Merry Christmas

I was dressed up again, against my will, by the technicians. However you can print these out and add them to your Christmas tree to make it even more amazing. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Be safe and stay away from the tinsel, you will never catch it.....its everywhere!

For all you cat owners out there

Happy Fall everyone!  Thought you might like a change of pace from my extremely informative blogs and liven it up with quotes and sayings about the all important cat!  Many of them are true....a few I disagree with only because as a cat I know where I stand....way above the humans of course. 

But also on an informative note, don't forget to keep up on your furry friends heartworm prevention and flea control.  Even though the weather is cooling off as we head towards winter, it is ever important that us pets receive our monthly preventatives because we live in such a mild climate.  Mosquitoes and fleas are here year round and I hate being itchy scratchy!!  Enjoy!

 Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this. ~ Anonymous

No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch. ~ Leo Dworken

After dark all cats are leopards. ~ Native American Proverb

A cat's eyes are windows enabling us to see into another world. ~ Irish Legend

Even cats grow lonely and anxious.~ Mason Cooley

The cat could very well be man's best friend but would never stoop to admitting it.  ~Doug Larson

There's no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat.  ~Wesley Bates

Cats come and go without ever leaving.  ~Martha Curtis

Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later.  ~Mary Bly

Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.  ~Garrison Keillor

Most cats, when they are Out want to be In, and vice versa, and often simultaneously.  ~Louis J. Camuti

People that hate cats will come back as mice in their next life.  ~Faith Resnick

Kittens are angels with whiskers.  ~Author Unknown

No heaven will not ever Heaven be unless my cats are there to welcome me.
~Author Unknown

I love cats because I love my home and after a while they become its visible soul.  ~Jean Cocteau

A cat is a lion in a jungle of small bushes.  ~Indian Proverb

Cats never strike a pose that isn't photogenic.  ~Lillian Jackson Braun

Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.  ~Colette

One cat just leads to another.  ~Ernest Hemingway

A cat is a tiger that is fed by hand.  ~Proverb

If only cats grew into kittens.  ~R. Stern

Hallween Fun and Safety! Boo!!

Halloween is almost here!  Time for lots of candy, scary costumes and lots of trick-or-treaters!  Its also that time to be careful of potential dangers for us pets! 
 First of all, pets HATE to be dressed up!!  See my picture below, do I look happy??!! The technicians insist upon dressing me up every year, this time I am a cowboy!  I'm a girl by the way!!

If your pets like to be dressed up, take some precautions.  Never leave them unattended with their costumes on, especially if it has small pieces affixed to it that could be easily swallowed.  Make sure the costume doesn't impair vision, movement or air intake.  If you feel like your pets would like their fur dyed or colored, consult the veterinarian first as some can be toxic to pets.

With regards to candy and chocolate....chocolate is a huge threat to dogs, especially Baker's chocolate, which can make a 50 pound dog very sick!.
Sweets candy if ingested in a large quantity can cause pancreatitis which can be potentially fatal or cause organ damage.
Candy wrappers are off limits too because of the risk of causing bowel obstruction which may require surgery. 
Candles can cause great injury to curious noses and wagging tails.  In order to prevent burns, keep your pets away from any flames.
And last but not least, don't forget to have fun as well as being safe! 
For further info regarding Halloween safety please see the following link: http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/2012/10/pet-poison-helpline-warns-pet-owners-about-halloween-dangers/

Happy Halloween goblins!! 

Betty Crocker

(Please see below more ridiculous photos of me)

 

 

Back to school!

 

Going back to school!!

It’s that time again kids…..back to school!!  Luckily since I am a cat and know EVERYTHING I don’t have to attend school.  Most kids are getting new pencils, notebooks, pens and an all new wardrobe.  Kids might also be getting vaccines or immunizations.  Don’t forget your pets!

Dogs and cats need to be kept up to date on their Rabies vaccine, which is required by CA state law.  There are also some other core vaccines that they need to keep them healthy and safe.  Dogs and cats need yearly blood work to monitor their overall health as well as being current on heartworm prevention and flea control.

Be sure to call us to set up an appointment today to get your pets current on vaccines, blood work and heartworm and flea control.

Toodles, Betty Crocker

Foxtails!!

Its that time of year again everyone......foxtail season!!  At Cordova Veterinary Hospital we have seen our fair share already of foxtails in the eyes and ears of both cats and dogs. 
I'm sure you have seen those fan tail weeds that grow during the spring and turn yellow towards the start of summer.  The annoying weeds that get stuck in your shoes and socks when your out walking?  Or perhaps you have a few of them growing in your back yard? 

