Vaccine protocols

Want to have fun? Go to any holistic pet forum and ask about vaccines. The opinions will come immediately (generally in all caps) and most of them will follow the general line that you may as well take your pet out and shoot it as give it vaccines.

Of course, as we all (hopefully) know, vaccines save tens of thousands of puppies a year from the ravages of parvovirus and distemper. Vaccines help keep our pets safe from rabies and feline leukemia. However, for all the good they do, vaccines do carry risks. Not the vague and crazy risks discussed in the forums, but real risks of feline sarcoma, anaphalaxis (dangerous immediate allergic reactions) and abscesses.

Some of these risks can be very dangerous or fatal. They are also remarkably rare. Feline sarcoma is found in fewer than 1/10,000 cats, and severe allergic reactions (anaphalaxis) leading to death are rarer still. However, for those pets affected these events can be terrible.

For fifteen years the veterinary community has been trying to find a way between these conflicting dangers. For many, including all of the veterinary schools and all of the professional organizations, the solution has been to divide vaccines into core and non-core and limit the number of vaccines given over a life time.

As an example, in indoor only cats Feline Leukemia is a non-core vaccine, meaning that these cats should not receive the vaccine unless other risk factors warrant it (owner brings in strays or the like). Bordetella vaccines in dogs are treated much the same way.

As for limiting vaccines given over a life time, the research conducted by universities (not vaccine manufacturers - we will get back to this) shows that many vaccines last longer than the recommended year. The recommendation stemming from this research calls for giving core vaccines (excluding rabies) every three years or to check titers (which tells us if the pet's immune system still recognizes the pathogen) and possibly go out longer on vaccines.

This has led many veterinary hospitals to adopt a three year vaccine protocol. We have not. And the reason we have not is because Dr's Burrows and Nielsen have seen too many parvo puppies die to trust these studies.

Our newest doctor, however, embraces three year vaccines.

We have discussed this as a team, because we know that it will cause confusion if we are not providing people the same recommendations. But, to ask Dr. Estheimer, Burrows, or Nielsen to change their medicine - to make a medical decision - based on research or life experiences that they are uncomfortable with is unethical.

Rather, we decided that our clientele is educated and smart, and if we provide the facts to them (you) and allowed you to choose for yourselves, you would make the decisions that best fit your lifestyle and personal philosphy. In keeping with our philosophy of providing pet owners the tools to make informed decisions, we have elected to give you our point of view and the facts that brought us to our current decisions.

These are the facts of vaccination:
Vaccines do not cause any debilitating illnesses or diseases - everything out there that contradicts this statement is based on hearsay and has no basis in science.
Vaccines still save tens of thousands (if not millions) of lives per year.
All pets MUST be vaccinated for rabies, regardless of indoor status, according to state laws and vaccine labeling.
Failing to adequately vaccinate puppies exposes them to potentially fatal diseases - these diseases are common - there is no scientific or ethical reason to fail to adequately protect puppies and kittens.
Almost all vaccines (excluding rabies) given as a three-year vaccine is labeled by the manufacturer for one year - very few vaccines are actually labeled for three years.
Adequately vaccinated pets can still occasionally get the disease that they were vaccinated against.
No-one can define "over vaccinated", nor is there any evidence concerning patient health and the number of vaccines they receive in a life time.

We have agreed to disagree on vaccine intervals in our hospital. We do this because we believe that we must follow our hearts as well as our heads when it comes to the care of your pets. Please, if you have any questions about any of the vaccines your pets receive, ask your veterinarian.

October is Client Appreciation Month!

Guess what? Our most important staff members are not on the pay roll! Our most important staff members are the people who entrust their pets' care and lives with us. These are the people who have chosen to allow us to help their pets.

On, Saturday October 12 from 10am to 2pm, we invite all clients, friends, pet owners and neighbors to join us for a celebration of our most valued employees - You!

Without our clients, we would not exist. Without our clients we would not get to play with kittens and puppies for a job.
Without you, I would be talking to myself.

So, for the month of October we will celebrate you, our clients. Client Appreciation Day will feature give-aways, raffles, a tour of the hospital, meet and greets with our entire staff and educational talks. We hope that you will be able to make it out to meet us.

As part of Client Appreciation Month, Ventana Animal Hospital will be introducing you to our entire staff. We understand that doctors, though vitally important, are just part of the picture. We know that your experience starts from the moment you pick up the phone and doesn't end until your technician helps you out to the car. Every interaction that you have is a reflection of us. Our goal is to illustrate our care and compassion during every point of contact.

