Natural Pet Health

So, you want to breed ferrets. Before you actually decide to jump into the ferret breeding business, there are many things that you need to consider first. Breeding ferrets is not for everyone, and in some areas, it is even illegal!

If you really think that you want to breed ferrets, the first thing to consider is that there isn’t much money in it. You aren’t going to get rich from it. It is true that you can sell ferrets anywhere from $50 to $400 each, but when you consider the setup required, and the healthcare requirements of the ferrets in your possession – as well as basic care requirements, you will find out that it actually costs money to breed ferrets – unless you are set up for a really big operation.

Outside of the United States, it is illegal to breed ferrets in Australia, Iceland, and New Zealand. In the United States, it is illegal to breed ferrets in the states of Hawaii and California, and some major cities, such as Washington D.C and New York City.

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Normally canine and feline urinary incontinence or frequent urination leads to investigations that involve blood and urine tests for the pet. Frequent and severe urinary infections may be the initial warnings of the presence of a tumor in the bladder.

The most common type of bladder cancer arises in the epithelial cells that line the bladder (Transitional Cell Carcinoma).

The tumor can also be in the glandular epithelium (Adenocarcinoma) or in an epithelial cell that is flat like a plate and forms a single layer of epithelial tissue (Squamous Cell Carcinoma). A highly malignant neoplasm derived from striated muscle (Rhabdomyosarcoma) is rare.

Many symptoms of a bladder cancer are similar to those observed in urinary tract infection in dogs. The first signs are likely to be discomfort in urinating. If you see blood in the urine, you should act immediately since the blood indicates the presence of a growth in the bladder. Some dogs may show signs of exercise intolerance, difficulty in breathing and coughing too. 

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Given that your dog has lived with you and provided you with comfort as a companion, it is your duty to take care of your pet if he is found to be afflicted with a specific disease. The amount of care and companionship that your dog may need increases and becomes more important especially if the disease is terminal in nature.

Cancer in dogs is one such disease where detection happens in the later stages, rendering treatment almost immaterial and useless. In such cases, love, care and comfort are the three things that you can provide for your dying dog.

Even though there are numerous kinds of cancer and each can affect different parts of the dog’s body, the basic fundamentals of care for cancer in dogs remains the same. The basic idea is to make the dog’s life as comfortable as possible. It is now your time to pay him back for his services.

Some of the basic principles of taking care of a dog with cancer are mentioned below.

Pain Management

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If you have dogs and they travel with you in the car you may want to try this carpet fresh.

1 Cup baking soda with 40 drops of essential oils.

Choose from Lemon, Grapefruit, Bergamot, Tea Tree, Litsea Cubea, Cedarwood and Patchouli. Mix together and sprinkle over carpet let sit overnight , then vacuum.

The essential oils will deoderize and help repel fleas.

This Daily Aromatherapy Tip is brought to you by http://www.AromaThyme.com/

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Urinary tract infections can be as troublesome for your pet as it is for you. UTI in puppies and adult dogs is marked by an extremely irritating symptom - urinating at odd places despite the dog having been toilet trained.

However, getting irritated and angry with your pet is not the solution since he is not to blame. In most cases you ailing dog may not even be aware of the dribbles as they pass out involuntarily.

Severe instances of canine and feline urinary infection are mostly caused due to bladder stones that block the urethral passage. Despite a full bladder the dog is unable to urinate even when he tries hard. The back pressure of the urine often forces urine around the blockage to leak out in small quantities at a time.

Urinary tract infection in dogs is a fairly common condition. UTI can lead to the formation of bladder stones and bladder stones, in turn, can obstruct the free flow of urine that promotes infection in the accumulated urine.

Both UTI and bladder stones tend to recur frequently, which can make life quite uncomfortable for the ailing dog. However, if you take proper care from the beginning you can be instrumental in avoiding either of the problems and ensure an easier life for your pet.

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Your first line of defense when keeping cats out of your garden is to make sure that you have your boundaries secure.  If there are any gaps in your fence, you should make sure that you block them to prevent any low access.

Cats are very agile animals, and can jump very high.  Normally they can jump a fence, which is why you should also invest in string across the top.

