There are several things to be concerned with when horses have been badly out of shape. It can alter their mental state of mind. More than this even is the physical issues to correct and to dodge while on the road to recovery.

Founder or laminitis is an issue in the feet that causes tremendous discomfort. It can be caused by a sudden overload of feed, drug, stress and concussion (once called “road founder”). Horses that are fat can be extremely susceptible to this as and so can very skinny horses whose nutrition is increased in order to put weight back on them. Prevention is much better than cure. Extreme cases can result in rotation of the coffin bone in the foot which presses on the sole, creating a great deal of pain.

This is a disease which has resulted in euthanizing of famous and unknown horses alike. Secretariat, the legendary racehorse, was a laminitis statistic as well as Barbaro. Modern veterinary techniques can cut the tendons, which relieves pressure on the coffin bone but cannot change the prognosis of severe cases. Horses with this disease are often heavy in the front end or have suffered an injury that causes them to shift their weight to the other foot. Horses affected often rock back in an attempt to take the weight off their sore front feet. Back feet can also be affected.

I admit it, I cried watching this video:

Abscesses are another issue that can affect the feet. Like founder it can often happen in the front feet and the horse will shift the weight backwards to ease the pressure. The difference is that abscesses are very fixable. Horses that have been in wet or muddy conditions can come up with these. If you pick up the foot and gently but firmly press with the handle end of a screwdriver on the foot you can often narrow down where the abscess is.

Treatment involves having a veterinarian or farrier dig out the abscess. You will need to keep the horse in a clean, dry stall until it is healed. Sometimes a daily soak in a pan of water and Epsom salts is recommended to draw out the abscess and speed healing.

Colic is another problem that can occur, especially in cases of parasite overload added to poor condition added to stress. Colic is a general term for a belly ache and in a horse is a very serious situation requiring veterinarian intervention. Often the horse begins with being uncomfortable, perhaps laying down more than normal. If you make him get up he’ll lay down again, often trying to roll. This means getting the horse on his feet and walking him by hand.

As the spasm hits he may try to go down but it is important to keep him up and walking. It might seem ‘cruel’ but if it takes hitting him with ropes or whips to keep him up on his feet it’s that important to do it. The more a horse rolls the higher the chances of the intestine twisting. If this happens the choices are euthanization or surgery, and they may or may not make it out of the expensive surgery.

These three issues are not uncommon but do need rapid treatment. Do some research into these conditions, particularly if you are taking on an abused horse. And having a good equine veterinarian is important. It maximizes the chances of recovery for your horse to have quick action for these problems.

Sick Cat

* Emergency phone numbers (vet, emergency vet, poison control – 888-4ANI-HELP or 800-213-6680) and maps to vets’ offices
* First-Aid pet book
* Bach Rescue Remedy (for shock, stress, fear, trauma and injury in all pets)
* Sterile gauze pads and gauze bandage rolls
* First-aid adhesive tape (not Band-aids)
* Cotton balls and Q-tips
* Tweezers
* Scissors
* Hydrogen peroxide
* Styptic pencil or cornstarch (stems blood flow from minor cuts)
* Antibacterial ointment
* Hydrocortisone cream
* Antiseptic wipes (you can get sting-free)
* Kaopectate® or Pepto-Bismol®
*Milk of Magnesia or activated charcoal (for poisoning but ALWAYS call your vet or poison control BEFORE administering)
* Sterile eyewash
* Eyedropper or large syringe (to flush wounds or administer oral treatment)
* Mineral oil (a lubricant and laxative when given by mouth)
* Digital thermometer (you’ll need a “fever” thermometer, which has a higher scale)
* Heavy gloves (to protect you from being bitten)
* Exam gloves (preferably latex and powder free)
* Leash and collar
* Splint materials (tongue depressor, 12-inch wooden ruler, etc.)
* Muzzle (an animal that is frightened and in pain is unpredictable and likely to bite!)

“Cats are rather delicate creatures and they are subject to a good many ailments, but I never heard of one who suffered from insomnia.” ~ Joseph Wood Crutch

Here’s Comet. You can find him (as of this writing) waiting for a forever home on petfinder.com. He was found wandering a busy street after his owner had abandoned him.

