There are plenty of dental care products to keep your kitty’s mouth happy and healthy. Try to brush your cat’s teeth at least two time a week. There are special toothbrushes available, as well as ones that slip over your index finger. Start by doing just a few teeth at a time if your cat is uncomfortable. Many chewable treats and other products are on the market that have an abrasive texture to help remove food debris and plaque from the teeth. It’s best to start these practice when your cat is still a kitten instead of waiting until you notice a problem

Look for cat dental products at Rescue Pet Supply. And when you’re in need of carriers, healthcare products, and other great supplies, shop trusted brands like  Pet Gear, Nutramax, and much more at our store.

It all starts with hair brushing. Not only do dogs enjoy being brushed, it will maintain their healthy coat. The amount of brushing and the type you choose depends on the breed of dog and its hair. Long-haired dogs require daily brushing, while medium-haired dogs should be brushed weekly to prevent matting and tangles. Short-haired dogs can go much longer. But brush more frequently during shedding season to prevent a build-up.

Nails need to be trimmed but pet owners and dogs both hate this ordeal. You can have your vet or groomer do it for you, but you should also learn how to do it yourself too.

When it comes to bathing, some dogs love it, others hate it –most owners do too. Most dogs can be bathed monthly and you should always make it a positive experience for them. Ask your veterinarian if specific shampoos are best for your dog’s hair.

You can find all the grooming products you need by shopping at Rescue Pet Supply. They carry top brands like Halo, Pet Gear, Nutramax, and more.

Warning signs include a spreading circle of hair loss with scaly skin at the center and a red ring on the periphery. The infection itself isn’t itchy, but a secondary bacterial infection with scabs can cause your pet to lick and scratch the area. The infection can also infect the nails which will be dry, cracked, and brittle.

The solution? Topical agents like shampoo. Malaseb and Ketochlor shampoo both fight the fungi and yeast. They can reduce the risk of transmission to other animals and humans and stop the spread of skin problems, reducing skin irritation and reactions. Read the labels of these shampoos though to make sure they are safe to use on your animal. Rescue Pet Supply carries both these brands, which can be very pricey through the vet, but much more affordable if purchased online.

Shop Rescue Pet Supply to find top brands like Pet Gear, Nutramax, Halo, and more.

Nutro pet food is one of those smart choices. They sell both dog and cat food, wet and dry. All their food products are made with natural ingredients. Additionally, there are vitamins and minerals in the food as well. Vitamins and minerals are crucial to keeping your pet healthy –such as Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids to give your pet a rich and glossy coat. Antioxidants will boost the pet’s immune system. Nutro is also proud to introduce Grain Free Limited Ingredients Diets for dogs. With zero grains, the food is a great option for dogs with sensitive stomachs. Plus, all natural ingredients means a healthier body for your dog.

Visit Rescue Pet Supply to learn more about Nutro food, as well as Nutramax, Naturvet, and other pet gear.

With a little bit of gentle coaxing and the help of NaturVet Calming, you can help your little kitty relax. NaturVet is recommended for travel, grooming, thunderstorms, fireworks, or anything else that might send your frisky friend into a tizzy. Pair this with a soothing, gentle voice and some petting. Sometimes just the sound of your voice can be reassuring to your pet and help to calm him.

For those who have anxious cats on car trips, you can make the carrier a more friendly place by placing a towel or a pet bed inside. Take your cat on short trips several times to get him used to being inside. And with a little help from Calming soft chews, your cat can be stress free.

Vomiting is a problem that can vary in severity from no big deal to life threatening emergency. Occasional vomiting in dogs and cats is often mentioned by owners because it is not viewed as a problem but they want reassurance that it is okay. Most of the time, just like with us, it is no big deal to have occasional GI upset.

Occasional vomiting in pets may be from “dietary indiscretion” from eating something outside of the normal diet or just the occasional gastrointestinal upset from having eaten too much or too fast. One common cause of vomiting, most often in dogs, is from being fed once a day. The typical signs are of this problem are often found an hour or two before eating. The vomit is often yellow to foamy vomit. In pets fed once a day, they may experience hunger before the next meal and vomit from lack of food. Often, feeding twice a day resolves vomiting from this cause.

With vomiting that is occasional, talking to your veterinarian about practical solutions to decrease the incidence of vomiting is a good solution. In pets who vomit undigested food shortly after eating, most often it is from eating too much, too fast or both. Sometimes after eating too fast or too much, the pet suffers from discomfort much the same way we do when we eat too much, and vomits because of it. Finally, hairballs are a common occurrence in cats who groom regularly or excessively. Hairballs can occur even with hairball control food, although the amount and size of them tends to be smaller than without the food. There are many products that can decrease the size and severity of hairballs. Feeding cats wet food often helps with this problem.

