How Does Obesity Increase My Cat’s Risk For Diabetes?

Does Your Cat Look Like This???

Feline obesity has been closely linked with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus; which is the most common form of diabetes in cats and humans. Type 2 Diabetes is characterized by a decreased production of insulin, as well as a poor response to insulin by the body. While your cat’s diet and genetics certainly play a role, feline obesity is the biggest risk factor for feline diabetes. Indoor cats can often become sedentary and overweight, even while being fed a low calorie cat food. More than 1/3 of cats are obese and in many cases the owner doesn’t realize how overweight their cat has become; let alone how that can create a life-threatening situation. Symptoms of feline diabetes are not always obvious to the cat owner, either. Common symptoms are obesity, increased thirst, increased urination, urinary tract infections, and weight loss, as diabetes becomes more advanced.

Obese cats have a four-time greater risk for type 2 diabetes. We don’t often think of fat as an organ, but it produces hormones capable of changing how the body interacts with food. These hormones control things like appetite, blood sugar storage, and increases in insulin sensitivity. An abundance of fat tissue causes an imbalance of these hormones in the body, which eventually leads to diabetes in the cat.

To evaluate obesity in cats, systems (body condition scores) have been developed for veterinarians and their staff to evaluate and track weight in cats. These systems can be quite accurate, comparable even to advanced laboratory tests, such as bonescans. For example, the nine-point system that Purina developed provides a simple and reliable method of determining body condition in pets. Another simple and easy way to evaluate body condition in the cat is to take photographs (from the front and side) every year. The body weight and body condition score should also be recorded at least yearly.

Daily Feeding Guide from Side of Bag.

The most common contributing factors for feline obesity are age, spay/neuter status, frequency of treats, and how much the cat is fed. Treats are a large source of calories and a huge contributing factor to obesity in pets. Portion sizes are often too large for our pets, as well. Oftentimes we simply fill up the food bowl whenever we see that it's empty; that's usually just way too much food. It’s best to measure portion sizes using recommendations from the food manufacturer and/or your veterinarian. The food manufacturer will usually put a feeding guide on the back or side of the bag with their recommendations. For obese cats, feeding low calorie cat food is certainly better than high calorie cat food and treats. However, when symptoms of cat diabetes develop, it is more important to feed a low-carbohydrate, high protein diet.

The cat is considered a carnivore and, as such, is not well adapted to ingestion of excessive amounts of carbohydrates. They simply aren’t able to store excess amounts of carbohydrates after a meal. When cats become diabetic, their carnivorous nature makes it even more difficult for them to metabolize carbohydrates. When considering a food for diabetic cats, a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet is highly recommended in feline diabetes, and is quite similar to a cat’s natural diet. Studies show that cats fed a low carbohydrate diet versus a high fiber diet, were 3 times more likely to stop taking insulin injections. 

Even if they beg, don't give in to their pleas...keep 'em happy and healthy by feeding the appropriate amounts of a good healthy feline diet.

County Animal Shelter Seeking Enhancement

Stray and unwanted pets have filled shelters for years. Many no-kill shelters are full of them and in our area are often so full they are almost never able to take any more in. It is sad to see so many of these pets unwanted. Spaying and neutering is still the best way to help decrease the population of unwanted pets.


There are approximately 60 dogs euthanized every week in the county in which I practice; most of these are strays that are diseased and malnourished, but the numbers are astonishing. At a recent meeting of veterinarians, county supervisers, attorneys, and law enforcement officials involved with our county shelter, we discussed the current situation with the shelter and what steps we can take to make it better.


Our goal is to develop a better system for pet owners to reunite with their lost pets, and help facilitate adoption of unclaimed pets, here in our county. To do that, we have some big obstacles to overcome, however. The short version is that our county population has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 15 years and with it, so has the number of shelter animals. When the current county shelter was established it was merely an afterthought; the facility was not equipped or staffed to operate like a modern shelter. Due to budget constraints and because the shelter is under the authority of the county, with sherriff deputies and trustees providing the management and care for the animals, the public cannot be allowed to come in and visit the animals; there's simply too much liability. Only the owners of picked-up strays are allowed to come to the shelter and their pet is brought to the front for positive identification and then relinquished.