For goats, abscesses, especially on the shoulder, jaw or neck are often signs of “CL” – caseous lymphadenitis, a disease of the lymphatic system. Where there are external abscesses there are usually internal ones as well. This is a contagious disease and one that goat owners try to keep out of their herds. If an abscess ruptures it can contaminate the environment – so often these goats are sold at first sign of abscess, then pass from home to home as they get sicker. This can be a recurring disease that seems to go away but then more abscesses break out.

Chronic wasting disease is another fatal disease that can occur after weight loss. Spread by deer and elk, CWD can be spread to other ruminants including goats.

CAE is yet another goat disease often characterized as neglect or abuse can be passed from dam to kids via milk, this is a big reason for pasteurizing milk to feed kids. Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Syndrome is often seen after progression as enlarged joints. Another form of the disease can show from 1-4 months as progressive weakness, lameness, un-coordination, difficulty in rising after lying down and eventual paralysis.

Still another serious disease is Johne’s (Yo-nees) disease which can affect ruminants, including goats. It is caused by a bacteria that is shed in the manure. It cannot multiply outside the host animal but is hardy and can survive both heat and cold. It multiplies rapidly once in another animal.

These diseases can show weight loss even when the animal is on full feed. While goats are normally very hardy animals, lack of research into their health issues often means that owners have to be proactive in eliminating this from the herds.

As animals pass from home to home they become stressed, which can cause progression of disease on the compromised immune system. And for a number of animals that have ended up in rescue situations it is disease, not abuse, that may be the reason.

There is little more heartbreaking than getting attached to an animal and finding that it is dying from disease. And though the animal may live for a couple of years, in that time it is contaminating the environment for the next animal.

Thus it is up to a prospective owner to be familiar with the challenges and be prepared for all possibilities. These diseases are too important for the goat owner to ignore.

“If Providence didst beards devise
To prove the wearers of them wise
A fulsome goat would then, by nature,
Excel each other human creature.”
~ Thomas D’Urfey

Other articles of interest:

5 Tips To Heed For Goat Rescues

Could You Love A Pygmy Goat?

How heartworm is spread.

First, let’s not lessen the danger of heartworms to your pup.  Treatment can be quite painful for him and will certainly be expensive for you. Left untreated heartworm is deadly. Prevention is as simple as a little pill (or natural alternatives mentioned below), so I urge you to dose your pet, but only when necessary.

Mosquitoes are carriers of the worm. When a mosquito bites an infected dog it ingests the heartworm larva. That larva is then transferred to an uninfected dog when the mosquito slurps up its next meal. (Don’t worry, it’s extremely rare for people to get heartworm though other species, including ferrets, cats and horses, can be infected). Here’s the thing! According to DVM, Diplomate (ACVIM) David H. Knight and PhD James B. Lok , specific conditions must exist in order for the larvae to develop in the mosquito so that they are able to pass on the parasite to another host.

Simply put, the weather must stay above 57F for about 30 consecutive days and nights for the larvae to reach maturation, when they can then be passed from the mosquito to another host. If temperatures remain above 80F for about 15 days and nights this will accelerate the maturation process.

When to give heartworm medicine.

So, it becomes apparent that heartworm has definite seasonal and geographical limitations. Where I live I only medicate my dogs for about eight months of the year because the weather is simply not conducive to the spread of the infestation.

It is also generally accepted that the pills are effective for 45 days, though recommended dosage is every 30 days. The monthly dosing cycle is easier to remember but keep this in mind – the “preventive” medicine is actually a cure. The pills contain a chemical pesticide that kills the larvae but which is also toxic to your pet. Side effects for the drug are vomiting, diarrhea,  lethargy, convulsions and seizures. Long term use may also cause liver and kidney breakdown, skin afflictions, arthritis and other degenerative problems.

Do you need to give heartworm medicine at all?

