Reading Time: 3 minutes The next time your cat has x-rays, don’t be surprised if a computer with artificial intelligence reads them. X-rays for cats are going even higher-tech, largely because there’s a shortage of human veterinary radiologists. While AI gets mixed reviews from vets, a growing number of practices are using it. Your vet might be next!
Reading Time: 5 minutes You’re not thinking about declawing your cat are you? If you are, you might have a hard time finding a vet. A growing number of veterinarians have stopped declawing. And now, The American Association of Feline Practitioners is onboard. It’s banning declawing at its certified Cat-Friendly practices.
Reading Time: 4 minutes Human and animal research often overlap. So it’s not surprising that veterinary virologists at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary medicine are coming close to a coronavirus cure for humans. In other veterinary news, a new study looks at the behavior of cats on weight-loss diets. And the start-up pet insurance company, Pumpkin, covers cats of all colors, but it might have a soft spot for the big orange guys.
A new test uses artificial intelligence to predict kidney disease in cats two years before it occurs.
A new test can predict kidney disease in cats before it occurs.
You could think of it as a high-tech crystal ball. RenalTech, a test from Antech Diagnostics, uses artificial intelligence to predict the likelihood of kidney disease in cats two years before it occurs.
Vets can use the test results to develop a personalized care plan that could keep the cat from going into kidney failure.
Studies show that one in three cats will develop kidney disease in their lifetimes. What makes it so dangerous is that it can be difficult to diagnose before it’s done significant damage to the kidneys.
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Perhaps Banfield Pet Hospitals and VCA saw the handwriting (claw marks) on the wall. The huge vet clinic chains, both owned by Mars Petcare, now prohibit declawing cats. This is great news for the cats in their practices because all paws come with claws for a reason, and there are many ways to keep cats with claws from shredding the furniture.
If your cat is scratching your furniture, there are many alternatives to declawing
Now in the It’s Long Overdue Category: Banfield Pet Hospitals and VCA have both stopped declawing cats. Banfield published its new policy statement on declawing, except for medical reasons in January. VCA stopped declawing early this month.
“Current evidence does not support the use of elective declawing surgery as an alternative to relinquishment, abandonment, or euthanasia,” Banfield says in its policy statement. But it’s possible the huge chains of vet clinics saw the claw marks on the wall, too. Banfield’s policy statement also points out that several of the jurisdictions where it has hospitals ban declawing cats.
Declawing is illegal in New York State. And California, New Hampshire, Maryland and New Jersey are working on statewide declaw bans. Some of the cities that ban declawing include Denver and West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica and Berkeley in California.
Countries that ban declawing include England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Israel, Australia and New Zealand.
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Cat food coated with an egg product could provide relief for people who are allergic to cats. It’s not going to be on the market for a while though, so check out our suggestions for dealing with cat allergies in the meantime.
The Purina Institute is working on a solution for cat allergies.
Allergic to cats? There might be a cure for cat allergies in the not-too-distant future, and it doesn’t involve injections or human doctors.
Researchers at the Purina Institute have been searching for a way to help people who are allergic to cats for more than 10 years. There’s been some urgency to the search. Eighteen percent of the cats relinquished to shelters are there because a family member is allergic.
The long-awaited solution: coating cat food with an egg product ingredient.
Cat allergies “have created a huge barrier to cat ownership and may limit the loving interactions between cat lovers and cats,” immunologist Ebenezer Satyaraj, Ph.D., director of molecular nutrition at Purina and lead investigator on the research, told DVM 360.
“Our discovery has the potential to transform how people manage cat allergens.”
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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.
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Reading Time: 2 minutes
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.
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Reading Time: 2 minutesDental treats for cats are replacing dentals done by vets. But are they really good for your cat’s teeth?
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.
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