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Pitbull Adoption

April 16th, 2009 · No Comments

This article provides useful, detailed information about Pitbull Adoption.

Pit Bulls are the most preferred dog in America, in spite of the bad press they\'ve been receiving lately due to the aggressive nature of some of their clan. Pit Bulls are dogs that know and understand love. So, if you can provide affection to your pet, then a Pit Bull can make a fine companion.

Pit Bulls can be purchased from breeders as well as rescue shelters. It is infinitely better to adopt a rescue dog. Dogs in rescue shelters are taken from the streets where they\'ve been abandoned by heartless owners, or from people who have become too occupied to care for their dogs.

Tags: Pets

How To Choose A Pet

April 8th, 2009 · No Comments

Do you know that in the United States pets outnumber people?
Recent statistics show that there are about 380 million pets opposed to 290 million people? 62 % of the households own a pet, and 46% of all households own more than one pet.

The most common pet in the USA is the cat (of which there are 78 million pet cats), next comes the dog (there are 65 million dogs), the third most popular pet is birds (18 million). The other top pets are small animals and fish, but there are a lot less of these than cats and dogs.


Tags: Pets

Heartworm Treatment For Cats And Dogs

March 29th, 2009 · No Comments

The treatment for heartworms is different for cats and dogs. Do not ever give medicine intended for a cat to your dog or vice versa.

Once your pet has heartworms the treatment is not easy. You want to rid your pet of heartworms but many factors need to be looked at before proceeding. Your veterinarian will have to do many tests to determine how many worms your pet has, how it is affecting your pet and if your pet can handle the side effects of the medication.

Let's first look at the treatment of heartworms for dogs. The first thing that will have to be done is an evaluation of your dog and what treatment is necessary to stabilize them for treatment for heartworms and then the elimination of all the heartworms and larvae.

Tags: Pets

Fundamental Health Concern Regimens And Upkeep For Dogs And Cats

March 19th, 2009 · No Comments

Routine health care for pets is critical to their ongoing well-being and overall health. In addition to feeding and exercising your pets, you need to maintain their general health.

Regular health care for pets is a crucial part of their ongoing development, health and well-being. Outside regular exercise and a healthy diet, your pet needs routine health care to ensure it has a long and happy life. Regular, routine health care should include proper grooming, good dental care, parasite prevention and regular visits to the veterinarian's office. To learn more, read on.

Ongoing Veterinarian Visits

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Iron Deficiency In Dogs And Cats

February 28th, 2009 · No Comments

We have recently seen a number of cases of iron deficiency anaemia, both in cats and dogs.
In iron deficiency, red cells do not develop the normal complement of iron–containing haemoglobin and the cells that form in the bone marrow are small (microcytic, low MCV) and hypochromic (low MCH and MCHC). The process of red cell maturation becomes prolonged so young red cells no longer contain large amounts of RNA and therefore do not appear polychromatic. As a result the anaemia is non- regenerative, with inappropropriately low reticulocyte counts. There is often a marked increase in variation in red cell shape (poikilocytosis) and red cell fragments (schistocytes) are often seen, as above.
In cats, the red cells are often so small that platelets appear larger than red cells and this overlap in sizing can contribute to apparently very high platelet counts as some automated counters include some small red cells in the platelet count.
Iron deficiency anaemia reflects chronic external blood loss, either through the gut associated with bleeding tumours or ulcers or occasionally with severe flea burdens and parasitic blood loss.
Serum iron, iron panels (including serum iron, total iron binding capacity, transferrin and % saturation) and occasionally staining bone marrow for iron, can all be useful in investigating these cases in addition to a full blood count (which must include smear evaluation since not all cases have a low MCV and MCHC). Occult faecal blood testing, after a minimum of three days off all red meat, is useful to check for blood loss in cases where blood loss is not detectable grossly.
While most non-regenerative anaemias have a poorer outlook, iron deficiency responds excellently and quickly to treatment that is aimed at stopping the blood loss and providing oral iron supplementation. Our current crop of iron deficiency anaemia cases all appear to be doing well now that they are on treatment.
For more information on iron deficiency anaemia visit www.ctdslab.co.uk

Tags: Pets

Thyroid Illness In Cats And Dogs

January 8th, 2009 · No Comments

Common clinical signs of hypothyroidism in dogs include weight gain, lethargy, reduced exercise tolerance and poor coat quality. However, the disease affects almost all body systems and as a result a wide variety of signs can potentially be associated with this endocrinopathy.
Diagnosis is complicated by the fact that many non-thyroidal illnesses (NTI) may present with similar features to hypothyroidism and can result in reduced thyroid output. There is no perfect lab test for the diagnosis of hypothyroidism and the available alternatives all have their own strengths and weaknesses that need to be taken into account. Often the best approach is to use multiple tests that complement one another and help to improve diagnostic accuracy.

Where hypothyroidism is a consideration, making the diagnosis requires three distinct steps:

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The Cat's Meow

December 31st, 2008 · No Comments

The personality of the cat has had a big effect on our language. This article highlights some of the expressions about cats that exist in English. 

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5 Tips For Choosing The Best Vet For Your Dog

November 20th, 2008 · No Comments

If you haven't already found one, or worked with one in the past, you need to find a vet. Pick one you feel comfortable with, and who answers your questions in full, completely and gives you answers you can understand. You don't need a vet who talks down to you, or acts like you're too dumb to understand what they're saying!

Tags: Pets

Ticks – A Very Serious Threat To Your Dogs Health

September 7th, 2008 · No Comments

Ticks are a very serious threat to your dogs health. There are ways to get rid of as well as prevent these tiny pests from threatening your dogs health.

Ticks are not insects like fleas, but arachnids like mites, spiders, and scorpions. A tick has a one piece body, harpoon like barbs around its mouth to attach to a host for feeding, crablike legs and a sticky secretion to help hold itself to the host. The United States has about 200 tick species whose habitats include woods, beach grass, lawns, forests, and even in some urban areas.

Tags: Pets

Ginger Gets A New Home

September 4th, 2008 · No Comments

Ginger (a.k.a. "Redpuss") is a half-ginger, half white, 12-year-old tom who suffered some bad health problems last year, including cat flu, 6 rotten teeth (with accompanying toothache) and associated chronic infection, a septic lip, ear mites, skin allergies and a heart murmur. His story is documented at the Help Save Ginger page (http://www.just-pet-cats.com/help-save-ginger.html), if you'd like some background information. You may have already read my previous article about him and how a number of generous people donated funds to cover his vet bills.

Tags: Pets