Claw Friendly EDUCATIONAL TOOLKIT
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CHRONIC PAIN in CATS Recent Advances in Clinical Assessment
601_614_Monteiro_Chronic pain3.qxp_FAB 12/06/2019 14:59 Page 601 Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2019) 21, 601–614 CLINICAL REVIEW CHRONIC PAIN IN CATS Recent advances in clinical assessment Beatriz P Monteiro and Paulo V Steagall Negative impacts of chronic pain Practical relevance: Chronic pain is a feline health and welfare issue. It has Domestic animals may now have a long life expectancy, given a negative impact on quality of life and advances in veterinary healthcare; as a consequence, there is an impairs the owner–cat bond. Chronic increased prevalence of chronic conditions associated with pain. pain can exist by itself or may be Chronic pain affects feline health and welfare. It has a negative impact associated with disease and/or injury, on quality of life (QoL) and impairs the owner–cat bond. including osteoarthritis (OA), cancer, and oral Nowadays, chronic pain assessment should be considered a funda- and periodontal disease, among others. mental part of feline practice. Clinical challenges: Chronic pain assessment Indeed, lack of knowledge on is a fundamental part of feline practice, but can be Chronic pain-related changes the subject and the use of appro- challenging due to differences in pain mechanisms in behavior are subtle and priate tools for pain recognition underlying different conditions, and the cat’s natural are some of the reasons why behavior. It relies mostly on owner-assessed likely to be suppressed analgesic administration is com- behavioral changes and time-consuming veterinary monly neglected in cats.1 consultations. Beyond OA – for which disease- in the clinical setting. In chronic pain, changes in specific clinical signs have been described – little behavior are subtle and slow, and is known regarding other feline conditions that may only be evident in the home produce chronic pain. -
Mixed Breed Cats
Mixed Breed Cats: What a Unique Breed! Your cat is special! She senses your moods, is curious about your day, and has purred her way into your heart. Chances are that you chose her because you like Mixed Breed Cats and you expected her to have certain traits that would fit your lifestyle, like: May meow to communicate with you Lively, with a friendly personality Agile, sturdy, and athletic However, no cat is perfect! You may have also noticed these characteristics: Can become overweight easily if not exercised regularly Scratches when bored May be mischievous if not given enough attention Is it all worth it? Of course! She is of a mixed background and can come is all sizes and colors. Her personality is just as varied as her looks, but she makes an excellent companion. Your Mixed Breed Cat's Health We know that because you care so much about your cat, you want to take great care of her. That is why we have summarized the health concerns we will be discussing with you over the life of your cat. By knowing about the health concerns common among cats, we can help you tailor an individual preventive health plan and hopefully prevent some predictable risks in your pet. Many diseases and health conditions are genetic, meaning they are related to your pet’s breed. The conditions we will describe here have a significant rate of incidence or a strong PET MEDICAL CENTER 501 E. FM 2410 ● Harker Heights, Texas 76548 (254) 690-6769 www.pet-medcenter.com impact upon this mixed breed particularly, according to a motivate cats with more food-based interests to romp and general consensus among feline genetic researchers and tumble. -
Feline Leukemia Virus (Felv)
Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) What is feline leukemia virus (FeLV)? Feline leukemia virus infects cats world-wide. FeLV can suppress the immune system, decreasing the ability of a cat to fight infections. The virus can also cause several types of cancer, such as leukemia and lymphoma. In the United States, about 2%-3% of all cats are infected with FeLV. The viral infection is diagnosed by a blood test performed at a veterinary clinic. How do cats get this virus? Cats get FeLV from other cats that are infected. An infected cat can shed the virus in their saliva, nasal fluids, urine, feces and milk. The virus can be transmitted between cats through bite wounds, mutual grooming, sharing food dishes, and from mother to kitten. What happens once a cat is infected? Every cat infected with FeLV will go down one of two paths: 1. The cat’s immune system is able to fight off infection within the first 2-6 weeks. The cat will show no signs of illness and the virus will go into an inactive state. These cats are unlikely to transmit the disease to another cat. 2. The cat’s FeLV test remains positive for more than 16 weeks. These cats will likely not be able to fight off infection and will likely develop FeLV associated diseases within a few years. Cats in this stage have a higher likelihood of being able to transmit the disease to another cat. The only way to determine the outcome of each cat is through a repeat blood test at a later date. -
