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What is rabies?

Rabies is a fatal disease of the nervous system. It is caused by a virus that can infect all warm-blooded animals, including humans. The virus attacks the brain and spinal cord, causing severe nervous system dysfunction and eventually death.

How is rabies transmitted?

The most common way to contract rabies is through a bite from an infected animal. When a rabid animal bites, the rabies virus in its saliva passes through the broken skin of the victim. Rabid cats can also transmit rabies through their scratches if they have saliva on their paws.

Skunks bats, coyotes, foxes, and raccoons are very susceptible to rabies. Cats, dogs, cattle and horses usually contract rabies through encounters with rabid wildlife.

Signs of rabies

The symptoms of rabies can be quite varied. In general, the disease shows three stages that occur in succession. (NOTE: not every animal will display these signs, so any animal behaving abnormally should be regarded with suspicion.)

Stage 1 - Attitude Change
The animal may show nervousness, shyness, aggression or other changes in its normal personality. May show a lack of fear of humans.

Stage 2 - Furious or Excitable Phase
Animals may become extremely agitated, or behave erratically. Animals may bite and snap at anything. Wild animals may wander into unaccustomed areas and attack livestock, people or pets. The tone of an animal's voice may change as its vocal cords become paralyzed. Seizures may occur.

Stage 3 - Paralysis
Victims become progressively paralyzed. Animals may be unable to move their hind limbs and unable to swallow, resulting in choking and frothing at the mouth. This phase ends in death, usually from paralysis of the respiratory muscles.

Rabies cannot be diagnosed with certainty based on symptoms alone. The suspicion of rabies can only be confirmed by testing samples of an animal's brain tissue.

Prevention

Vaccination is an inexpensive, effective means of protecting your animals from rabies. All pets should be vaccinated regularly against rabies. Large animals in high risk situations may also need to be vaccinated. Your veterinarian can develop an appropriate vaccination schedule for your animals.

You can minimize the risk of rabies by avoiding close contact with wildlife. Remember, rabid animals often lose their fear of humans and may appear unusually friendly. Ensure that your house is unattractive to wild animals by keeping garbage bins securely fastened and sheds and garages closed. If your domestic animals are bitten or scratched by a wild animal, consult your veterinarian immediately.

What if I think I've been exposed to rabies?

Prompt medical attention is essential. If you've been bitten by any animal, clean and disinfect the wound thoroughly, then contact your physician or local health authority immediately. If the biting animal can be confined without further danger, it should be kept in a secure area while waiting for public health authorities to arrive. Depending upon the circumstances, the health authorities may choose to quarantine the animal for monitoring, or euthanize it for testing. The animal's vaccination status influences this decision.

Remember - rabies is a fatal disease in humans! Every biting incident should be investigated, even if the animal in question appears healthy.

Post-exposure treatment

If rabies exposure cannot be ruled out, people who are bitten are usually treated with a series of injections. There is no treatment for animals that have been exposed to rabies. In both humans and animals, the disease is almost always fatal once symptoms of nervous system dysfunction appear. For more information about rabies, contact your local veterinarian or public health official.

If you want to travel with your pet:

Owners are required to present proof of current rabies vaccinations at customs for dogs and cats traveling to certain countries. A period of quarantine (usually six months) may be required. Before you travel abroad with your pet, contact your veterinarian or public health official.

Minimize the risk

Vaccinate pets and high-risk livestock regularly - see your veterinarian for a vaccination protocol. Keep away from wild animals, no matter how friendly they appear. Keep wild animals away by securely fastening garbage bins and closing garages and sheds.

Being imaginative creatures, cats love to play with a variety of string-like objects. Shoelaces, sewing thread, ribbon, yarn and dental floss are most popular, but cats also find great pleasure in playing with curtain pulls, fishing line, rubber bands, and all forms of string. Unfortunately, cats are prone to swallowing these homemade toys and are faced with the potentially fatal consequence of what is medically termed a "linear foreign body".

Unless the object balls up, the digestive tract has a hard time moving along string-like object through its system, especially if one end is wrapped around the base of the tongue. The stretched out linear object causes the intestine to bunch up in a wavy accordion shape while it attempts to move the object out of the cat. However, the end of the "string" makes this impossible because it is anchored by the tongue or is moving more slowly.

As the intestine continues to pull on one end of the string, the string becomes tense, like the rope in a tug-of-war. This increasing tension causes the string to 'saw' through the intestines with fatal complications if not surgically removed in a timely fashion. Obviously, the earlier the surgery, the better the outcome.

Signs of a 'linear foreign body' can include gagging, vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, lethargy, a painful abdomen, and perhaps a fever. You might even see a string-like object protruding from your cat's rectum or mouth. Call your veterinarian immediately. Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to pull the object out. You will only be jeopardizing your cat's health.

Despite the dangers posed by string and string-like objects, this is a fairly rare problem. Most cats can live long and healthy lives playing with these types of things, since most pass without hanging up and damaging the intestines. However, the best prevention is to eliminate as many linear objects as possible from your cat's environment, especially loose objects that aren't attached to anything. Why take the risk?

Maintaining Digestive System Health

Maintaining a healthy digestive system is very important to your cat's overall health. Here are some easy things you can do to keep the digestive system as healthy as possible:

• Keep your cat free from intestinal parasites such as worms. Have your veterinarian perform routine fecal examinations.
• Feed a high quality, highly digestible diet.
• If hair balls are a persistent problem, feed a hairball-control formula diet.
• If giving snacks or treats, make sure they are not more than 5 percent of the total diet.
• Avoid feeding fatty snacks that can upset the digestive system.
• Don't tempt your cat by placing 'goodies' (especially chocolate) in easily accessible areas of the house during the holidays.
• Keep your cat's environment free of 'string-like' objects.
• If you suspect your cat may have a linear foreign body, do not delay in seeking veterinary care.