Dr. Jeffrey Levy DVM makes a compelling case for not using harsh chemical drugs and suggests that the best defense is simply to maintain a healthy animal and employ constitutional homeopathy. Another alternative is nosodes – homeopathic remedies derived from matter taken from a sick animal – which are considered quite safe and effective.

I actually use nosodes myself, with great success, for allergies. And,in light of what I’m learning about the dangers of heartworm medications, intend to ferret (I couldn’t help the pun) further into nosodes as an option for my pets. Meanwhile, I’m not ready to let go of the drugs just yet but will continue my 8-monthly, 45-day dosing routine and, of course, annual heartworm check-up.

“All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.” ~ Samuel Butler

Sick Dog

In a recent posting I mentioned the “Old Maid” at the dog park and the possibility of dogs transmitting disease to each other. If you read the article it should come as no surprise that the old maid has been in a tizzy about the doggy flu (canine influenza – H3N8). As soon as he heard of it he whisked his pups off to the vet for vaccinations and, since then, has opined endlessly about the “dire epidemic” facing the canine population.

Apparently, the ASPCA is thinking along the same lines as they have announced today that they will be conducting a three-year study on canine influenza. Frankly, I think there’s probably a lot of hype to this (as with the swine flu) but I decided to do my own research. Here’s what I found….

From the CDC:  Key Facts About Canine Influenza

Things to know about the H3N8 dog flu

What you need to know

So, to sum up….  As I thought, the Old Maid was over-reacting as usual. A healthy dog is unlikely to catch the H3N8 virus and, if she does, will recover with normal care. Dogs most at risk for the flu (puppies and older or ill pets) are also most at risk of adverse reactions to the vaccine, so consider alternatives such as simple avoidance of other dogs and use a quality diet with immune-boosting supplements. If you still think perhaps you should vaccinate, then discuss your pet’s health with her doctor before making a decision.

“Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” ~ Agnes Sligh Turnbull

This is the time to begin artificial respiration (rescue breathing) if you are to save your dog’s life. If the heart stops, you will have to give chest compressions to keep the blood pumping. The combination of these two actions is CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Dying of heat?

Thanks to Chris Petescia (http://carrotcreative.com) for this image.

Artificial Respiration

1. Lay your dog on its side on a flat surface.

2. Be sure your dog has stopped breathing; watch for the rise and fall of the chest, feel for breath on your hand, look at the gums – they will turn black from lack of oxygen.

3. Check the airway – it must be clear. Open the mouth and look for foreign objects. If an object is blocking the airway, grab the tongue and pull it forward. If this does not dislodge the object then use your fingers, pliers or tongs to grasp it. If the object cannot be reached or pulled out, use the Heimlich maneuver.

4. Once the airway is clear, begin rescue breathing.

5. With your dog on its side, lift the chin to straighten out the throat.

6. Use one hand to grasp the muzzle and hold the mouth shut.

7. Put your mouth completely over the nose and blow gently; the chest should expand. Blow just enough to move the chest (be gentle for small dogs and cats).

8. Wait for the air to leave the lungs before breathing again.

9. Repeat, giving 20 breaths per minute (one breath every three seconds), until your dog breaths on his own or as long as the heart beats.

10. Continue to monitor the heartbeat.

CPR

If your dog’s heart has stopped beating, alternate artificial respiration with chest compressions using one breath, then five compressions. For two people performing CPR together, alternate one breath then the second person should do three compressions.

For Small Dogs and Cats (under 30 pounds)

1. Lay your dog on its side on a flat surface.

2. Lay the palm of your hand on the rib cage over the heart. Place your other hand on top of the first. (For puppies or kittens put your thumb on one side of the chest and the rest of your fingers on the other side).

3. Compress the chest about one inch. Squeeze and release rhythmically at a rate of 80 to 100 compressions per minute.

For Medium and Large Dogs (over 30 pounds)

1. Lay your dog on its side on a flat surface.

2. Place one hand on top of the other over the widest portion of the rib cage, not over the heart.

3. Keeping your arms straight, push down on the rib cage. Compress the chest 1/4 of its width. Squeeze and release rhythmically at a rate of 80 compressions per minute. Continue until your dog breathes on his own and has a steady heartbeat.