If a cat has made his way into your garden, it may be hard to get him out, but cats are known to despise water as well.  If you spot a cat in your garden, water almost always gets him out.  All it takes is a glass of water or a well aimed gentle squirt with a garden hose to make him run away. This will not hurt him, but will tell him that the garden is not a place he wants to be.

After you have doused the cat with water several times, he should get the hint not to come back anymore.  If he comes back, simply squirt him or throw a little more water on him until he gets the idea.

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The throat is the passage to the stomach and lungs and is closely associated with the cat respiratory system. This is the reason why throat problems are a bit difficult to differentiate from feline respiratory diseases. Generally speaking, the term throat problem is used to define hoarseness and difficulty in swallowing.

In anatomy, the throat is the frontal part of the neck. It consists of the larynx and pharynx. The throat also contains several pharyngeal muscles, blood vessels, esophagus and the windpipe (trachea). One of the important features of the throat is the epiglottis, a cartilaginous flap that covers the trachea while swallowing.

The voice box or the larynx is situated at the top of the trachea through which the air passes on towards the stomach and lungs. A past history of frequent respiratory infection by the herpes virus and reckless use of antibiotics may cause damage to the turbinate bones in the nasal cavity. This allows infection to easily occur in the airways and lead to hoarseness in cats.

Such respiratory infection, irrespective of the agent that causes it, is characterized by sneezing, coughing and nasal discharge. Most of the viral respiratory infections require treatment only for minimizing the risk of secondary infection.

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Regardless of any myths that you may have heard, you cannot determine the sex of a Macaw based on his/her personality, or on his/her size. Unfortunately, you also cannot sex a Macaw visually, as you can with dogs and cats.

Determining the sex of your Macaw requires the services of a veterinarian. Macaws are monomorphic…which is a fancy way of saying that you cannot just flip them over, take a look, and determine whether the bird is male or female. They will both look the same.

Your veterinarian will sex your Macaw using one of two methods. The first method is DNA testing, which is actually the easiest of the two methods – but also typically the more expensive of the two. With DNA testing, a blood feather is taken from the Macaw, and sent off to a lab for DNA analysis.

While this is the most expensive method, it is also the preferred method, simply because it is the safest choice. The second option, which is the cheapest option, is surgery. This procedure is fairly invasive, and it also isn’t as accurate as DNA testing.

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Cats just like humans are prone to sicknesses. In fact, cats succumb to two cat viral infections that will be discussed shortly. The good news is that there is a cure.

These two common viral infections are Feline Herpes 1 virus known as rhinotracheitis virus and infection with the organisms called Chlamydia psittaci and mycoplasma.

When a cat is infected, they will experience a fever, have weepy eyes, a crusty nose and sneeze a lot. This can go away with or without treatment but this can come back.

When this happens, the condition is called Feline Keratoconjunctivitis the virus settles in the nerves around their face. Corneal scars can be seen to a little over a centimeter in diameter. This makes it hard for the cat to see and it usually happens due to stresses associated with boarding, weather change, a new pet in the house or as mentioned earlier other diseases.

Things are going to get worse as the outer coating of the cornea will be lost to the invading virus. Secondary bacterial and mycoplasmal infection of these areas may cause deep ulcers around the eye and in some cases damage the surrounding areas as well.

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It is generally suspected that over exposure to insecticide dips for removing fleas and ticks, sprays used in households and marshlands and other carcinogenic chemicals lead to occurrence of canine bladder cancer. These tend to cling to the walls of the bladder and urethra and lead to the development of cancerous cells.

Bladder cancer in dogs is a life threatening condition in most cases. This is because a large majority of canine bladder cancer is diagnosed as malignant tumor known as transitional cell carcinoma (TCC). It usually originates in the transitional epithelium linings of kidneys, bladder or ureters and is the most common type of bladder cancer found in dogs.

Certain breeds of dogs are genetically predisposed to urinary tract infections. In dogs this is also a major cause behind the occurrence of the condition. Breeds that are more vulnerable include Shetland sheepdogs, Scottish terriers, West Highland white terriers, beagles and wirehaired fox terriers.

Other factors that influence occurrence of bladder cancer are gender (females are more affected), neutering, (neutered dogs are at a greater risk) and obesity.

Symptoms of bladder cancer tend to remain concealed for a long time in pets. Even when the symptoms reveal themselves, they are usually mistaken for canine or feline urinary infection.

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