Snot and Sneezes!

Runny noses, coughing in the night, unsettled sleep… These symptoms all occur in the human population at a higher frequency in winter time. But do our pets turn into ‘snot-goblins’ over winter too?

Elephant Seal Pup with snotty nose from Antarctica.gov.au, photo by Dave Bone

Viruses circulating through the population are usually responsible for causing common coughs and colds that we see in people, and they’re probably more often seen during the winter because we’re all huddled up together in close confinement out of the cold weather. However, snuffles, sneezes, runny noses, coughs and wheezes seen in our pets are not necessarily seen during the winter months. Here are the reasons why…

Our pets’ upper respiratory tract (URT) diseases are usually caused by viruses, sometimes bacteria, that circulate through their population when they come into close contact too, hence the colloquial name of ‘Kennel Cough” for  URT infections seen in dogs that have been together in a kennel. A similar scenario occurs with cats that are housed together and become infected with ‘Snuffles’ and rats that transmit Mycoplasmosis to each other. So as one can figure out quite quickly, our pets will often have these issues over school holidays when they’ve been to the kennels; or after visits to a busy dog park; or after a new kitten is introduced to a household of older cats that have had snuffles in the past; and not just because the weather has cooled down.

The Parainfluenza virus and Bordatella bronchiseptica bacteria are the usual culprits in dogs and Feline Calici virus and Feline Rhinotracheitis are the most common in cats. The good news for dogs and cats, is that these URT pathogens can be vaccinated against during their annual vaccinations, so that’s why it’s really important to keep them up to date!

In other pets, like rats and mice, controlling these URT bugs can be a bit more complicated since we don’t usually have effective vaccines available to prevent the infection in the first place. Furthermore, Mycoplasma pulmonis (the most common URT germ in rats and mice) is extremely contagious, so most are infected as pups and carry the organism life-long. There are certain factors that may contribute to the exacerbation of the disease and we do have some control of these, so they’re also worth looking into:

• Stress (e.g. too hot/too cold/poor diet)
• Other illnesses which cause the immune system to be compromised and the Mycoplasma infection to become reactivated
• Over-crowding in cages causing fighting and more competition for space and food
• Poor ventilation of the enclosure as well as ammonia buildup from urine and faeces not being cleaned up often enough
• Use of bedding or litter that contains phenols (e.g. pine and cedar chips) and cigarette smoke that irritate the respiratory tract and make it more susceptible to the dormant infection

Image from RatHelp.org

The good news for all furry friends is that we have a number of drugs, including antibiotics, and other adjunctive treatments available for treating them. The most important factor is that the sooner the clinical signs are noted and treatment started, the better your pet’s prognosis and most likely the less expensive too. The good news for humans is that nearly all of these pathogens are only able to infect their specific host species i.e. it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll ever get a cold from your mouse!

If you have any concerns about your cat, dog, mouse, rat, lizard or bird’s sneezy nose, at any time of the year, please give us a call on 07 3266 9992.

Case of the Month: A Taste for Corona!

Puppies are the cutest things ever: from their soft velvety ears, to their frantic wagging tails, all held together in folds of cuddly puppy fur and sleepy puppy breath. They really are sweet! They’re also super inquisitive and curious, wanting to be involved in every family exercise, wiggling their way into the action. Most of the time, these behaviours are very welcome and make them even more endearing, but sometimes curiosity gets the better of them and they get themselves in to a not so healthy situation…. Little ‘Shadow’, an 8 month old blue cattle dog, had obviously had a hard day and decided his owner’s Corona would be a good way to wind down. He was clearly looking for “The unmistakable colour. The one-of-a-kind taste.The unparalleled flavour of relaxation.”, being only 8 months old though, he didn’t realise that the good stuff was inside the bottle and had nothing to do with the shiny silver bottle top that he decided to swallow! Thankfully ‘Shadow’s owners saw him gobble the cap and kept a close eye on him over night. By the next morning, ‘Shadow’ was feeling a bit flat and had started to vomit. His owner’s quickly brought him in and gave us the full story of ‘Shadow’s attraction to Corona’s cap, so we could quickly examine him and take some radiographs (x-rays) to find the sneaky culprit hiding in his belly.

