Category Archives: Health

Curing Bad Cat Breath

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Cat owners know for a fact that bad cat breath can be downright awful.  It isn’t that much different from bad human breath, as both are caused by bacteria found in the mouth that breaks protein down and releases the sulfur compounds out into the air.  Sulfur smells really bad on its own, which is why breath containing it smells bad as well.  The bacterium that causes bad breath with cats is normally associated with a buildup of tartar around the teeth.  Tartar is yellow in color, known as a coating of bacteria, food, and minerals.

To cure your cat from bad breath, you’ll need to remove the buildup of tartar.  There are several cat foods out there that are designed to reduce the buildup of tartar, many containing enzymes that will literally dissolve it.  You can also give your cat treats as well, as many of them will help eliminate and prevent tartar.  If the buildup of tartar is bad, you may need to have your cat’s teeth professionally cleaned.  Once the tartar has been removed, the bad breath will go away.

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Commercial Dog Food – What Are you Really Feeding your Dog?

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You’ve heard this before – “You are what you eat.” The same goes for your dog.

So, how’d you like to be a, “meat by-product?” Well, of course you wouldn’t, it just sounds nasty, doesn’t it?

But what is this whole “by-product” business all about?

Unfortunately, that’s just it — business. By-products are generally defined as animal parts that are not fit for human consumption, such as bones, organs, blood, fatty tissue and intestines. So, in essence, someone got the great idea to process all the leftover garbage in the meatpacking plant and call it, “Dog Food.”

And, if that alone wasn’t bad enough, the offal is processed in varying degrees of nauseating. For example, while “chicken by-product” may encompass heads, necks, feet and intestines, at the very least, all the parts must come from chicken. The same is true for lamb by-products, beef by-products, etc.

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RECALL – Bravo! Brand Frozen Raw Pet Foods – Salmonella, Listeria

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Below is the FDA Press Release on the recall of the Bravo! brand frozen raw pet foods;

Recall — Firm Press Release

FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.

Bravo! Issues Nationwide Recall of Select Poultry Products for Dogs and Cats

Contact:
David Bogner
(866) 922-9222

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –Vernon, CT — Sept. 18, 2007— Bravo! announces a voluntary recall of select tubes of three of its poultry products for cats and dogs. The pet food is being recalled because two of the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes, while the other product has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

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Let’s Talk Dog Food – ‘Dog Food 101’ – Part 1

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I get a lot of questions about dog food and requests for recommendations and I thought I would offer a little ‘Dog Food 101’.

I am the proud owner of two wonderful English Springer Spaniels, Jezzie and Bruti and let me state that my dogs eat a combination of raw and home cooked. I did a great deal of research before settling on this as what I feel the best alternative for their health and nutrition. I have very little faith or trust in most of the ‘commercial’ dog food available. This is not saying that they are all bad but my choice is not to offer anything to my dogs that I would not eat myself, or at least be able to eat my self.

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Walmart Selling ‘Toxic’ China Made Pet Toys

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Toxic Dog ToyBy now I think most everyone knows that China has been killing our pets with food and treats but you now add ‘toxic toys’ to that list!

Rather than try to summarize it, I thought I’d let you read it and draw your own conclusion. Personally, I would NEVER allow my babies to come in contact with these hazards!!

This from Consumer Affairs

Two Chinese-made toys for pets sold at Wal-Mart stores contain elevated levels of lead, chromium, and cadmium, according to a forensic toxicologist whose lab tested the products for ConsumerAffairs.com.

Two veterinarians, however, said the levels of toxic metals found in the toys do not pose a health risk to dogs or cats. Whether the toys are a hazard to children and adults who handle them isn’t clear.Toxic Cat Toy

ConsumerAffairs.com hired ExperTox Analytical Laboratory in Texas to test four imported toys for pets — two for dogs and two for cats — for heavy metals and other toxins.

One of the dog toys — a latex one that looks like a green monster — tested positive for what the lab’s toxicologist said are high levels of lead and the cancer-producing agent chromium.

A cloth catnip toy also tested positive for “a tremendous amount” of the toxic metal cadmium, the lab said.

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Pet Food, Treat and Product Information

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The recent pet food recall is still on the minds of many and although there have been stories of a ‘clean-up’ and tighter regulations, to be honest, I’m not sure things are improving.

Just recently there were the stories about the Chicken Jerky Treats from Wal-mart that were proving hazardous to our dogs and there was never a recall issued in that!  Just the other day the AVMA, American Veterinary Medical Association did issue a warning regarding the deadly treats.

