PetMeds^® Blog

While it is normal for a dog or cat to become occasionally gassy or flatulent, when the problem is more chronic, this can indicate more than just an inconvenience to an animal guardian in the line of fire. Most pets with chronic gas or flatulence often have an underlying intestinal imbalance or improper bacterial overgrowth in their intestinal tract.   Since over 75% of our immune systems resides and starts in the digestive tract, imbalances at this level can eventually lead to many sorts of chronic systemic issues as well, including chronic skin/ear allergies, joint, airway and urinary tract issues, all because of a “leaky gut”.

That is why it is important not to ignore that chronically gassy pet. The most important initial action in solving this problem is in looking at that pet’s diet. Many gassy pets are on processed commercial dry pet foods, which often contain an excess amount of grain often used as a cheap and economical protein source. Dogs and cats did not evolve to digest large amounts of grain, so when eating such foods, incomplete digestion often leads to such gas.  Unless your pet has a kidney, liver, or special urinary tract problem, meat-based high protein, high fat, low carb foods are much closer to what dogs and cats evolved to eat.

Natural diets such as Eat Great Be Well, Pet Guard and Wysong are all excellent commercial diet choices. Properly made homemade diets as found in Donald Strombeck’s book or Richard Pitcairn’s book are even better. Adding digestive enzymes and probiotics such as NaturVet Enzymes & Probiotics can often help in digestion, as well as restoring and maintaining normal gut bacterial populations. This is even more important when a pet is under physical or emotional stress, or on any sort of chronic antibiotic therapy.

Other useful products include Prozyme to help in digesting nutrients as well.  With dietary and supplement therapy, not only can the inconvenience of gassy pets be often solved, but animal guardians are also promoting long term good health at the same time  as well.

The most common causes of premature disease and sometimes death in cats are cancer and kidney failure. With regard to kidney disease, our discreet felines often exhibit only very subtle if any signs of early kidney problems, making early diagnosis sometimes difficult. While kidney disease can occur in a cat at any age, it’s most common in middle age and older cats. Causes of acute kidney failure most commonly include acute infections, toxic exposure and certain drugs such as the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin, Tylenol (which can kill a cat), and even on occasion prescription Metacam.

These cats typically present acutely ill with recent history of drug exposure.  The more common diagnosis of chronic kidney disease certainly presents a more difficult diagnostic challenge. While infections, reactions to drugs, chemicals and/or vaccinations can be involved, in the vast majority of cases, conventional veterinarians rarely find out the cause of chronic kidney failure, often leaving us with palliative management at attempting to preserve kidney function and slow down kidney decline. However, once elevations in blood creatinine and BUN (blood urea nitrogen) occur in cats with chronic renal failure, greater than 80% of kidney function has been irreversibly destroyed when the disease is often first detected, which makes long term management much more difficult.

The diagnosis of chronic kidney failure in cats is based on a combination of blood work, urine analysis, and potentially urine culture and ultrasound done at the veterinary office.  Once diagnosed, attempts are made to slow down kidney decline and metabolic complications. Secondary urinary infections are treated with antibiotics.  High blood pressure is treated with drugs like Amlodipine. Low protein and low phosphorus diets are fed to ease workload on the kidneys, preferably homemade, but there are commercially available diets as well. Some veterinarians will prescribe appetite stimulants and anti-nausea drugs such as Cyproheptadine, Pepcid AC, Metoclopromide, and Mirtazapine. Because elevations of blood phosphorus occur, many veterinarians will prescribe phosphate binders to be given at meal times such as Epakitin. There has been some excellent clinical responses of cats with kidney disease to the probiotic Azodyl, as well which seems to draw the toxins of kidney failure right out of the blood into the digestive tract.

Many cats with chronic kidney disease benefit from animal guardians administering subcutaneous fluids under the skin at home several times weekly, which can be easily taught to guardians by veterinarians or veterinary technicians. Rarely some animal guardians will see if their pet is a candidate for kidney transplants. Limitations here include limited facilities across the country that provide this service, VERY high cost, as well as risk of donor kidney organ rejection in the sick patient. Holistic veterinarians will often prescribe nutritional supplements, herbs and/or homeopathic remedies in helping the feline cope with this very difficult disease.  The best thing guardians can do is be aware of the early signs of kidney disease in cats. These include:

• Increased thirst/urination

• Subtle weight loss

• Nausea, vomiting

• Drooling from oral ulcers

• Losses of appetite

With routine annual to semiannual exams, blood work/urine analyses and blood pressure measurements, kidney disease in cats can be detected early. And with early detection the disease can often be better managed for an improved and enhanced quality of life for your cat.

As pets age it is fairly common for both cats and more commonly dogs to develop various growths, cysts, skin tags and tumors. Some pets seem to be predisposed to multiple skin growths especially as they get older. Most of these growths are noticed by guardians who regularly groom and/or pet their animal companions. The most common type of skin growths noted by guardians are benign warts, cysts or fatty tumors known as lipomas.

Most of the time we don’t know why certain animals are predisposed to such growths, although probably genetic causes, compounded by possibly nutrient poor, processed commercial pet foods , exposure to chemicals and/or pesticides, and over vaccination probably all play roles. Whenever animal guardians note any growths felt in or under the skin, it is important to bring these to the attention of the small animal veterinarian. The veterinarian will often perform a needle aspirate of the lump, and look at the cells under a microscope to make sure that the growths do not need further surgical biopsy or removal. The needle aspiration procedure will also allow veterinarians to distinguish benign fatty tumors that can often be left alone, from potentially more serious growths, such as mast cell tumors which usually need more aggressive surgical and/or medical care. While there is a obviously a genetic predisposition to any types of tumors or growths, I strongly recommend that animal guardians feed a healthy diet with food such as Pet Guard, Wysong or Eat Great Be Well from 1800PetMeds. I also recommend a good antioxidant multivitamin such as Super Vitachews, as well as adding probiotics/enzymes like NaturVet Enzymes & Probiotics.   And while no animal guardian wants to feel lumpy or bumpy skin growths on their pet, they should not be discouraged or frightened, as long as they have a proper veterinary exam and possible needle aspirate to insure the lumps or bumps do not need further treatment.

