One of my tasks as a board-certified veterinary internal medicine specialist is interpreting a wide variety of diagnostic tests. One of the most common laboratory abnormalities for which patients are referred to me is elevation of an enzyme called alkaline phosphatase, often abbreviated as SAP, SALP, and ALP. There are…
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Chronic Vomiting in Dogs & Cats – What’s Going On?!
One of the most common problems for which patients are presented to me is that of chronic vomiting. There are a myriad of causes and treatments available. So, this week I wanted to dedicate some bandwidth to sharing more information about this common clinical problem. I hope you find the…
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Macadamia Nuts & Dogs Don’t Mix – A Peculiar Toxicity for Pups!
Whenever my family and I visited my maternal grandparents, my Papou (Greek for grandfather) would obsess about making sure we had enough to eat. There was always a jar of mixed nuts on the coffee table. Inevitably macadamia nuts were among the mixture of delicious nuts. They have such a…
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Lilies and Cats – Be Aware of These Poisonous Plants in Our Furry Felines
Easter is just around the corner in many parts of the world. With this holiday comes a bounty of delectable sweet treats and gorgeous flower arrangements. Indeed, there aren’t many things that are more stunning that fully bloomed Easter lilies. Unfortunately, those plants and many lilies are exceeding toxic to cats. Given the…
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Acute Pancreatitis – A Disease That Should Not Be Ignored!
Last week I reviewed a relatively unknown household threat to dogs and cats – bread dough intoxication. More commonly around the holidays emergency rooms see a spike in a specific type of illness in our furry companions – acute pancreatitis. This illness can manifest at any time of year, but incidence around…
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High Blood Fat Levels in Dogs & Cats
Elevated blood fats/lipids (called hyperlipidemia) are a major cause of health issues in humans. These lipids, most commonly cholesterol and triglycerides, can negatively affect heart and cardiovascular health, often times contributing to death. Both dogs and cats can have high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, but dogs are more often affected.…