• Cryptococcosis in Cats – A Feline Fungal Infection

    I’ve been diagnosing and managing some interesting infectious diseases in my patients recently. These intriguing cases have kept bacteria, fungi, and infective organisms at the forefront of my mind. So much so that this week I’m sharing some tidbits about the most common systemic fungal infection in cats – cryptococcosis.…

  • Aspiration Pneumonia in Pets – Going Down the Wrong Pipe!

    Oxygen is unquestionably required for life. Without our lungs, oxygen can’t get into the bloodstream to be transported to cells throughout the body. Sometimes inappropriate bodily fluids end up in the lungs because they were inhaled (aspirated) into the airway. The resulting lung inflammation and infection is called aspiration pneumonia.…

  • Dental Cleanings & Your Pet – What You Need to Know!

    Dental health is important for both humans and pets. Diseased gums and teeth readily cause halitosis (bad breath), and can be a sign of a serious health problem. Dental diseases can also affect other organs of the body too. Since February is National Pet Dental Health Month, I was to…

  • Immune Mediated Polyarthropathy – A Joint Attack

    My favorite aspect of practicing medicine is treating diseases caused by dysfunction of the immune system. In previous blogs, I reviewed two common immune-mediated diseases – immune-mediated hemolytic anemia and immune-mediated thrombocytopenia. A less commonly appreciated condition of immune system dysfunction is immune-mediated polyarthropathy or IMPA, a disease where the immune…

  • GI Foreign Objects – A Big Pain in the Gut

    Dogs and cats like to chew on things. That fact won’t come as a shock to any pet parent. Unfortunately, they also like to swallow some of those foreign items on which they nibble. This week I spend some time discussing how to help your fur baby should you find…

  • Repeating X-Rays – Are Specialists Wasting Your Money?

    Veterinarians order radiographs (often called X-rays) for their patients on a daily basis. These special pictures of bones, joints, and internal organs help us figure out what may be causing our patients to be sick. Some of these ill and injured pets are ultimately referred to board-certified veterinary specialists for…