And now the latest seems to be ‘toxic toys’ that China is shipping and Wal-mart is selling!! You can find out more about the toxic toys here!

For all the latest info on the recalls and problems, take a look at Recalled Food Products, it will also keep up with any other products, like the toys, and keep you informed – Recalled Food Products

AVMA Issues Warning Regarding China Made Jerky Treats

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Many of you are familiar with the recent problems with the two brands of China made Chicken Jerky Treats sold by Wal-mart, well it seems the problems may be more widespread but there doesn’t seem to be anything conclusive at this point nor have there been any official recalls. Wal-mart did block the sale of the two brands of treats under suspicion. Now the AVMA, American Veterinary Medical Association has officially issued a warning regarding a ‘potential new threat to pets.’

MEDIA ALERT

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Michael San Filippo
Phone: 847-285-6687
Cell: 847-732-6194
e-mail: msanfilippo@avma.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 14, 2007

Update: AVMA warns of potential new threat to pets

Schaumburg, Ill. — The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has recently been made aware of several complaints from pet owners and veterinarians that multiple brands of jerky treats manufactured in China have been making pets sick. Symptoms of illness have included vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. To our knowledge, no deaths have been reported.

The AVMA posted an alert on its Web site on September 13 to inform its members and the public about what was known. Today, the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) issued a statement saying it also has become aware of an unusual number of dogs presenting similar symptoms and abnormal test results associated with consumption of some jerky treats. The ACVIM statement is available at www.acvim.org/uploadedFiles/Jerky_Treat_Info_September_14.doc.

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Cancer in Pets – Don’t Just Take it Laying Down!

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Cancer, the Big “C” is one of the worst words a pet owner can hear. It almost sounds like a death sentence, but it doesn’t have to be. Caught early enough and aggressively treated, survival rates are improving everyday.

Cancer in Our Pets

Cancer is not uncommon in dogs and cats and the incidence increases with age. It accounts for almost half of the deaths of pets over 10 years of age. Dogs get cancer at roughly the same rate as humans, while cats get fewer cancers.

Here are some common warning signs of cancer;

  • Abnormal swellings that persist or continue to grow
  • Sores that do not heal
  • Weight loss
  • Loss of appetite
  • Bleeding or discharge from any body opening
  • Offensive odor
  • Difficulty eating or swallowing
  • Hesitation to exercise or loss of stamina
  • Persistent lameness or stiffness
  • Difficulty breathing, urinating, or defecating

This is definitely one area where modern medicine has made huge strides but you don’t need to rely only on modern medicine. There are many things you, as a pet owner, can do to improve your pet’s chances and keep them strong and help them fight.

What Can We Do?

One of the first and most important things, from my point of view, is to make sure your pet’s diet is as good as it can be. Specific diets have been formulated to help combat cancer but you can make your own at home very easily if you just keep some things in mind.

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Vets Holding Pets ‘Hostage’, Threatening ‘Death’

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If this is the latest trend in veterinary medicine, it makes me want all the more to be able to do whatever I can to take care of my own pets’ health as much as I can.

From For the Love of the Dog

Veterinary medicine, like human medicine, has its share of good and bad practitioners but I’ve been seeing an alarming trend in the area of veterinary medicine. There was a time when vets treated animals for the love of animals and because they cared. Veterinary medicine had gotten as bad as human medicine and in some ways even worse!

At least many people have medical insurance and there are programs for people who need medical care. For pets, yes, there is medical insurance available but compared to the numbers of pets, coverage is not wide spread yet. And yes, there are some low cost programs available but they are mostly spay/neuter programs and vaccination programs.

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Some ‘Myths’ Vets Tell You – DeBunked!

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Veterinarians, like any doctors, depend on their client base to make money and generally, the more clients, the more money. Now I’m not saying that all vets only think about the bottom line, but to be honest I am seeing this more and more.

A friend of mine has a little Cocker Spaniel with a myriad of medical problems. These problems, such as Cushings, chronic staph infections and allergies, just to name a few, have been tested and diagnosed but it seems that every time my friend takes her dog to the vet they want to rerun a bunch of tests and do a complete blood work-up, running into hundreds and hundreds of dollars. And this went on every couple of months! She recently found a new vet for her pooch and when he looked at the chart he couldn’t believe the overwhelming number of tests that had been run and rerun, again and again, unnecessarily!

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