (793641) 6356803 6 4pk
5.5 oz each		 7910003640
9Lives Meaty Pate with Chicken and Tuna 7910000324 6356803 24 5.5 oz 7910000324
9Lives Meaty Pate with Chicken Dinner 7910000410 6356803 24 5.5 oz 7910000410
9Lives Meaty Pate with Liver and Chicken 7910000312 (793121) 6355803 6 4pk
5.5 oz each		 7910000312
9Lives Meaty Pate with Ocean Whitefish 7910000420 6358803 24 5.5 oz 7910000420
9Lives Seafood Poultry Variety Pack 7910053377 6307803 24 5.5 oz 7910053377
9Lives Meaty Pate with Chicken & Tuna 7910000366 6357803 6 4pk
5.5 oz each		 7910003660
EverPet Mixed Grill Dinner 7910053114 6356803 12 13 oz 7910053114
Special Kitty Beef and Liver Dinner 8113112120 6355803 12 13 oz 8113112120
Special Kitty Classic Tuna Dinner 8113112157 6358803 12 13 oz 8113112157
Special Kitty Mixed Grill Dinner with printed wrap 8113109609 6355803 1 12 pk
13 oz each		 8113109609
Special Kitty Mixed Grill Dinner without printed wrap 8113112119 6356803 12 13 oz 8113112119
Special Kitty Super Supper 8113179041 6355803 12 13 oz 7910079041

No other products of The J.M. Smucker Company are affected by this recall.

Consumers who have cans of cat food from the impacted lots should stop feeding it to their cats and call us at 1-800-828-9980 Monday through Friday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST or contact us at consumer.relations@jmsmucker.com. 

The recall is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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From the FDA: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm535382.htm

 

Head Injuries in Pets – By: Dr. Siddharth Ranade

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What are head injuries?

As a Veterinarian whose practice predominantly covers emergency medicine and surgery, I frequently see head and neck trauma cases. Head injuries in our pets can occur from trauma to the skull, brain or associated structures from the simplest incidence such as hitting furniture from a height or while playing with other pets, falling out of an owners hands, to trauma in a hit by car incidence. Head injuries can also occur when pets bodies get hit causing the brain to wobble severely inside the skull. Regardless of the inciting cause, the brain tissue, its, nerves, its surrounding blood vasculature and cerebrospinal fluid containing structures are extremely delicate and are easily damaged. The brain is surrounded by layers of tissue (meninges) that contain cerebrospinal fluid which can help act as a buffer. At the same time the brain sits in a skull cavity that has a defined space which cannot expand beyond its limits. If the brain swelling is limited by the skull cavity space, the intracranial pressure increases causing further damage. Inflammation, bleeding and buildup of carbon dioxide inside the brain from any inciting cause will most likely lead to similar neurological problems. Other causes of brain injury may result from drowning, smoke inhalation, asphyxiation from tight collars, causing hypoxia, infections and benign or malignant masses either growing in the skull cavity or in and around the brain; or from metastasis.

 

What are the signs of head injury?

The initial signs of brain injury can extended from a pet having a wobbly gait, inattentive to stimulus, difficulty breathing, cortical blindness, unconsciousness, bleeding and seizures amongst others. The severity of the injury may have a correlation to the inciting cause which will then assist your veterinarian in a prognosis.

 

What kind of therapy would you expect from your veterinarian?

On presentation your veterinarian will most likely start oxygen therapy, keep the pets head elevated, place an intravenous catheter, do a physical exam to find problems that are either neurological, orthopedic, metabolic or other soft tissue injury related. If clinical signs of a head injury based on history, physical exam and clinical signs amongst other problems are noted, your veterinarian will then proceed to make a plan with you to help your pet with medical therapy that will most likely involve, further oxygen therapy, mannitol to reduce the intracranial pressure amongst other therapies such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, hypertonic saline therapy, with medications such as gastric protectants, ant-acids, ant-emetics, anti-inflammatory dose of a steroid,  and antibiotics as deemed fit.

 

 

 

What is the duration of therapy?

After completing initial diagnostics and correlating the results with those on a clinical examination, the prognosis and duration of therapy will depend on the progress of clinical signs of the pet for the better or worse. Every hour to 6 hours of monitoring clinical signs and trends gives a better understanding of the progress and prognosis. Head trauma cases are generally hospitalized for 4 -7 days based on clinical improvement. After that serial exams every day or every other day will continue depending on your pet’s progress.

 

What is hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT)?

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy provides 100% oxygen under a comfortable pressure to damaged tissue of the body such as brain cells, kidney cells, cardiac muscle cells. The tissues are nourished with oxygen which in turn helps reduce edema, inflammation caused from trauma, hypoxia, ischemia, infarction, and pathways of apoptosis and necrosis. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) has helped many loving pets that have head injury, brain, spinal cord and muscle trauma, renal, and myelopthisic disease amongst other problems, recover to live a comfortable and functional life.

 

What’s is the prognosis?

Unfortunately, due to the nature of head trauma injuries, the prognosis varies widely and is based on initial findings and the trend of clinical signs over days. Above and all, what helps our dearest furry family members heal early is a soft touch and tender loving care.

Animals & Anesthesia – By: Dr. Kristen Kline

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Veterinarians are often confronted with pet owners who decline to have important surgical procedures performed on their pet due to fear of anesthesia.  This article will hopefully serve to allay some of those fears and provide a detailed explanation of what an average anesthetic veterinary procedure entails. 
 
Prior to scheduling an anesthetic procedure, your veterinarian will review your pet’s previous medical history and perform a pre-anesthetic physical examination to identify any potential anesthetic risk factors. Often pre-operative blood screens, x-rays, or electrocardiograms are recommended to ensure the pet’s essential body systems – heart, lung, liver and kidneys – are functioning properly. 
 
