Animals with jobs are tired of staying home, too, though some are able to work remotely

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Basil is bored.

Turns out that even cats are out of work because of COVID-19. The orange tabby, who in the past has appeared in Bissell vacuum commercials and made frequent therapy visits to nursing homes and hospitals, has been grounded since the pandemic started, and it’s getting to her.

“Production on movies and commercials is at a standstill,” says Tina Parkhurst of Beaverton, Oregon, who lives with Basil and manages the cat’s career. She and Basil make only rare facility visits now -- carefully coordinated to keep everyone, including Basil and Parkhurst’s other cats, safe.

“It’s tough, because cats can’t transmit the virus to humans, but they can get it and give it to other cats, which could stand my entire herd on its ear if I’m not careful,” she says.

Basil just wants to be back on the job. She tries to follow Parkhurst out of the house and waits outside the shower, knowing that if she gets a bath, a facility visit is coming up. “She’s more calm, more attentive, just better behaved overall,” Parkhurst says. “It’s like she thinks that if she’s on her best behavior, she’ll get to go back to her peeps and kids at the hospital.”

Summer is a social media influencer and lifestyle blogger at sparklecat.com. The Somali cat (the longhaired variety of an Abyssinian) still posts about her daily life, but modeling catwear, making appearances at cat shows and other events, going on photo shoots, making therapy visits at hospitals and auditioning for television and movies are all on hold.

“With the pandemic, all this has ground to a halt,” says Janiss Garza of Los Angeles, Summer’s personal assistant, stylist and bodyguard.

Like Basil, Summer is bored staying at home.

“She is a busy cat by nature, and it’s been kind of difficult keeping her occupied since she is so used to traveling and being the center of attention,” Garza says.

Other animals are used to working from home. Belinda, a New Zealand white rabbit, is a spokesbunny for Small Pet Select in Pittsburgh. She writes a weekly blog, “Belinda Says Hay,” and posts on social media every Tuesday and Friday.

“I write about my life at home and as a remote worker for a pet food company,” she responds in an email (typed by her roommate Mary Cvetan). In her latest blog post, she shared her concerns about her friends on the West Coast -- including Abigail, the other rabbit writer on the team, who lives in California.

Even animals with more outdoorsy jobs have been affected. Lola, a 7-year-old dingo, is a canine ambassador at Shy Wolf Sanctuary Education & Experience Center in Naples, Florida, but she doesn’t have many people to greet these days. The sanctuary used to welcome 20 to 30 community groups per month, but the pandemic put a halt to community education and outreach events until recently, says Deanna Deppen, Lola’s handler and executive director of the sanctuary.

But training and enrichment keep Lola and Deppen busy. Lola is trained as a search and rescue dog -- a job for which she’s well-suited, thanks to her problem-solving ability and independent nature. To maintain their status, she and Deppen must complete continuing education courses and annual testing.

“National certifications require dogs to identify different types of human remains” and differentiate them from animal remains, Deppen says. “Test areas include vehicles, buildings, fields and woods. Dogs must pass all sectors and identify ‘negative’ areas with no remains in double-blind scenarios.”

But there’s good news for some working pets. At least seven airports, including ones in Philadelphia; Reno, Nevada; and John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, have recently allowed therapy animal teams to come back to work. Here’s hoping other animal employees are back on the job soon.

Q&A

Cleanliness is

next to catliness

Q: How often should I clean my cat’s litter box?

A: If you’re referring to scooping poop and urine clumps, the answer is daily -- at a minimum. Cats are like the rest of us: They prefer a clean bathroom instead of a stinky, unflushed toilet. Your cat will appreciate your keeping her personal potty area clean. It’s a good idea to scoop the box any time you notice it has been used. That’s why we recommend uncovered litter boxes: They ensure you notice right away that the box needs to be cleaned. And covered boxes hold odors in, which can make them unattractive to cats.

Add new litter as needed. That can vary from cat to cat. Some cats like a deep bed of litter, while others have a “less is more” attitude. It can also depend on the type of litter. Usually, 2 to 3 inches is a good depth for clay litter, or 3 to 4 inches for clumping litter. Stick to unscented kinds; cats have very sensitive noses and they may not like the smell of scented litter.

