Giving pet medications on a schedule is an important part of ensuring a good outcome of treatment

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Pets’ lives can be measured in a number of different ways. There’s the crazy entertaining stage of puppies and kittens, the active prime of life, the calmer stage of the middle-aged pet, and the medication stage that is most often seen in senior and geriatric animals. I’m currently in the latter stage with my two cavalier King Charles spaniels, and it’s a stage I’ve been through many times before. I’ve had cats who required insulin injections or subcutaneous fluids, a canine amputee who needed pain meds, and dogs who have needed pills, potions, drops and lotions for everything from heart disease to corneal ulcers to skin conditions.

Over the years, one of the most important things I’ve learned is the importance of timing when giving medications. You can’t just give them any old time. If the bottle says every six hours, then it’s important to adhere as closely as possible to that schedule for best effects, even if it means staying up until midnight and then getting up again at 6 a.m. for the next dose. If you’re lucky, as we were recently, that won’t last for more than a week.

Ask your veterinarian if there’s a grace period for giving medication, insulin injections or fluids. My dog Keeper gets one particular pill at 2 p.m. every day. His board-certified cardiologist, Sarah Miller, DVM, assured us that it could be given up to two hours earlier or later if we weren’t home at the right time.

Sometimes pets need multiple medications throughout the day. We once had a cavalier who required seven pills daily, some more than once, and all at different times, of course. That was in the olden days before cellphones and smart speakers, so I programmed my personal digital assistant to give an alarm at the appropriate times. These days, a smart speaker reminds us about Keeper’s midday and pre-bedtime pills.

Recently, we used old-school pen and paper to make a chart for the pills, fluids and injections Harper needed throughout the day after hospitalization for a serious kidney infection. After each one was administered, we checked it off and wrote down the time. When there was a question about whether we needed to continue injections of a particular antibiotic, we were able to go back to the sheet and count the number of days it had been given and determine that she had finished the course. Checking off the days on a calendar works, too, if you aren’t dealing with multiple medications multiple times daily.

With antibiotics, in particular, it’s essential to give them for the entire time prescribed, even if your pet seems “cured” before you’ve used it all. Don’t save the remainder “for next time.” Not giving the full amount for the appropriate length of time can lead to antibiotic resistance, making bacteria and fungi more powerful when it comes to defeating the drugs sent to kill them.

With or without food? That’s always an important question to ask about a pet’s medication. Some absorb more quickly if given on an empty stomach. Others, such as NSAIDs, are less likely to cause gastrointestinal upset when there’s food in the stomach. Calcium-rich foods such as yogurt can interfere with absorption of some antibiotics. And pets with sensitive stomachs may do best when medications are given with food -- as long as that doesn’t affect their efficacy. Write down what your veterinarian tells you about how to give the medication, or ask for an instruction sheet that you can refer to, especially if you’re giving multiple meds.

THE BUZZ

Dog paws dirty?

Not so fast!

-- What’s cleaner than the soles of your shoes? A recent study suggests that the answer is your dog’s paws. Researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands took samples from the paws of 50 assistance dogs and the shoe soles of their handlers. They did the same for an equal number of pet dogs and their people, in each case examining the samples for poop bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae), which are common outdoors, and for an important diarrheal bacteria (Clostridium difficile). “The dogs’ paws turned out to be cleaner than the soles of the shoes,” says master’s student Jasmijn Vos. They concluded that paw hygiene was no reason to ban assistance dogs from hospitals.

-- Parents of cat-loving kids will want to seek out the award-winning book “The Cat Man of Aleppo” (Putnam, 2020) by Irene Latham and Karim Shamsi-Basha, charmingly illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. A Caldecott Honor book, it tells the story of Alaa, a resident of Aleppo, Syria, who takes action when war comes to his beloved city. Besides being an ambulance driver, he takes notice of the many sad cats left behind when their people had to flee for their lives. He begins feeding them and provides them with shelter. Word spreads, and soon people from around the world are helping out with donations. Find out what happens next!

-- Bird emergencies are much the same as those for other pets. Get your feathered friend to the vet quick if you see any of the following: bites or claw wounds from other pets, deep cuts, uncontrolled bleeding, burns, poisoning, difficulty breathing, collapse, blood in his droppings, straining to defecate or pass an egg, eye injury, lack of appetite, a “puffed-up” appearance, sudden swelling, broken bones, diarrhea, or contact with dog or cat saliva, even if the skin isn’t broken. -- 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.

Q&A

How many kinds

of dogs are there?

Q: How many dog breeds are there in the world?

