Natural Pet Health

Unforeseen Dangers of Spring

With warmer spring weather arriving in the next few weeks, pet owners face an entire new set of challenges. While your pet was likely cooped up inside during the winter, the change in climate will soon likely bring your pet outdoors—also exposing it to potential health hazards.

Nearly every system in your pet’s body can be affected by the change in season, but preventative measures can be taken to ensure your pet stays safe and healthy while frolicking in the great outdoors!

When unleashing your pet into the yard, park, or other place of recreation, be sure to err on the side of caution regarding the territory they investigate. Puppies especially tend to mistake blooms, leaves, and branches as potential chew toys, which can disrupt digestive systems or even be poisonous.

There is a difference between liver disease and liver failure. Liver disease is a general term applied to any disorder that is affecting liver. The blood tests in this case show higher levels of liver enzymes. Apart from fatty liver disease, which is a more common in cats, other types of feline liver diseases are caused by toxins from food and drugs, trauma, heatstroke and infections.

A liver shunt, where the blood bypasses the liver instead of going through it, is a genetic defect in the portal vein but may be acquired in certain cases.

Functions of the liver, gallbladder and pancreas

The liver, the gallbladder and the pancreas are all crucially involved in the digestive process. The liver stores Vitamins A, D, E and K and produces bile, which is essential in the breakdown of fats.

It is also responsible for eliminating and detoxifying the poisons that enter the blood stream. These include medications, processed and unhealthy food and the various toxins your pet is exposed to on a daily basis.

The gallbladder stores the bile which is produced by the liver and releases it during digestion. The pancreas not only produces pancreatic juice which contains digestive enzymes that help in the breaking down of food, it also plays a vital role in controlling the level of sugar in the bloodstream by secreting two important hormones, insulin and glucagon

It is a mad jungle out there when it comes to selling dog food. Seeing the number of brands, the different types of sales pitches adopted by marketers and the fancy names with tongue twisting ingredients printed on labels, it appears the focus is on attracting buyers and grabbing a share of the whopping $ 11 billion pie..

In addition, each manufacturer launches numerous types of pet food under one brand. There are moist, semi moist and dry dog foods. Their use of terminology, like ‘premium’, ‘super-premium’, and ‘gourmet’ are mere nomenclatures since they hardly mean any thing. Even though the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) regulates what must be printed on the labels. The warnings are all mentioned in small print and therefore do not serve to warn the consumers adequately.

A lot of people would like to know whether their dogs and cats can catch common colds like humans do. The answer is YES and NO!

Symptoms like a runny nose, sneezing and coughing can develop as a result of a viral, bacterial or fungal infection in the canine or feline respiratory system. But while human colds are usually associated with a change in season, cat and dog colds are independent of seasonality and are usually caused by a virus.

Many pet owners bring their dog or cat to a vet, kennel or cattery while traveling. The risk of infection increases greatly. In addition, the holidays are often a time of high-travel, and pets may come along for the journey.

Scary new pets stats on drug-resistant bacteria

While many of us are aware of the worldwide pandemic of deadly ‘super-bugs’ (also known as strains of bacteria that have mutated and become resistant to conventional antibiotics) that have been affecting hospitals to households, we now have to worry about our pets having the same fate.

In dogs and cats, the bacteria are slightly different than the strains that affect people, which are usually methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. Animals are likely to contract methicillin-resistant staphylococcus intermedius, or MRSI, but it’s overall causing the same problem in which some strains of common bacteria have evolved to resist the antibiotics we normally use to treat it.

What are some of the most common skin and coat problems in domestic pets?

Skin and coat problems are very common among domestic pets and appear to be on the increase. They include:

* Abscesses
* Skin odors
* Eczema
* Allergic dermatitis
* Contact dermatitis
* Dandruff
* Hair loss
* Warts
* Puppy acne
* Seborrhea

What are the causes of skin and coat problems?

Toxins are routinely eliminated through the skin, and skin and coat problems can often indicate a number of underlying concerns including toxin overload, anxiety, thyroid problems and a compromised immune system.

Other causes of skin and coat problems include:

Question:

We have a stray cat that is very thin and lethargic. It has been diagnosed as very anemic and antibiotics and steroids have been prescribed (but not yet given).

A CPB revealed nothing except the poor creature is not making red blood cells fast enough. It has been tested for all the normal feline diseases associated with anemia and its organs have been screened and show no signs of disease. This cat is dying though, because it has very little appetite.

Do you think the animal detox would be the right product? Or would you recommend another product?

Thank you for your help.

VJ

Answer:

Hello VJ,

Why is liver functioning so important for my pet?

The liver is the second largest organ in the body and is often seen as the most important one. In traditional Chinese medicine, for example, a healthy liver is seen as the most critical element in the body’s ability to fight disease and function optimally.

Amongst other important functions, the liver is responsible for eliminating and detoxifying the poisons that enter the blood stream. It also produces bile which is essential in the breakdown of fats and is the organ which stores Vitamin A, D, E and K.

Environmental pollution, processed and unhealthy foods, prescription drugs, frequent vaccinations and sedentary lifestyles all contribute to sluggish and diseased livers. The result? Pets with depressed immune systems, constant fatigue, obesity, sluggish livers and digestive systems, allergies, respiratory ailments, unhealthy skin and many other health problems.

When you bring a cat home, your responsibility is to take care of the animal. Cat owners, who are busy, normally leave their pets alone at home free to eat whatever they like. By not taking enough care of what their pet eats and not exercising them properly they are actually doing them a disservice.

The liver processes fats, proteins and other nutrients to convert them to the relevant substances that the body requires to function properly. The liver also filters toxins that the cat may have consumed through food or drugs or paint scrapings.

The problem with a cat’s liver is that it is not very efficient and cannot process fats as it should. Too much of fat in a cat’s diet leads to accumulation of fats around the liver causing a common feline liver disease, hepatic lipidosis, commonly known as fatty liver disease.