“Flea killer can be deadly for pets - 14 WFIE” plus 3 more

Flea killer can be deadly for pets - 14 WFIE
Star Trek's Sci-Fi Pets & Animals - Associated Content
Junk food killing pet cats and dogs - The Malaysian Insider
Pollen season can affect pets as badly as people - AZCentral.com

Flea killer can be deadly for pets - 14 WFIE

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 08:57 AM PDT

Posted by Rachel Folz - email

(NBC) - Outdoor time for dogs and their owners is a welcome break after a long winter, but it's a field day for ticks and fleas as well who want to make a home on your pet.

That's why many pet owners have turned to spot on treatments, applied once a month to keep fleas and ticks away.

Veterinarians have been prescribing them for years because they are so good at keeping fleas and ticks from feeding on your pets, not to mention they're easy to use.

Unfortunately, just a little bit of product can turn to poison.

The EPA reports 44,000 sick pets in 2008 because of spot-on products.

That's about 50 percent more than the year before and 600 of those animals died.

The EPA says reactions include vomiting, diarrhea, trembling, depression and seizures.

"We don't believe it was a bad batch. We do believe it was a misuse because labels weren't clear," says Mary Monell of the EPA.

For example, using a dog product on a cat or using a product for a large dog on a small dog.

The EPA says to increase the safety of these products it will begin reviewing labels to determine which ones needs stronger and clearer labeling statements.

Flea and tick products made for dogs contain a pesticide called permethrin, which can kill a cat.

"When in doubt, consult with your veterinarian, especially if you've got an older dog, a pregnant or nursing dog or cat. Just be more vigilant. It is, it's a pesticide. It's a poison and you want to treat it with utmost care," Monell advises.

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Star Trek's Sci-Fi Pets & Animals - Associated Content

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 07:45 AM PDT

Cats, Dogs & Fish Go Boldly Where No Animal Has Gone Before

When we think of warping into space along with the starship Enterprise's Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) or sentient android Data, we inevitably think 'new lifeforms' and awe inspiring planets full of mysterious aliens, and wondrous movie magic. We don't usually think pets. However, the Star Trek TV shows and movies are full of purring cats, adorable dogs, colorful fish, along with a few odd beasties much too weird for words.

Targ - Star Trek: The Next Generation

If you could reclaim any long lost pet from your childhood, what would that animal be? What would it look like? For Klingon warrior and Starfleet officer Worf, his boyhood pet was a Targ - a kind of pissed off pig or burly boar like creature from his home planet.

These scruffy looking things, to humans anyway, appear pretty darned nasty, ugly and even smelly. However, Klingons love to raise them for livestock as well as to keep them as pets. In the TNG episode, Where No One Has Gone Before, a Targ appears on the starship bridge, much to Worf's surprised delight. It quickly disappears owing to effects of a weird space time energy zone, but before it zips out of our sight, we get a first taste of just the kind of pet Klingons keep.

Livingston - Lionfish - Star Trek: The Next Generation

Captain Jean-Luc Picard is fond of reciting the Bard - William Shakespeare - and keeping tropical fish. He has both in his starship ready room, on the bridge of the Enterprise-D.

Picard (Patrick Stewart) is a keenly well read man, and lover of the classics, and it seems he's also a fan of exotic pets. Livingston, a lion fish, was kept in the corner of the ready room set, in a large spherical aquarium. The fish character made it through all seven seasons of the TV show.

Sehlat - I-Chaya - Star Trek: The Animated Series

Vulcans are a highly logical race. Is it logical to keep dangerous pets around children? With six inch fangs, Sehlats are inherently dangerous, yet one was kept by a Vulcan boy named Spock.

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Junk food killing pet cats and dogs - The Malaysian Insider

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 03:06 AM PDT

PARIS, April 8 — The junk food and poor eating habits affecting humans is also killing their four-legged pals, say veterinary surgeons and experts.

Allergies and obesity are reducing the life expectancy of Lassies and Mittens nourished worldwide on industrial foodstuffs, said Gerard Lippert, a Belgian acupuncturist for animals who has just completed a study on the diets of 600 dead dogs.

"Pets, like humans, are victims of junk food," he told AFP.

Of the 600 furry corpses he examined "those fed on processed foods died three years earlier than those fed on food made in the home."

Dogs, he added, "originally were omnivores who shared their food with humans."

Rippert said he was increasingly called on to heal skin, motor and digestive problems as acupuncture was an all-embracing method enabling work on practically all organs.

"Dry dog food and cat food croquettes are over-heated, which destroys vitamins, trace elements and other basic nutritional elements," he said.

"We don't know the origin of the proteins in the foods," he added. "And there's an excessive amount of cereal, often genetically modified, and very little vegetables."

"We're turning our dogs and cats into ruminants," he said.

Laurence Colliard, a veterinary surgeon and nutritionist located in the Paris suburbs, estimates that only five percent of French pet-owners cook food for their four-legged companions.

France is Europe's top pet nation — with 7.8 million dogs and 10.7 million cats, according to a 2008 study by the Sofres/Facco polling institute.

Dogs should not eat cooked or processed food

"I'm seeing an increasing number of allergies, diarrhea, vomitting, skin dermatitis as well as cases of obesity, specially amid cats because of the excessively high energy content in industrially-produced cat foods," said Colliard.

Pet owners tend to favour processed foods because of the difficulty of preparing nutritionally balanced meals, which in an ideal world should contain some 50 nutrients as well as meat, vegetables, rice and pasta.