A: That’s a good question! Nobody really knows for sure. The registration organizations for the United States (American Kennel Club and United Kennel Club), Canada (Canadian Kennel Club), the United Kingdom (The Kennel Club), Europe (Federation Cynologique International) and Australia (Australian National Kennel Council), to name just a few, recognize many of the same breeds, but they each also recognize various individual breeds that the others don’t.

And some breeds go by different names in different countries. Take Tatra shepherd dogs. That’s what they’re called in Australia. The AKC calls them Polish Tatra sheepdogs, and the United Kennel Club gives them their original Polish name of owczarek Podhalanski. The vizsla in the United States is the braque Hongrois in France.

At last count, the AKC recognized 195 breeds. The United Kennel Club, although based in the U.S., recognizes more than 300 breeds from around the world. The FCI lists 360 recognized breeds, many of them the same as those recognized by the UKC.

Some breeds are considered by the FCI to be in the developmental stage. Some of those “provisional” breeds that you might see at dog shows in the future include Estonian hounds, Kintamani-Bali dogs, Lancashire heelers, miniature American shepherds and Prague ratters.

The Kennel Club, in 2020, recognized 218 different breeds, including the aforementioned Lancashire heeler. The Canadian Kennel Club recognizes 175 breeds. Two of those are the Canadian Eskimo dog and the Karelian bear dog. They are recognized by the CKC and the FCI, but not by the AKC.

Then there are landraces: genetically diverse domestic dogs adapted to a particular locale or culture. One such is Mongolia’s Bankhar dog.

A good guess is that there are at least 400 different breeds, give or take a few. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

Adjusting to a new home or other circumstances can cause pets to behave in ways they normally wouldn’t. Here’s how to help

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

Two weeks ago, media reports blew up an incident in which one of the first dogs, Major Biden, was said to have bitten a security agent who startled him. Later, a Secret Service official clarified that the nip was “extremely minor,” with no broken skin or bleeding, leaving only a small mark on the agent’s hand. But something like that can harm a dog’s reputation -- even a dog who isn’t under constant media scrutiny.

Repercussions for a dog bite, even a minor one, can range from a report that goes on the dog’s record to a 10-day in-home quarantine period, even for a dog who is up-to-date on rabies vaccinations. No one wants that.

Fortunately, there are good ways to prevent incidents and help dogs remain cool, calm and collected, whether they’re at your house, the White House or anywhere in between.

Major, of course, changed households in January, but even before then, his humans were traveling frequently, and change was in the air. Pets are sensitive to the emotions of their humans as well as to what’s going on in their environment. Sometimes they respond with fear, anxiety or stress, even if it seems as if they have adjusted.

When pets are facing new situations, set up the environment for success, says Fear Free-certified veterinary behaviorist Amy Pike, DVM, who practices in Fairfax, Virginia. Pets don’t need to meet everyone at once or have free access to every part of the home. Whether Chip the cable guy or Janet from Treasury is coming over, it can be best for that first meeting to take place outdoors in a more relaxed setting and then have them go indoors together, or to confine the dog in a comfortable area away from the activity until a more understated introduction can take place.

Ask guests to avoid body language that can seem threatening to pets, such as prolonged eye contact, approaching or reaching toward them.

“There is no need to put your hand out for the dog to smell you,” says Debbie Martin, a licensed veterinary technician in Spicewood, Texas, who specializes in behavior. “He can smell you from across the room. Reaching your hand into his space is like a stranger getting too close to you or reaching for you.”

Have visitors toss treats instead of handing them to pets.

“Every time they approach one of the dogs or come into a space where the dog is, don’t look at them, don’t talk to them, just toss them food,” Dr. Pike says. That way, pets associate good things with the visitor. If your pet is nervous or even excited in the presence of strangers, give the treats yourself in the presence of guests. Toss treats when your pet is relaxed, looking at you unprompted or responding to known cues such as sit, spin or shake.

Keep dogs on a leash for a while, even inside the residence. That can help protect them from making mistakes in new situations or around unfamiliar people.

If your pet displays unusual behavior -- even something that might be attributable to new or exciting circumstances -- it’s a good idea to have your veterinarian check for underlying causes, Dr. Pike says.

For instance, romping on White House grounds might have resulted in a partially torn cruciate ligament causing pain and irritability. “Spring allergies are a concern right now in the D.C. area,” she says, “so maybe he’s irritable because he’s itchy.”

Most important, pets -- even those who haven’t moved into one of the world’s most famous residences -- need time to adjust to new surroundings and situations.

“It may take three to six months to acclimatize to a new situation, whether that be Mom going back to work or moving to a new house or apartment, or a new roommate even,” Pike says. “Keep their stress level as low as possible for their sake and safety.”

