Veterinary Care | Animal Hospital

Today, many of us will celebrate Valentine’s day with our family and friends.  Our pets think it’s great, too – all that love, and all that CHOCOLATE!  We’ve already had our first call today from a client whose pet got into the kids’ milk chocolate treats, so that sparked this memo.  Please keep all chocolate and other sweets out of reach of your pets, because a small amount can have a terrible effect on your pet’s health.  If you suspect chocolate ingestion, please call us right away.

On a related note… flowers are a beautiful way to show love to your sweetie.  As with chocolate, there can be unintended consequences for your pet if they decide to share the love through snacking on flowers.  Lilies are toxic, Baby’s Breath causes GI upset or worse, and the bulbs of flowers are toxic as well.  If you find the vase or flowerpot knocked over and parts of the plants missing, give us a call!

We LOVE our clients and their pets, and hope for a safe, toxicity-free Valentine’s Day for all!

Like Thanksgiving, the winter holidays are often filled with family, food, games, and decorations.  When we share the holidays with our animal companions, we must be extra careful to protect them so that they can have a fun and festive time.  We are always saddened to see sick or injured patients, but it seems especially sad when the accident is preventable and happens during a time of family get-togethers.  Please be aware of some of the most common hazards for your pets:

Ribbons/Tinsel

Cats are especially attracted to string and shiny things, and ribbons and tinsel seem so tempting to them.  These objects can cause obstruction in the GI tract, and can cause death when the material essentially ties up the intestines and cuts through the intestinal walls.  Cats have a raspy, one-way tongue that makes it almost impossible for them to stop swallowing something once they’ve started, so please make sure you keep track of all the ribbons, and do not use tinsel.

Chocolate and Caffeine

Holiday sweets are tempting to all of us- and dogs are especially nosy this time of year!  Baker’s chocolate (unsweetened chocolate) is worst of all; only a small “dose” is lethal to dogs.  Chocolate contains theobromine, which is similar in composition to caffeine (also toxic to pets).  Signs of toxicity include vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, heart arrhythmias, trembling, and even seizures or death.  Chocolates are often high in fat, and this can cause pancreatitis as well.

Macadamia Nuts and More

These tasty little nuts are not-so-friendly to dogs- they can cause depression, vomiting, trouble walking, rapid heart rate, tremors, and more.  Some dogs are especially sensitive, others tolerate them a little better, but they should not be fed to your pets.  Like raisins, they may be dose-dependent- the more eaten, the worse the signs.  Lots of chocolates contain macadamia nuts, so keep your treats in a cupboard so your dog doesn’t get a double whammy of toxins.  Other odd toxic foods include avocado (fruit and seeds), raisins and grapes, yeast dough, raw or undercooked meat and eggs, and xylitol (see below).

Xylitol Sweetener

Xylitol is relatively new to us, but it sure causes a whole host of problems for pets (again, usually dogs get into it more often than cats).  Xylitol is an artificial sweetener found in sugar-free gum, mints and other foods (including Trident, Orbit, Tic Tacs, Jell-O pudding, and many more sugar-free foods).  While it is not harmful to humans, it causes rapid onset hypoglycemia and liver failure in dogs.  A lethal dose for a twenty-pound dog is merely two pieces of gum!  A single sugar-free Jell-O cup can kill a large dog, according to this article and others.  Signs of toxicity include vomiting, lethargy, lack of coordination, seizures, and more.  Read labels, and keep your purse, bag, and kids’ backpacks off the floor!

Holiday Plants

Most people have heard that poinsettias are toxic to animals, but it is now known that this cheerful decorative plant can be an oral and GI irritant, but isn’t truly “toxic” to pets.  More worrisome are holly and mistletoe, which cause vomiting, diarrhea and other GI distress, and mistletoe can also cause cardiovascular collapse and other serious complications.   Keep plants out of reach of all pets!  The ASPCA has a thorough list of toxic and non-toxic plants for animals – you might want to use it when planning your spring garden, too.

Food and Bones

The Thanksgiving blog has a pretty thorough listing of what to avoid this holiday season, see below for the link to November’s posting about troublesome foods.

Following these guidelines may help to keep you from visiting us for anything other than routine care this winter.  We hope you have a wonderful holiday!  Please call us at 360-896-7449 with any questions.  Thank you for trusting us with the care of your special pets – your pet’s health is our primary concern!

Thanksgiving is a time to spend with family and friends, and our pets are always so happy to have extra yummy food in the house.  While a small snack of white meat or plain mashed potatoes might be fine, Thanksgiving is a time when we see more GI problems in our patients, often due to the rich food we serve at mealtime.   Emergency veterinary clinics generally schedule their staff heavily for holidays because of all the trouble our little friends can find – so here are some tips for avoiding the ER.

