The Pet Pundit

Category Archives: Pets

Dec 30 0 comments

Cats, Dogs, Pets

Would you perform CPR on your Pet?

In a medical emergency, would you perform CPR on your pet? Would you be willing to begin mouth-to-snout resuscitation — your mouth over his closed snout — to revive your dying dog or cat?

In a poll conducted by the Associated Press and Petside.com, 63 percent of dog owners and 53 percent of cat owners say they would “very likely” give CPR to their pet. And women were more likely than men (65 percent vs. 50 percent) to do it.

While a majority of pet owners might be ready to save their pet’s life, most also admit they aren’t well-prepared to prevent an emergency from happening: 80 percent of pet owners don’t have a pet first-aid kit; 54 percent don’t have a home-fire evacuation plan for their pet; 68 percent let their pets ride in vehicles unrestrained; and 59 percent said they “don’t consider” or “give little consideration” to their pet’s safety when decorating for the holidays.

Hmm, maybe these should be the actual questions on an adoption questionnaire.

As a former American Red Cross pet first-aid instructor, students have shared with me how knowing pet first aid and CPR has saved lives. A vet tech once told me about a dog at her clinic that suddenly stopped breathing. The veterinarian was out of the office, so she started CPR and was overjoyed when the dog started breathing again. Another student said knowing how to handle her dog’s rattlesnake bite (no tourniquets please) kept her from panicking on a hike.

My favorite CPR story, though, involved a co-worker at the humane society many years ago who had just taken the pet first-aid class. She walked into the clinic and saw a lifeless hamster in a small see-through carrier. She thought the hamster had just died so she began blowing gently into his nostrils and using her finger to palpate his chest. She did this for several minutes until another co-worker informed her that the hamster had been dead on arrival. So no luck there, but wow! How many of us would have performed CPR on a hamster? I guess if you feel prepared you are ready for anything.

If you want to feel better prepared, the American Red Cross has a pet first-aid book that provides directions and illustrations for most pet emergencies. The American Veterinary Medical Association’s Web site at www.avma.org/firstaid/ offers several pet first-aid articles and a list of items for a pet first-aid kit.

I hope you’ll be lucky and never have a pet emergency. But the poll revealed that 41 percent of you will indeed make a trip to the pet emergency room at some point in your pet’s life: 17 percent because your pet was attacked by another animal; 16 percent because your dog will have an allergic reaction to something; 15 percent because your pet got into or ate holiday decorations; and 11 percent because your pet was hit by a car.

Will you be ready to help them?

Dec 28 0 comments

Cats, Pets

Cat to Dog / Cat to Cat Introductions

Sara recently wrote to me to tell me that her cat Oliver had passed away. She plans to open her home to a new kitten — maybe two — when enough time has passed. However, she has two Lhasa apsos already and was wondering how to integrate a new cat into a home with resident dogs.

When my feline, Miss Kitty, came to live with us, she was 5-years-old. We had a 8-year-old Dalmatian and a 7-year-old cat in the family at the time. We brought her into the house in a crate and took her into a room with a litter box and food. This gave her and the current pets in the house a chance to swap scents underneath the bedroom door without actually meeting.

After about a day, I brought Miss Kitty outside the room and let the other dog and cat into the room. Again, I wanted them to get to know each other through scent first. We did this several times a day for a few days.

Eventually, we put a baby gate at the top and bottom of the stairs and let Miss Kitty wander out of her room to meet the other cat on the second floor. The gate at the bottom kept the dog from charging up the stairs and barking at her through the top gate. The top gate prevented her from bolting down the stairs and suddenly seeing the dog at the bottom of the stairs.

Once she made peace with our cat, which took a few days, we put the dog on a leash and allowed Miss Kitty to come downstairs at her own pace. By having the dogs on leashes, you are ensuring the first meeting doesn’t involve a high-speed chase. If that happens, introductions generally must start over.

Once I knew my dog wouldn’t chase her, I only used the baby gates when I wasn’t home. I placed the gates a few inches from the floor so that my cats could get away from the dog by slipping under and past it. I don’t use them at all now. Everyone mingles harmoniously.

Just a few cautions: Never carry your feline over to meet another pet for an introduction and never leave your cat in a crate with other pets surrounding her. These are frightening situations for felines. Cats must meet other pets at their own pace.

Pamela Bennett Johnson, feline behaviorist and author of “Think Like a Cat,” has many great tips and suggestions on feline introductions on her Web site at http://catbehaviorassociates.com that readers also might find helpful.

Oct 28 0 comments

Pets

Man shoots baboon “to see what it feels like to kill someone”

AA Gill, a restaurant critic in England, said he shot a baboon on safari “to get a sense of what it might be like to kill someone”.

In his Sunday Times column, he described in painful detail how he shot the primate from 250 yards away while riding in a vehicle “full of guns and other blokes” in Tanzania. He shot the male baboon through the lung, saying he felt the urge to be “a recreational primate killer.”

He wrote: “I took him just below the armpit. He slumped and slid sideways. I’m told they can be tricky to shoot: they run up trees, hang on for grim life. They die hard, baboons. But not this one. A soft-nosed .357 blew his lungs out.”

This is perhaps one of the most morally indefensible things I have ever heard someone do to an animal — and then brag about it. If he wants to know what it’s like to kill someone, perhaps he should also know what it’s like to go to prison for the rest of his life for doing so.

I doubt charges will be pressed from a continent away, which means in his mind (and mine) he will have gotten away with murder. There’s something not right about this person. I hope he has at least ’shot himself in the foot’ and will lose his job with the Guardian Times. Sick minds like this don’t deserve media space to boast about their cruelty.

According to the article in the Guardian Time, Guy Norton, who studies the behaviour of baboons in Makumi National Park in Tanzania, said baboons are “sentient and feeling animals” and display similar characteristics to humans with strong parental bonds and sociable group behaviour.

How sad that some humans are so cruel.

Oct 19 0 comments

Dogs, Pets

Common sweetener can kill pets

My veterinarian told me today that three of her canine patients had died recently from xylitol toxicity. “That’s never happened before,” she said. “I don’t have three dogs that die all year from something like that.”

Xylitol is a popular sugar substitute used in many human food products, especially in diabetic foods. It looks and tastes similar to sugar and has been recognized for helping to reduce cavities and improve dental hygiene.

But apparently, it should come with a bold ole’ warning sign to keep away from pets.

Just a small amount of xylitol though can cause adverse effects in as little as 30 minutes after ingestion. According to the ASPCA, dogs can experience a dramatic drop in blood sugar, vomit, become lethargic, and can have difficulty standing or walking. Some develop seizures, internal hemorrhaging, and suffer from liver failure. As few as two or three sticks of xylitol gum could be toxic to a 20-pound dog.

Some of the products include:

Health and Beauty products: Some toothpastes, oral rinses, nasal sprays, oral spray vitamins, and whitening strips

Foods: Sugar-free chewing gums, mints, jellies and jams, candy, baked goods, baking mixes, sugar substitutes/sweeteners.

Medications: Nicorette gum, other oral smoking cessation products, Probiotica, DenaShield Tabs, Colostrum Chewables, Flintstones Children’s Vitamins, other multi-vitamins, Beano liquid/drops, Mobi oral suspension (Meloxicam), Neurotinin Oral Solution (Gabapentin, (Zegrid (Omeprazole).

This is not a comprehensive list. Read the labels of all suger-free candies and gums and other products and don’t leave them within reach of pets. This would be a terrible way to lose a beloved pet.

Oct 05 0 comments

Pets, Videos