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Here is a recent heart-warming story of a cat being reunited with its owner 4 years after they became separated. The unlikely reunion was possible thanks to the microchip implant that the cat had: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/california-family-s-missing-cat-booboo-found-in-guelph-ont-1.3346157

Microchip implants are a safe, permanent way to identify your pet in case he or she becomes lost. A microchip is a tiny device about the size of a grain of rice that is placed just under the loose skin at the back of the pet’s neck.  The placement of the microchip can be done without anesthesia.  When a lost dog or cat without an ID tag is found, a handheld microchip scanner can be used to check for a chip.  If the pet has one, it will transmit its ID number to the scanner via a low-frequency radio wave.  The veterinary hospital or shelter then calls the microchip company that has a registry, retrieves the pet owner’s contact information and calls the owner.

Here is some additional information on how microchipping works: http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/everyday-innovations/pet-microchip1.htm

We recommend that you use a microchip, along with a collar and ID tag, to identify your pet. However, collars and ID tags are not permanent and can be removed (overnight or for grooming); pets can also lose them.  Even the most responsible pet owners can’t always guarantee their pet won’t get lost.  A leash could break or slip out of your hand, a pet could push through a screen door or window, or a neighbour might accidentally leave a gate open.  With a microchip, your pet will have a much better chance of being identified and returned to you.  Pets without microchips are more likely to end up in shelters and then adopted by another family or even euthanized.

Important tip: if you move to a new address, make sure to contact your microchip company provider to update your phone number on file. This will decrease confusion when trying to reunite the pet with its owner quickly.

Please contact Mitchell Veterinary Services or Pauly Veterinary Clinic to schedule an appointment to microchip your pet.  Although we hope your pet never becomes lost, we want you to be prepared.

Heartworm prevention is far safer and cost-effective than treating a dog that is ill from a high burden of heartworm. Treatment of heartworm is potentially dangerous and painful for a dog.

Heartworm disease can be prevented by giving your dog a monthly heartworm preventive medication. When used as directed, these medications kill the heartworm larvae and clear infections from the dog’s bloodstream.  Heartworm medications can have other benefits, such as deworming, and preventing or treating fleas.

Monthly heartworm products are available in both topical and oral form. The product that would best suit your individual dog is based on their lifestyle, as well as other factors can be discussed with your veterinarian.

If you have any questions or concerns about your pets heartworm medication talk to one of our team members at Mitchell Veterinary Services or Pauly Veterinary Clinic

If you missed part 1 of this blog here is the link:

Mitchell Veterinary Services Discusses Heartworm – Part 1

Easter is on its way and along with it comes lots of Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies and family dinners.  Unfortunately with this celebration, Mitchell Veterinary Services sees many pets exposed to some unforeseen potential hazards.

Chocolate ingestion is poisonous for both dogs and cats.  Products that contain darker, less sweet chocolate such as Baker’s chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate are the most likely to cause symptoms, as they contain higher doses of theobromine and caffeine.  Signs of chocolate toxicity include hyperactivity, vomiting, diarrhea, an increased heart rate, heart arrhythmias, tremors, seizures, coma and death.  Even with lighter chocolates such as milk chocolate or chocolate-covered candies, the fat and sugar content are a risk of causing upset stomachs or inflammation of the pancreas.  The effects of chocolate take several days to leave a dog’s system – for this reason, we recommend speaking with your veterinarian as soon as you find out that your pet has eaten chocolate.  At that time we can formulate a medical plan, based on the dog’s body weight and type and volume of chocolate consumed.

Turkey bones are dangerous!  If your dog or cat swallows chicken or turkey bones, the bones may fragment into sharp pieces that could potentially injure its gut.  It is not recommended to make your pet vomit if it has ingested bones, because the shards could potentially create further damage to its esophagus on the way back up.  Large bones, such as a ham bone, risk becoming obstructed in the gut.  A pet should be seen by a veterinarian if they stop eating for 24 hours, or have vomiting or diarrhea.

Easter lilies are fatal to cats.  Even drinking the water from a vase containing this flower can quickly cause severe kidney failure.  All true lilies, including the day lily, are highly toxic to our feline friends.  If you see that your cat has ingested any part of a lily, it will require emergency therapy, including hospitalization and IV fluids, as soon as possible.

With spring approaching, another plant to watch for is lily of the valley. This plant can cause life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms when eaten by dogs or cats.  Tulip and hyacinth bulbs are also toxic when chewed.  Bulb ingestion can cause excessive drooling, vomiting or diarrhea.  If a large number of bulbs are consumed, signs become more severe – a dog may experience an increased heart rate and difficulty breathing.

