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Volume
II, Issue VII July 2006 IN THIS ISSUE •
Healing Springs
Offers Expanded Hours •
Benefit •
Free Dental Clinic
for Dogs & Cats •
Dogs’ Flea Control
Can Kill Cats •
Two Positive
Coggins in |
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Healing Springs Offers Expanded Hours Open Until 7PM Tuesdays and Thursdays
Tuesdays
& Thursdays: 8 am to 7 pm Mondays,
Wednesdays, Fridays: 8 am to 5 pm Saturdays:
8 am to 2 pm Sundays:
closed As always, hospital phones are forwarded to the home of the veterinarian on-call when
the office is closed. We are on-call
for your veterinary emergencies 24/7/365. |
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Benefit Healing Springs H.E.L.P.
fund, a fund created by Healing Springs employees to
help families with very sick or injured pets, will soon hold a benefit dog
wash. Find the dog wash at Healing
Springs Large Animal Receiving Facility on |
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Healing Fact: Dogs and Cats live longer if they receive dental care as needed throughout their lifetime. |
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Dog’s Flea Control Can Kill Cats In the past week, The problem comes from a
flea control ingredient called permethrin.
While permethrin is safe on dogs, even small amounts of the ingredient
on the skin of cats can cause deadly problems. Permethrin is common in flea and tick
control purchased at grocery stores and big-box stores. Because of its popularity, Hartz flea and tick control products are often involved
with feline permethrin toxicity. One
of the few high-end flea and tick controls containing this cat poison is
K9-Advantix. Signs of permethrin toxicity
in cats include tremors, muscle twitches, and seizures. Symptoms can develop in two to 48
hours. If your cat is
exposed to permethrin, handle the situation as an emergency. Call Healing Springs immediately. After regular business hours, your call will be forwarded to the home of the veterinarian on-call
so he or she can arrange to meet you at the hospital. Left uncontrolled, the symptoms of
permethrin toxicity can prove fatal to cats.
Fortunately, Healing Springs has a high level of success treating this
problem with medication, IV fluids, bathing, and other supportive care. Consider two strategies for
protecting your cats from permethrin toxicity. The best strategy is to use Frontline Plus
in your household for pets’ flea and tick control. While problems may arise if highly
excessive amounts of the product are used on a small cat, the product itself is safe enough to be used on an eight-week old kitten
(always follow dosing instructions provided on the package). If you do not use Frontline, carefully read
the packaging and all inserted materials that come with other products. When a product states “not for use on
cats,” take them seriously. |
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Two Positive Coggins in
EIA History Equine Infectious Anemia
(EIA) was first identified in 1904. This often-fatal virus has no vaccination
and no cure. The disease can affect
any equine including horses, donkey, mules, and minis. Research on medicines for the disease has
been discouraging, but researchers have taken a renewed interest in EIA
because it has been found to be closely related to
the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
The test was developed about 40 years ago by Dr.
Leroy Coggins. The Coggins
involves pulling blood from the equine and looking for specific antibodies
that the equine would have developed while trying to fight off the EIA virus. Signs of EIA The EIA infection progresses
through three stages. In the acute
stage, the horse will appear depressed, uncoordinated, and feverish. This stage may last several days. This is the time when the
horse is most likely to spread the disease to other horses. The second phase is the
anemic phase. Anemia refers to a
decrease in the amount of red blood cells. Weight loss, recurring fevers, and general
weakness characterize the second phase of EIA. Many horses die in the first two phases. Horses that survive the
first two stages enter the chronic stage.
In the chronic stage, horses often appear normal. They can easily become ill again when
subjected to stressors such as bad weather or shipping. The horse is infectious in all three
stages, and mares infected with EIA can pass it to their foals. Horses do not transmit EIA
directly to other horses. EIA moves
from one equine to another only through blood. Blood sucking insects serve as the most
common carriers of EIA with horseflies ranking at the top of the list. EIA can also spread when horse owners use
one hypodermic needle on multiple animals.
How EIA Spreads & How to Protect Your
Equine Since flies carry EIA from
farm to farm, Coggins tests are more about being a good neighbor and citizen
than they are about protecting your own horses (since most
EIA positive horses are euthanized by their owners). Healing Springs and the Virginia Department
of Agriculture both recommend annual Coggins testing for all equine. If transporting equine across state lines,
most states require a negative Coggins test no more than six months or 12
months old (varies from state to state).
Healing Springs recommends
two basic strategies for protecting your equine from EIA. (1) Do not introduce an animal into your
herd unless it has been previously tested. (2) Only
participate in equine events that thoroughly check all participants for
negative Coggins tests. |
Use
our online Foaling Date
Calculator. |
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The Animal Health Bulletin is a FREE service of Healing (276) 236-5103 Visit our website at www.HealingSpringsAnimalHospital.com |
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Administrative: Request an article topic. Click
Here. To ask questions about a specific
pet, call Healing Springs at (276) 236-5103. You have permission to forward this bulletin in its
entirety to a friend. If you did not receive the Animal Health Bulletin
directly and would like to begin receiving them, simply enter your information
for a free subscription: Click here to subscribe,
update your e-mail preferences or unsubscribe. The Animal Health Bulletin is developed and
distributed with the assistance of Brazzell Marketing Agency specializing in healthcare marketing. © BMA 2006 |
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