We have taken great pains to select a compassionate and caring staff that has obtained the training necessary to provide your pet the best quality veterinary care. Ventana Animal Hospital asks every staff member to share Continuing Education at our monthly staff meetings, allowing all of us to stay on the cutting edge. We encourage a culture of learning and knowledge so that we may provide your pets the most current medicine available.

Ventana Animal Hospital has three full-time veterinarians, Drs, Karen Burrows, M. Nielsen, and Michele Estheimer. Supporting these doctors are five technicians, Alaina, Kianna, Mary, Rebecca, and Angela. Ronnie is the communication hub of the building, fielding most phone calls and greeting everyone when they walk in the door. I often lurk near the front desk, but will work as a technician as needed. Karyl keeps the place spic and span, and helps out in the back with patient work ups and surgery.

For a small hospital, Ventana Animal Hospital boasts an unusually high number of Certified Veterinary Technicians. Alaina, Mary, Rebecca and I are all CVTs, licensed in the state of Arizona. Kianna has graduated from a technician program but has yet to pass the very rigorous testing required of a technician. Angela, in spite of not being a CVT, is highly qualified, having worked within the industry for many years and most recently in a surgical specialty center.

Over the next month we will be introducing our staff to you to help put names to faces. Caring for pets involves a team approach, and we feel that our team is both dedicated and compassionate, we hope that you will agree. Please check out the biographies page on our website, and keep up with us on Facebook.

Everyone, friend and stranger, is invited to our Client Appreciation Day, we want to meet you, chat with you, share your stories and hopefully teach you something new, but mostly, we just want to say,

Thank You!!!

Ventana Animal Hospital - a snapshot

The great thing about our computer system (now a year old) is that it affords us the opportunity to really examine what we do on a daily basis. With a few clicks of a button I could tell you how many pills to treat valley fever we sold last week (985), or how many bags of prescription cat food we currently have in the building (21).

I may have had ugly battles with math in college, but when it comes to these kind of details I'm hopelessly enamored.

What we have not set up in our system is a diagnosis protocol that will tell me what the doctors said your pet has - this is often different than what you say your pet has. A coughing pet, for example is not diagnosed with a cough (which is a symptom) but with valley fever, or cardiac disease or collapsing trachea or something more obscure.

However, in the meantime, I have an even more interesting - at least as far as you may be concerned - database to mine: Presenting Complaints. Now, presenting complaints are not entirely scientific and can be wildly misleading as far as telling us about what is really going on in the population is concerned. A perfect example of this would be routine well care visits. The purpose of a routine well care visit is to look for things that may be wrong and address them - we know that - but the computer simply states: Exam.

However, presenting complaints tells us what you see as wrong with your pets. The chart below is a snapshot of presenting complaints over the past few weeks.


 



It shows us that most of our pets are healthy (YAY!). Well Care includes puppy and kitten care, vaccines and other exams. Now, just because someone says that they're here for an exam, that doesn't mean that we didn't diagnose ear, skin, or dental disease (the most common). Again, diagnosis is a whole different animal from presenting complaint.

Second, and not surprisingly are ears, eyes and skin, with the lion's share falling evenly between ears and skin. Skin can include anything from allergic dermatitis to lumps and bumps. Skin issues seemed to fall largely 60-30 in favor of allergy type issues over lumps and bumps.

GI issues come in right behind ears, eyes and skin. Pets get into things and then often have cause to regret it. Most GI issues are straight forward, and several were puppies with known parasite infestations.

Sick (general) is largely a grab bag called loosely defined in-hospital as ADR. ADR is veterinary-speak for 'Ain't Doing Right'. How many of these ended up being valley fever I have no idea, but it would be a fair estimation that at least a quarter were.

Blood work includes cases of routine follow up blood work for valley fever, diabetes, hypo and hyperthyroidism and the like, as well as diagnostic testing where the next thing on the list was blood work, and therefore the client asked for it by name.

Lameness falls into several categories: cuts and scrapes on the feet, and soft tissue injuries and fractures. Some of these may have ended up being diagnosed as valley fever too.

Dental care includes both preventive dentistry ("It's time for Fluffy to have her teeth cleaned again") and diseased dentistry (diseased gums, loose teeth and fractured teeth).