Shadow’s shiny Corona cap

Rarely, foreign bodies, like bottle caps, pieces of wood or bone, cotton thread or string, can move through the digestive system on their own. However, as in ‘Shadow’s case, most of the time these foreign bodies get stuck, either in the stomach, small or large intestine and cause an obstruction. The body’s response is to try to move the foreign material along by the muscles in the intestinal wall working against the foreign body and ultimately results in the stomach or intestines going into a bit of a spasm and even cutting through itself on the foreign material. The result of this is gut contents spilling into the peritoneal cavity causing peritonitis, extreme pain and even septicaemia, all of which can result in death. This behaviour of eating foreign material is also known as ‘Garbage Disease’. So little ‘Shadow’ was prepared for surgery. Fortunately, the bottle cap was easily located and carefully removed from his stomach; his peritoneal cavity flushed to ensure there were no contaminating bacteria left behind and then his abdomen sutured up again.  He was given painkillers, put on a course of antibiotics and a special slurry diet made from prescription Hill’s i/d for several days post-op.  Thankfully, ‘Shadow’ made a speedy and uncomplicated recovery, and his human parents had previously taken out a good pet insurance policy which covered his surgery and aftercare – very clever peeps! So, happily, ‘Shadow’ is still running about like the crazy little cattle dog that he is, and his human parents are able to really celebrate with a cold one, minus bottle caps. Please call us ASAP (07 3266 9992), should your puppy, kitten or other pet swallow something unusual – the sooner we’re able to evaluate their situation and general condition, the better their chances of recovering quickly without any major complications. And remember, puppies and kittens will give almost anything a lick, chew or chomp – don’t leave anything lying around.

Million Paws Walk

Please Support  Northgate Veterinary Surgery and “Red Dog” 

at The RSPCA’s  Million Paws Walk

                  Sunday 18^th May

“Red Dog” the St.George Queensland Reds new Junior Mascot, is teaming up with the RSPCA for the Million Paws Walk this year at Chermside. Funds raised from the event will help the RSPCA fight animal cruelty. Red Dog, along with the Queensland Reds, will be leading the walk and as Red Dog’s official Veterinarian, we are joining in the fun to show our support for such a great cause.

How you can show your Support?

• Sponsor the Northgate Veterinary Surgery Team

             https://mpw-qld-2014.everydayhero.com/au/northgate-veterinary-surgery

• Come along yourself with your own dog! Register at RSPCA’s Million Paws Website

http://www.millionpawswalk.com.au/Queensland.htm

Dr Bernie and “Red”

Arthritis and Degenerative Joint Disease

We’ve all seen or heard about arthritis in our grannies and grandpas, maybe experienced some of it ourselves, but what about our furry friends? I doubt many people have seen a kitty cat hopping over the fence with a walking stick or a labrador retriever with a walker… Does it really happen in our pets? You bet it does! Have a little read and you may be surprised by what you find out….

 

What are Arthritis and Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD)?

By definition, arthritis is inflammation in the joint and DJD refers to the progressive degenerative processes that result in pathology in a joint, like worn down cartilage and cartilage flaps and fragments (joint mice), bone chips and fragments (also joint mice or osteophytes), too little joint fluid, excessive bone laid down where it normally would not be (bone spurs) and bone wearing on bone. These are painful conditions and in order for us to imagine what a beloved pet may feel like, all we have to do is ask a friend, neighbour or relative who suffers from arthritis, to know that it’s pretty uncomfortable. The most common form of arthritis is very similar to that seen in most people, which is due to “wear and tear” of the joints over time, and therefore is seen mainly in older animals. Larger dogs seem to be more affected, however it does occur in small dogs and cats but is much harder to detect. It may involve just one joint, or many throughout the body. Occasionally it is seen in younger animals if they’ve had a joint injury, joint surgery, or if they have a congenital or hereditary joint abnormality. There are also rare forms of autoimmune arthritis (e.g. Rheumatoid arthritis).                                          (Diagram from abc.net.au)

 

What should I look out for?

These signs are not specific to arthritis but when several of them occur together, there’s a pretty good indication that your pet may be suffering with arthritis:

• Limping
• Difficulty rising, standing or sitting
• Slowness and/or reluctance to get up
• Decrease in activity
• Decrease in interacting with family or other pets
• Disinterest in activities he/she used to enjoy e.g. dogs playing fetch or cats playing with dangly toys.
• Hesitancy in jumping up or down, running or climbing stairs
• Change in temperament – becomes grumpy or aggressive
• Sleeping more
• Decrease in appetite
• Weight gain
• Appears stiff or sore, even if they seem to improve after warming up

 

How is arthritis/DJD diagnosed?