The Role of the Pet-Human Bond: Review and Summary of the Evidence
The role of the pet-human bond Review and summary of the evidence August 2020 The role of the pet-human bond ı Review and summary of the evidence Contents Introduction 4 Summary findings 5 How this evidence review was conducted 6 The structure of this report 6 1. Promoting health and wellbeing across the lifetime 7 1.1. Childhood physical, mental and emotional health and wellbeing 7 1.2. Child educational development 9 1.3. Early adulthood – mental and physical health 10 1.4. Adulthood 11 1.5. Older / later life health and wellbeing 13 1.6. Loneliness and social isolation across the lifetime 16 2. Treatment of degenerative and chronic diseases 19 2.1. Cancer 19 2.2. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) 20 2.3. Atopy, allergies and asthma 21 2.4. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) 23 2.5. Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) 23 2.6. Fibromyalgia (pain management) 25 2.7. Impact of animal assisted therapy on wellbeing of therapy dogs 25 2 Contents 3. The role of the bond in building a more inclusive society 26 3.1. People with disabilities (and assistance pets) 26 3.2. Military and service people – post trauma 27 3.3. People in prison, including young offenders and substance misusers 28 3.4. Marginalised and disadvantaged people (including homeless) 28 3.5. Improving social cohesion in cities 29 4. Innovations for health and care technologies and approaches 30 4.1. Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) 30 4.2. One Health – for obesity prevention 31 5. Wider reflections on the impacts of the pet-human bond and the themes of this review 34 5.1. -
Scratching Resources
AAFP CLAW FRIENDLY EDUCATIONAL TOOLKIT SCRATCHING RESOURCES The best method to advance feline welfare is through education. Many cat caregivers are unaware that scratching is a natu- ral behavior for cats. The AAFP has created the educational resources below to assist your team in educating cat caregivers about why cats need to scratch, ideal scratching surfaces, troubleshooting inappropriate scratching, training cats to scratch appropriately in the home, and alternatives to declawing. Veterinary Professionals Claw Counseling: Helping Clients Live Alongside Cats with Claws (In-depth Article) This comprehensive article provides more detailed information to help you counsel clients on why and how to live with a clawed cat. It provides information about why clients declaw, short and long-term complications, what causes cats to scratch excessively and on unfavorable locations, and how to work through inappropriate scratching situations. See next 7 pages for full size print version. American Association of Feline Practitioners Claw Friendly Educational Toolkit CLAW COUNSELING: Helping clients live alongside cats with claws Submitted by Kelly A. St. Denis, MSc, DVM, DABVP (feline practice) Onychectomy has always been a controversial topic, but over offers onychectomy, open dialogue about this is strongly the last decade, a large push to end this practice has been encouraged. Team members should be mindful that these brought forward by many groups, including major veterinary discussions should be approached with care and respect, for organizations, such as the American Association of Feline themselves and their employer. It is also extremely important Practitioners. As veterinary professionals, we may be asked to include front offce staff in these discussions, as they may about declawing, nail care, and normal scratching behavior in receive direct questions by phone. -
Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association Council
G^r? NOVA SCOTIAVETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION Registrar's Office 15 Cobequid Road, Lower Sackvllle, NS B4C 2M9 Phone: (902) 865-1876 Fax: (902) 865-2001 E-mail: [email protected] September 24, 2018 Dear Chair, and committee members, My name is Dr Melissa Burgoyne. I am a small animal veterinarian and clinic owner in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. I am currently serving my 6th year as a member of the NSVMA Council and currently, I am the past president on the Nova Scotia Veterinary Medical Association Council. I am writing today to express our support of Bill 27 and what it represents to support and advocate for those that cannot do so for themselves. As veterinarians, we all went into veterinary medicine because we want to.help animals, prevent and alleviate suffering. We want to reassure the public that veterinarians are humane professionals who are committed to doing what is best for animals, rather than being motivated by financial reasons. We have Dr. Martell-Moran's paper (see attached) related to declawing, which shows that there are significant and negative effects on behavior, as well as chronic pain. His conclusions indicate that feline declaw which is the removal of the distal phalanx, not just the nail, is associated with a significant increase in the odds of adverse behaviors such as biting, aggression, inappropriate elimination and back pain. The CVMA, AAFP, AVMA and Cat Healthy all oppose this procedure. The Cat Fancier's Association decried it 6 years ago. Asfor the other medically unnecessary cosmetic surgeries, I offer the following based on the Mills article. -