Last is surgery, I included spays and neuters - which was the bulk of our surgery over the past few weeks - as well as other surgeries triggered by disease and injury.

Again, this is hardly scientific, but it is a fairly representative snapshot of why we see pets on a regular basis. Of course some weeks are different than others. The snapshot I showed you would have included three drop-offs for hospitalization on the same day - something far outside the norm, and may be a bit shy of skin issues.

Regardless of the limitations of this little exercise, I hope that you found it as interesting as I did.

Thanks, and have a great day,
Liane

Snakes and pet safety

The other day, Miss Kitty (pictured below) leapt up from her nap with a startled bark and began to bark with an unusual hysteria (vultures, her nemeses, cause a completely different tone of bark). She continued to stare off my deck into the rocks below.

My border collie, Ketchum, stood up and helped Kitty stare off the porch. I recognizing the bark and walked out onto the porch to help them stare into the mixed brush and rocks on the slope below.

I recognized the bark because I had heard it just weeks before when kitty alerted me to a three foot black tailed rattlesnake that had slithered curiously onto my deck. The border collie had fled altogether that time.

What Kitty and Ketchum have in common is a shared terror of snakes. They gained this terror through the relatively easy method of snake aversion training rather than the much more difficult and possibly deadly route of getting bitten.

Rattlesnake bites are sadly very common in pets and humans during our warm summer months. Just this week at Ventana, we rechecked three snake bites that had been rushed to emergency after hours or over the weekend. We carry the very expensive antivenin necessary to save a pet's life in case of snake bite, but, honestly we would rather not use it.

Working in a veterinary hospital, I have sadly seen the effects of snake bite in cats and dogs. Snake bites are extremely painful as well as possibly deadly. One patient has already lost his life to snake bite this summer.

I would do anything to save my dogs in the event of snake bite. I would gladly pour painkillers, antibiotics and antivenin into their bodies to save them from the horrible outcomes that I have seen over the years. But more important than treatment after the fact is avoiding the bite in the first place.

Dogs get bitten off leash and on, in the desert, washes, golf courses and back yards. Walls rarely keep snakes out, and bushes along roadways provided habitat.

Rather than try to avoid snakes, I decided to teach my dogs to avoid them for me, after all they have a better sense of smell and hearing than I do. Instead of snake proofing my habitat (impossible on the many acres where my dogs roam) I snake proofed my dogs.

My dogs have informed me about snakes on my porch and deck, and in Kitty's case a decorative metal snake. And so far, having lived in the desert with these and other dogs for 11 years, I have never had a snake bite. I have also never had a personal close encounter with a snake when my dogs were nearby.

Snake avoidance is not 100%. Few things in life are. Terriers are tougher to convince that this isn't a battle worth having, and some bird dogs may be too busy chasing birds to remember the lessons of snake avoidance.

As for the alert that brought me onto the deck last week: I finally saw coiled in the bushes 10 feet off the bottom of the deck the striped racer that I refer to as the front yard snake. Racers are not poisonous, and pose no threat to my dogs, which is why it is allowed to patrol the front yard unmolested. I praised the dogs for their alertness and went inside, confident that my dogs will continue to alert me in the event of snakes on my property.

To make things easier for our clients and others living on the northeast side of Tucson, we have put together onsite snake training with Central Pet and the snake handlers at Arizona Animal Experts. We do these several times in the late spring and early fall based on demand. If you have any questions about snake aversion training you can call me or Ronnie at (520) 299-1146. Our website at www.ventanaanimalhospital.com has up to date snake aversion information.

Senior Summer!

One of my favorite questions is: "how old is my pet in human years?" Interestingly that answer differs with the species and breed being discussed. A 10 year old chihuahua is a great deal younger than a ten year old mastiff. There are charts here in the hospital that will tell you that your ten year old cat is 56 years old while your 75 pound German Shepherd is 66 years old.

To make things simple we in the veterinary profession have created the phrase, "senior at seven" as a basic guideline to help us remember when we need to begin discussing senior care.

Senior citizens make up the vast majority of both the general pet population and the population here at Ventana. The good news about this is that it means that we are all doing something right.

Preventive care is what has allowed us all to reap the benefits of our pets' longer lives. Luckily as your pets have aged, and as the pet population too has aged, the veterinary community has adapted to to help this new population stay even healthier longer.

One of our senior citizens, Joy, resting after a hard day

Senior pets benefit from a holistic approach to care. Just as we have found that all things are interconnected in human medicine, it is the same with our pets.