Pancreatitis is a painful illness that causes vomiting and diarrhea, and can even lead to death if left untreated.  Pancreatitis typically starts after a dog eats a fatty meal (think dark meat, buttery potatoes, or pumpkin pie) and often requires hospitalization with aggressive IV fluid therapy and medications.  It may not even take a full meal to trigger a flare-up; a few bites of table scraps can send a dog into a full-blown acute pancreatitis episode.

Bones are another common holiday sight – and dogs (and even some cats) are eager to help dispose of the turkey carcass or other remnants.  Bones can fracture teeth, and the shards can also perforate the intestine as the pass through, or can cause a blockage in the GI tract that requires surgical intervention.

Many of us cook roasts and use string to tie the roast or turkey as it cooks.  Cats LOVE these strings, and once a cat starts to swallow something, they eat the whole thing – those raspy, one-way tongues make it hard for them to stop.  The strings can cause a blockage or linear foreign body, both of which require surgery.  Some signs of foreign body ingestion in pets include vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, pain, and lack of appetite.

“Garbage gut” is a term we use for those pets (usually dogs) that just can’t resist the lure of that yummy trash can.  Because eating the leftover debris can cause pancreatitis or a blockage, please be sure to take the garbage out and secure it out of reach before leaving the kitchen. 

Thanksgiving gives us a chance to express our love for family, friends, and our pets.  It can definitely be tempting to give table scraps as a physical “thank you” to those pets we share our lives with.  Just be sure that you are avoiding feeding those fatty foods, bones, et cetera, and keep all food-sharing to a minimum.  It’s no fun to have to take your sick pet to the emergency hospital instead of snuggling with them for a tryptophan-induced nap. 

We wish your family a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday – please call us with any questions!

Please note, we will be CLOSED on Monday, September 5th in observance of the Labor Day holiday.  In the event of an emergency, please contact Columbia River Veterinary Specialists (360-694-3007) or Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital (503-228-7281).  We will reopen for normal hours on Tuesday at 7:30, and we’ll check messages and return any weekend calls on Tuesday morning.

Have a fun holiday, and keep those pets away from the barbecue! (See 4th of July blog below…)

Break out the barbecue sauce, summer is here!  We all love being able to go outside in the sunshine, especially after the long soggy spring.   If you’re like us, and you probably are if you’re reading this, you want to take your dogs along for the fun (and maybe a few of the more adventurous cats as well?).  There are a few key things to remember, though, so you don’t have to spend the holiday at the veterinary emergency room.

Heat stroke kills!  Don’t take your pet in the car on a warm day – the temperature rises quickly, even with the windows cracked.  It’s not worth the risk, so leave your dog home.  Also be sure to provide shade for outdoor pets, and fresh water outside every day. 

 Alcohol is harmful to pets, so keep adult beverages out of reach.  Same for citronella (they might like the fragrance, but it causes GI upset and can cause respiratory distress and even neurologic problems).  Don’t use DEET-containing mosquito repellents on your dog or cat; there are mosquito repellents labeled for pet use if you feel it is needed, but never use a human-labeled product on animals.

Dogs love bones, and most people think it’s fine to give rib bones or chicken bones to their masticating mutt.  In addition to causing abdominal obstructions, even cooked bones can crack teeth and perforate the intestine.  If your dog loves to chew and you just can’t bear those pitiful eyes, a compressed rawhide  or other softer alternative can be given while your family “wolfs” down the BBQ dinner.  Corn cobs can also cause GI obstructions.  It’s best to keep your furry companion on a normal diet, because s/he can quickly develop pancreatitis or other troubles if they share our meals.

Fireworks cause an array of problems.  The obvious danger comes from burns, but some dogs eat explosives and have serious results.  Fireworks also startle many dogs, and this is the time of year when we see a rise in the number of hit-by-car dogs and cats when they bolt.  Keep your pets inside and secure, and turn on the TV, radio, fans, or AC to muffle the explosions.

Microchips save lives!  Because so many more pets are outside in the summer, it is easier for them to escape when we’re busy doing other things.  The microchip is a permanent form of ID that links your pet to Claus Paws or directly to you so that you can be reunited as quickly as possible.

All of us here love summer, and we also love your pets – so please, keep them safe and secure.  Call if you have any questions or concerns, and make sure you have the emergency clinic number handy for after-hours and holiday concerns (see our website for emergency information).   Thanks! Enjoy your holiday, whatever you do to celebrate …and let us know when the BBQ is ready… we’ll be there!

-Susan Jones, LVT, office manager

Claus Paws Animal Hospital

A rainy summer morning… a sleepy afternoon… an excuse to use your imagination! Print out this coloring page and have your kiddos imagine what a dream vacation would be like for your pets.  If you bring the picture in to us this month, we’ll give you a prize and hang your artwork in the clinic window for all to see!

July 2011 Coloring Contest