Practice News
Pet HealthThursday 17th January, 2008
As Christmas time has come and gone and we all look back to the gym to try and shed those extra pounds that we’ve put on over the holidays, I thought I would take this opportunity to talk about the health of our pets. Not surprisingly many of us would have treated our pets over the holidays to some Christmas turkey or perhaps even their own stocking or advent calendar. This is only natural as long as we remember everything should be in moderation. It is important that we try and feed our animals pet foods as much as possible as these are balanced diets with the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, fats and essential amino acids. This especially applies to cats, as there are specific amino acids that cats require to have in their diets.
Obesity among the pet population is becoming an increasing problem just as it is in the human population. This perhaps can partly attributed to a combination of diet and exercise. After neutering you may notice that your pet may start to put on weight and if this is the case you should seek advice from your veterinarian on measures that can be taken to prevent this. It is also a problem in older animals as they become less active. It is important that we try aim for an ideal body condition score before this is the case, as otherwise a vicious cycle of an overweight pet that is unable to exercise is formed. Obesity in pets can predispose to diabetes as well as other musculo-skeletal problems including cruciate ligament rupture (knee ligament) and arthritis.
Taking dogs for walks is an excellent way of keeping them fit. It is important that if you take them to a new area that you make sure that it is safe for them. By this I mean that there is no glass or metal objects on the floor which they can catch themselves on. Many of dog owners will throw sticks for their dogs to chase when they are in the park. I would advice against this as we will see several dogs each month that have injured themselves chasing sticks. There have even been cases where sticks have penetrated into the spinal cords of dogs. It is important that if your dog is chasing a stick and comes back with what appears to be a cut veterinary attention is sought. The other day I saw a dog that had cut his shoulder while chasing a stick. The wound appeared to be quite innocent from the outside, but after radiographs were taken and the wound explored a 5cm by 5cm stick from in between the dog’s chest wall and shoulder blade was removed. With our older friends that may have arthritis swimming can be an excellent form of exercise. With swimming there is no weight-bearing on the joints which is excellent for artheritic joints. This can be combined with anti-inflammatories and joint supplements which can be obtained from your local veterinary practice. There are hydro-therapy pools which are built exclusively for the rehabilitation of animals. With indoor cats this can be harder and playing ball with them indoors and more importantly cutting back on their food may be the answer.
There are several diets and prescription diets out in the market and this can be very confusing. The individual needs of each animal are different especially if there are concurrent medical problems as well. However, by speaking to your local veterinarian and closely monitoring your pet’s weight hopefully the correct diet for you pet can be chosen and many of these problems prevented.
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