Senior pets can suffer the same issues that humans. We see increased issues with joint mobility, weight gain, diabetes, thyroid issues, heart problems and the like. The good news is that many of these issues can be addressed if caught early enough.

Because pets age faster than humans, it behooves us to have them seen more often than yearly. A lot can happen in five years if you are in your sixties. We recommend twice yearly exams. This helps us better monitor fast changing issues such as dental health, weight and behavior.

Many things seen as a 'normal' sign of aging are not. Getting "slow" usually means getting sore. Changing behavior can be caused by early cognitive dysfunction, sight issues, hearing issues or pain. Drinking more or eating smaller meals can also be signs of illness.

While knowing the signs of illness are important, so too is well-checks with your veterinarian. We are better able to assess heart function, weight changes, dental health and feel the abdomen for abnormalities.

If you ask any one of us what we do for our own pets as they age you will receive the same answer - we all do annual blood panels on our senior pets. Even though all of our pets live with educated (one would hope!) veterinary professionals, we have all learned two valuable things over the years: 1) we cannot see what is going on inside our pets - no matter how good we are, and 2) vigilance pays off.

Everyone has a story about a perfectly healthy pet who came in for a routine exam or blood work and we found something that would have otherwise missed. We all like these stories, especially (obviously) if they have happy endings
. We hate seeing pets who have become symptomatic with disease and we catch things too late to help, or too far along to easily turn around.

We all love our pets or we wouldn't be in this profession. This is why often you will get the most candid answers when you ask us what we ourselves do with our own pets. At Ventana Animal Hospital, we consider that our gold standard. We offer nothing to you that we ourselves would not want offered to our own pets, and we will never offer you lesser care than we ourselves provide our own pets.

What are your summer plans?

If you're gonna ride a motorcycle, you've gotta wear shades!

Summer is a great time to head for the hills — literally. It gets stupid hot in Tucson in June. With many hotel chains becoming pet friendly, RVing, and camping options, taking your pet with you is a great option.

Pets (especially dogs) love cars, the open road and adventures that might include the opportunity to chase a squirrel up a tree. To ensure your trip goes smoothly we would like to offer up the following tips:

Make sure your pet is fully vaccinated — boarding kennels need bordetella (kennel cough) vaccines to be up to date — usually given within the past six months. Airlines will want to see proof of rabies. If you are traveling back east where there are unfamiliar diseases such as Leptospirosis and Lyme you may want to consider getting these vaccines before you leave (we carry Lyme but not lepto). If you have any questions about where these diseases lurk, you can consult the CAPC for Lyme info as for leptospirosis, the information is spotty and you should discuss it with a veterinary staff member who works in the location you are visiting.

Parts of Tucson have nasty tick populations. The Northeast side and Tanque Verde Valley seems to be largely immune to this, with very sporadic tick issues. Other parts of town, the valley and the state have varying problems with ticks. Because of this we recommend applying tick and flea control to your pet before they travel. If you are uncertain what you need you can call any one of our staff members at 520-299-1146 and they will be happy to help you out. Though high quality flea and tick products can only be sold through a veterinarian, they are not a prescription item. If you suddenly find you need such a product, any veterinary facility will be able to help you choose the appropriate product for your pet.

This guy was having a blast chasing sticks at Lake Superior last summer

Microchip your pet. Pets get lost, they slip collars — sadly in southern Arizona in a roll-over accident on I-10 someone lost 2 dogs — their posters were all over as a grim reminder that unexpected things happen. If you have a microchip in your pet have a veterinary staff member check it periodically to ensure that it has not migrated and that it is still readable. Make sure all contact information is up to date. If you don't have your pet microchipped we strongly suggest that you get it done.

Basic training and commands. I sat at a rest stop up near ShowLow last year and watched a puppy flail on the end of a (15 foot long flexi) leash like a carp before slipping her harness and sprinting across the parking lot, her elderly owners shuffling after her fruitlessly calling her name. The plates on the RV they were in? New York. Some kind soul was able to snatch up the puppy before she did herself damage, but that certainly served as a scary lesson. Apparently the puppy had never worn a harness before. She also had no recall to speak of. If your pet cannot walk on a leash and does not come when called do not take him on a road trip until he can do both with confidence.