If you’re referring to the actual litter box, we recommend dumping litter in the trash and cleaning the box every one to two weeks. Use hot water, a mild, unscented dishwashing soap and a brush dedicated to that purpose. Never use ammonia, bleach or pine-scented cleansers, all of which can repel or be toxic to your cat. Dry thoroughly and then add new litter. Clean the litter scoop, too, and store it in a plastic bag or hard-sided plastic container.

Keeping the box clean not only keeps your cat happy, it also helps to keep her healthy. A clean litter box, especially in a multicat home, is less likely to harbor bacteria, viruses or parasites. -- Dr. Marty Becker

Do you have a pet question? Send it to askpetconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.

THE BUZZ

Learn a new

language: dog

-- Ever wish your dog could talk to you? He’s doing it all the time, but using body language instead of words. Artist and dog lover Lili Chin, whose illustrations have appeared in books, museum exhibits and dog-bite prevention campaigns, recognized the need for a dog body language guide -- a canine phrasebook of sorts. “Doggie Language: A Dog Lover’s Guide to Understanding Your Best Friend” (Summersdale) contains illustrations and explanations of what dogs are saying when they tilt their heads, yawn, blink their eyes, grin, lick their lips, and more. The book helps readers look at the “whole dog” to interpret posture, tail movement, facial expressions, eye and ear signals, and what it means when a dog has “the zoomies” or offers a kiss.

-- Dogs and cats with osteoarthritis, a painful, degenerative joint disease, may signal the condition by limping, hesitating to jump on or off furniture or go up or down stairs, reducing their activity level, or appearing slow or stiff when they stand up or lie down. If you suspect your pet has osteoarthritis, take her to the veterinarian for an exam. A number of medications and therapies are available to reduce pain and improve mobility. Checklists of signs are available at zoetispetcare.com/checklist/osteoarthritis-checklist (dogs) and zoetispetcare.com/checklist/osteoarthritis-checklist-cat (cats).

-- One of the requirements on a pet food label is a nutritional adequacy statement. It tells you whether a food is appropriate for a puppy or kitten or for an adult animal, for instance. Young animals need high levels of nutrients to fuel their rapid growth, but adult dogs or cats with normal activity levels don’t need those extra calories or nutrients. A nutritional adequacy statement says which life stage the food is meant for, whether that’s “growth” or “maintenance.” An “all life stages” food can be fed to any animal. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet care experts headed by “The Dr. Oz Show” veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker, founder of the Fear Free organization and author of many best-selling pet care books, and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. Joining them is behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets Mikkel Becker. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/KimCampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.

Here’s the real scoop on preventing and managing pain in pets

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Raise your hand if you believe pets who have undergone surgery shouldn’t receive pain relief afterward because they’ll be too active, possibly injuring themselves or tearing their stitches. Believe it or not, people still disseminate that idea.

We’re here to tell you it’s not true. It’s one of many misconceptions about pet pain management that just won’t die. What we do know is that untreated acute pain can delay healing and have lifelong implications for a pet’s physical and emotional well-being. Here are some myths -- and the reality -- on pet pain and its relief and management from three of the nation’s top experts on the subject.

MYTH: That doesn’t hurt me, so it will not hurt you. The experience of pain is different for everyone. Each of us -- and each of our dogs, cats, birds and other animals -- experience pain as individuals, with individual thresholds and sensitivities and in a different context, says Ralph C. Harvey, DVM, a specialist in veterinary anesthesia and analgesia in Knoxville, Tennessee.

A related -- and misguided -- belief is that nonhuman animals and nonverbal humans don’t perceive pain. Think 3-day-old puppies getting their tails docked, livestock enduring castration or newborn baby boys undergoing circumcision -- all with no anesthesia or pain relief. Those long-lasting myths have delivered “a world of hurt” over the centuries and into the present day, Dr. Harvey says.