An animal's age, weight and exercise routine also need to be taken into account.

The packs on offer on supermarket shelves also claim as a bonus to reduce nasty urine smells and modify the consistency of animal poop.

The pet food industry was born in England where James Spratt produced the world's first dog biscuits in 1860.

Some 150 years later, many Internet sites are calling for a return to natural foods for pets.

BARF or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food is a type of pet diet that consists of raw meat, bones, and organs," says www.barf.com. "It is the practice of feeding domestic pets their evolutionary diet as a way of maximizing their health and longevity.

"Dogs should not eat cooked or processed food," it adds. "Instead, your pet should consume foods that are similar to a dog's wild ancestors. This includes bones, fat, meat, and vegetable materials."

Likewise www.i-love-dogs.com/dog-food-recipes offers tips for natural home-made meals.

"It's only in the last 100 years we have we been led to believe that dogs cannot survive without packaged food. We are told it would be harmful if we were to give them the scraps from our own home cooked meals. This is pure poppycock!" — afprelaxnews.com

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Pollen season can affect pets as badly as people - AZCentral.com

Posted: 13 Apr 2010 10:23 AM PDT

Sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes - yes, seasonal allergies are a pain.

But at least your hair isn't falling out. And no one is suggesting you take a bath in oatmeal.

Pets are suffering as badly as people from allergies, due to the winter and spring rains that have delivered a bountiful pollen harvest.

As allergies have us reaching for facial tissues and nasal spray, dogs and cats are reaching extreme levels of discomfort, scratching at itches that won't go away.

"Our dogs are getting slammed this year," said Stan Howard, a veterinarian at Animal Hospital at Grayhawk in Scottsdale. "This year is exceptionally tough due to all the rain, and yes, the same pollens and dust that bother people can plague our pets."

Pollen settles into fur and is absorbed by the skin, which in allergic dogs can lead to anything from a mild itch to an infection and hair loss.

Symptoms are subtle at first and easily missed by owners, said Melana Martens, a vet at East Maryland Animal Hospital in Phoenix. More often than not, it doesn't start from a scratch. It starts with a lick.

Affected pets may start by licking or biting their pads, among the first spots pollen may permeate.

From there, the claws are out to scratch such irritable areas as belly, chest, neck, muzzle - just about any spot that can be reached, Martens said.

It can reach a point where skin is scratched raw, resulting in hair loss and scabbing. Skin inside ears also can become inflamed and irritated, resulting in ear infections.

Maybe sneezing and a runny nose aren't so bad after all.

"Pets can really suffer if they're allergic," Martens said. "This year is worse than last. We're seeing more dogs than usual, and dogs we've seen in years past have come in earlier than usual. It's not going to get any better until the weather warms and the flowers start to wither."

Though no one breed is more allergic than another, Martens has seen a number of Labs, golden retrievers and West Highland terriers. Dogs with skin folds, such as pugs and Shar-Peis, also may suffer more as pollen is trapped within those folds.

"Just like with humans, it's all genetic," Martens said. "We have an itch scale of one to 10. Some dogs are one; others are 12. You never know."

Dana Williams of Cave Creek knows all the signs of an allergic dog - the scratching, the licking, the biting. Murphy, her 7-year-old Lab and coonhound mix, suffers each year, requiring a visit to her vet.

But this year Murphy's misery has company. Williams' 6-year-old terrier mix, Buster Brown, came down with allergies for the first time. There was more scratching going on than at open-turntable night.

On the way home from the vet, Williams stopped at a pharmacy for the usual weapons - prescription shampoos and lotions, antibiotics and, as is advised in extreme cases, steroids.

Not fetch-enhancing steroids, mind you, but those designed to ease the pains of allergies.

"I feel so badly for them when I see them scratching all the time," Williams said. "So now I don't let them out. Well, only to do their business. But that's it. Then right back in."

While most cats spend their time indoors, they too can suffer from allergies. Pollen drifts in through open doors or on clothing, settling on the resident feline(s) and leading to itchy skin. But cats also may suffer sneezing and watery eyes, said Judy Karnia of the Scottsdale Cat Clinic.

To reduce allergic impact, Karnia suggests using air filters and low-dust cat litters. An oatmeal cat shampoo can remove pollens from fur and soothe the skin.

If symptoms are mild and involve occasional licking or sneezing, owners should watch and wait. Should they become more severe and the cat is distressed, a trip to the vet is in order, Karnia said.

Treatments for allergic pets range from TLC (if she's occasionally scratching) to over-the-counter medicines and pills.

If your pet seems to be scratching more than usual, vets suggest medicated shampoos and spray-on lotions available at pet and discount stores. You can also sprinkle pet food with fish oil, supplying needed omega-3 fatty acids.

Those seeking to medicate their dogs with over-the-counter antihistamines should check first with their vets, said Martens. Some can contain caffeine, which is bad for animals. And dosing can be tricky.

Benadryl, for example, can be very effective, but doses for dogs are very different from those for people, Martens said. In many cases, a large dog (50 pounds or more) could use two tablets twice a day, exceeding what a person would need. But for smaller dogs, one tablet could be too much.

"Don't just give your dogs pills without knowing exactly what should be given," Martens said.

If conditions worsen and sores develop, a trip to the vet would be best earlier than later. If untreated, secondary infections can set in and treatment can become even more expensive, Martens said.

Either way, pet allergies are nothing to sneeze at.

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