Lastly, for everyone's safety ensure that your pet travels well in the car — not on your lap - preferably in a crate or harnessed to a seatbelt. Pets in cars cause distracted driving. Distracted driving kills people. This is a simple equation with an even simpler solution. If your pet is crate trained take her in the crate, if she is not but rides well in the back seat harness her to the back seatbelt.

Traveling with your pet is both fun and rewarding. Pets get to share your adventures and have their own. They get to explore new places, experience new things and meet new people. Dogs who travel tend to be well-behaved, more relaxed and all around better pets.

Even in Arizona's high country, water may be tough to find on hikes.

Enjoy your summer, whether you are through hiking the Appalachian Trail, RVing the Great American Parks, or driving up Mount Lemmon, we wish you and your dog a safe and happy summer.

Best Regards:
Liane Ehrich
Ventana Animal Hospital
Tucson, AZ
520-299-1146
www.ventanaanimalhospital.com
Liane@ventanaanimalhospital.com

Cats have teeth too

Remember when your pets didn't have teeth? We all remember when cats and dogs went to the vet annually like clockwork, got vaccinated, got a free rubdown by their veterinarian and were sent out the door with a recommendation to be seen again next year.

Times have changed. Veterirnarians have upped their game, and pets are the better for it. Also, It turns out that pets do, indeed, have teeth. And those teeth get dirty, infected and broken just like ours do. It also turns out that if we are proactive we can keep them healthier in the long run.

With one caveat, and sadly that caveat is cats. Yes cats do get tartar; they do get infections, and if they do enough in-home acrobatics they may even break a tooth now and again. Cats also get cavities. Unlike our cavities which our dentist likes to cruelly and unfairly pin on our candy and soda addictions, cats' cavities seem to be caused by bad genetics and some viral diseases.

Seem to be, because we (the veterinary profession) has yet to completely nail down the cause(s). We know genetics plays some roll because Asian cats (Siamese, Burmese, etc..) are notoriously prone to these cavities.

Which, whoops, brings us to the real name of kitty cat cavities, which is not kitty cat cavities, even though that sounds awesome, and I would have named it that, but I'm not a veterinarian. Veterinarians when given half a chance to give something a complicated name will jump at it, so: Feline Oral Resorptive Lesions (FORLs)

Resorptive because unlike our own cavities these ouchy guys start down below the gum line when the body begins destroying the tooth from the roots. Often all we see on exam is redness at the gum line.

However, if you've ever lost a filling, you know that these things hurt. Which brings us to regular veterinary visits (you know I was going there). We can't diagnose what we don't see, and guess what, your cat isn't going to yowl, scream or starve itself to show you it has a painful mouth.

At every visit we look in your cat's mouth. We do this not merely to annoy the cat (though that is an added bonus) but to look at the teeth and assess the gums.

Red gums equals pain, and both of us know that no pet should ever be in pain if we can help it. So, once again, if you cat has not seen a vet, any vet, in a while, make an appointment now. Your cat will thank you for it - well not really, but she will be healthier for it.

Our Winner! Maya Martin

Remember if you want your cat's photo in our blog, please post to our Facebook page. The kitty with the most likes by next Tuesday WINS!

How cats benefit from regular veterinary care

And the winner is: Jamie Dyan Carpenter's cat Gracie. Thank you everyone for posting your kitty pictures. The contest will restart now, so get those pictures posted and collect those likes, and remember, if you haven't liked Ventana Animal Hospital yet, please do!

As we have already mentioned repeatedly, April is Cat Health Awareness Month. Cats need veterinary care too, and though many cats are dearly loved by their pet parents, these same cats are receiving inferior veterinary care to dogs, often in the same household.

We at Ventana are working hard to make veterinary visits more relaxing (like Gracie up there) for our feline patients.

As was brought up in our last blog post, inferior cat care is often due to misperceptions made by owners, and it is our duty as pet care professionals to help everyone understand the importance of regular pet care. 

Alaina, our in-house cat care specialist has compiled a series of blog posts to help us all out (as I confess fully to my own dog bias - having exactly zero cats).

Annual visits to the veterinarian can be stressful to both beloved cat and loving owner, but neglecting these visits can lead to missed opportunities to catch a little problem before it becomes a big one. There is a misconception that these visits are merely for the cat to “get their shots.” The purpose of the annual exam is not to vaccinate your cat; rather it is to do a head to toe examination to assess their health.