MYTH: My pet isn’t in pain because he doesn’t cry out. Vocalization is a sign of acute pain, not chronic pain, says Michael Petty, DVM, a certified veterinary pain management expert and owner of Arbor Pointe Veterinary Hospital and the Animal Pain Center in Canton, Michigan. Your pet might not make noise about painful arthritis, but sleeping more and moving less are signs you shouldn’t ignore. With appropriate medication or other management, your senior pet can still enjoy play and walks.

MYTH: Pain medication can be unsafe. That’s both true and not true. “There is no such thing as a safe medication at any dose,” Dr. Petty says. “Heck, a dozen marathoners die each year from drinking too much water. But a careful assessment of comorbidities (other diseases or conditions that exist in addition to what’s causing pain) and proper monitoring makes most pain meds safe.”

MYTH: Pain relief is expensive. No matter how tight your budget, there are things you can do to relieve a pet’s pain. “Weight loss costs nothing,” Dr. Petty says. “A 10 percent drop in weight can have an effect similar to giving an NSAID. Directed exercises and massage given at home cost time, but no money.”

MYTH: A painful experience today is just that -- a painful experience today; it won’t stick with animals. Not so, says Robin Downing, DVM. In addition to being a specialist in pain management, sports medicine and rehabilitation, and the hospital director of the Downing Center for Animal Pain Management in Windsor, Colorado, Dr. Downing also holds a master’s degree in clinical bioethics.

Pain is a multidimensional experience, she says. It’s physiologic, meaning animals feel it in their tissues; emotional, because there’s a component of suffering; and cognitive, meaning they assimilate and remember the experience of pain.

“They certainly can and do anticipate and fear pain,” she says. “If they have a bad pain experience today, it will stick with them and provide a worse and more difficult-to-manage pain experience next time.”

MYTH: Pets will get over pain on their own. Proper management is key. The longer acute pain goes untreated, the more severe its effects. Untreated pain can cause animals -- and humans -- to develop greater sensitivity to pain. Called hyperalgesia, this condition occurs when changes to specific nerve receptors in the body develop an overactive response to pain. What happens is that less and less stimulation is required for pain to occur. That’s why it’s important for pain to be treated and managed from the beginning.

Q&A

Fishy medicine?

You bet!

Q: I saw a Facebook post recently about a fish being treated at a veterinary clinic. Why? How?

A: Hey, fish need veterinary care, too. People love them and develop relationships with them -- really! -- and fish can develop health problems that require veterinary care, just like any other animal. Fish can be examined, treated with medication, and even undergo surgery.

Fish should see the veterinarian when they lose their appetite, have their fins tightly clamped against their body, hide or spend time in a different part of the tank than where they usually hang out, don’t seem to be swimming normally, display rapid gill movements, or turn rapidly to the side, causing their scales to flash. Other possible signs of illness are a bloated appearance, spots or discoloration on the body, or ragged fins.

A common reason fish get sick is poor water quality. Just as you scoop a cat’s litter box, clean your bird’s cage or wash your dog’s bedding, you also need to perform similar “housekeeping” for fish. Each species has special environmental needs as far as saline concentration, pH levels, water temperature and cleanliness. All of those things need to be monitored, and partial water changes made regularly, to ensure that fish stay healthy.

Fish can also develop bacterial, viral or parasitic infections. To diagnose these, a veterinarian may perform a fecal test, skin -- er, scale -- scraping, or even a gill or fin biopsy to examine cell samples microscopically. Infections can occur when new fish are added to a tank, which is why it’s important to quarantine them first to make sure they’re healthy, just as you would before bringing in a new bird or cat, for instance.

If your fish needs to see a veterinarian, you can seek out a veterinary fish expert at fishvets.org/tools/locator/locator.asp?id=30. -- Dr. Marty Becker

Do you have a pet question? Send it to askpetconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.

THE BUZZ

In dog food,

aroma is all

-- What smells do dogs love? Food chemistry experts have identified key aroma compounds in dog foods that have dogs licking their chops. A pilot study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, involved feeding six adult beagles each of six foods, one at a time, and determining how much the dogs ate. The dogs had the greatest preferences for three of the foods. Using mass spectrometry, the researchers isolated 12 volatile aroma molecules that correlated either positively or negatively with the dogs’ intake. They found that dogs preferred food containing a molecule that humans associate with an unpleasant, fatty odor, along with molecules that smell sulfury, roasted, smoky and meaty. With further testing of greater numbers of dogs and different breeds, dog food manufacturers may one day cook up a real canine feast.

