Subscriber Archive
Question: Ben is our 2 year old indoor cat. We adopted him when he was 6 months old. We added a second cat 3 months ago. That was when Ben started overgrooming. He is now almost bald on his sides. Is he stressed? Dr. Nichol: Ben is certainly stressed. Watch him closely. His skin may occasionally ripple like a horse’s or he might suddenly lick with intensity or jump up and race out of the room. Often diagnosed with feline hyperesthesia syndrome (FHS) these kitties are frantically trying to jump out of their own skin. Indoor cats can get seriously agitated. Think house soiling, fighting, hiding, or self-mutilation. Adorning Ben with a cone collar isn’t a real treatment. It would prevent damage to his coat but, unable to soothe his itch, he’d feel even worse. Research has shown that only 15% of FHS cases are strictly behavioral. Environmental allergies, now…
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Get a small dog to stop nipping for attention. Follow-up question about the discharge coming out of her dog’s eyes.
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Question: We have a yellow Lab, “Tootsie”. She eats leaves, sticks, and other detritus including rocks, gravel, concrete chips, Hot Wheels and Legos. She minds the command to “Drop” but chews until it goes down the hatch and is seen in her droppings. She’s had diarrhea a few times. She has passed 6″ of nylon leash! Do these habits diminish over time? Dr. Nichol: Everything about Tootsie’s behavior is unhealthy. I’ve retrieved a variety of interesting objects from the GI tracts of dogs who’ve made it to my operating table. We see fewer of these cases now; the science has advanced. Tootsie needs basic obedience training and a dog sport like Agility or Rally to keep her mentally and physically occupied. But even with full time employment she would still find opportunities to bite and swallow whatever she could get into her mouth. Chewing is expected with teething puppies. It’s…
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Some dogs can be pushy, pesky, and demanding of attention. It’s an annoying problem, often related to anxiety. What begins as attention-seeking can end up as play-related aggression. This causes anxiety for some dogs; others may believe their person is just playing. If the dog has a lot of pent-up energy like this one she may lose control and start mouthing, nipping, or even biting.
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“Irene” is finally sleeping better and feeling relaxed. Find out how. Go to: https://drjeffnichol.com/cheating-age/
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Last in the series The biggest reason Irene developed arthritis is because she’s reached her golden years. This would not have occurred in the wild. As she aged in that competitive environment, with pain and stiffness, partial blindness and diminished hearing, she would have lost her edge. There are no veterinarians in the tropical forests of Asia. Her 58th birthday would not have arrived without the Biopark’s excellent animal care staff. Because of them her good quality of life should extend into her 60s and maybe her 70s. Dr. Carol Bradford started Irene on a safe and effective antiinflammatory/pain reliever called meloxicam. Veterinary behaviorist and elephant subspecialist Dr. Valerie Tynes advised a 4-6 week trial. In just 2 weeks our patient was getting around better and sleeping soundly at night for 3-4 hours at a stretch before getting up to, well, stretch and go back to bed. That’s normal for…
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Irene is 58 years old and doing well except that she can’t seem to lie down when asked or when trying to sleep at night. Is she painful? Find out more https://drjeffnichol.com/aging-isnt-for-sissy-elephants/
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Third in a series We suspected Irene’s legs were too uncomfortable for her to stay lying down long enough for quality shut eye. But there was more; she’d accumulated additional maladies over her 58 years. And, hey, which AARP member among us hasn’t? The ABQ BioPark’s elephant herd includes Alice, born in 1974, and her daughter Rozie, a 1992 model. And, much as their natural ranging sisters would, they get along fine. Albert, the stud with tusks, was born in 1998 to Calvin and Lilly at African Lion Safari in Ontario, Canada. Albert moved to the BioPark in 2003. Irene and Albert share a rather sordid history. Irene ignited a fracas with this bull over attention from their care staff. She ended up on the ground, injuring her right front leg, which was already stiff. Her limp has improved somewhat but if you look carefully you can see a hitch…
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Second in a series A highly skilled, and tired elephant Will Rogers once said, “I have always felt that the best doctor is the veterinarian. He can’t ask his patients what is the matter…he’s just got to know.” Old Will had a point. When I queried Irene, the Asian elephant, about why she wouldn’t lie down long enough to catch a few Zs, she just smiled. Who knew elephants could be smart alecks? Clearly, we would have to resort to modern medicine. Dr. Carol Bradford, of the ABQ Biopark, had already x-rayed Irene’s feet and found them normal. She would have imaged other joints too if they weren’t too enormous for portable x-ray equipment. Physical exam findings and blood results were also fine. She considered a behavioral cause and contacted me. I had my suspicions; Irene is an old timer, after all. I watched as Callie, the Biopark’s elephant trainer, put…
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