VETERINARY
ASSOCIATES STONEFIELDSunday, December 05, 2004
Hello folks and welcome to the Holidays!!
All of us at Veterinary Associates-Stonefield wish you and yours and very happy, safe and abundant Holiday Season!!
There are many hazards for our pets this time of year and I will touch upon a few of them here:
1) Antifreeze Toxicity: Many of our automobiles tend to leak cooling fluid this time of year. Most antifreeze products are ethylene glycol based products. These types can be very toxic to dogs and cats. Cats need only ingest a half a teaspoon of this material to result in deadly renal(kidney) failure. Dogs are at high risk as well. This liquid has a sweet taste and inviting odor to dogs and cats and this is why they like to lick it up! VERY early recognition by the pet owner and proper diagnosis and aggressive treatment can reverse the toxic effects and save a life, and as always prevention is much better medicine than treatment so keep your loved ones away from this most deadly toxin.
2) The Christmas Tree: Cats especially, and dogs to a lesser extent, just love to play with this new object you have placed in the home, apparently just for their enjoyment! The silver tinsel icicles are an old time favorite for cats. They love to bat the string like pieces around and some of them unfortunately find them inviting enough to eat. This results in an intestinal foreign body that cause vomiting and diarrhea. Often times surgery is necessary to remove these sharp edged objects before they make mincemeat of the intestinal wall. Sometimes you will see a piece of this hanging out of the mouth or the rectum. Everyone's immediate reaction is to grab the object and pull it out. DO NOT TRY TO PULL THEM OUT! This can result in a severe laceration of the espouses, stomach, small intestine or colon, and make a bad situation much worse. Just call the office and come on in and let us evaluate the best course of action. Birds as well can get in trouble here because some folks decide it will be cool to let their pet parrot hang out in the Christmas Tree. Bad idea. Many of the objects on the tree contain zinc and some even contain lead(especially stained glass ornaments) and your bird may ingest these and not show signs for days to months later. Heavy Metal toxicity is a very common finding in pet birds as they love to pick around on bright shiny objects. Radiography(x-rays) can usually diagnose these types of problems in any species and treatment can vary from a simple emetic(a drug that produces vomiting) to surgery to remove the foreign material.
3) THEOBROMINE TOXICITY: A fancy name for chocolate poisoning, this is always more common during the Holidays because we buy and receive as gifts these wonderfully tasty items during this time of year. Now do not hesitate to bring these to Stonefield as gifts for myself and the staff, as we will eat them all up very quickly and reduce the chances of the community's pets being poisoned by these luscious delectables! Another one of the sacrifices we make as keepers of the creatures.
Dark Baker's Chocolate is usually the most dangerous type for your pet to ingest. However individual sensitivity to this toxin varies greatly. Smaller dogs, cats, birds and small mammals are the most at risk simply because it takes less of the chocolate to make them sick. Treament usually again involves an emetic and there are specific injectable drugs that lessen the severity of clinical signs. Many times we will be told that the dog ate the whole box of chocolates, foil wrappers and all. This is important! We will see these pieces in the stomach on radiographs and we must induce vomiting or perform stomach lavage (flushing) until all of these pieces have been expelled from the stomach. Like the tinsel, these sharp edges can cut the intestine if left in the stomach. And the foil often contains zinc which can induce heavy metal toxicosis.
4) Wine Bottle Toxicosis: Did he say Wine Bottle? Yes, he did, back to heavy metal again, many of the foil type wrappers around the mouth of wine and other spirit bottles contain lead. Lead is very toxic and birds in particular are victims of the wine bottle syndrome. They just cannot resist these things and lead actually has a somewhat sweet taste as well. Radiographs, blood lead levels and history are used for diagnosis. Binding agents (metamucil) and chelation agents (drugs that bind the heavy metal on a cellular level and excrete them through the kidneys) are used to save these unfortunate creatures.
5) Electric Shock: We all have more electric cords running around the house and outside. Most victims have a mouth injury and bleeding there, if they survive the electrical jolt. Fast specific treatment to prevent or slow the development of pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) is often life-saving. Antibiotics are needed to prevent the developement of pneumonia while hospitalization with oxygen therapy are often necessary for several days. Try and cover those electric cords up and hide them whenever possible to prevent this potentially life threatening situation from marring the gaiety of you family's Holiday Season.
And do not forget we accept all chocolate and other food itmes throughout the Holiday Season!