Mkb: a New Anesthetic Approach to Feral Cat Sterilization Surgery
MKB: A NEW ANESTHETIC APPROACH TO FERAL CAT STERILIZATION SURGERY By KELLY ANN MEYER A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2007 © 2007 Kelly Ann Meyer 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Sheilah Robertson, Dr. Natalie Isaza, and Dr. Julie Levy for their unconditional support, their mentoring, and the tremendous opportunities they have offered me over the course of this study. I would also like to thank my parents for their patience, sincerity, and motivation in helping me to achieve a finished product. Finally, I would like to thank Justin for helping me to stay focused and Dr. Joe Hauptman for his instruction and guidance in the statistical analysis portion of this study. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................3 LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................6 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................7 ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................10 Feral Cat Populations..............................................................................................................10 -
Enhance His Coat, Improve His Health the Most Common Neurological
Expert information on medicine, behavior and health from a world leader in veterinary medicine Enhance His Coat, Improve His Health Tracking aparasite's path in the body; alerting first responders. Regular grooming and a high-quality diet keep hair andfur in top Weight Loss: Cause for Con(ern 3 condition to prevent infection and protect against the elements It can reflect disease from cancer to liver, kidney and heart disease. cat's coat is his Animal Hospital. "A glory. Whether dull, dry and unkempt Why Do They Cover Utter Boxes? 5 A it's soft, thick fur, coat doesn't offer as Are they being fastidious or hiding long flowing hair or much protection as a their presence from predators? the suede-like skin healthy one." Ask Elizabeth 8 of a hairless breed, The message is in This unusual syndrome commonly the coat is more than escapable: Enhance the results in skin rippling on the back. an adornment. "The coat and you enhance skin and hair buffer your cat's well-being. IN THE NEWS .•. the animal from his The two most important environment heat, elements to consider are Astudy ofstem cells to cold, sun, wind - -g diet and grooming. and make it more ,~ improve kidney function '" Aclinical trial under way at difficult for the skin Selkirk Rex boast distinctive curls. Quality Protein. A Colorado State University is using to get infected," says high-quality diet results stem celis to treat cats with late dermatologist William H. Miller, Jr., VMD, in gleaming fur with a resilient texture. Cats stage chronic kidney disease (CKD). -
The Cat's Claws Understanding Declawing (Onychectomy)
The Truth About Declawing The Cat’s Claws Unlike most mammals who walk on the soles of the paws or feet, cats are digitigrade, which means they walk on their toes. Their back, shoulder, paw and leg joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments and nerves are naturally designed to support and distribute the cat's weight across its toes as it walks, runs and climbs. A cat's claws are used for balance, for exercising, and for stretching the muscles in their legs, back, shoulders, and paws. They stretch these muscles by digging their claws into a surface and pulling back against their own clawhold - similar to isometric exercising for humans. This is the only way a cat can exercise, stretch and tone the muscles of its back and shoulders. The toes help the foot meet the ground at a precise angle to keep the leg, shoulder and back muscles and joints in proper alignment. Removal of the last digits of the toes drastically alters the conformation of their feet and causes the feet to meet the ground at an unnatural angle that can cause back pain similar to that in humans caused by wearing improper shoes. Understanding Declawing (Onychectomy) The anatomy of the feline claw must be understood before one can appreciate the severity of declawing. The cat's claw is not a nail as is a human fingernail, it is part of the last bone (distal phalanx) in the cat's toe. The cat’s claw arises from the unguicular crest and unguicular process in the distal phalanx of the paw (see above diagram). -