It should go without saying (but I’ll say it anyway), get your pet to the vet as fast as possible or you may still have a dead dog on your hands!

“Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun” ~ Noel Coward.

Additional resources: Dog and cat anatomy images.

Ditto in the toilet

Drinking from the toilet is not something I recommend for pet owners. (For Ditto, in a household of nine cats it’s his special “thing”). I do recommend, no… insist, that cat owners make every effort to poison-proof their homes, starting with the toilet. Don’t use those things you hang over the bowl or drop in the tank. Even if you usually put the seat down on your toilet someone only needs to forget once and it could be curtains for your cat. If you feel you have to use harsh cleaners then flush several times after cleaning to be sure there’s no residue.

Feline curiosity is legendary and that extends to tasting all sorts of tempting, but potentially lethal, plants, foods, chemicals, human prescriptions, cleaning products and on and on. A friend of mine lost his cat when she got into a closet and chewed on the mothballs. What make this worse is that I’ve actually heard mothballs recommended as a deterrent to cats. Well, yeah, I’d say killing the cat is definitely a way of deterring it! Keep your cat away from mothballs, people!

In some ways cats are like babies. Their mouths house primary sensory organs and putting things in their mouths allows them to explore taste and texture. So in addition to removing dangerous substances from the home, offer alternatives to keep kitty occupied. Start with a sound diet so your pet doesn’t have to search for food. Get cat grass as an alternative to your exotic plants. You’ll find it at most pet stores for a healthy price or buy seeds and grow your own. You can get a free sample of seeds here.  Even if your feline is the outdoors type, she’ll appreciate the fresh young stalks. Live catnip is also great and can be found at most major pet stores (again, for a hefty price). I found it for less on ebay – just search for “live fresh catnip”.

And use toys and other diversions so your cat won’t have to go looking for something to do.  That can be a recipe for disaster.

For lists (and they’re long) of substances that are poisonous to cats take a look at these pages:

http://www.cfainc.org/articles/plants.html

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/a-poison-safe-home.html

If your pet is poisoned….

The obvious thing is to get to a vet as quickly as possible. Cats, of course, don’t conveniently get sick during your vet’s operating hours, so make a copy of this informationfrom the ASPCA. Post it on your refrigerator where everyone in the house will know where to find it. Highlight the poison control number –(888) 426-4435. Program the number into your cell phone and the speed dial of your home phone. Sometimes, seconds can count.

“There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast” ~ Unknown

Recently, however, I’ve been revisiting the possibility with one of our cats who suffers from severe and chronic urinary tract obstructions. He’s on a special diet that is supplemented with a daily dose of valium. And, while I’m not comfortable with the drug, it is buying me time to search for alternative solutions that are less drastic than the Perineal Urethrostomy (PU) he may otherwise have to undergo, where a portion of the penis is removed and a new urinary opening made.

Let’s put things in perspective.

BARF (bones and raw foods) proponents can be almost rabid (get it?) in their zeal for the diet. Reading much of the BARFing information available online left me with a rather nagging feeling that I was a less than responsible pet owner if I didn’t subscribe to the raw food mantra. Being someone, however, who likes to get to the meat of a matter (there I go again) I decided I needed to do a little more research and then put my little gray cells to use pondering the issue as objectively as possible. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Today your pet is more a scavenger than a hunter. BARFers say the origin of the dog is as a hunter who would eat its prey raw, including bones, and that it is genetically pre-disposed to eat that way. Okay so far. But does that mean today’s dog will live longer and better by eating only raw foods.

Here’s the thing, Paleolithic man ate raw meats and, as best my research can deduce, was capable of living (I’m not talking about life expectancy) to age 60 or 70. Modern man eats a totally different diet and is capable of living to 120. On this basis, why would you think that modern dog can’t live on today’s customary diet as long, longer or as well or better than early dog on a raw diet? And another thing; dogs became domesticated at least 15,000 years ago and man began cooking foods about 10,000 years ago. So who knows what scraps might have been tossed from the cooking fire to the early Neolithic canine. And the adaptable Canis lupus familiaris, becoming more reliant upon the whim of man for food, morphed from hunter to scavenger, eating just about anything offered or found.

