Sometimes medical issues in our cats and dogs are straightforward to diagnose and treat. More often, however, health problems can be ambiguous. This week’s post is dedicated one of the most common and vague reasons for which pet owners bring their pets to be evaluated by veterinarians, that is: weakness.…
As a new home owner, I’m in the process of landscaping my property. Suffice it to say, I want a lot of greenery – plants and shrubs, galore! Yet one type of plant I plan to avoid like the plague is the sago palms. Why? They are intensely toxic to…
Infectious organisms are everywhere. Bacteria, viruses, and fungi threaten our pets every day. Some prefer specific environmental conditions to thrive. Two such organisms are Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii, the microbes that cause coccidioidomycosis or Valley fever. This week I hope you’ll enjoy learning more about this important infectious disease…
I love mice and rats. I think they make great first pets for children. I also know not everybody shares my adoration for these rodents. Indeed, many go out of the way to expunge them from their homes, employing various traps and poisons. One common type of rodenticide contains a…
The heart is unquestionably a vital organ. Unfortunately, sometimes it doesn’t develop properly in utero, and these congenital defects can range from minor and inconsequential to life threatening. This week I share information about a relatively common congenital heart defect called subaortic stenosis. Please consider sharing it with other pet…
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…
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…