The typical presentations mentioned above are often not associated with any medical problems, but these symptoms should be mentioned to your veterinarian. However, when vomiting occurs more frequently than occasionally, the pet needs to be evaluated. One cause of frequent vomiting is a potentially a food intolerance. Food intolerance is not normally considered, but can be investigated by you. If your pet vomits after a specific type of food only, it may be due to not tolerating the food well. This is not a food allergy where the immune system reacts to the food; it a condition where the food irritates the stomach and causes vomiting. Food allergy can also occur but the symptoms for it are not generally associated with vomiting. With vomiting, the above possible causes can be addressed by you with the help of your veterinarian. Other causes of vomiting are often more concerning and should be addressed by your veterinarian.

The most concerning signs with vomiting are continual vomiting, frequent vomiting, vomiting that is dark, has blood in it or appears odd to you should be investigated. Projectile vomiting, vomiting that occurs with no notice, or anything else that concerns you should be looked at as soon as possible by your veterinarian. If you know or even suspect that your pet has ingested a foreign object – such as clothing, string, metal, glass or anything else- the situation should be considered an emergency and your pet needs to be seen by a veterinarian immediately. Unfortunately, vomiting may be associated with many problems including metabolic, endocrine or immunologic conditions. One other final and very important cause of vomiting is a reaction to vaccines. Dogs who experience a vaccine reaction from a “distemper” or rabies vaccine may vomit, have diarrhea and collapse. The above reasons may be life threatening causes of vomiting.

When vomiting is being investigated, your veterinarian will assess the situation by performing a physical exam including looking at your pet’s appearance, especially to check for dehydration. He or she may want to run blood tests to check internal organ functions, check immune function and possibly run specific enzyme tests associated with certain causes of vomiting. Depending on what your veterinarian suspects, x-rays, ultrasound and/or other tests may be requested.

Vomiting can be a very vague symptom in our pets. Unfortunately, vomiting is often associated with various problems from eating too much or too fast to cancers and foreign bodies. Therefore, if your pet vomits and you are concerned, discussing these concerns with your veterinarian and providing as much information as you can possibly remember is very important to help with a diagnosis. If you notice that a trend is starting, write down when the vomiting started, its frequency, color and texture. This information will be invaluable to your veterinarian in quickly assessing the situation and determining the best way to address it.

S. Mason, DVM

We often get prescriptions from our physicians or our veterinarian with directions for use. However, a big problem with both human and veterinary medicine is medication compliance. What is compliance?
It is the use of the medication as it was directed. This refers to using the right amount of the medication at the right time intervals. This article will focus on veterinary medication compliance, but some of the same questions can be asked of your physician when getting prescriptions filled.

Why is your pet being prescribed the drug?
One of the major reasons that medications are prescribed is to treat a disease or prevent disease by giving that medication. The biggest concern with compliance is correct prevention or treatment of that disease. One medication that if given correctly prevents disease by 99.9% is heartworm preventative. However, heartworm disease is very common in most states due to lack of compliance with medication. You may even want to ask what would happen if you did not use the medication and find out the cost of treatment if the disease is not prevented.

Before you buy or accept a medication, you should understand as best you are able, why your pet is on that specific medication. Get the veterinarian or a technical person in the office to explain to you why you are using this medication and how it relates to your pet’s condition. This may help you be motivated to make sure that your pet receives the medication as prescribed.

Dose the right amount and in the right way.
Carefully read the label and make sure that you understand the amount of the medication to give in number of pills or amount of fluid. If you need a measured amount for liquids, ask for a syringe for dosing oral liquid medications if the veterinarian does not give you one.

Before you take the prescription, make sure you understand the type of dosing: by mouth, in the eye or ear, or on the skin. Most oral medications (by mouth) will be given with food. This helps to prevent may of the side effects that may be seen. Vomiting is one of the most common.

Why do I need to give the medication every 8, 12 or 24 hours instead of when it is more convenient to give it when I normally feed my pet?
The most common problems with treating a disease is making sure that the dose of medication is given at the right time. Without the right dosing schedule, most medications will not work appropriately. This means that the medication may not treat the disease or that it may actually cause the pet to get ill if not dosed properly. If you cannot dose the medication as the veterinarian has prescribed, you should ask if another medication can be used.

Unfortunately, the best and most economical medication will be often prescribed for your pet at the time of diagnosis or the visit. It is better receive a slightly less effective medication or one that is more expensive than a medication that you will not be able to dose properly and consistently. This may result in a prescription for a more expensive medication. However, the cost of the medication (even if it is 2 or 3 times the cost of the original) is less than 2 or 3 additional office visits with diagnostic testing because of relapse due lack of compliance; i.e. not dosing the medication as directed.

When medications are not given as they are directed, treatment failure or lack of control of symptoms are common. If you cannot give the medication, hospitalization may also be another option to get things started and decrease the risk of relapse. If dosing is necessary very frequently (6 to 10 times a day), with a dangerous medication to humans or intravenously (I.V.), most veterinarians will hospitalize the patient to provide the best care. You can always ask about this option for the start of treatment if you cannot treat your pet easily at home.