A clinical exam along with a thorough history of his/her clinical signs seen at home, will give the examining veterinarian a pretty good idea that arthritis is a possibility. During the exam the vet may feel fluid or boney swellings around the joint, crunching or clicking sounds when the joint is moved. He or she may also find there’s been muscle wasting because of reduced weight bearing and limb use. Radiographs (X-rays) may be needed to visualise boney changes, to make a definitive diagnosis and exclude other diseases that may occur in bones close to joints.                                                                                                    (Diagram from glucosamine-arthritis.org)

Once a preliminary diagnosis is made, we advise owners to trial their pets on a 1-2 week course of strong anti-inflammatory pain relieving medication, even if this is not used long-term. The medications (referred to as NSAIDS) will help to show just how much pain is being caused by the arthritis and gives us a goal for therapy. The fact is, many owners with arthritic pets will not recognise the signs of arthritis, or will consider them to be part of the ageing process. It is not until the pain is blocked out with medications that the debilitating nature of this disease can be realised.

 

What can be done?

Effective relief of pain caused by arthritis uses a multi-pronged attack to get the most successful outcome.

• Healthy Weight: THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT AND EFFECTIVE, NON-DRUG NATURAL THERAPY WE HAVE AVAILABLE FOR OUR ARTHRITIC PETS. Body weight is a simple equation of energy in, versus energy out, and so to be unapologetically blunt, if your pet is overweight then, as the one with the opposable thumbs, YOU (their owner) are giving them TOO MUCH FOOD for their current level of activity and making their arthritis, and therefore their pain worse. The solution is also thankfully simple: a strict diet, no treats, gentle exercise in most cases, and letting us be your pet’s diet coach. Far from being cruel, this will be the best thing you can do for your pet. As you start to see the weight come off, the arthritic pain will lessen and their level of activity will increase. It is the absolute minimum that must be done for all arthritic patients!
• Pain Medications: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly used pain medications. They settle the inflammation that is causing cartilage damage and provide immediate relief from pain. There are several different NSAID options and we recommend the new generation NSAID’s, including Onsior for dogs and Metacam for cats, since they are unique in their mode of action in that common gastrointestinal side effects of NSAID’s are largely eliminated. These are also the drugs we use for treatment trials and the benchmark against which we measure other therapies. For dogs we recommend a blood test every 6 months to monitor any changes to liver or kidney function. For cats, these tests must be done every 6 months since they are usually more susceptible to undetected kidney problems. Other drugs, including cortisone and morphine-type drugs, may be used in particular circumstances.
• Chondro-protectives: over-the-counter supplements containing Pentosan Polysulphate, Omega 3 fatty acids, glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate. They are non-prescription remedies that help to rebuild and heal damaged cartilage and can be a longterm strategy in helping improve arthritic pain. Pentosan is an injection that goes under the skin (not into the joint) that helps the cartilage producing cells make more cartilage “factories”, and glucosamine/chondroitin supplements supply the building blocks to those cartilage factories. Each of these remedies has an effect on cartilage regeneration when working alone but will work better when used together. They also work better in the early stages of arthritis but even in severe cases may help reduce the dose of NSAIDs required to alleviate pain. We currently recommend the “PAW Osteosupport” brand.
• Special Diets: veterinary prescription diets are also part of the arthritis management arsenal. They ensure the arthritic patient receives the correct levels of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals as well as additional supplements such as Omega 3s, glucosamine and chondroitin all in an easy to feed ration. Hills JD Prescription diet is the one that we recommend.
• Physiotherapy and hydrotherapy: swimming is especially good for arthritic dogs since the exercise strengthens their muscles but there’s very little strain put on the joints because the water supports the animal’s body.

IMPORTANT: NEVER give your pet any human medication without checking with your vet first! Some human drugs e.g. paracetamol and ibuprofen can cause very serious illness and even death!

 

Summary

• Arthritis is common.
• It can occur in dogs and cats of all ages and sizes
• It causes chronic pain that may only be seen at its most severe.
• Treatment should be directed at controlling this disease at its earliest possible signs as this already represents significant progression of joint disease.

Recognising that our arthritic pets do not need to suffer pain, especially in their older years, and using a combined approach of weight loss, remedies to repair cartilage and drugs to control inflammation and pain, will go along way to ensuring that they enjoy a very high quality of life without you worrying that they may not be telling you about their chronic pain.

Remember, if your pet is diagnosed with arthritis, always discuss with your vet any changes to your pet’s behaviour, difficulties you’re having with medicating, feeding or exercising your pet. He or she is there to help you and your pet find a programme that helps your four-legged friend get the best out of life.

Please contact us to make an appointment to check out your furry friend and discuss your concerns: Call (07) 3266 9992 or pop in at Northgate Veterinary Surgery, 113 Ridge Street, Northgate. http://www.northgatevet.com.au