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Question: I have a 15 year old male cat about 7 kg. In the last 8 months his fur has been falling out in small chunks. He has not been licking or scratching himself. He has a very good appetite. He is drinking much more water than usual and urinates a lot. He has bad breath. The veterinarian checked his mouth and teeth. They did some tests and said he is OK. I do not know if a thyroid test was done. Dr. Nichol: Your cat is not OK; he actually should be licking himself at least some of the time. Those rows of barbs on the surface of his tongue are good at pulling loose dead hair and skin flakes. Hunks of fur falling off suggests no grooming. He had been well-coifed. Why is he neglecting his appearance now? Halitosis is more than just poor form on a first…
Do you see a fuzzy white cat? The correct answer, for this invisible kitty, is no. He’s hiding, not because he is afraid, although that can be a very good reason. This is my cat, Gaston. He’s being invisible because he is a cat. They need to hide and view the world without anyone being the wiser. Solitude is essential for them, at least some of the time. If your kitty spends most or all of its time indoors be sure to provide multiple hide boxes at various heights in different rooms. You will give the gift of choice. We want that. Our cats need feline-specific choices.
Limping is a strong clue, but a dog who’s not prone to drama may just get up more slowly or try turning back on leash walks. Arthritic cats might quit jumping onto the counter or their cavorting may have lost its youthful flourish. Some kitties start making unpleasant deposits because it’s gotten painful climbing into the litter pan. Arthritis lasts a lifetime. Oral medications like Rimadyl for dogs and Metacam for cats often help. And most pets do fine but there can be adverse effects including stomach and intestinal damage and injury to the kidneys or liver. There are new treatments that are safer and often better for chronic joint pain. Librela for dogs and Solensia for cats are monthly injections of a monoclonal antibody that inhibits a substance, called nerve growth factor, that’s released by damaged cells in arthritic joints. Most pets feel better within 7-28 days. Side effects…
Have you thrown a can of pennies? How about yelling and jerking? A different home? You’re breakin’ my heart. It can be much easier and a lot more fun.
House soiling, fighting, furniture damage – you don’t want it. A great cat’s life is not a random event. Good behavior starts with a healthy structure.
Running and playing with other dogs is good exercise and fun for everybody – unless your dog or someone else’s reacts badly. Should puppies go too?
Third in a series Jan and Marty enjoyed watching the hot air balloons drift over their Corrales home but Koko’s arrival changed that and a whole lot more. This wigged-out adolescent Labradoodle became terrified of the backyard sky. She’d been blessed with an idyllic puppyhood, the best food and a loving family, so she couldn’t blame her mother. Koko also fixated on window reflections with growing terror. Dogs on TV, who she thought were running at her, scared her witless. Even when not suffering an adrenaline surge she desperately needed to be with her people, nudging and following, sometimes mounting their legs as a displacement behavior. She just didn’t know what else to do with herself. Are we having fun yet? Koko’s brain, like everybody’s, is the most complex organ in the body. It seemed stable when she was a kid but its neural circuits, driven by her genetics, shifted…
The Nichol family is planning to add a puppy. I’ll share my preparations and training plan. Everybody can win.
Second in a series “Little Dog” had matted fur and a dangling leg but he was in otherwise good shape, for a 20# canine street urchin. The damage was long past any hope of improvement; only amputation could relieve this boy of his constant ache. With Marty already attached to him I remember thinking that all three of us were lucky to have met. Surgery was uneventful. Little Dog went on to live a long and playful 3-legged life. Pretty soon a nice lady, Jan, began to accompany Marty to Little Dog’s veterinary appointments. It was clear from the start that this was no summer fling. They’ve raised an excellent family, their children learning compassion by example. After their last dog passed on, and now empty nesters, Jan emailed me that she and Marty might be ready for a puppy. So I sent her a link to my puppy selection…