THE BUZZ

Creative surgery

for hamster’s leg

-- A tiny hamster with a broken leg has recovered after veterinarian Ann Reid cleverly used the needle from an insulin syringe as the “pin” to hold the bone in place while it healed. Suki, a white Roborovski hamster weighing only three-quarters of an ounce, recuperated for a month in a large, shallow box with chew toys and apple sticks to help entertain him until he could go back to his normal lifestyle of running on his exercise wheel and digging tunnels in his bedding.

-- Aquarium and pond fish in the San Francisco Bay Area are cared for by an unusual specialist: Jessie Sanders, DVM, whose mobile practice -- Aquatic Veterinary Services -- takes her from caring for koi to assessing ponds and tanks to giving physicals to sharks. Instead of clients bringing fish to her, she goes to them in a vehicle trimmed to resemble a giant clownfish, bearing a license tag reading DR4FISH. She’s one of the first veterinarians certified by the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association and is past president of the American Association of Fish Veterinarians. To find a fish veterinarian in your area, go to fishvets.org.

-- Skechers and Petco Foundation have teamed up to help save shelter animals. The shoe company has raised more than $6 million to aid pets in need, donating more than $2.7 million of those funds to Petco Foundation’s animal shelter support programs. Skecher’s BOBS collection of slip-on shoes, clothing, and pet beds and harnesses includes a range of designs featuring dogs and cats, different breeds, canine Instagram icons such as Doug the Pug, and artwork by James Goldcrown. For every BOBS purchase, Skechers makes a donation to the Petco Foundation, which partners with more than 4,000 animal welfare organizations to support adoptions, provide medical care and fund other lifesaving programs. -- 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.

Q&A

How cats vent

frustration

Q: Why does my cat attack me when he sees a cat outdoors?

A: If you’ve ever had a bad day at the office and then come home and snapped at your significant other, you have some idea of how your cat feels when he or she sees an unknown cat trespassing in your yard.

Cats get frustrated when they see an invading feline in their territory, and they may take it out on you or another pet or person, a behavior known as redirected aggression. It can be downright scary if you’re on the receiving end when your cat lashes out. It can be frustrating for you in other ways as well. Some cats accompany redirected aggression with urine spraying in an attempt to let that other cat know he or she is trespassing.

Free-roaming cats work out boundary disputes through scent (urine spraying), sight (claw marks on trees) and sometimes outright violence. Cats who live indoors don’t have opportunities to mark or defend their territory from cats passing through.

You don’t have to let your cat outdoors, though, to help him protect his patch of earth. A motion-detection sprinkler may send stray cats scurrying when they cross onto your cat’s property. And if there’s a particular window that offers your cat the perfect vantage point for spotting feline marauders, try putting up a barrier, whether that’s blinds you can close or a screen you can place in front of the window. You can even go so far as to close the door to that room and provide your cat with a perch near another window or door where he won’t see other cats go by.

Products such as Feliway that mimic calming feline pheromones may also help to prevent your cat from venting his frustration on your skin. -- Dr. Marty Becker

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

Three studies funded by EveryCat Health Foundation will prompt purrs from cat lovers -- and their cats, even if they don’t know why

By Kim Campbell Thornton

Andrews McMeel Syndication

The Chinese calendar recently transitioned to the year of the ox, but 2021 will be the year of the cat -- not based on the Chinese zodiac, but on current studies focusing on feline health and welfare.

Many are funded by an organization with a 53-year history of supporting research into cat health and behavior, and a new name: The former Winn Feline Foundation is now EveryCat Health Foundation. While its name has changed, its mission hasn’t; ECHF has simply put into words its goal to learn more about every cat so that all felines -- pets, pedigreed show kitties, community cats and shelter denizens -- can benefit. Here’s their story, in three studies.

-- Feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS) is a painful disease that attacks a cat’s mouth and affects approximately 1% of the cat population. Removing all of a cat’s teeth helps about 70% of cats with FCGS. The other 30% face a lifetime of steroids, pain medication and antibiotics, or even euthanasia.

Research funded by ECHF at the University of California, Davis, looked at using stem cells derived from the fat of cats to treat the disease. Over a five-year period, it helped to propel researchers from early lab research to a clinical trial.

“We had noticed some pretty resounding success using these cells to treat cats with this disease,” says Dori L. Borjesson, DVM, Ph.D., who at the time was professor of pathology at U.C. Davis and is now dean of Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “We started working with an industry group and are now working with the FDA to get this product to market.”

-- Ulcers in cats are less common than in dogs, but they tend to affect cats more severely. At Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, researchers have sought the best ways to treat ulcers of the stomach and small intestine in cats. That’s difficult because cats metabolize drugs differently than dogs and humans, in which the most research has been done.