Happy Holidays!
Sammy
All of us at Veterinary Associates-Stonefield wish you and yours and very happy, safe and abundant Holiday Season!!
There are many hazards for our pets this time of year and I will touch upon a few of them here:
1) Antifreeze Toxicity: Many of our automobiles tend to leak cooling fluid this time of year. Most antifreeze products are ethylene glycol based products. These types can be very toxic to dogs and cats. Cats need only ingest a half a teaspoon of this material to result in deadly renal(kidney) failure. Dogs are at high risk as well. This liquid has a sweet taste and inviting odor to dogs and cats and this is why they like to lick it up! VERY early recognition by the pet owner and proper diagnosis and aggressive treatment can reverse the toxic effects and save a life, and as always prevention is much better medicine than treatment so keep your loved ones away from this most deadly toxin.
2) The Christmas Tree: Cats especially, and dogs to a lesser extent, just love to play with this new object you have placed in the home, apparently just for their enjoyment! The silver tinsel icicles are an old time favorite for cats. They love to bat the string like pieces around and some of them unfortunately find them inviting enough to eat. This results in an intestinal foreign body that cause vomiting and diarrhea. Often times surgery is necessary to remove these sharp edged objects before they make mincemeat of the intestinal wall. Sometimes you will see a piece of this hanging out of the mouth or the rectum. Everyone's immediate reaction is to grab the object and pull it out. DO NOT TRY TO PULL THEM OUT! This can result in a severe laceration of the espouses, stomach, small intestine or colon, and make a bad situation much worse. Just call the office and come on in and let us evaluate the best course of action. Birds as well can get in trouble here because some folks decide it will be cool to let their pet parrot hang out in the Christmas Tree. Bad idea. Many of the objects on the tree contain zinc and some even contain lead(especially stained glass ornaments) and your bird may ingest these and not show signs for days to months later. Heavy Metal toxicity is a very common finding in pet birds as they love to pick around on bright shiny objects. Radiography(x-rays) can usually diagnose these types of problems in any species and treatment can vary from a simple emetic(a drug that produces vomiting) to surgery to remove the foreign material.
3) THEOBROMINE TOXICITY: A fancy name for chocolate poisoning, this is always more common during the Holidays because we buy and receive as gifts these wonderfully tasty items during this time of year. Now do not hesitate to bring these to Stonefield as gifts for myself and the staff, as we will eat them all up very quickly and reduce the chances of the community's pets being poisoned by these luscious delectables! Another one of the sacrifices we make as keepers of the creatures.
Dark Baker's Chocolate is usually the most dangerous type for your pet to ingest. However individual sensitivity to this toxin varies greatly. Smaller dogs, cats, birds and small mammals are the most at risk simply because it takes less of the chocolate to make them sick. Treament usually again involves an emetic and there are specific injectable drugs that lessen the severity of clinical signs. Many times we will be told that the dog ate the whole box of chocolates, foil wrappers and all. This is important! We will see these pieces in the stomach on radiographs and we must induce vomiting or perform stomach lavage (flushing) until all of these pieces have been expelled from the stomach. Like the tinsel, these sharp edges can cut the intestine if left in the stomach. And the foil often contains zinc which can induce heavy metal toxicosis.
4) Wine Bottle Toxicosis: Did he say Wine Bottle? Yes, he did, back to heavy metal again, many of the foil type wrappers around the mouth of wine and other spirit bottles contain lead. Lead is very toxic and birds in particular are victims of the wine bottle syndrome. They just cannot resist these things and lead actually has a somewhat sweet taste as well. Radiographs, blood lead levels and history are used for diagnosis. Binding agents (metamucil) and chelation agents (drugs that bind the heavy metal on a cellular level and excrete them through the kidneys) are used to save these unfortunate creatures.
5) Electric Shock: We all have more electric cords running around the house and outside. Most victims have a mouth injury and bleeding there, if they survive the electrical jolt. Fast specific treatment to prevent or slow the development of pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) is often life-saving. Antibiotics are needed to prevent the developement of pneumonia while hospitalization with oxygen therapy are often necessary for several days. Try and cover those electric cords up and hide them whenever possible to prevent this potentially life threatening situation from marring the gaiety of you family's Holiday Season.
And do not forget we accept all chocolate and other food itmes throughout the Holiday Season!
Happy Holidays!
Sammy
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