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Alexa, Call The Vet! VCA & Amazon Team Up To Automate Services

Alexa, Call The Vet! VCA & Amazon Team Up To Automate Services

Cat Healthcare, Cats And Electronics
If you’re a VCA client, skip the on-hold message and have Alexa call the vet.

 

If you're a VCA client, you can skip the on-hold message and have Alexa call the vet.

If you’re a VCA client, you can skip the on-hold message and have Alexa call the vet.

So we all know Alexa can turn on the lights, read us bedtime stories from Kindle books, accidentally send private messages to friends and order groceries on Amazon. But now the smart speaker has a new trick. If you’re a VCA client, try saying, “Alexa, call the vet.”

VCA and Alexa have teamed up to offer services that used to require a computer, or at least a telephone. Now, if you’re tired of listening to your vet’s on-hold recording, being able to simply say “Alexa, call the vet” could be just what the (cat) doctor ordered. 


‘Alexa Call The Vet And Make An Appointment’

 

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Transdermal Furosemide For Cats May Be Ineffective

Cat Healthcare, Cat Research
Study shows transdermal furosemide for cats may be ineffective.

 

Study shows transdermal furosemide for cats may be ineffective.

Study shows transdermal furosemide for cats may be ineffective.

If you use transdermal meds for your cat with heart disease, this isn’t the best news. A new study published by the Winn Feline Foundation found that transdermal furosemide (Lasix) “is unlikely to be effective.”

The study looked at just six cats though, so perhaps we shouldn’t leap to conclusions just yet. 


Furosemide For Cats ‘The Mainstay Of Therapy’

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Coming Soon: Low Cost Vet Clinics At Walmart Stores

Cat Healthcare, Veterinary News
Low-cost vet clinics at Walmart stores are coming soon. But they’ll have very limited services.

 

Coming soon: Low cost vet clinics at Walmart stores.

A low-cost vet clinic could be coming to a Walmart store near you soon.

Coming soon to a Walmart store near you: a VetIQ Petcare Wellness Center. Think of the low cost vet clinics at Walmart stores as MinuteClinics for cats.

The walk-in wellness centers don’t take appointments, and offer a limited menu of services at prices considerably lower than you’d pay at a conventional veterinary clinic. Twenty locations are open now. But VetIQ expects to be in 1,000 stores by 2023.


For Healthy Cats Only

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Bugged By Fleas
Flea Allergy Dermatitis In Cats Is On The Rise

Fleas, Cat Healthcare
Flea allergy dermatitis in cats is on the rise. Keep reading to find out how to prevent fleas naturally and soothe an itchy cat.

 

Do you have an itchy cat? Flea allergy dermatitis in cats is on the rise.

Flea allergy dermatitis can cause cats to scratch nonstop.

Blame it on climate change. Cats are getting more fleas, and flea allergy dermatitis in cats is becoming more common, according to Banfield Pet Hospitals’ 2018 State of Pet Health Report.

The report says there’s been an astonishing 67 percent increase in flea allergy dermatitis in cats since 2008. In 2017, 170 of every 10,000 cats seen at Banfield hospitals had the allergic reaction to fleas. In 2008, just 102 of every 10,000 cats developed flea allergy dermatitis. 

Some cats are so sensitive to fleas, just one bite can cause an allergic reaction, or dermatitis.


Is Climate Change Causing More Flea Allergy Dermatitis In Cats?

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Study Shows Link Between Kidney & Dental Disease In Cats

Cat Healthcare, Cat Research

A recent study shows a link between kidney and dental disease in cats. FVRCP vaccinations are implicated, too. 

Brush your cat's teeth! A recent study shows a link between kidney disease and dental disease in cars.

Brushing your cat’s teeth could help ward off kidney disease.

If you’ve been putting off that dental your cat needs, maybe you should drop everything and call the veterinary dentist right now. A new study confirms what vets have suspected for a long time: There’s a link between dental and chronic kidney disease in cats.

The study, reported by the Winn Feline Foundation, looked at 56,414 cats who had periodontal disease when their vet clinics enrolled them in the study. Researchers followed them for 11 years.


Which Cats Are Most At Risk Of Kidney Disease?

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Caring For Cats With Diabetes
The American Animal Hospital Association Has New Guidelines

Cat Healthcare, Feline Diabetes, Veterinary News
An all-wet-food diet and home blood glucose testing are two of the American Animal Hospital Association’s new guidelines for caring for cats with diabetes.

 

The American Animal Hospital Association has new guidelines for caring for cats with diabetes

The American Animal Hospital Association now recommends an all-wet-food diet for diabetic cats.

