Posts in Category: Pet Health & Wellness
To Declaw or Not to Declaw: Addressing the Scratching Problem
Whether cats should be declawed or not has become a hot-button issue in recent years. As a result, the declawing of cats has been banned in more than a dozen countries and in several California cities, and a bill is currently being considered that would make New York the first state to outlaw the procedure. The surgery is currently legal in Colorado, although attempts have been made to introduce legislation that would ban the procedure to declaw a cat.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has taken the stance that declawing is not a medically necessary procedure, but that it can be beneficial in instances where the cat would otherwise be given up for adoption, or when the owners are immunocompromised and cannot risk being scratched.
The AVMA and the staff here at Lone Tree Veterinary Medical Center agree that, before making a decision, cat owners should be fully educated on normal cat scratching behavior and alternatives to the declaw procedure, as well as the risks involved. Our medical team works diligently to help cat owners with these alternatives. In the rare situation where all alternatives have been tried over time and have failed, in order to keep a cat in its forever home or avoid euthanasia, our veterinarians will provide the procedure.
Fit Felines and Muscular Mutts: Making Pet Exercise Fun
Most of us already know how important physical exercise can be for our pets. Daily exercise not only burns calories and keeps our furry friends lean, it also helps to boost the immune system, which protects against diseases like diabetes and cancer. Daily play adds elements of fun and excitement to each day, a necessary component for the well-rounded life of our pets.
Even the most committed pet owners and active pets can easily find themselves bored with the daily walk or game of laser chase. Our creative pet exercise ideas are designed to provide you with a template for incorporating fun, simple, and regular exercise into your pet’s life.
Beyond Bon Appetit: Why Your Puppy Eats Poop
Dealing with your pet’s poop is one of the less glamorous aspects of pet ownership, but it’s just as necessary to their health and well-being as proper diet, exercise, and quality medical care. Having a puppy who eats poop, however, is something that many new pet owners weren’t expecting and aren’t sure how to deal with.
Poop-eating, also called coprophagia, is actually a normal – albeit gross–dog behavior. At Lone Tree Veterinary Medical Center we believe in tackling life’s stinky questions head on, and we are happy help you figure out why your puppy eats poop and what you can do about it.
Strategies for Successful Litter Box Training
Anyone who has ever observed a cat fastidiously grooming herself, or carefully covering waste in the litter box, knows that cats are, by nature, very clean animals. Most kittens learn how to use a litter box from their mother before they come to live with you, but if you adopt an orphaned kitten or older cat, you may have to show her the ropes. Our litter box training tips will get you started off on the right paw!
Pet DNA Testing: The Inside Scoop
DNA testing for humans is nothing new. We regularly rely on the results of these types of tests to determine paternity, figure out our ancestry, and even check for the probability of developing certain inherited diseases. It only makes sense that, given the ease and relative low cost of genetic testing technology, that pet DNA testing would become a booming industry.
How Pet DNA Testing Works
Pet DNA testing made its debut in 2007, and it’s become increasingly popular in recent years due to its wide availability and ease of use. The basic do-it-yourself DNA test kit comes with the items needed to ready a sample for testing. Here’s how this test works:
- Swab the inside of your pet’s cheek with the brush provided
- Prepare the sample following the manufacturer’s instructions
- Mail the sample back to the company using the provided packaging
When Peeing Poses a Problem: Urinary Tract Infection in Pets
Anyone who has suffered a urinary tract infection (UTI) knows it’s no picnic. The pain and frequent, urgent need to urinate can be downright miserable, and may lead to more serious problems if not addressed quickly. UTIs in pets are just as troublesome for our furry friends and are more common than pet owners may realize.
What Is a Urinary Tract Infection?
A urinary tract infection is an infection of one or more parts of the urinary tract, which consists of the kidneys, ureters (tubes that carry urine to the bladder), bladder, and urethra (tube that carries urine out of the body). The bladder is the most common part of the urinary tract to become infected.
We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby: The Evolution of Modern Pet Ownership
According to anthropologists, it was the wolf that helped bridge the gap between humans and four-legged animals several thousand years ago, giving humans an advantage over the Neanderthal populations that dominated at the that time.
Early humans succeeded in domesticating wolves to help guard their camps, alert them to danger, and help them with the hunting of mammoths and other large mammals. Cats joined the picture later on, during the rise of agriculture, and became valued for their ability to keep mice and other vermin out of homes, barns, and grain stores. With the help of these synergistic relationships, early humans managed to survive in a very primitive world.
Face Value: Finding Credible Pet Health Information
Understanding the various aspects of pet health and wellness is an important part of pet ownership, but finding answers to our questions isn’t always easy. There are so many sources of information available to us today, along with many conflicting viewpoints, that figuring out where to find credible pet health information can be a challenge.
The Perils of Dr. Google
With the digital age firmly in place, it’s natural to turn to the internet when we have a question or suspect a problem. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to discern whether or not the information we find is accurate. Some of the common problems that can result from consulting “Dr. Google” instead of your trusted family veterinarian include:
Happy Paws: Your Guide to Pet Safe Lawn Edging
Your friends at Lone Tree Veterinary Medical Center would like remind you of the often ignored, yet, extremely important topic of metal lawn edging and the risks it poses to pets. Let’s discuss pet safe lawn edging that will help keep your pet safe.
Pets, Pets Everywhere: The World’s Most Popular Pets
Choosing a family pet is an important life decision, one that will affect not only the quality of your daily life, but the health and welfare of the pet you’re considering to bring into your home. There are so many factors to consider when deciding which type of pet is right for you; space, cost, activity level, and time commitment, to name a few.
By taking a look at some of the most popular pets in the U.S. and world at large, we might get a better idea of which types of animals people enjoy living with, and why.
