Pets Care : Annual exams are an important component of quality pet care - Arizona Daily Sun

Annual exams are an important component of quality pet care - Arizona Daily Sun

Posted: 25 Jun 2012 05:19 AM PDT

Q: My cat never goes outside and has been in great health all her life. She has been eating the same food forever and has never once been sick. She gets very stressed whenever she has to travel in the car so I have not been taking her to her yearly wellness exams. How important are the yearly wellness exams if my cat has never had a problem?

A: This is a great question because it is one that many cat owners struggle with as they try to provide the best care possible for their pet. Bringing some cats to the veterinarian can be a very stressful event for all involved, including the veterinarian! So, we have to understand the importance of the wellness exam to then understand why we need to do this every year for your cat. The general wellness exam is a very thorough physical exam where we examine your pet from head to toe and back again. We examine the eyes, ears, mouth, teeth, heart, lungs, skin and more. Another important aspect of the physical exam is getting your pet's current weight. Weight loss or gain can be an indicator of disease or can help guide us on how to better help you with your pet's nutritional requirements. Cats are the masters of hiding illness until they are very sick, and the wellness exams can sometimes detect subtle changes which allow us to catch an illness sooner. As cats age, they are more prone to chronic conditions such as overactive thyroid, kidney disease, diabetes and even arthritis to name a few. So having that yearly exam will help your veterinarian better evaluate how your cat is aging over time and if there are issues that need to be addressed such as weight or dental disease. Although getting your cat to the veterinarian can be a struggle, the yearly wellness examination is crucial in maintaining the health and longevity of your special feline friend.

Q: My dog will not stop scratching and has sometimes scratched herself so hard she draws blood. She also is constantly getting ear infections, and we cannot seem to get them under control -- what do we do?

A: Living with an itchy dog can be very frustrating. The most common cause for an itchy dog is allergies. This can be an allergy to a food product that they are eating, or it can be an allergy to an environmental allergen, or sometimes it can be both. The most frustrating aspect of allergies is that there is no "cure," there is only medical and diet management to try and control the severity of the itching. So, first I always tell my clients to understand that this is a lifelong problem that will always need to be managed. Second, we need to determine whether this is a food allergy or an environmental allergy, and this can be done with very strict food trials for the food allergic dogs and blood or skin testing for the environmental allergic dogs. It is always essential for the veterinarian to perform a thorough examination of the skin as well as bloodwork to rule out other possible causes of the itching, such as infection or metabolic diseases. Sometimes, we will perform a trial of antihistamines, steroids, or other therapies to judge response. The goal is always to reduce the itching so that it is tolerable for the owner and the pet. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with but, with time and a little patience, we can usually achieve an acceptable outcome for our itchy patients.

You can reach Dr. Miller at drmillercph@gmail.com.

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