My mantra with medication: the best medication is the one the patient will take!
Now that the medication and treatment has been set, what else can happen?

My cat or dog will not take pills or cannot take a liquid formulation.
If you know that your cat or dog cannot take a certain formulation or that sides effects were bad after a previous medication, then tell the veterinarian or a staff member during the visit. Often many drugs come in pill, capsule and/or liquid forms. If these are not available at the veterinary office, the veterinarian can call in a prescription for the pet at a pharmacy in the area where you can pick up the medication in a form that your pet can take. Although this is inconvenient to have to drive to the pharmacy, you normally have to do this for your own prescriptions.

Secondly, if a pet has had a previous reaction (vomiting, diarrhea or an allergic reaction) to a medication, that reaction may reoccur if the pet is put back on the medication. Tell the staff or veterinarian about the symptoms that have occurred before. If you are very concerned request a different medication.

My pet is having side effects such as vomiting and cannot take the rest of the medication. We are midway through a prescription. What do I do?
If you find out part of the way through a course of antibiotics or other medication that you cannot treat your pet, call your veterinarian immediately and tell him/her. The veterinarian can likely prescribe an alternate medication that will help you treat the condition. If the symptoms do not improve, another medical condition may be causing the problem.

One thing I have noted is that clients often stop treatment when a side effect occurs. This is not a problem. The major problem is that they never call the veterinarian office to let us know. If you just stop treatment, the condition may reoccur or a more difficult treatment regimen may be necessary in the future. Let your veterinarian know as soon as possible when a problem arises. I have seen pets require hospitalization when the medication was stopped for a few days. This will cost a lot more than a new prescription or a quick office visit to chart the recovery process. If you notice illness, you should go ahead and schedule the appointment because the longer you wait the more expensive the treatment tends to be.

What is the big deal about stopping the treatment a few days early? My pet took half or more of the medication.
The problem with stopping the treatment early is dependent upon what the initial problem was.

If it is a small skin laceration, there is usually less risk than with an eye or ear infection that needs topical medication. With systemic medications (given by mouth), follow up visits are very important.

One common side effect of antibiotic treatment ended early is development of resistance to the antibiotic. This is a huge problem in medicine in general. Therefore, if an antibiotic is prescribed, give it until it is gone or until the follow up visit to make sure that the condition is improving. If a recurrence is seen, call back immediately, as an extension on the antibiotic or a switch of medication may be necessary.

If this is chronic condition, such as heart disease, stopping the treatment may result in the relapse of symptoms or fast progression of the disease. With chronic conditions, this is often a problem and can cause the full disease process to result more quickly. Many medications are used to both prevent and treat development of symptoms and slow the disease progression. Without the medications, the disease process will often occur much more quickly.

Why do I need a follow up visit?
Finally, there is often a follow up visit scheduled around the time that the medication runs out for simple treatments or after a few weeks for chronic problems to check on progress. This visit is important to make sure that things are going well with your pet. Other reasons for follow up visits are to monitor the medication levels or to check enzyme levels in the blood.

For chronic problems, this is a key visit as it is used to correct anything before the disease process has time to get out of hand from your initial visit. This follow up is essential for the following conditions that we see commonly: urinary tract infections, ear or eye infections, thyroid disease, whole body skin infections, and medications given for seizure disorders.

Finally some miscellaneous concerns on called in prescriptions and costs.
Unfortunately, veterinary costs are often based on disposable income and many problems seem to crop up when we can least afford them.

Use your best judgment, but here are my suggestions.

1. Be upfront about money.
I can tell you that I am not always happy with the limits, but I can better choose how to proceed and stay within the constraints placed upon the care. This also lets me decide what tests have to be run today and what can wait until later. It is better to know that I have only $200 to work with upfront than to spend $200 on diagnostics and the owner cannot purchase any medications that are needed.

2. If you cannot afford all of the medications at one time, tell the veterinarian and only get the most important one(s).
I believe that clients should be as educated about what is going on with their pets as possible. If your veterinarian educates you about medications and why, it is often easier to determine what to purchase and he/she should be upfront about this.

3. If prescriptions are called into a pharmacy, pick them up.
Sometimes medications are not available in the veterinary hospital. If the doctor bothers to prescribe the medication, you should try to get all of the medications. However, you should understand which medications are the most important because the one that was called in may be more important than any that you can purchase from the clinic.

4. If the pharmacy prescriptions are cheaper, have them called into the pharmacy.
If money is tight and we can call in a generic prescription to a pharmacy, assuming they carry the right size, most clinics are okay doing this. However, veterinarians do worry that you may not pick up the medication if you do not get it at the clinic.

S. Mason, DVM