So, ideally, we'd like to build a modern shelter facility that the people of our county can be proud of and interact with, in order to make the situation here much better. Right now, that simply isn't possible, given that there is no budget for it. We will be looking into grants and other means of financing this future endeavor, but you have to crawl before you can walk, so for now we are starting small...


We've challenged county officials to create a website/page dedicated solely to the shelter that can be used to post each pets' picture on, along with a brief description of the pet and where it was found. There will also be a link to each participating veterinarian in the county so potential adopters can find a veterinarian quickly. We also discussed using facebook to help adot pets as well. Once this photo gallery is up and running, people that are interested in adopting can view the animals picture and choose a pet. That pet will then be sent to the veterinary clinic of their choice to be viewed, in person, and interacted with; if selected for adoption, the veterinarian will then spay/neuter the pet and update its vaccinations at a discounted rate and will provide the newly adopted pet to the new owner immediately thereafter. Although not ideal, it is the best method we currently have to enhance our county shelter.


In addition to being involved with the shelter program and it's future enhancement, our clinic is currently considering a pet ID tag program, where we would offer an engraved ID tag and collar, on the spot for every puppy and kitten at the time of vaccinations. This is in addition to our rabies tag and permanent microchip ID that we already offer. We feel that every ID option we can offer will help get that pet back into its owners arms.

If you have ideas on how to help, or if you have information about grants or other funding methods for our county's shelter send them to my email.





picture credit: http://nodogaboutit.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/dogs-a-letter-from-a-shelter-manager/

Holiday Hazards: Holiday Meals

Yes, it’s that time of year again; all these fun and delightful holidays are right around the corner. We all love these traditional holidays, but do our pets? Well, this can be a dangerous time of year for our pets, and veterinary clinics all across the country will be flooded with phone calls about sick and injured pets. I want to give you a little insight so you and your pet can enjoy the holidays.

Holiday meals
Your pets’ keen sense of smell leads him right into your kitchen as you pull out that Thanksgiving bird… “Wow, he thinks, what I would do for a hunk of that huge turkey leg!” What he doesn’t know, is that along with that hunk of meat, comes a belly-ache, vomiting, diarrhea, and a stay at the local veterinary clinic with lots of needles and yucky medicine.
People-food is often too rich for our pets. The dog and cat digestive tract is just not equipped to handle all the fat and spice in our meals. The best policy is just don’t feed ‘em anything but their regular pet food. If you simply must indulge those begging eyes, please avoid the fatty portions of the meat. One small (notice I said small) piece of baked lean poultry, with no skin or seasonings should be okay.

Be careful where you put the left-over Halloween candy; chocolate is a big no-no! Chocolate can contain high amounts of fat and caffeine-like stimulants known as methylxanthines, more specifically theobromine. If your pet ingests enough chocolate, he could experience vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures, hyperactivity, and even death in severe cases. The darker the chocolate, the greater the risk of problems. Typically, 20 ounces of milk chocolate will cause serious problems with a 10-pound dog. That same dog can only eat two ounces of dark chocolate or baking chocolate. The white chocolates don’t contain a lot of theobromine, but do contain lots of fat, which can still land him in the veterinary clinic with vomiting and diarrhea, as well as pancreatitis, a life-threatening inflammatory condition of the pancreas.

Here’s a list of other foods to avoid feeding to pets:
· Avocado
· Chocolate
· Coffee
· fatty foods
· macadamia nuts
· moldy or spoiled foods
· onions or onion powder
· raisins
· grapes
· salt
· yeast dough
· garlic
· artificial sweeteners.

Hopefully, this will help make you and your pet’s holidays a little safer and a lot more fun; since you won’t be spending them at your veterinarian’s office.

Howl-O-Ween Can Be Scary for Pets

Halloween can be tons of fun. What kid doesn’t like dressing up in a costume and getting a sack-full of candy? While fun for us, it can be dangerous for our four-legged friends. Our pets can face many dangers during Halloween; here’s how to make sure your furry little pal doesn’t have a Halloween disaster.