“The way oral drugs often work is that they have to be absorbed in the small intestine,” says Katie Tolbert, DVM, Ph.D., clinical associate professor in small-animal gastroenterology. “They need time to be absorbed, and one of the problems we have in cats is that they have a short small intestine compared to dogs and humans. There’s not enough time for that drug to get absorbed in the cat intestine.”

The data generated as they sought the most effective medications to treat feline ulcers -- which typically affect middle-aged to older cats with inflammatory bowel disease or gastrointestinal cancer -- has resulted in better treatments that are already in use.

The support from ECHF, Tolbert says, has also helped reduce the use of medications effective in humans and dogs, but not in cats. Anyone who has tried to medicate a cat can appreciate that.

“The last thing we want to do is give a drug to a cat that’s not going to be effective,” Tolbert says.

-- Feline leukemia virus used to be a death sentence for cats, but now it’s known that many infected cats can enjoy a good quality of life for the time they have -- allowing more cats to be adopted instead of euthanized. But until recently, veterinarians and shelters struggled with the most reliable and efficient way to test cats for FeLV.

University of Florida researchers, in collaboration with Austin Pets Alive! and IDEXX Laboratories and supported by EveryCat Health Foundation and Maddie’s Fund, have identified the best screening tests for the disease as well as published a paper on the success of FeLV cat adoptions. Their findings ensure accurate and cost-effective testing.

“In the past, veterinarians and shelter managers were confused about what samples they should collect and what tests they should run,” says Julie Levy, DVM, Fran Marino-endowed professor of shelter medicine education at the University of Florida. “Now we can get cats out of shelters quicker, and if we identify them as FeLV-positive, we’re going to adopt them to appropriate homes and not euthanize them.”

THE BUZZ

Keep pets safe

from poisons

-- It’s National Animal Poison Prevention Week. Do you know what yard and household substances put your dog or cat at risk? In the kitchen, beware of dark chocolate, grapes, mushrooms and anything moldy that your pet might snag from the trash. Your medicine cabinet holds ibuprofen, acetaminophen and your prescription medication; even without opposable thumbs, pets can chew their way into bottles or find pills that have fallen to the floor unnoticed. And in the yard and garage, beware of toxic plants, tulip and other bulbs, herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides. If you believe your pet has ingested something toxic, call ASPCA Animal Poison Control at 888-426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline at 800-213-6680.

-- Discovery of an ancient pet cemetery in the Egyptian port city of Berenice, on the Red Sea, documents the longstanding bond between humans and animals. Cats, several types of dogs and two species of macaques were found buried there, not as sacrifices but as obviously cared-for pets with collars and other paraphernalia. The remains of the 585 animals were examined by a veterinarian to learn more about their diet, health and cause of death. It was clear that often they had been cared for after injuries or nursed through illnesses, some living into old age. The study was published in January in the journal World Archaeology. Read more here: bit.ly/2O8TTNb.

-- Why do dogs have cold noses? Evaporation. The eyes constantly produce tears for lubrication. Excess tears flow through the naso-lacrimal, or “nose-tears,” duct and out the base of the nose. As the tears drip down into the dog’s face, the dog licks her nose, spreading tear fluid over it. The resulting evaporation causes the nose to be cool and moist, enhancing the dog’s ability to dissolve airborne chemicals and contributing to that great canine sense of smell. -- 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.

Q&A

Like cats

and dogs?

Q: I have a cat, and I’m thinking of getting a dog. Can they really get along? What tips do you have for introducing them?

A: As with any family, these pets get along to varying degrees, from familiar affection to downright loathing. If slowly introduced at a pace that’s comfortable for them, dogs and cats usually at least tolerate each other well. And in many families, the camaraderie between cats and dogs is obvious.

To introduce new pet housemates, start with scent, not sight. While they’re in separate safe spaces, let each sniff a sock or T-shirt that has been rubbed on the other. Do this several times over several days until they don’t show negative reactions such as swishing tails or barking. And even though they are in separate rooms, they can still smell each other and become accustomed to each other’s presence.

When they do meet, the dog should be on a leash so you can prevent any lunges toward the cat. And make sure your cat has an escape route, such a tall cat tree or a pet gate with a cutout the cat -- but not the dog -- can run through. Hand out lots of tasty treats while they’re in each other’s presence.

Although there are exceptions to every rule, some types of dogs may not enjoy living with a cat as much as others do. Breeds or mixes with high prey drive -- think terriers, hounds and some spitz breeds -- may view cats more as a main course than as fellow family members. Consider a breed or mix less likely to be aggressive toward cats. If you’re adopting an adult dog, ask the shelter or rescue group if the dog has lived with cats previously or has been “cat-tested” for friendliness toward felines. Learn more at fearfreehappyhomes.com – Mikkel Becker

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