Cats and Constipation

 

Does your feline friend strain to poop? Is your cat leaving small, hard clumps of poop in his litter box? Cats like the Scottish Fold and other breeds can be prone to constipation. Call your vet with these signs of possible constipation. Your vet can tell you that most cats like the Scottish Fold will have one regular bowel movement daily. Signs that your cat may be constipated include straining when trying to poop, hard stools, mucous or blood covered stools, loss of appetite, lethargy, vomiting, abdominal discomfort and even lack of self grooming. Call your vet immediately if your Scottish Fold is displaying any of these symptoms as it may be constipation or an even more serious condition. Causes may include a low fiber diet, dehydration, excessive grooming that causes hairballs, ingestion of foreign objects, etc. Treatment may include a stool softener, medication or even surgery. Learn more from your vet clinic Webster NY.

Heartworms In Dogs

 

A heartworm’s best hosts are dogs. Heartworms are parasites that are transmitted by mosquitoes and they can wreak havoc to a dog’s health. A dog gets the infection if he gets bitten by a mosquito that has already fed on another dog that is already infected, acquiring the parasite larvae along the way, transferring them to the former. If your pet dog has been administered preventative medication, the larvae are destroyed. But if the dog is unprotected, the deposited larvae could reach maturity in four weeks' time. They then become robust enough to resist the preventative medication. These parasites make their way to the animal’s heart and the connective blood vessels to the lungs. This is where they reach maturity and proliferate more larvae that get acquired by mosquitos, starting the cycle again.

Dogs infested heavily with heartworms might have a cough, have this pot-bellied look, and lose a significant amount of weight. These extreme infestations could be fatal. There are even dogs that might just up and die without ever displaying clinical signs.

Consult your pet clinic San Diego, CA, and work with them to create a preventive routine against heartworms to safeguard your pet all year round.

Top Behavior Problems of Chinchillas

 

If a chinchilla has been handled since its youth, it will be more receptive to socialization with other humans.  But there is always that chance that a pet chinchilla will develop anti-social habits if it has experienced something negative with humans or has not had the opportunity to interact a lot with them.  Below are just some of the undesirable behaviors that chinchillas might exhibit:

Spraying Urine

●Urine spraying is a behavior that female chinchillas exhibit if there is remaining energy left unspent.  They are very accurate, so much so that with the urine spray, they can hit their intended target, such as a human perhaps or some other object, several feet away.  Urine spraying is a habit that chinchillas exhibit when they become stressed or if they feel that they or their group is under threat.

Biting

●Interestingly, with pet chinchillas, biting is a way of displaying acceptance or affection to their human companions.  However, if they become stressed, afraid, or nervous, they can bite quite hard.

If you have concerns about your pet’s behavior, contact your vet clinic Fort Collins, CO.

Your Dog’s Eyesight

 

Your dog’s eyes are built to have specialized components that allow them to better visualize motion when compared to humans.

 

Dogs are not totally colorblind, contrary to what popular beliefs hold.  But they are usually nearsighted or myopic.  Because dogs do not have the specialized eye structures that let them focus completely on specific outlines of objects, they will have trouble distinguishing objects that are over twenty feet away.

 

Dogs also have narrow peripheral vision.  The degree differs between breeds and the relative sizes of their heads.  Most dogs cannot see the detail in things that are behind them.

 

A dog is able to discern movement from some distance away, but they cannot perceive depth.  Dogs can only focus their vision on what is centrally located on their sights, so when your pet stares at some distant object, their view of the object’s background is still blurry.

 

Any sign of an eye problem exhibited by your pet should prompt a visit to your animal hospital Pasadena, MD.

What To Avoid After Snake Bites

 

When a snake bites your dog, don't attempt to remove the venom. This technique only works in movies. What you should do is to bring the dog to the vet as soon as possible.

Don’t ever attempt to open the bite area because you will only create more wounds on the skin. Similarly, you don't need to use a Snake Bite Kit or Extractor Pump to remove the venom. It doesn't work plus it just costs money.

There’s no need to put ice on the affected part. The ice will only cause the blood vessels to constrict, which leads to the venom concentrated on a particular area. There is also no need to rub any solution on the snake bite since the venom has entered the bloodstream. Any substance applied topically will not help at all. A tourniquet is not needed as well. The tourniquet will only damage the affected area. It might even lead to amputating the limb.

Finally, prevent the dog from moving around. Don’t catch the snake to identify it later on.

If your pet has been bitten by a snake, contact your veterinarians Lakewood Ranchz FL immediately so the staff can instruct you on what to do.  

Reasons Why A Cat’s Eyes May Appear Watery

 

Most young cats acquire respiratory diseases. This disease is common among young ones with the virus as the main reason. There are not a lot of treatments for anti-virus, so the owner has to give supportive care to help the kitten get better. Fortunately, the young cat has a strong immune system to ward off respiratory disease.

Feline herpes virus is another respiratory virus.  It can cause eye irritation in cats. The other manifestations of the feline herpes virus are excessive tearing and partially closing of the eyelid. This condition is also called blepharospasm.

Fortunately, the infection will go away eventually. However, if the cat develops a yellowish or greenish discharge it is probably a sign of a serious health condition. The eye discharge could come from a corneal ulcer or bacterial infection. When the cat starts to produce discharge, it is time to bring the cat to your animal hospital Sarasota, FL for appropriate medical attention.

“Why Does My Dog Eat Grass?”

 

Dogs like ingesting some vegetation at times.  This usually happens in the springtime, when new grass is abundant, tastes somewhat sweet that your dog might be enticed to have a nibble.  Even though it is not fully understood why a dog will eat grass, a small quantity is pretty normal and inherently not hazardous.

Try observing your dog whenever he eats grass.  If it seems excessive and he vomits after ingesting grass, then there might be a problem.  Should you see your dog often eat grass, take him to your vet for a checkup and possibly some diagnostic tests as well.  This will help in figuring out if your pet has gastrointestinal upsets that might cause this behavior of eating grass.  If a dog eats excessive amounts of grass, he might develop grass impaction because the grass is difficult for dogs to fully digest in large amounts.

Your pet’s diet is one of the important concerns that you should discuss with your vet Dutchess County, NY during your pet’s wellness checks.