Over the last few decades there has been a real change in the quality of pet food available to pet owners. We now have many choices of ingredients in these diets. There is a lot of opinion out there on what protein and carbohydrate types are the most optimal for dogs.  Grain-free diets have been quite popular over the last few years and are a reaction to concerns focused on food allergy. Recently, it has been discovered that some dogs have developed a form of heart muscle disease called Dilated Cardiomyopathy related to being fed boutique grain-free diets that are rich in legume based carbohydrates (e.g. Lentils, peas, etc.).  Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disorder which reduces the heart’s ability to pump blood. It can lead to Congestive Heart Failure as well as clots forming in the circulatory system.  The underlying cause of DCM is not fully understood, but a genetic link is suspected. The most common breeds that are affected by DCM include:  Great Danes, Doberman Pinschers, Newfoundlands, Boxers, and Saint Bernards. It is infrequently seen in smaller breeds with American and English Cocker Spaniels being exceptions. Dogs with DCM may tire easily, cough and may have trouble breathing.  More dramatically, they might even exhibit sudden weakness, collapse, faint or die with no warning. If your dog is showing any of these signs, they need to be seen by a veterinarian. There has been a long standing link between some forms of Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) and Taurine deficiency.  Taurine is an important amino acid that is instrumental to multiple functions in the body.  Taurine deficiency in small animal medicine is usually seen with home cooked diets where the owner has created a diet without the counsel of a boarded nutritionist.  Often times, if the nutritional deficiency is caught early enough, the […]

If you have spent much time living with a cat you may have experienced the displeasure one does when they realize that “Fluffy” decided to skip the litter box and instead urinate on the bed, or in a pile of clothes, someone’s suitcase, or the bath tub. Although this can be a common feline behavior problem it is important to make sure there aren’t any underlying medical issues. Inappropriate urination is often a symptom of Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (FLUTD), which is the most common cause for feline veterinary visits. Other symptoms include frequent trips to the litter box, producing smaller clumps of urine in the litter, blood in the urine, licking the genitals, and straining to urinate. In some cases a cat may develop a urethral obstruction and is therefore unable to urinate (“blocked”); this is a medical emergency. Although male cats are much more likely to develop an obstruction due to their smaller urethras, female cats are equally represented when discussing FLUTD. So what is “FLUTD”? It is a collective term used to describe a number of frequently diagnosed pathologies of the feline urinary system. These include the development of crystals in the urine, which can subsequently aggregate to form urinary stones, urinary tract infections, and Feline Interstitial Cystitis (FIC). FIC is a medical condition where a cat’s bladder becomes inflamed and painful secondary to environmental stress. All of these diseases can cause the symptoms listed above, however treatment may vary depending on the underlying cause. Treatments will often include pain medication, muscle relaxers, fluid therapy, and a long-term diet change. In older cats bladder tumors are another potential cause for inappropriate urination. In order to help diagnose the underlying issue your veterinarian will want to analyze a urine sample, and depending on those results may recommend […]

A large part of my job as a veterinarian is practicing preventive medicine. As pets age, they are prone to a variety of different diseases, many of which can be diagnosed early through a simple blood test. One of the most common diseases diagnosed in our feline patients is chronic kidney disease (CKD). Cats with CKD may demonstrate the following: increase thirst, urination, weight loss, decrease in appetite, and vomiting. If you feel that your cat may have any of these signs, it is important to discuss your concerns with your veterinarian. CKD is a progressive disease where the underlying cause of the kidney insult is often not determined. Patients usually have elevated kidney values on blood tests and poorly concentrated urine. More advanced cases can develop increases in blood pressure, anemia, and imbalance of potassium, phosphorous, and calcium. It is important to realize that not every cat with CKD has all these imbalances, so therapy may differ from one affected cat to the other. There are four stages of CKD, one being the mildest and four being the most advanced. Intervention is routinely instituted in stage two or three. The main goal of therapy is to help slow progression of CKD. This is often attained through diet change, increasing water intake, treatment of high blood pressure and correcting electrolyte abnormalities. Diet alteration is a mainstay of treatment for cats with CKD. As kidney disease advances, cats often have difficulty with phosphorous balance. Kidney diets are restricted in protein which reduces the amount of phosphorous the cat is eating. Prescription kidney diets are strongly recommended and are fed for life. When selecting a diet, it is important to provide the cat with a variety of different options to find one that the cat will enjoy. Cats with kidney disease are […]

  As the ambient temperature cools, our rodent brethren may seek to join us indoors in our warm homes.  Here are some of the more common concerns regarding your pets coming into contact with these pesky squatters: Intestinal parasites such as hookworms and roundworms Our pets can contract intestinal parasites from rodents by having direct contact with their sometimes interesting (to our pets) feces (i.e. ingestion of at least a microscopic amount of the rodent’s stool) and through hunting.  Heartworm prevention usually keeps intestinal parasites under control as most of these medications also contain an ingredient that treats hookworms and roundworms.  Since most of the pets in Seattle do not receive heartworm prevention (pets who have not left the Seattle area are extremely unlikely to contract heartworm disease), we see a higher incidence of intestinal parasites than other parts of the country.  Please remember to have your pet’s stool checked at least every 6 months, more often if there are any episodes of diarrhea or worm-shedding.  Some households especially those with young children or immunocompromised adults, elect to keep their pets on heartworm prevention in order to reduce the risk of contact with intestinal parasites as they can have an effect on humans, too.   Fleas Even if your pet doesn’t have direct contact with a flea-infested rodent, their frequenting any space that is visited by one puts them at risk for contracting fleas.  Adult fleas live and feed on animals but their eggs, after being laid onto the hair coat, fall to the environment.  The egg hatches and a larva emerges and develops, feeding on adult flea feces, which is also shed from the flea carrier’s hair coat.  Larvae spin cocoons and become pupae.  After developing from pupae (which can lay dormant for several months), new fleas soon find […]

Our doctors have become aware of a dangerous accident that can happen when using a pill splitter to prepare your pet’s medications. Pill splitters use a razor to cut tablets. It may be possible for the razor to become dislodged during normal use resulting in accidental ingestion of the razor depending on how your pet’s medication is administered. We recommend careful inspection of your pill splitter before and after each use. Never use a pill splitter that is worn or damaged and if damage is discovered after use make sure to inspect your pet’s medication before administration. Your pet’s safety is important to us. Take an extra moment to check, for their sake.