To be sure everyone has a safe and fun-filled Halloween, your pet may be best kept in a quiet area, away from the trick-or-treaters. The little goblins and monsters flocking to your door may frighten your pet, causing him to react in an unpredictable manner. In addition, this will prevent an easily unnoticed escape through a frequently opened door. It’s a good idea to have your pet microchipped or at least have a sturdy collar with an identification tag, just in case of an escape.

If your house is anything like mine around Halloween, there’s candy everywhere. Be very cautious about where the candy is left. Any candy can be a problem for a pet, especially dogs; as cats tend to be a little more choosie about what they eat. Chocolate is a big no-no! Chocolate can contain high amounts of fat and caffeine-like stimulants known as methylxanthines, or more specifically theobromine. If your pet ingests enough chocolate, he could experience vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures, hyperactivity, and even death in severe cases. The darker the chocolate, the greater the risk of problems. Typically, 20 ounces of milk chocolate will cause serious problems with a 10-pound dog. That same dog can only eat two ounces of dark chocolate or baking chocolate. The white chocolates don’t contain a lot of methylxanthine, but do contain lots of fat, which can still land him in the veterinary clinic with vomiting and diarrhea, as well as pancreatitis, a life-threatening inflammatory condition of the pancreas. Pets will often ingest the candy wrapper as well as the candy, which can also cause problems. Chocolate is definitely off-limits and all candy can cause vomiting and diarrhea, so keep the dish available to two-legged critters only.

You’ve probably seen them; the Halloween pet costumes for sale out there. Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of the pet costumes. I know, I know, it's a lot of fun to dress 'em up; they look really cute and make great pictures. And most of the costumes are safe, but please use common sense if you feel your pet needs a costume. Generally, most pets don’t feel too comfortable wearing such silly attire, or any attire at all for that matter. Pets typically don’t like the restriction of a costume. He may object or simply freeze-up when you attempt to put that Dracula cloak on him. If so, you’re probably better off taking a quick picture of him with it on, if you manage to get the costume on him at all, then promptly remove the costume before he decides to rip it to shreds. If he doesn’t seem to mind a costume and you feel he just has to have one, be sure to follow these simple guidelines:

· No ribbons or rubber bands around the neck
· No buttons or small fasteners that he can easily ingest
· Make sure he can safely move around and its not too restrictive
· Make sure the fabric is breathable and doesn’t cause him to overheat; especially if worn during the day for long periods
· Check for any other pieces that could otherwise injure your pet

Okay, so maybe you’ve successfully managed to outfit your pet with his cute, shiny new costume. Now you’re thinking, wouldn’t it be cute to let “Fido” tag along with the kids. Well, it may be cute, but probably not wise. Children often have enough trouble keeping up with their candy and costume during a trick-or-treat outing, so it’s probably not a good idea to let the family dog accompany them. Besides, your pet could easily become frightened and escape.

Lighted Jack-o-lanterns and candles should be kept out of reach of your pet’s paw. One swift wag of the tail or swat of the paw and our curious four-legged friends can easily burn themselves or tip the flame over, causing a disaster. Likewise, other decorations that pets could chew on (fake spider webs, electrical cords, etc.) should also be kept out of reach. Some artificial spider web decorations, especially spray-on and spun fiberglass types can be toxic.


Brandon Veterinary Clinic still has pets up for adoption, see previous post or give us call for details.

Freddy McCrory Memorial Fund

A good friend of mine, Freddy McCrory, recently lost his life in a tragic boating accident. Freddy was a great person, husband, father, friend, and dog trainer. He was 41 years old, had a wife and two beautiful daughters (ages 9 and 3). To read the story of the accident, click here, and here.

For those fortunate enough to know him, Freddy always seemed to know how to make you smile. He never had a bad word to say about anything or anybody, he was just the kind of person that you wanted to have as a friend, but most of all, Freddy loved his family. As a father myself, it breaks my heart to see his wife and children lose their husband and father in this tragedy.

Freddy and his wife, Lydia, were partners in their retriever training business and without Freddy, their source of income is now gone. I want to do what I can to help his family, because I know Lydia and the girls are gonna need some help right now, and I know Freddy would have been there for his friends.