During this visit our doctors will check teeth for tartar and gums for gingivitis. We will examine his eyes and ears. The doctors will listen to your cat’s heart and lungs and then palpate his abdomen to check for any pain or abnormalities. During the exam you will be able to address any concerns you may have, in fact we encourage you to make a list of any questions you have to bring to the appointment with you. After the physical exam is complete the doctor will administer any vaccines that may be due. 

Alaina Rhodes

Okay, I admit, Christina Jones' cats Oscar and Bombadill did not actually win the contest. But, for dog people, orange cats are a close to dogs as cats get, so I have a weakness for them.

Have a fantastic week. Stop by and see us at the SAHBA Home and Garden Show this weekend. Please, if you have not already, Like us on Facebook so that your cats too can become famous, check out our web page and most importantly, if we have not seen one of your cats recently, please bring her in. You can follow this link to make an appointment today.

Heartworm Prevention month

For those of you who may not be aware, Dr. Burrows, who lives in the Tanque Verde Valley got West Nile last fall. It took a bit of chasing to diagnose it, and when they finally did, all they could tell her to do was wait it out. Luckily for Dr. Burrows other than feeling pretty punky for a few weeks and having a bizarre tingling in her fingers that lingered for a month or so, the symptoms were very mild.

Which brings us to heartworms; heartworms do not affect people or they would be far more frightening than West Nile. They affect cats and dogs, and as the name suggests these worms migrate and live out their lives in the arteries around the heart.

What links these two diseases is the mosquito. Mosquitos account for more human deaths worldwide than any other animal. Arizona, with its dry climate is home to 46 varieties of mosquito according to the Arizona Department of Health. Mosquitos, the things that we, as Arizonans, take great pains to claim that we do not have are very much a part of our world. And as Dr. Burrows shows, not only do we have them, but they are carrying dangerous illnesses. (and yes, she picked up West Nile here)

No one wants to see their pets get sick, and every decision that we as pet owners take is a part of a balancing act between cost (not neccessarily financial) and benefits. We elect to put our dogs on tick prevention in the off chance that they may come into contact with a tick carrying a debilitating or fatal disease, or we deem the annoyance of tick products, their cost, their unsavory feel in our pet's coat, their toxicity no matter how small, too high and use them sparingly during travel.

This is a cost/benefit analysis and we, as pet owners do it every day. However, the only way this equation works is through education.

So, what we want pet owners in Southern Arizona to know, and what we strive to reinforce every day, is that the tightrope between cost and benefit that we have been walking for some time when it comes to heartworms has swung and that the danger of this disease, its rising prevalence in our coyote population, the increased interstate travel of your neighbors (and yourself) have all made the risk of doing nothing too high.

No one, not even veterinarians talked about heartworms in Southern Arizona even 15 years ago. But part of the belief that something isn't here is not looking for it. It was the advent of easier heartworm tests that saw an upswing in positives across Pima County. After Katrina and the dispersal of heartworm positive Katrina dogs into area shelters, veterinarians who hadn't already, felt a need to step up monitoring and prevention efforts.

Sadly, the numbers indicate that at least two or three of the dogs in our practice are, at this very moment, positive for heartworm. Perhaps they have no symptoms, or they have an occasional cough, or they are slightly more lethargic and the owners have put it off on age. We want to find these pets and help them feel better, and more importantly, we want them to stop carrying this deadly parasite in their blood.

The hearts represent all of the dogs who have come in so far this March who are protected against heartworms

We urge you, if you haven't already, to come in, have a heartworm test done and put your dogs on heartworm prevention.

Heartworm disease is devastating. It is expensive and awful to treat, while being largely inexpensive (around a $120 a year for a 100# dog) to prevent. The prevention that we use, Heartgard Plus also prevents against roundworms and hookworms.

Have we seen your cat lately?

Cats account for over 50% of the pet population, however, nationwide they account for fewer than 30% of vet visits. Why is that?

Actually, The answer is complex, but two recent events will help explain both the reasons why cats rarely see the vet (especially in Tucson where all of our cats are indoors) and why they really should be seen more often.

I have been in the veterinary industry for over a decade, and so, I would hope that at least some of my constant carping about poor pet care would have rubbed off on my family.

Alas, my own sister who just acquired a kitten called to ask if her kitten, now that she has had all her shots will ever need to see the vet again. 'Really?!' I thought, "you've got to be kidding me!? Have not heard one word I've been saying?' Then because I assumed my sister couldn't hear the ranting in my head, I decided to share it with her. She was impressed with my passion if not my actual words, which in the end amounted to a, "Yes!!"