Since I'm an indoor only cat and refuse to get my paws dirty, I have decided to send out two of my field reporters for this story.  Dookie, a 2 year old American Bulldog and Dustmop (what an ugly dog) who is a 1 year old Poodle mix to scout out the foxtails.  As the pictures show, you can see that longer haired dogs like Dustmop are a magnet for weeds, such as foxtails, and smoother coated dogs not as much.  However, don't let that fool you!  Foxtails can also become lodged between the toes especially in dogs like Dustmop with furry feet. 

Foxtails are very adept at making their way in small crevices like ears, eyes and the nose of either dogs or cats.  This can cause great injury if left untreated.  Warning signs to look for if you suspect your pet has a foxtail:

• shaking of the head nonstop
• sneezing uncontrollably (if in the nose)
• discharge from the nose such as blood
• pawing at the face/eyes
• discharge/weeping/squinting of the eyes
• ears can be painful when touched
• paws can become swollen as well as have small wounds in between the toes

So to summarize, foxtails are a bad deal and need to be addressed immediately!  Check your pets feet, furry or not, for foxtails after your walks, and try to steer clear of tall weeds.  Keep your yards free of these nasty weeds and dispose of the foxtails in your green waste to avoid any problems.  And be sure to contact us, Cordova Veterinary Hospital if you have any questions or fear your special pet has a foxtail. 
Thanks to Dookie and Dustmop for their great reporting skills.  I guess Dustmop isn't so ugly after all!

~Betty Crocker

Heartworms! 'Tis the season.....

Hello all,
Hope ya'll have been enjoying the warmer weather we have had lately. With the warmer weather, comes a few unwanted guests, namely mosquitoes.  Did you know that mosquitoes help to transmit heartworm disease?  A mosquito takes a blood meal from an infected animal like a dog or coyote and then as it bites an uninfected animal, the microfilariae, or the larval stage of the parasite, enter in the blood stream and from there take about 6 months to develop into a full grown adult.  The adult worm makes its home in the heart, hence the word Heartworm disease.  Heartworm disease can be fatal if left untreated!!

The current treatment for a dog with heartworm disease is a very costly and the medication is on an allocation basis only.  However this diease is preventable!!  Here at Cordova Veterinary Hospital we recommend giving your dog a once monthly pill such as Interceptor or Sentinel to help prevent this disease, which is much more cost efficient, on top of being easier to do.  We also recommend that dogs be heartworm tested annually, even if they are on a preventative.

Cats should not be forgotten in this potentially fatal disease!  We are also susceptible to this awful ailment.  Cats should be given Revolution once monthly as this protects us not only from fleas but heartworm disease too.  Even though I live in an air conditioned castle, a.k.a. Cordova Veterinary Hospital, I am given Revolution on a regular basis, because you never know where mosquitoes are lurking. 
**My information was taken from http://www.heartwormsociety.org/ which has helpful information that I encourage you and your pets to read.  Also below is an interactive map to find confirmed cases of heartworm disease as well as tick borne diseases.

http://www.dogsandticks.com/diseases_in_your_area.php


http://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/heartworm.html#where

Thanks for you undivided attention, I've got to get back to filing, its never ending here!!

Take care of your heart!

Have you ever heard of an Echocardiogram?  I haven't, until I talked with Dr. Siemens, our traveling Cardiologist who visits Cordova Veterinary Hospital twice a month.  Dr. Siemens is very kind and caring about her patients and spoke with me about echocardiograms and the importance about them.

An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart. This advanced test is available for dogs and cats, just like it is for humans. An echocardiogram is usually done by a cardiologist or a radiologist since it takes specialized training to do one properly. Unlike chest X-rays, an echocardiogram will allow for exact measurements of the heart chambers, assess the strength of the heart, and detect all kinds of heart problems. Your veterinarian might recommend an echocardiogram for your pet if they hear an abnormal heart sound with their stethoscope, if the heart looks enlarged on chest X-rays, if your pet is showing symptoms typical of heart disease, or if your pet's heart needs to be evaluated prior to anesthesia.
The echocardiogram is not painful and it is almost always done without sedation. This test normally takes about 15 minutes to perform, during which the pet is asked to lie on its side on a table in a quiet, dark room while a technician holds and comforts it. The following is a list of some of the heart problems that can be found in dogs and cats: leaky heart valves, a weak heart muscle, a thickened heart muscle, narrowed areas in the heart, holes in the heart, tumors, blood clots, fluid in the heart sac, and infections within the heart. The echocardiogram will provide a lot of valuable information so that your veterinarian can make the best decisions for treatment. Being proactive and well-informed in the treatment of heart disease is very important in order to keep the pet's quality of life high and allow it to live as long as possible with its heart disease.  
Check out Dr. Siemens website: http://www.healinhearts.net/