Once a pet is cleared for anesthesia you will be advised to withhold food and water from your pet for several hours prior to anesthesia.  This helps minimize the risk of vomiting or regurgitation during anesthesia which could result in aspiration of food material into the lungs.   Pre-anesthetic mediations are usually administered to relax and calm the pet before surgery, and also provide benefit post-operatively allowing for a smoother recovery from anesthesia.  Commonly used pre-anesthetic medications include diazepam (Valium) which relieves anxiety, and opioids such as butorphanol or hydromorphone that relieve pain and provide sedation as well.  An intravenous (IV) catheter is then placed into a vein usually in the front or hind leg to allow easy administration of anesthetic drugs and intra-operative fluids.  Administration of intravenous fluids during anesthesia helps maintain hydration and adequate blood pressure.
 
At this point the pet is ready for induction of anesthesia.  Animals that have any respiratory ailments or abnormalities are often administered oxygen for a few minutes before anesthetic induction to help make sure they do not suffer from low oxygen at any time.  Short-acting anesthetic drugs such as propofol or ketamine are administered intravenously to permit placement of an endotracheal (ET) tube into the windpipe, which then delivers oxygen and anesthetic gas to the lungs.  The most commonly used anesthetic gasses in veterinary medicine are isoflurane and sevoflurane.  Once the ET tube is in place the veterinarian is able to control the pet’s breathing and assist with breathing if necessary.  The tube also helps protect the airway from aspiration of stomach material during anesthesia. 
 
Veterinarians use a variety of equipment to monitor pets while they are anesthetized.  Pulse oximetry gives information about the pet’s blood oxygen level and heart rate.  Blood pressure measurement, electrocardiogram, and carbon dioxide exhalation are other important parameters that can be monitored as well.  A skilled veterinary nurse who monitors pulse quality, heart rate, anesthetic depth, and amount of anesthetic gas delivered is the most invaluable key to safe anesthesia. 
 
As the surgical procedure winds down, the anesthetic gas level is gradually reduced so the pet is able to wake smoothly.  Small procedures such as nail trims and ear cleaning are often performed during this time before the pet is fully awake.  Once the pet is able to swallow and sit up on its own the endotracheal tube is removed. 
 
Veterinarians strive to make every anesthetic procedure as safe as possible for your pet. If you ever have questions or fears about any anesthetic procedure please take the time to ask your veterinarian so they can explain it to you and help you make an informed decision.

Holiday Hazards – By: Dr. Cindy Krane

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With the Holidays approaching, ‘tis the season to be jolly. However for our four legged friends, the hustle and bustle of the holiday season can be a stressful one.  The daily stressors from traveling, visiting friends and family, can upset our pet’s routines and schedules. Additionally, house guests may not be as mindful about keeping food and medications out of reach, not leaving stuff on the floor, and/or keeping the doors securely closed.  This can lead to our pets’ getting into things which may cause acute problems.
 
Decorations (like tinsel), and presents (with ribbons and bows), can be particularly problematic for pets.  If ingested they can cause intestinal obstructions (linear foreign body) which can be life threatening and may require emergency surgery. The holiday lighting and extension cords are tempting as well, and pose another risk to our furry family members. Kittens and puppies may chew on the plastic, exposing the wires which may causing severe oral burns or even worse, electrocution and/or death. Holiday plants such as Poinsettias, holly, missal toe and the Christmas tree water may be toxic; causing a varying degrees of gastro-intestinal upset.
 
On average Americans gains seven pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years Day.  Many of us are tempted to include our pets in the festivities.  Pet’s weight gain comes from the table scrapes, new bones and treats we give them, to the food they steal from the counter tops and trash can. These leftovers lead to one of the most common reasons seen by veterinarians during the holiday season.  Some of the symptoms of ingesting garbage, chicken bones, fatty foods or sugary treats, frequently results in vomiting and diarrhea.  Some cases are mild and can be treated as out-patients, while others can be more severe, and may lead to hospitalization of the patient.  Some can be managed by resting the gut, bland diet (low fat, low fiber, highly digestible foods like rice, pasta, cottage cheese, chicken)  and anti-emetics (Pepcid and similar medications). Other cases can be more severe and require IV fluids for dehydration, or surgical intervention for gastric or intestinal foreign bodies.  Ingestion of fatty foods is thought to be an initiating factor in pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas). The pancreas normally secretes lipase and amylase to aid in the digestion of food, and triggered, through a cascade of enzymatic reactions. The clinical signs can mimic those of acute gastro-enteritis,(vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, lethargy), and include fever and abdominal pain.  Pancreatitis can be acute (sudden onset), or chronic (long term); the clinical course can range from mild to life threatening.
 
Desserts can be very tempting and equally dangerous to our pets as the main course.  Chocolate is considered very toxic to dogs.  It contains compounds called methylxanthines (theobromine and caffeine) that can cause, when ingested in toxic amounts, cardiac and neurologic side effects. Initially vomiting and diarrhea, excessive thirst, increased heart rate and hyperactivity are noted; if untreated it can progress to tremors, seizures and death. As a general rule the more bitter the chocolate the more toxic the chocolate. Unsweetened baking chocolate is 10 times more toxic than milk chocolate, and white chocolate contains only a negligible amount of cocoa beans. For those of us watching our calories or sugar intake, Xylitol (sugar substitute) seems like a great alternative; however, it is very dangerous for dogs causing life threatening hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), or liver failure.
 
Fruit is also a part of our festivities, but please avoid grapes (and raisins) since they may be toxic too, which can lead to kidney failure.  On the other hand, Cranberries are not known to be toxic, so you can safely include them in your holiday feasts.  This holiday season, we need to be prepared as well as safe and to remember our pets during the process.  Have a wonderfully safe holiday season!