Cats are a slightly different kettle of fish (ha, ha!). The hunting instinct remains strong but, I know with my own felines (when they were outdoorsy types) they would catch and kill but very rarely eat their prey.

2. How many of you would put a plate of raw chicken in front of your family and expect them to gnaw it down to the bone? Believe it or not there is a small faction of people who only eat raw meats. But, here’s the thing. Do you trust the quality of the food? There’s a reason why the FDA recommends that we thoroughly cook all our meats! Going organic might be a solution but who can afford it?

3. There are conflicting definitions of BARF. Some people consider it to be any raw meats and bones that you could get at any butcher’s. Then there is pre-packaged, so-called “raw” food. Lastly, something that is termed a “biologically appropriate raw diet”. This requires feeding your pet whole animal carcasses (fur and all), such as rabbit or fish or other game that would have been natural prey in centuries past.

Let me tell you a quick story regarding the first of these. My friend, trying to do the right thing by her leonberger, was feeding him raw meats and bones from the supermarket and farmers’ market. As time passed the dog became generally lethargic, depressed and began to have digestive problems. The doctor suspected the diet as the problem, explaining the meats we buy at the market are not the meats your pet would have caught in the wild. They could be several weeks old; have been frozen and defrosted; pumped with hormones, antibiotics and other additives. Also, there’s often no knowing what the animal was fed before slaughter. Could have been meal and grain sprayed with pesticides and fertilizer, which your pet will then ingest. I don’t know about you, but to me this doesn’t seem to be any improvement on a diet of commercial food.

The packaged raw foods are actually dried or frozen meats combined with a small amount of vegetables and other, supposedly, essential nutrients. Unquestionably, these are processed foods and, to my mind, not BARF foods. That said, however, if I had all the money in the world I might try them for my pets but they are very expensive. Wysong offers dog, cat and ferret food; Nature’s Variety has just dog and cat formulas but they offer a 1lb trial size for $4.99.

Regarding the “appropriate raw diet”, I can see logic in that but still find flaws. Unless you’re absolutely sure of your provider you still run the risk of poor quality meat. There are sites online where you can buy frozen rabbits and other animals for feed but, here’s something, they advertise that the animals are fed a “scientifically designed and nutritionally complete diet”. What does that mean? And frozen isn’t the same as fresh. Frozen meats can harbor fungi, parasites and bacteria. My point being, there’s a downside to everything.

Of course, you could take your shotgun out in the woods and bag a wild rabbit or squirrel but who knows what diseases or parasites they may carry? Do you want to risk infecting your pet with a rabid chipmunk or wormy, flea-infested rabbit?

4. You probably need supplements with a BARF diet. Hey, people on organic diets still require supplements these days so it makes sense that your pet will.

5. Raw bones can get stuck in the esophagus and intestines. We all know (I hope) that it’s dangerous to feed cooked bones to your pet but raw bones aren’t always safe either. Take a look at these pictures.

The Bottom Line:

I’m not convinced. I read one BARF blog where the owner was extolling the health of her pets, commenting how sleek their coats are, how fit and happy they are, and I don’t doubt it in the least. However, there are countless thousands of other equally fit and happy animals with beautiful sleek coats who have been fed on commercial products.

Let’s face it, your pets can drink from the toilet, lick each others butts and chew all kinds of (to us) disgusting things, yet still live long and healthy lives. That being said, I am emphatic that your pet be given a quality diet, which I believe can be found in commercial products. And I’m not against raw food. I just think you need to do careful research before making a switch to BARF.

As for my little cat, I’m going to continue feeding him the veterinary formula he’s now on. And I’m arming myself with a number of homeopathic and Chinese remedies to try and wean him off the valium. He won’t eat raw meats but at some time I may switch him to Wysong or Nature’s Variety and see how it goes. My other “kids” will continue with their more affordable mix of dry, canned and home-cooked meals. Considering they all came as “damaged goods” it’s working really well for them.