-- Cats aren’t finicky, exactly. The reason they’re so particular about what they eat is because they learn as kittens to recognize certain textures, flavors and smells as “food” and others as “not food.” That’s why it can be difficult to get them to switch once you find a brand or flavor they like. They’re also fussy when it comes to crumbs. While your dog might lick up every last bit off his plate, a cat will generally walk away when only crumbs are left.

-- Leapin’ lizards! It’s not just a catchphrase. The tails of red-headed agama lizards from sub-Saharan Africa allow them to balance themselves, and to adjust their bodies’ angles mid-leap to make successful landings. And leaping geckos can right themselves when falling by swinging their tails, in much the same way as a cat, and they have sticky hairs on their toes that allow them to stick to surfaces quickly. -- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet care experts headed by “The Dr. Oz Show” veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker, founder of the Fear Free organization and author of many best-selling pet care books, and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. Joining them is behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets Mikkel Becker. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/KimCampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.

Get your ducks in a row if you want to add these charming quackers to your family.

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Sara Whitehurst originally planned on getting chickens as pets for her two children, as well as for eggs and to provide pest control in her yard, but a chat with a cousin who had recently acquired some persuaded her that ducks might be a better fit.

Yes, ducks! Chickens have been popular poultry pets for approximately 20 years, but now ducks are taking a quack at being companion birds, too.

“Ducks are great to have around on so many levels,” says avian veterinarian Brian Speer of The Medical Center for Birds in Oakley, California. He not only treats ducks in his practice but has them at home as well. “They are amazingly smart, fun to train, and some of the various breeds are simply fabulous. They are very popular companion backyard birds, and some do live inside the house, wearing their duck diapers.”

Whitehurst, who lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, acquired four female Indian Runner ducks from her local farm store. She describes them as charming and great egg layers. They also protect her garden by eating slugs and other unwanted bugs. (There’s a reason your grandma used the phrase “quicker than a duck on a June bug.”) They can be a little skittish with people, she says, but feeding them kale and other veggie treats by hand has ensured that the ducks are always happy to see her and her children.

Before you run out and get some ducks, be aware of some special considerations. They need water. You don’t need to have a pond or lake, though; a child’s swimming pool can provide them with the water they need to splash around in and clear their bills as they eat.

All that water can make for a big mess, though. Be prepared for daily cleanup of their pen and daily water changes.

Ducks can be destructive to your yard or garden. They may dig holes in the grass with their bills as they search for bugs or nibble on your plants. They can rapidly turn small puddles into large mudholes. At night, they need predator-proof housing to protect them from raccoons, mink and other varmints who might like a duck dinner.

Ducklings have special nutrition needs and require a diet with extra B vitamins. An easy way to provide this is to add brewer’s yeast to their feed every day.

Check to make sure you live in an area zoned for ducks. If not, your neighbors may complain about the noise and force you to rehome them, says Lorraine Aubert, director of Pacific Waterfowl Rescue. A common mistake she sees is people acquiring ducks on impulse and then thinking they can release their ducks “back to nature.”

“Domestic ducks do not have the instincts and skills their wild cousins do,” she says.

But if ducks are for you, you’ll learn quickly that they can be highly personable and enjoy cuddling if they’ve been raised with plenty of human contact.

“They will give their family plenty of laughs and enjoyment,” Aubert says. “They enjoy treats such as fruits and vegetables and will eat out of your hand. They can learn their name and will recognize your voice when you call for them.”

With sound husbandry and nutrition, their medical problems are comparatively few, Dr. Speer says. He typically sees reproductive problems in females, bumblefoot (an inflammatory condition of the weight-bearing aspects of the foot, which promotes bacterial infections), traumatic injuries from predator attacks, foreign body consumption (nails, wires, hardware) and sometimes Aspergillosis infections.