Lost pets that have microchips are more likely to be reunited with their owners. This is according to a recent study published by a leading veterinary journal.

Animal shelters in twenty three states participated in this study. It was revealed that shelter officials were able to find the owners of microchipped pets 4 out of 5 times.

“This is the first time there has been good data about the success of shelters finding the owners of pets with microchips,” says Dr. Linda Lord, lead author of the study and professor Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

According to shelter statistics, lost microchipped cats were twenty times more likely to be returned to owners than non-microchipped cats. Microchipped dogs were 2.5 times more likely to be returned to their owners than non-microchipped dogs.

The major reason why pet owners could not be located was due to incorrect or disconnected phone numbers in the registration database. “The chip is only as good as the information that the owner provides. The pet owner needs to make sure that their information is always up-to-date.” Lord says.

Owners’ not returning calls or answering letters, unregistered microchips and microchips registered to a database that differed from the manufacturer were other reasons owners were not found, according to the study.

The results of this study clearly indicate the advantage of microchipping your pet. However, even though microchipping is essential, nothing replaces the need for a collar and tag with your pet’s name and your phone number, Lord says.

Testing Reduces Risks in Small Animal Anesthesia

The practice of veterinary medicine often requires the use of anesthesia. Anesthesia is sometimes used in order to perform even the most routine procedures. Pets don't understand that they need to be calm and still during dental procedures or while an x-ray is being taken. Some pets are so nervous that they won't even allow a veterinarian to perform a physical examination without some type of chemical restraint like a tranquilizer or anesthetic.

Pet owners are often concerned about the risks associated with anesthesia, particularly with an older pet. Even though the anesthesia risks are relatively minor for routine procedures performed on young and healthy pets, there is always the potential for complications.

A complete physical exam, laboratory blood tests, as well as other diagnostic procedures enable veterinarians to screen for potential problems and risks before anesthesia is administered. This procedure is relatively inexpensive and well worth the time and money.

Blood Hematology Analyzer

Studies have shown that about 10 percent of animals involved in pre-anesthetic laboratory testing have had their normal anesthesia protocol altered. In a third of these cases, the procedure was postponed until the problem was corrected.

Blood Chemistry Analyzer

A young healthy pet's blood work may simply consist of a total protein and red blood cell count. Older pets are more likely to have an underlying disease, and more extensive blood analysis (serum chemistry) may be necessary. The results obtained from the serum chemistry provide the veterinarian with information on the health and function of the kidneys, liver, and other organs.

Remember, pre-anesthesia testing is advantageous to your pet's health.

Stretching out, jumping up on two legs, rolling over for a belly rub - at first glance, those are all natural dog behaviors. But are they yoga poses, too? Some people and their canine companions think so. Yoga for dogs - also known as doga (pronounced DOH-ga) - is popping up everywhere, with yoga centers and fitness clubs across the United States and even in Japan offering yoga classes for people and their pooches.

The first doga class started in New York City in 2002. Yoga instructor Suzi Teitelman started incorporating her dog Coali into her regular yoga routine.

"As a yoga instructor and practitioner, I was often on my yoga mat, and Coali started to join me," Teitelman said. "Before long we were doing the poses together, and I was creating a new class. Coali and I started teaching Doga all over New York City in 2002, and now it is all over the world."

Teitelman now teaches doga in Florida and maintains a website to help spread the word about yoga for dogs. Since then, classes have sprung up from California and Texas to Maryland and New York. There's even a doga association in Japan.

Suzi Teitelman and Coali practice doga.

Dogs and yoga might seem at first an unlikely combination, but the two are a natural fit, in a way. One of the most basic yoga poses is "downward facing dog", after all. In doga, owners and their canine companions practice together; sometimes, an owner will help his or her pet get into a pose, while other times, the dog will become part of the owner's pose. For example, in the "chair pose", the dog stands on his or her hind legs with the front paws in the air while the owner supports the dog. In the "savasana relaxation" pose, a dog lies on his or her back and has his or her belly rubbed.

Okay, so that last one isn't very different than the usual tummy rub your dog gets while lying on the living room floor. But some doga classes also include light massage and acupressure for dogs, and the overall result is a lot of direct human-to-dog contact. Doga practitioners say it is more about bonding with your pet than exercising and increasing flexibility (though those are plusses). Sessions typically start with owner and dog sitting together, perfectly still, and breathing together. Doga teachers and practitioners have reported that a good doga session calms down hyper pets and greatly relaxes both pets and their people. Other benefits for dogs include better sleep and stronger muscles.

"You will find that both you and your pet become more peaceful, more loving, more connected to each other," Teitelman said. "The more you practice doga, the more you find that you need it and want to stretch and relax, and bond together with your pet. I find that many dogs become better behaved and listen more to their owners."

Suzi Teitelman and her dog Roxy bond through doga.

For novice dog yogis (dogis, perhaps?), Teitelman recommends starting out with a pose called the "sacred kneel." Teitelman describes it like this: "Sitting on your heels, have your dog sit and face you. Take a moment to connect with your dog through massage, positive words, and get into your long deep inhales and exhales. Allow the dog to feel you breathe and feel your calming energy. The dog picks up on your energy through your touch and breath, so stay peaceful through all the poses. Carefully move deeper into the pose by gently and lovingly lifting the paws of the dog into the air. Either hold their paws to help them balance, or place the dog's paws on your shoulders. Hold and breathe for 5-10 breaths."

Doga hasn't made to every yoga studio in the country yet, but for budding dogis and their people, there's the book "Doga: Yoga for Dogs", a handy introduction to dog yoga. Of course, you could always just watch what your dog does and follow his or her lead - they've been doing their own sort of yoga for years.