Happy Friday, everyone! Here's an article on top reasons

[Mary Plummer]

for vet visits for dogs; I thought it was pretty interesting. Here's the list:
Dogs

1. Ear infection
2. Stomach inflammation
3. Skin irritation
4. Tumors/growth
5. Skin infection/hot spots
6. Urinary tract infection
7. Osteoarthritis
8. Hypothyroidism
9. Inflammation of intestinal tract
10. Soft tissue trauma





Here's a link to the article: http://www.petplace.com/Articles/artShow.asp?artID=4671

[jdf]

interesting, Mary, and a good link too... maybe an item which should be on both the cat and dog list is impacted anal sacs. Our oldest cat just had an abscessed anal sac rupture through the skin - not a pretty sight with blood, etc. all over the house in the middle of the night. Moe will be okay but he's now on antibiotics. We had him into the vets not long ago and he checked out okay so this was quite a surprise.

[Traci]

Just curious, Jim, what are you feeding the cats?

[jdf]

Just curious, Jim, what are you feeding the cats?

Moe gets Eukanuba low ph on the advice of the vet...maybe eukanba isn't the best choice - I have no idea if it's low or high fiber. Moe is getting up in years, is this ( impacted anal sacs) a problem with older cats?

The other two get Friski's chef's blend - mainly cause it's a food that they'll eat...any suggestions would be welcome - I don't know that much about cat foods and I suspect Moe needs more fiber.

[Traci]

Moe gets Eukanuba low ph on the advice of the vet...maybe eukanba isn't the best choice - I have no idea if it's low or high fiber. Moe is getting up in years, is this ( impacted anal sacs) a problem with older cats?

Depends...how old is he, and how frequent does he have anal gland impactions? Is this the first incident? If they are too frequent, surgery to remove them might be an option (recommended only if they are persistent and problematic, and if abcesses are frequent). Otherwise, I wouldn't change the Eukanuba, just ask your vet if maybe adding alittle pumpkin (not pie filling) or fiber capsules would help.

The other two get Friski's chef's blend - mainly cause it's a food that they'll eat...any suggestions would be welcome - I don't know that much about cat foods and I suspect Moe needs more fiber.

I don't recommend supermarket brands, but if they seem to be doing well on it, no other health conditions, oral health is good, etc (and providing you get them annual exams), then don't drastically change the diet. Personally, I prefer Science Diet or Iams or Eukanuba adult maintenance types, but bottom line is feeding what your cats do well on, that which is palatable, and that it meets AAFCO requirements.(labeling should state that, as well as state for which life stage, i.e., adult, vs senior, etc)

[jdf]

Thanks, Traci - it's hard to tell how old Moe is...he was left behind by some %#*!)* neighbors when they moved out . This happened at about the same time Roxy became paralyzed and I guess he thought it was safe to move in with us. Moe was great therapy for Roxy, he helped get her out of her deep depression. Anyway he could have been between 6 and 9 by the time he moved in and that was a little over 6 years ago. So, I guess he's not ancient but definitely not a spring chicken.

This is the first time he's had any kind of problem with anal sacs. I'll talk with our vet about adding some fiber. We used to feed all three cats science diet and they liked that for awhile before apparently not liking it...maybe we'll try it again and see if there are any takers. Generally, though, all three are in good health - Ringo and Ruby are very healthy. I'm not crazy about supermarket brands either but that's what they like..guess that's why we stuck with it.

Thanks for the good advice - it's also timely as we have to buy a new stock of food today...J