Featured Articles
Veterinary Emergencies and the Internet – Pet tip 157
If your pet was hit by a car would you sit down at your desk and start up your computer, or immediately rush your pet to the veterinarian? The natural answer should be the second option. In emergency situations it …
Lead Poisoning in Cats, Dogs and Birds
Lead poisoning in cats and dogs
Unlike the dramatic onset of clinical signs seen with most small animal poisonings, lead poisoning often has an insidious onset. The potential sources of lead for domestic animals are numerous and widespread. Ingestion of …
Tip 82 – Dog and cat bites – What to do when dogs or cats get bitten
All animals, whether wild or domestic, bite to defend themselves. When your pet leaves the safety of your home, especially if it is allowed to wander, it is particularly susceptible to this type of injury. It’s important, therefore, to know …
Obesity in Dogs
Obesity is one of the most common nutritional medical disorders affecting companion animals, with approximately 24-40% of pets being classified as overweight. Obesity is defined as an increase of over 20% above the optimum body weight. Reasons for this include …
Getting a New Kitten – Cat
Bringing Home the New Kitten
There are few things more exciting than bringing a new addition into your family. When the new addition is a kitten, there are a few things to be considered before the big day. These things …
Cataract Surgery in Dogs
Have you ever wondered how cataract surgery is actually performed? If so, read on as it really is a very interesting procedure! Cataract surgery is formally known as phacoemulsification. “Phaco” stands for lens, and to ‘emulsify’ means to break down. This is a great name for this procedure, because this is exactly what it is!
Normally the lens in the eye is a clear soft structure that allows light to easily pass through it. If there is any opacity on the lens, it is known as a cataract. A cataract occurs when proteins in the eye leak into the lens, and start to harden. A general rule of thumb is that if you cannot see into an animal’s eyes clearly, then it can’t see out at you clearly! Thus in a cataract, if the entire lens is opaque due to the protein that has leaked out, then the animal’s vision is reduced.
Cataract surgery involves two main tools; one to break up the cataract into smaller pieces, and the other to vacuum the pieces out of the eye. To begin, the animal is placed under general anesthesia so that it is completely unconscious during the procedure.
Choosing a Dog Breed
Which dog breed is right for you?
WHICH BREED? By Dr. Bruce Fogle DVM
Purebreds now account for the majority of dogs in North America, Europe, and Japan. The variety of sizes, shapes, and coats available appeals to virtually all …
Issue 8: August 2003
Welcome to our eighth issue of the Pets.ca newsletter. This issue features two important articles on pet nutrition; one on older pets and their eating habits and one on dairy products. Keeping in line with this theme, our expert answers …
Von Willebrand disease in dogs – Pet tip 138
You may be familiar with the human inherited blood disorder Hemophilia A, in which affected individuals suffer from prolonged, spontaneous bleeding due to a missing clotting factor in their blood. What you may not know, is that a very similar …