The American Animal Hospital Association has new guidelines for veterinarians caring for cats with diabetes. Among their suggestions are some things the lay experts at Felinediabetes.com have been recommending for years: home testing and an all-wet-food diet.

One in 230 cats has diabetes, according to Zoetis, the manufacturer of Revolution, Clavamox and other medications for animals. Like other experts, Zoetis says feline diabetes is often under diagnosed. A recent study reported by the Winn Feline Foundation found that the top risk factors for feline diabetes are obesity, an inactive strictly-indoors lifestyle, repeated steroid injections and an all- or mostly-dry food diet.


Caring For Cats With Diabetes

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Dental Treats For Cats Take A Bite Out Of Vets’ Pocketbooks

Cat Healthcare, Veterinary News

Dental treats for cats are replacing dentals done by vets. But are they really good for your cat’s teeth?

Dental treats for cats are growing in popularity. But nothing works as well as a toothbrush.

Dental treats for cats may taste good, but they can’t replace a toothbrush.

Here’s something to chew on: Dental treats for cats are taking a bite out of vets’ pocketbooks as more and more people opt for home dental care for their cats instead of expensive dentistry at the vet’s office.

Just eight percent of the people who responded to the 2017-2018 American Pet Products Association’s National Pet Owners Survey said their cats saw a veterinarian for dental care in the past year. Meanwhile, Packaged Facts found that dental treats for cats and dogs account for 25 percent of all treat sales. Dental chews also took a sizable bite out of vets’ pocketbooks.


But Do Dental Treats For Cats Clean Their Teeth?

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Feline Diabetes Risk Factors: Dry Cat Food & Cats Living Strictly Indoors

Feline Diabetes, Cat Healthcare, Cat Research
A new study shows dry food and a strictly indoor lifestyle are two risk factors for feline diabetes.

 

Getting a cat outside on a harness and leash can reduce the risk of feline diabetes.

Getting a cat outside on a harness and leash can reduce the risk of feline diabetes.

Here’s a good reason for making sure your cats get some outdoor time. Among the feline diabetes risk factors: dry food and living strictly indoors. This news comes from a study by a Swedish pet insurance company and published by the Winn Feline Foundation.

Using a Web-based survey, the insurance company looked at 396 diabetic cats and 1670 control cats. Among the findings: The risk of feline diabetes increases for inactive and moderately active cats who live strictly indoors.

All of the cats in the study were the same age.

The cats least likely to develop diabetes: females, cats who are not overweight, cats who have access to outdoors and cats who free feed (but not dry food). Living with a dog helps, too!


Top Feline Diabetes Risk Factors

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Cats With Cancer – A Different Kind Of Treatment

Cats With Cancer, Cat Healthcare

Veterinary oncologists suggest a different, gentler kind of treatment for cats with cancer.

Cats with cancer could benefit from a different kind of treatment.

If you have a cat with cancer, he may benefit from a different kind of treatment.

Think about the sound of a metronome. It’s always steady and often slow. And now its name is inspiring a different way of treating cats with cancer.

Conventional treatment using chemotherapy for cats with cancer calls for giving the drug at the maximally tolerated dose. But patients need a rest period between treatments to allow healthy cells to repair and regenerate and to minimize side effects.

Cancer cells never rest, though. And during the break in treatment, damaged tumor blood vessels can recover along with healthy cells, lessening the benefit of the treatment.


Enter Metronomic Chemotherapy For Treating Cats With Cancer

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Finally — The Truth About FIV Cats

FIV, Cat Healthcare, Cat Research

Research confirms it! FIV cats can live with other cats without infecting them.

 

FIV cats can go outside like this one and live with other cats without infecting them.

This study could change the lives of many FIV cats.

Finally. It’s official. FIV cats can live with other cats and not infect them.

Veterinarian Annette L. Litster of Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, studied more than 100 cats who were in rescue group shelters. The cats were not in cages but lived together in a group home setting. Her research was published in a recent issue of Veterinary Journal.

Litster initially tested 138 cohabiting cats with Rescue Group One. At the time, eight of the cats tested positive for FIV. The others were all negative. When she did a  second test 28 months later, the 45 negative cats who were still there were still negative. She got the same results 38 months after the first tests. By then, all but four of the negative cats and seven of the eight positive cats had been adopted.

“These results show a lack of evidence of FIV transmission, despite years of exposure to naturally-infected, FIV-positive cats in a mixed household,” she wrote.

Now if veterinarians will just read the study and believe it.


FIV Should Not Be A Death Sentence 

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I’ll Write For You

If you have a vet clinic, grooming shop, pet supply store or pet sitting service, I’d love to write for you. To find out how we can work together, write to missyzane@comcast.net.

 

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