Featured Articles
Cancer in Cats and Dogs – Pet tip 230
The word cancer scares the heck out of most people. Most of us know someone that has had cancer and many of us know of friends or family members that have died of cancer. In terms of a basic definition, …
White Cats
White cats, like all white animals in general, are both valuable – and vulnerable. The white of their coat is not a real colour but rather the absence of colour, which also means absence of protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. It is the variety and distribution of natural “dyes” in an animal’s skin and fur that explain different coat colours and patterns. One of these dyes is melanin, the chief protector of skin against ultraviolet radiation. The skin of white cats has either no melanin at all or very little of it, which is why they are far more vulnerable to sunburn and cancer of the skin than coloured cats. The “classical” wild-type cat is a brown tabby, which combines optimal protection from the sun with a camouflage pattern that hides it from predators.
Pica in Dogs and Cats – Pet tip 151
You’ve probably heard about a million pet owners claim “my dog eats anything” or “my cat eats everything”. Maybe you’ve even said so yourself. More often than not, when people make these statements, we chock it up to exaggeration. People …
Blastomycosis in dogs
Perhaps you have heard of ‘blasto’ in dogs, it’s an important disease that all dog owners should be aware of.
Blastomycosis dermatitidis is the most common systemic mycosis of dogs. Systemic meaning that it can affect the whole body, and mycosis, meaning that it is caused by a fungus. It is called ‘dermatitidis’ because it affects primarily the skin, but it can also affect other body parts, such as the vascular system.
Blastomycosis is largely confined to the Ohio, St. Lawrence and Mississippi river-drained areas of North America. It is a soil organism, which can be inhaled by a dog. It is often found growing on dead leaves along a river. The classic case of a dog getting blasto is a young male hunting dog following a trail and sniffing eagerly along a river-bank. It is most common from August to October, since this is when leaves are falling off trees and the mould version of the fungus can grow upon them.
Cat tricks – You can teach cats to do tricks – Pet tip 112
Many people don’t believe that it is possible, but you can train a cat and you can teach a cat to do tricks. Although teaching a cat tricks is rarely as easy as teaching a dog tricks, with a little …
Stud Tail and Cats – Pet tip 229
In order to be a diligent cat owner we must pay keen attention to any noticeable changes on our cat’s body. Sometimes it’s easy to spot a difference as in the case of a large growth. Other times though, you …
Megaesophagus in Dogs
‘Mega” means big and esophagus means, well, esophagus. Therefore, megaesophagus is exactly what you think it is; it’s a big esophagus. But if you want to know a little more about megaesophagus and why it is a problem, keep on …
Ear Problems in Cats – Pet tip 104
Just like humans, cats can have the occasional problem with their ears and just like humans their internal ears (their ear canals) are made up of three sections; the outer or external ear, the middle ear and inner ear. Infection …
Cat Heart Disease
Cats, as most people know, are extremely stoic animals. It is very rare that a cat will complain about pain or discomfort. This may seem like a desirable trait to some, but in fact, it makes it much more difficult …