“We are so happy with our little brood, and would recommend ducks to anyone,” Whitehurst says. “They are hardy, don’t mind our Pacific Northwest rain, and are quite easy to care for.”

Q&A

What to do if

dog attacks

Q: We love dogs in our family, but I know that not every dog is friendly. What should I teach my child about how to respond if she encounters an aggressive dog?

A: Great question! That is important information for every child (and adult) to learn so they can stay safe. Being menaced or even attacked by a dog is frightening for anyone, but knowing in advance what to do can help her stay calm and act appropriately.

It’s instinctive to run or scream in the face of any dangerous animal, whether a bear, mountain lion or dog, but the best thing to do is to freeze in place, sideways to the dog, arms crossed over the body. Motion activates an animal’s chase instinct, and high-pitched screaming can make a child sound like prey.

Instead, tell her to stay still and avoid eye contact (it’s OK to watch the dog out of the corner of the eye, but never stare at him). Don’t say anything. The goal is for the animal to view your child as completely unthreatening. Then she can start to move slowly away -- ideally to a spot where she’s more protected, such as behind a wall, fence, door or other barrier. If that’s not possible, she should calmly ask a passerby to help.

If a dog does attack, your child should know how to protect the most vulnerable parts of the body. Have her practice crossing her arms across her body and lifting them to cover her throat and face if the dog lunges forward. If she’s pushed down with her back to the dog, she should curl up into a ball so her knees protect her belly, keep her head down, and cross her hands over the back of her neck to protect it. Learn more here: fearfreehappyhomes.com/dog-bites-6-ways-to-prevent-them. -- Dr. Marty Becker

Do you have a pet question? Send it to askpetconnection@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker.

THE BUZZ

Meds for cats

may help humans

-- A drug used to treat coronavirus infections in cats may eventually be used to treat COVID-19 in humans: Researchers showed the drug works against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in laboratory experiments, according to an article on Forbes.com by research scientist Victoria Forster. Research published in Nature Communications looked at two similar drugs called GC373 and GC376. Both work by inhibiting proteases, a type of enzyme widely found in several types of living things, including viruses and humans. The coronavirus infection in cats that the drugs have been effective at treating isn’t the same as COVID-19 in humans. In cats, this infection is often mild, but sometimes causes feline infectious peritonitis, which can be fatal. The researchers studied how the drugs bind to the SARS-CoV-2 protease and stop the virus from replicating, giving them confidence that the drug has a good chance of working in humans, too. The research team hopes it will be in human trials by the end of this year.

-- Who are the cutest dogs on Instagram? We found a few. Check out @milo_the_toller, possibly the most colorful of the #dogsofinstagram, not to mention a top dog treat chef; @finnandhiswig, chronicling the hair days of a Cumbrian sprocker (a springer/cocker cross); @dustinpup, an Australian duo who are a Jack Russell/pug cross and a corgi, living the good life in Sydney; @wat.ki, short for Watson and Kiko, who enjoy paddleboarding, music and camping; and @livingwilddogs, living their best life on the road, learning tricks and having adventures.

-- Meet the Bombay. This black cat with copper-colored eyes -- described as a “parlor panther” -- is congenial and intelligent. Bombays have a reputation for inventiveness and curiosity, taking well to leash training and enjoying a good game of fetch. They enjoy attention from their people and can be vocal.

-- Dr. Marty Becker, Kim Campbell Thornton and Mikkel Becker

ABOUT PET CONNECTION

Pet Connection is produced by a team of pet care experts headed by “The Dr. Oz Show” veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker, founder of the Fear Free organization and author of many best-selling pet care books, and award-winning journalist Kim Campbell Thornton. Joining them is behavior consultant and lead animal trainer for Fear Free Pets Mikkel Becker. Dr. Becker can be found at Facebook.com/DrMartyBecker or on Twitter at DrMartyBecker. Kim Campbell Thornton is at Facebook.com/KimCampbellThornton and on Twitter at kkcthornton. Mikkel Becker is at Facebook.com/MikkelBecker and on Twitter at MikkelBecker.