Our staff at Mitchell Veterinary Services & Pauly Veterinary Clinic wishes you and your family a happy and safe Easter!

Lyme disease is the most prevalent tick-borne disease in dogs according to surveillance in Ontario.

Deer ticks may be carriers of Lyme bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi in our geographic area.  A carrier tick bites a human or dog and transmits Lyme bacteria through its saliva.  Symptoms of Lyme disease in a person are different from those in dogs.  Dogs do not get a bull’s eye rash the way that people do.

A dog’s exposure to Lyme can be tested with a blood test. A cat’s exposure for Lyme is not screened, since cats do not get a clinical form of the disease.

The majority of dogs that are exposed to Lyme bacteria do not develop symptoms, but a small number of dogs become ill and require treatment. In early stages (4-6 weeks after a bite) symptoms can include fever, decreased energy, swollen lymph nodes, decrease of appetite and limping.  Dogs that get sick generally respond to a course of antibiotics – after treatment, they continue to harbor the infection without feeling ill.  One possible long-term consequence of being infected with Lyme is glomerular kidney disease.  In certain dogs, the production of antibodies to Lyme infection causes immune complexes to be deposited in the kidneys, leading to kidney damage over time.  It has been recommended that Lyme positive dogs be regularly screened for significant protein loss in their urine.

For dogs traveling to a high risk region for Lyme disease, there is a Lyme vaccine available. The purpose of the vaccine is to prevent infection in dogs vaccinated before any exposure to Lyme bacteria.  At Mitchell Veterinary Services, we strongly recommend using tick prevention, even for dogs that are vaccinated.

It is best to prevent tick bites through avoidance or removing ticks right away before they have time to transmit disease. The process of disease transmission requires a minimum length of time for the tick to feed, which means that if the tick is removed promptly, then the host will not get the disease.

You can keep your pet on a trimmed lawn and on-leash when in the woods. It is recommended to look for ticks by combing through your pet’s fur when he/she comes back from playing in wooded areas or areas with long grass.  A tick can be removed at home with tweezers or by a technician at our clinic.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has some strategies to reduce risk for pets and humans alike.

There are several veterinary products that kill and repel ticks:

• There are spot-on and oral products available for dogs and spot-on products for cats that are available by veterinary prescription.
• All tick products should still be combined with tick avoidance strategies.

Mitchell Veterinary Services tests for tick-borne diseases at the time we perform a yearly blood test to screen for exposure to heartworm. Tick prevention is safe to use even in the event that a dog’s blood sample shows that it has been exposed to a tick-borne disease.

We have had some unseasonably warm weather here in Perth County – which means that ticks are active! There are two spikes in the tick population each year, occurring in the early spring and late fall.  However, any time the temperature is above 4C, ticks are on the move and searching for a warm body to feed on.

Ticks are arachnids that feed on blood from small wildlife, dogs, cats and humans. Female ticks require a blood meal to complete their life cycle.  Ticks start as eggs laid in the summer, emerge as larvae in the fall, molt into nymphs in the winter and end up as adults in the spring.

• An immature tick is the size of a freckle.
• An adult tick is the size of a sesame seed.
• An engorged adult tick is the size of a pencil eraser.

Ticks are mostly found in wooded areas, along the side of trails, playgrounds and grassy areas in urban areas. There are several species of ticks.  The deer tickfeeds primarily on white-tailed deer in its adult form, but all life-stages of the tick will feed on dogs and humans.

Tick bites are usually not painful, but cause some mild swelling and redness. The bad part is that tick bites can transmit diseases; Lyme disease is one of the most prevalent in our region.

Tick numbers are on the rise in this part of the country.

Here is a map of Canada with the number of tick-borne diseases reported in dogs tested with a blood sample since 2017: http://www.petdiseasereport.com/content/prevmap.aspx

The Public Health Agency of Canada has a map with locations in Ontario that have the highest risk of Lyme disease transmission.

Most dogs have a huge desire to chew. Many people picture puppies with their sharp teeth exploring their surroundings through chewing, but after even after a puppy’s adult teeth erupt, they will continue to chew and may even be quite destructive chewers for the first 2 years.  Many dogs chew as a relaxing pastime and before they fall asleep.

