Featured Articles
The Come Command
One of the most important things for dogs to learn is to come to you when you call his or her name. Dogs regularly get themselves into trouble and/or engage in risky activities (like blindly chasing anything that moves). If …
Cats that Beg for Food – Pet tip 183
Begging behaviour is really common in dogs and normally occurs when dogs hang around humans eating at a table. They stare you down with their sad eyes; they whimper, paw you and perhaps even bark in order to get you …
Fall Issue: 2004
Featured Pet tip – Drooling cats – kneading cats – Cats that drool and knead
Occasionally adult cats will drool while they are being petted, massaged or while nuzzling into fabrics. This drooling is usually accompanied with the kneading of …
Dog and cat paws – Pet tip 147
Dogs and cats don’t have feet! What they have instead are paws. However even though paws look and are built differently than human feet, paws and feet are simply two different ways to do the same thing, walk. Walking is …
Antibacterial Resistance
Antibacterial resistance is extremely topical. It seems as though over the last couple of years, we are hearing more and more about this in the news. But what does it mean and why do we care? Is this just some …
March 2012
Dear Petlover,
Hi there it’s Marko, one of the owners/administrators on Pets.ca and this is our first newsletter of 2012. We intend to only put out occasional newsletters, so rest assured you will not get bombarded with mailings. If you …
Rabbits and Hay
Rabbits are attractive pets – they’re friendly, cute, and low maintenance. Rabbits are suitable for many ages, in big cities or the country, for both new pet owners and those dedicated to rabbits. However, rabbits are not the same as …
Dog tails – tail wagging
Many people understand that a wagging tail means a happy dog. But is it really that simple? What else does a dog’s tail tell us? The dog uses its tail as an important means of communication and is evaluated along …
Cat scans and MRIs
Sometimes it is easy for a veterinarian to figure out what is wrong with your pet by simple observation. Other times blood work is used to pick up problems with the thyroid glands, kidneys, or other organs. Often though, the veterinarian will decide to do further tests such as ultrasound and x-rays to look inside the body. These forms of testing are used very routinely for everything from broken bones to cancer. But what happens if none of these tests result in a diagnosis? The testing we just talked about is used to help us determine what is happening in the body. Sometimes all of the tests are negative or the diagnosis is not specific enough. This is when the veterinarian turns to different options.
The next option might be a CT or MRI scan. Both of these options are only available at specialty practices or veterinary schools. They are very expensive, but on the other hand, they often allow veterinarians to exactly diagnose the problem. In fact, both CT and MRI are so precise that for some problems it is almost as good as looking inside the body! The CT and MRI machines are the same as those used in human hospitals. This article will give you a short introduction to the ideas and science behind these forms of testing. Then we will go through a few situations when CT and MRI are used.