One of the most common questions asked by animal guardians whenever their pet has a skin problem is whether or not their pet could have mange.  The term mange applies to a mite overgrowth on a pet’s skin.  In canine medicine, the most common cause of mange is overgrowth of the demodex mite. Although low numbers of demodex mites are present on normal dog or cat skin, these mites will sometimes overgrow producing variable presentations of localized or generalized hair loss, crusting, and sometimes secondary skin infection.

By far the most common presentation of demodectic mange is in young pets under the age of one year, where a genetic immune deficiency is thought to be the underlying cause. Most common areas affected include the face, head, and forepaws often with focal area of hair loss, however, any area of the animal can be affected. Diagnosis is quite simple and based on skin scrapes done at a veterinary office, which are looked at under the microscope to identify the mites. This is NOT something that animal guardians can diagnose at home. In fact, in most pets over the age of one, skin allergies are the most common cause of hair loss, skin crusting, etc.

In many pets a localized form of demodectic mange often resolves on its own within weeks to a few months. But in other younger pets a more generalized form can develop affecting multiple areas on the pet’s body.  Once a pet is sexually mature, demodectic mange is much less common until we hit middle age to older animals. During this phase other immune suppressive diseases or cancers, and even certain drug therapies like overuse of Prednisone, can on occasion cause overgrowth of demodex mange mites. It is important for animal guardians to know that this most common cause of mange is NOT contagious to other animals or people in the home.

The other type of mange seen in dogs is known as scabies mange. Scabies is usually acquired externally from either other dogs or rolling in dirt or grass, and causes INTENSE itching in most pets.  The areas most commonly affected are the thinly haired areas on the pet such as the ear flaps, elbows, ankle areas of hind legs and the abdomen. Not only is hair loss present, but varying degrees of sores, crusting and secondary infections often accompany these very itchy dogs afflicted with scabies mites. While skin scraping at the veterinarian’s office is again the common way of diagnosing this condition, 75% of the time skin scrapes can be negative because of the low number of mites on the pet’s skin.  In those cases veterinarians and veterinary dermatologists will often treat these itchy dogs if they suspect scabies mites (based on the clinical presentation), as these mites can potentially be passed to people and other dogs in the home.

Some veterinary dermatologists will suggest treating the home with products that kill fleas, as there is some suspicion that scabies mites may be able to live in the environment for a short period of time. I should say that both demodectic mange and scabies mange are a less common skin problem in cats. Treatment for demodectic mange may involve shampooing with a benzoal peroxide shampoo such as Oxydex Shampoo followed by Mitaban Dip every 1-2 weeks until the lesions resolve and skin scrapes are negative, or other products such as Ivomec in certain breeds, which is often given daily to severely affected pets. It can take sometimes several months for complete resolution to occur.

If scabies mites are suspected or confirmed by skin scrape, these can also be treated with Ivermectin once a week for one month, or using a prescription product like Revolution applied once every 2 weeks for 3 or 4 treatments. No matter which approach or medication is used, pets afflicted with either type of mange need to be under the care and supervision of a veterinarian, not only in which drugs are most appropriate, but also for follow-up skin scrapes to insure that the mange is completely resolved.

One of the most common questions I’m often asked by animal guardians is, “Why does my dog (or cat) tend to eat grass?”  While there are many possible theories and explanations to this frustrating behavior, many times we are left not understanding why many pets eat grass.  Firstly, it should be known that dogs and cats in the wild will often nibble on greens and grasses in order to purge themselves or cleanse their systems so to speak. The chlorophyll and other ingredients in fresh grasses are often the most effective natural detoxifying ingredients around.

If dogs and/or cats are not feeling well or have an inflamed digestive tract, animal guardians will often note an increased tendency to eat grass, especially during periods of discomfort or active intestinal symptoms. In other cases many pets will eat grass even when they are feeling well.  Many used to think that this meant that there was some dietary or trace mineral deficiency that accounts for this behavior. And while that is certainly possible, it is often difficult to prove.

So what do I recommend to those clients who ask me what to do for their pets who eat grass frequently?  I first make sure that such pets are on a minimally processed natural diet.  Eat Great Be Well, as well as Pet Guard and Wysong are amongst my favorite choices. I also make sure all pets are on a good multivitamin supplement such as Vitachews, as well as an excellent digestive enzyme/probiotic blend.  Naturevet Enzymes and Probiotics, as well as Animal Essentials probiotic/enzyme, and Mitomax by Imagilin are amongst my preferred choices for enzymes and probiotics. I will also suggest adding fresh veggies to a pet’s diet such as cooked broccoli, kale,  wheat grass, and even sometimes instruct clients to “juice” for their animals. This recently increasing practice often done by health conscious people for themselves using fresh fruits and greens blenderized into a liquid, is a wonderful way of providing mega amounts of antioxidants, trace minerals and nutrients in an easily assimilable liquid form that most pets will readily accept.  No matter what the cause is of this odd behavior, I always implement a dietary and supplement protocol when approaching these pets in a preventative fashion.