Here are some ideas that may help you keep your puppy/dog and house safe from injury:

• Assume that your puppy and young dog will chew things when left unattended

• Plan for this by having a safe area for your dog to rest, such as a crate, kennel or room barricaded by a baby gate
• Bitter apple spray can be applied several times a day to a table leg or other inappropriate item that it is starting to gnaw on
• Close doors to deny access to forbidden items

• Nothing is completely safe, but you will still need to provide them with options to chew
  • Supervise your pup with new toys

• Dogs prefer different textures at different life stages
  • Experiment with different textures and observe the chewing habits of your dog to determine which toys are safest for it.
  • Select a toy that can’t be swallowed or break off into small pieces

• Never allow your dog to play with/chew old articles of clothing or shoes, as it may think that means that even your new clothes and shoes are fair game!

• Have a variety of options ready for your dog at a moment’s notice
  • Consider raw vegetables, such as carrots or celery
  • Toys with food compartments can provide mental stimulation

• Assume that your puppy/young dog will chew anything left in the crate
  • Don’t leave it unsupervised with a blanket in the crate until you have tested this for short periods while you are home

• Sometimes chews that are extra-hard and marketed as indestructible may actually cause more damage to your dog
  • Such super-hard items may result in broken teeth when they are chewed on
  • Offering your dog bones to chew can be risky

• Throw away a toy as soon as it is damaged, so that it can’t cause injury to your dog
  • There are occasional reports of trauma to the underlying dental (alveolar) bone of dogs with punctured gums from broken toys

• Certain toys are best left for play time with their favourite person – you!

The really neat thing is that we see mature dogs that still have their soft stuffed toys in one piece; on the other end of the spectrum, we see dogs that chew through the “indestructible” variety of toys in one session. Dogs have individual tastes and they will show you their preferences in chew toys.

If you are finding that your dog’s chewing seems to be excessive and uncontrolled, perhaps your dog needs another outlet for its pent-up energy/boredom/anxiety. Here are some non-chewing suggestions for your pooch: http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/dog-health/dog-behavior/benefits-tired-dog.

If you have any questions talk to our team members at Mitchell Veterinary Services.

Cats usually have at least one poop per day and should not strain excessively. Constipation is an abnormal amount of feces that has accumulated in the colon and is difficult to pass.  Cats with constipation may have reduced or no bowel movements in the litter box.

The more time that feces sits in the colon (large intestine), the more water is absorbed from the stool, creating a vicious cycle that makes it even more difficult for the cat to poop. Sometimes, when a cat strains to defecate, the hard stool will act like a partial obstruction and small amounts of liquid stool will continue to pass around the hard stool pieces, giving the false impression that the cat has diarrhea.

 Signs that your cat may have constipation:

1)      Abdominal discomfort, such as a hunched painful appearance

2)      Straining to poop and crying in the litter box

3)      Pooping outside of the litter box

4)      Passing small hard pellets of stool

5)      Passing small amounts of liquid stool or blood/mucus

6)      Vomiting

7)      Lack of appetite

8)      Lack of energy/hiding

What does a normal feline bowel movement look like?

Here is a fecal scoring chart that is a handy way of assessing whether your cat’s stools are normal.

In the images below, score 3 is an example of a normal bowel movement.

What causes constipation in cats?

Here are some risk factors:

• Being a senior or geriatric cat
• Having hairballs
• Ingesting foreign material, such as plants or carpet
• Having arthritis or a narrowed pelvic canal from a previous injury
• Being obese
• Being dehydrated (which occurs commonly in cats with chronic kidney disease)
• Having decreased nerve/muscle function (for example, the tailless Manx cat)

Treatment of constipation

If your cat is diagnosed with constipation, through a physical exam and possibly by x-ray, one of the therapies below may be recommended:

• Laxative/stool softener
• Enema
• Hospitalization and re-hydration with IV fluids
• Manual evacuation of the colon
• Abdominal surgery to remove obstruction from the colon
• Medication to increase the ability of the colon to contract

If constipation is left untreated, it can lead to obstipation, which is the inability to empty the colon. This can lead to megacolon, which is a condition that results in loss of the colon’s motility.  Severe cases may need to be treated with surgical removal of a portion of the colon.

 What can I do to prevent my cat from becoming constipated?

• Add moisture to the diet – in the form of cat fountains, canned food or water added to food
• Add fibre to the diet
• Add exercise – this encourages the smooth muscle to push stool towards the rectum
• Add pain management for arthritis
• Add a mild laxative – for hairball control
• Any medications should only be given under the guidance of a veterinarian.

In addition to keeping litter box odour away, daily litter box cleaning is a good way of keeping tabs on your cat’s urinating and defecating habits, so that you can quickly recognize changes.

If you have any questions or concerns about your cats bowel movements talk to one of our team members at Mitchell Veterinary Services.