Rabies Confirmed in Wilmerding Cat; Health Department Issues Precautions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ryan Scarpino December 27, 2017 Public Health Information Officer 412-578-8312 (office) 412-339-7995 (cell) [email protected] Rabies Confirmed in Wilmerding Cat; Health Department Issues Precautions PITTSBURGH – The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) has confirmed a cat that was brought to one of its facilities has tested positive for rabies. The cat was discovered in the 400 block of Orient Avenue in Wilmerding. An adult female was scratched by the rabid cat, and she has been advised to seek medical treatment. The cat also had exposure to other animals in the vicinity. Residents in that area who have had exposure to a feral cat, or if their pet has had exposure, should contact ACHD immediately. “We strongly urge all residents to avoid any kind of contact with a wild or stray animal, particularly those in Wilmerding, where the rabid cat was found,” said ACHD Director, Dr. Karen Hacker. “If any animal appears to be acting strange or becomes threatening, residents should notify their local animal control service, the police or the Pennsylvania Game Commission immediately.” Rabies is a virus transmitted by an animal bite or scratch, and exposures due to a bite or scratch are almost always fatal when left untreated. In this specific case, the animal was not foaming at the mouth, as is typically perceived as a sign of rabies, but was instead lethargic and appears as sickly, weak and hissing when approached. All county residents should always avoid stray animals and wildlife, even if they appear healthy, to avoid exposure to rabies. -
Feline Leukemia Virus (Felv) FAQ What Is Feline Leukemia Virus (Felv)? Feline Leukemia Virus (Felv) Is a Type of Virus Called a Retrovirus That Can Infect Cats
Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) FAQ What is Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV)? Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) is a type of virus called a retrovirus that can infect cats. FeLV cannot be transmitted to dogs or humans. Many cats that are exposed to FeLV and initially test positive for FeLV will mount an effective immune response that suppresses the virus (called regressive infection); these cats will test negative on subsequent tests, do not have symptoms of FeLV, and are at low risk of transmitting the disease to other cats. Cats that are unable to suppress the virus with their immune systems (called progressive infection) repeatedly test positive for FeLV, are at a higher risk of developing FeLV-associated illness, and can shed virus (and thus be contagious to other cats). How is FeLV Spread? FeLV is spread by close contact with other cats. The primary mode of infection is through saliva— mutual grooming, fighting, and (rarely) sharing dishes can transmit infection. An infected mother cat can spread FeLV to her kittens during birth or nursing. Kittens are more susceptible to FeLV infection than adult cats due to their immature immune system. The FeLV virus cannot survive for very long in the environment, so cats that do not have close contact with an infected cat are unlikely to be exposed to infectious virus in the environment. The virus is easily inactivated by common disinfectants and can’t survive in a dry environment. How is Infection Diagnosed? FeLV is detected by a blood test that can be done at your veterinarian’s office. There are several types of test for FeLV—the most common one is called an ELISA test. -
Feline Leukemia Brochure
FELINE LEUKEMIA FELINE LEUKEMIA IS ONE OF THE MOST PURE PROTECTION SIGNIFICANT CAUSES OF AGAINST ONE OF THE ILLNESS AND DEATH DEADLIEST FELINE AMONG CATS.2 DISEASES. The feline leukemia virus causes cancer in about 20% of infected cats and can contribute to other infectious diseases or anemia by suppressing the immune system and bone marrow production.1 The disease is primarily spread by persistently infected cats that appear to be healthy. THERE IS NO CURE. 1 Hartmann K. Feline Leukemia Virus Infection. In: Greene CE, ed. Infectious Fortunately, there’s something you can Diseases of the Dog and Cat. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co., 2006:105-131. 2 Merck Veterinary Manual. 10th ed. 2010:718-722. 3 Grosenbaugh DA, Leard T, Pardo MC, et al. Comparison of the safety and efficacy of a do. A simple vaccination is the best recombinant feline leukemia virus (FeLV) vaccine delivered transdermally and an inactivated FeLV vaccine delivered subcutaneously. Veterinary Therapeutics. 2004;5(4):258-262. way to help protect your cat against 4 Greene CE, Schultz RD. Immunoprophylaxis. In: Greene CE, ed. Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co., 2006:1077,1096. 5 Day MJ, Schoon HA, Magnol JP, et al. A kinetic study of histopathological changes in the feline leukemia virus. the subcutis of cats injected with non-adjuvanted multi-component vaccines. Vaccine. 2007;25:4073-4084. ®PUREVAX is a registered trademark of Merial. ©2012 Merial Limited, Duluth, GA. All rights reserved. PUR11CNFELVCONBROCH (01/12). 72316 ADVANCED PROTECTION. ALL CATS ARE AT RISK. PURE POTENCY.