Albuquerque Journal Articles
First in a series
Quizzes are fun when I know the answers. Fights between family dogs are caused by:
a) Dominance
b) Resource guarding
c) Jealousy
d) Bad juju
e) Sometimes a) and/or b)
Question: I have a cat who yells and yowls while riding in the car. He starts as soon as I push him into his cat cage. He hates the veterinary clinic. Dr. Nichol: Spewing obscenities and invective during car travel is cat-speak for “I’m homicidal. No, I really am.” Your boy knows that his destination won’t be a feline amusement park, more likely an exam with vaccinations. He’d rather file his knuckles with a cheese grater. There is a better way. Despite their protected lives, our cats hide their illnesses to avoid appearing vulnerable to predators. They’re selling the idea…
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Question: I have 2 cats, 2 years old, that I got at a shelter 1 1/2 years ago. They had at least one feral parent and they are fine except they are almost impossible to be lap cats. I have one trained to sit on my lap but she is very skittish and finicky. The other one won’t sit on a lap unless she kneads my female partner’s underarm. It can get quite irritating. Dr. Nichol: Your kittens might have been cuddle bugs but who they turned out to be was the product of multiple factors. The sensitive period for…
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I stole a few minutes between appointments to call the hospital phone number Greg Trujillo had given me. I’d committed to updating him on Sadie. I drummed my fingers on the desk while waiting for the receptionist to track him down, knowing my next client was also waiting. When Greg picked up I explained his dog’s so-far, so-good status. It turned out that the same was true for Susan, his wife. The poor guy was stressed to the max. I wished them both godspeed and promised to stay in touch. Sadie’s temperature had dipped to 99 degrees but by 7…
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Third in a series Lying semiconscious in the hot summer sun had driven big, fuzzy, and black-haired Sadie’s temperature into heat stroke territory. Her seizuring ratcheted it to 105. I directed our assistant Doug to pack alcohol-soaked gauze sponges between Sadie’s foot pads to dissipate heat. She also needed treatment for shock, not to mention Golden Malrin fly bait poisoning. With a bit of luck I got an IV started, no easy feat with a dog on the edge of vascular collapse. Amos marked the time on the bottle of lactated ringers and raised it high on the IV stand…
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Second in a series – There were no cell phones or GPS in the early ‘80s. I had no idea where Susan and Greg Trujillo lived but not to worry.
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First in a series Lots of the pets I’ve treated have lived with horses, cattle, chickens, and goats. And flies. So many flies that fly paper, fly traps, and fly poison are freely deployed in a war of epic proportions. These pests are damaging to creatures great and small. I had just finished examining and vaccinating a cocker spaniel puppy named “Joe” when I attempted friendly conversation with his person, a hirsute young man, of about 25. I asked how he’d chosen his puppy’s name. He hesitated, peering at me from under his bushy mop as though I was dense.…
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Question: My 7 year old Australian Shepherd is difficult to take out in public. If someone walks too close, she will jump up at them with mouth open and has scratched people. On the other hand, if a dog comes at her in a threatening manner, she stands still seeming to expect me to protect her. Dr. Nichol: Open mouth, jumping-up, without a growl or snap, sounds like an exuberant, life-of-the-party animal. Missing any sense of personal boundaries, your Aussie tries to get all over her new friends like a cheap suit. That leash in your hand is part of…
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Question: We recently adopted a cat, Lulu. Our two older dogs are OK with her however, our young dog, Sparky, wants to chase her. He is just too eager and excited about Lulu. Is it possible to change his behavior or are we fighting doggie instincts here? Dr. Nichol: We love our dogs and cats like family but they are not little people in furry suits. They are members of different species who come genetically programmed as, well, dogs and cats. They are predators who may or may not engage their inner savages. Sparky is high-status and confident. He can’t ignore…
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Question: What is your view of “cat grass?” Dr. Nichol: I’ve never used cat grass. I don’t eat it, grow it, mow it, or smoke it. On the other hand, the Nichol family cat, Gaston, is rather fiendish about it, almost like catnip. But he’s an adult, so I mind my own business. From a scientific perspective, there isn’t much known about cat grass. Ingested plant material tends to alkalinize the body but veterinary internists and nutritionists don’t believe most cats would eat enough to predispose them to urinary disorders like bladder crystals and stones. Consuming cat grass is most…
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