Then my own mother, whose evil cat finally succumbed at age 21 after years of hyperthyroidism and slowly escalating kidney numbers, explained to me how her year and half old cat didn't need a rabies shot because it was indoors. This time I didn't rant, I sighed, after all if the people closest to the veterinary profession don't understand that their own beloved cats should receive regular veterinary care maybe it wasn't their fault but mine - or in the case of the profession - ours.

After all, we are the messengers and if the message isn't getting out it certainly rests on our shoulders to investigate why.

Of course, in the case of my own family I was able to explain that cats are prone to painful dental disease and that only regular visits will uncover this, and that I personally know of two cases where indoor animals were exposed to rabies and subsequently euthanized because of overdue vaccinations (one was a case of a bunch of indoor cats exposed to a rabid bat that got into the house, the other was a Labrador chased through the doggie door by a rabid skunk).

And so, maybe one on one conversations are the way to go. So, that is where we will have to start, with each pet owner, on the phone or in person, with the simple question, "have we seen your cat lately?" We hope that this will trigger a discussion that will ultimately lead to better cat care by the very people who care most for them, their owners.

We at Ventana Animal Hospital are making a concerted effort to speak better to cat owners, to address their concerns and treat their cats. We have a skilled cat guru in the person of Alaina Rhodes a Certified Veterinary Technician, she, working in concert with cat specialists and our doctors, will be driving some of the changes that cat owners will be seeing in how their cats are handled in our practice, our renewed focus on cat owner concerns and a better feel for cat needs.

Alaina, who wrote several of the blog posts you will see in the coming weeks has dedicated her professional career to feline care. She has worked with the Heritage Shelter as an interim director and knows first hand what happens when we, the veterinarians entrusted with their care fail to speak out for cats. Cats are often relinquished because of easily solvable urinary issues and avoidable behavioral misunderstandings.

We take feline care seriously and are striving to express that with renewed enthusiasm to our clients. We our launching our initiative with a cat-focus month. We will have two cat adoptions during the month of April, we are partnering with Boeringer-Ingelheim to provide staff education, and we will be having cat focused contests both within the hospital and out in our community. Our neighbor, Risky Business and the vaccine manufacturer Boerhinger-Ingelheim have both generously donated towards our raffle with the proceeds benefiting Tucson Two Tails Feline Rescue. I hope you will join us in our renewed efforts to provide proper veterinary care to the cats within our community.

The first contest starts right here. As you may have noticed, this post contains no photos. This is because I personally have no cats, so, if you would like to have your cat's photo included in our upcoming blog posts, please post them on Facebook, and the photos with the most likes win. It's that simple!

Tucson Cold Wet Noses

Last Saturday we hosted the local rescue group, Cold Wet Noses at our hospital. Usually stationed at PetSmart, Cold Wet Noses brought out a dozen dogs and a couple of cats and set up in our largest exam room.

Please give me a home. I'm an Aussie, that makes me great!

In spite of the low gray clouds and persistent drizzle, many people came into the hospital looking for a new forever friend.

A 100% volunteer program that fosters dogs and cats, Cold Wet Noses helps unwanted dogs and cats find new and loving families. Cold Wet Noses currently has 130 dogs in need of forever homes. You can see pictures of pets up for adoption at www.Tucsoncoldwetnoses.com.

I want someone to throw a ball for me and take me for walks

During the month of February Ventana Animal Hospital is holding a raffle to benefit Cold Wet Noses. Please stop in and buy a few raffle tickets, the prizes were kindly donated by Patterson Veterinary (a veterinary supply company - thanks Todd!) and PetSmart. We have $70 dollars in gift certificates up for grabs, and 100% of the proceeds go to helping Cold Wet Noses provide homes for these dogs and cats.

Additionally, Cold Wet Noses is always looking for foster homes, so if you can provide a home for a while, please contact them. They can only rescue as many pets as they can place in foster care, so every little bit helps.

I can keep your feet warm.

Thank you to Ronnie who put this whole thing together, and to all of our clients who were so understanding of a slightly more crowded than usual parking lot and reception area.

All photos were stolen from the Cold Wet Noses website, and are dogs in need of forever homes.

January Success!

Whoops! it's been a while! We just got so busy with the holidays and Weight Loss Month that we let the blog slide.

Ventana Animal Hospital is not only a Certified Weight Loss Clinic, but we have two Certified Pet Weight Coaches (Liane our Hospital Manager and Rebecca a Certified Veterinary Technician). Both have taken the time to do 10 hours of continuing education to help our patients remain slim and healthy throughout their lives.

8 year old Aussie wrestling the stick from 13 year old German Shepherd

We decided to join the frenzy of weight loss habits changing at the New Year to kick off our own Weight Loss Month. So far so good. We have a poster up in the lobby with our weight loss candidates and they are currently vying for some really nice goodies for the pet who loses the most before the end of March.

Active breeds like border collies can gain weight quickly

Purina Pet Foods has helped us out by offering a whopping $10 off their excellent prescription pet food, OM and their senior weight loss diet (with glucosamine for joints) JM. Check out their weight loss plan online.

Most importantly we helped educate clients on the value of keeping their pets slim. Slim pets live an average of two years longer. They also live those two years (and countless more before) with fewer health issues and more mobility.

Many people think that pets slow down as they age, and while that may be true in some cases, in most cases, even as their racing days lie behind them, slender dogs remain happy and active throughout their lives. Weight gain makes dogs and cats uncomfortable. It makes joints ache and muscles strain. It can cause ligament tears and joint pain.

Kitty, an 8 year old Aussie playing in the mud

So, a huge THANK YOU to Rebecca and Ronnie who helped plan Weight Loss Month. Also a round of cheers to CJ, Gracie, Buddy, Misha, Frank, Pippin and Mary whose owners have stepped up in an effort to help them live healthier, happier, longer lives.

If you would like to know if your pet is overweight, just give us a call at 299-1146 and ask to make an appointment with Becca for a weight evaluation. She can help you formulate a weight loss plan.

Dental Month

February is Dental Health Month! For the first 20 clients who come in and discuss their pet's dental health with our staff, we will give away a CET trial size dentifrice and a CET dental chew. CET dental chews are American made. They are scientifically formulated to help keep your pet's teeth clean. CET provides numerous dental products including pet safe (and flavored) dentifrice, finger brushes, and water additives.

If the technician feels that your pet's teeth need a professional cleaning she will refer you to a veterinarian for an appointment (this may need to be scheduled on a different day, and depending on the timing of your last visit may include an exam fee.)

A dental prophy involves a full cleaning both above and below the gumline, polishing, a full oral exam and probing for disease along the gumline. This can only be done safely with anesthesia. Just as you cannot brush away all future dentist visits, all pets will ultimately need a dental cleaning at least several times in their life. Small pets, like chihuahuas, poodles and cocker spaniels will all likely have yearly dental prophys starting at a fairly young age.

I may be dirty, but my teeth are clean!

Cats can get a painful oral condition called Feline Oral Resorptive Lesions (FORLs). These painful lesions are caused when for unknown reasons the cat's body begins breaking down and reasorbing the roots of the teeth.

Cats will show no signs of this, though many cats after the teeth are pulled (sadly this is the only option for these cats) are much happier after the procedure! This is yet another reason all cats should see their veterinarian at least yearly.

This is what happens to dogs who play with tennis balls and rocks

If we perform a prophy on your pet during the month of February we will give you a coupon for $10 off Purina DH diets or CET chews, whichever you prefer. Purina DH is a dog and cat food made of larger than normal kibbles that are scientifically formulated to not shatter like normal food when chewed. Instead the food resists breaking apart creating a scrubbing-like action that helps prevent tartar buildup. You can feed DH as a full diet or feed as treats.

For dental month, CET is offering a special buy two get one free offer when you buy CET chews from your veterinarian. You have to go to their website to receive their free bag.

Of course, like us, the gold standard for dental care is brushing. Brushing your pet's teeth is far easier than it may seem. If you think your pet would be amenable to toothbrushing we will be happy to give you a demonstration. Just give us a call to make a free appointment with a technician.

Dirty teeth are not just ugly, the bacteria released by infected teeth and gums circulate in the blood and affect the heart valves, kidneys and urinary tract. Red gums hurt, and because pets need to eat, they will continue to do so even if it means that it hurts.

Some level of oral disease exists in up to 75% of pets over the age of 5, and while most of those are not yet diseased enough to need a prophy, all pets can benefit from preventive dental care. See us if you have any questions about your pet's oral health.

You can reach us at (520) 299-1146 or info@ventanaanimalhospital.com

What healthy teeth and gums look like, no redness along the gumline