There is a memorial fund already set up at Regions Bank. You can make a donation directly to the Freddy McCrory Memorial Fund at any Regions Bank location, or by mail at:
P.O. Box 222
Eupora, MS. 39744

If you feel that you aren't able to donate much, but still want to contribute, then consider buying a raffle ticket or two for $10 each, all of the proceeds will go directly to the Freddy McCrory Memorial Fund. Times are tough for everyone right now, but imagine losing your spouse and your only source of income. Two young girls are going to be without a father.

We will be raffling a 12 months supply of Advantage Multi to benefit the memorial fund. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the Freddy McCrory Memorial Fund to help support his family during their time of need. Raffle tickets will be $10 each. You may purchase as many tickets as you would like. Each ticket purchased will get you once chance at 12 doses (1 year supply) of Canine Advantage Multi - Heartworm, Flea, and intestinal parasite prevention (valued at over $200).

Raffle Tickets can be purchased only by mailing your check to:

Freddy McCrory Benefit Raffle
c/o: Brandon Veterinary Clinic
1037 Star Rd.
Brandon, MS. 39042

All Checks should be made payable to: Freddy McCrory Memorial Fund

Drawing to be held on November 3rd

Tickets $10 each

Winner receives 12 doses of Advantage Multi


Details:
By making your check out to the memorial fund, you can be sure that 100% of your raffle ticket purchase will go directly to the fund, the checks must be mailed to the vet clinic address, though, to be entered in the drawing. After recording your name and assigning your raffle tickets, the check will then be sent directly to the memorial fund P.O. Box. The winner will be determined by drawing on November 3rd and will be announced here on the blog and on our clinic Facebook page. You do not have to be present to win. If you have other items you'd like to donate to be included in the raffle, please send me an email about it.

Because Advantage Multi is a prescription product, the winner, once notified, must submit a valid prescription (unless the winner is a client of Brandon Veterinary Clinic) in order to claim the product. Once a valid prescription is received, the product will be mailed to you at the address on your check, or you may come by the clinic and pick up your prize in person.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Alright so it's way off topic for this blog, but no matter.....October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so I gotta do my part and tell ya'll to remind the women you love to do their self-exams and get their mammograms. It can save their lives. How do I know this.....

.....well, someone I love dearly was diagnosed recently with breast cancer. She won her battle and she's one of the fortunate ones who fought and never took anything for face value. She did what she had to do...yes, it was difficult; yes, it sometimes still is, but she lives today because she did her part and performed her self-exams. And after finding a small lump, she didn't let it go; she didn't rest until she had it properly evaluated. When she found out it was cancer, she took the bull by the horns and did what was necessary. It was more difficult for her than I'll probably ever know but at least she's here to celebrate being a survivor.

In 2010, an estimated 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 54,010 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer. About 39,840 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2010 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1991.

It's easy to think "I'm not at risk" or say "I'll get it checked out later if it doesn't go away" but if she thinks something ain't right, it probably needs to be checked out. Women know their own bodies better than any doctor. If there's a woman in your life that you love, make sure that she's doing her part to take care of herself.

About 1 in 8 women in the United States (between 12 and 13%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime. For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer. A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. About 20-30% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have a family history of breast cancer. About 70-80% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.

For more information, click the banner above to visit the Susan G. Komen website or visit http://www.breastcancer.org/

Meet "Max"

Hey guys, I've got someone I want you to meet; his name is "Max". He's got a story to tell, so go ahead "Max"....


Hi everyone, I'm "Max" and I'm about 4 years old now. I was too young to remember my parents, but everybody says that my mom was a Rottweiler and my dad was a Labrador Retriever. I'm just a big 'ol teddy bear to my friends that take care of me, though. I'm a big guy, I weigh about 99 pounds and Dr. Watson says I should lose a few pounds; don't tell him I said so, but he should too...haha. I like being outside and playing with my friends, but I also enjoy just hanging out and being lazy; I'm pretty easy going.


So, why am I telling you all about me? Well....everything was going pretty well at my house, my owners loved me a lot and had taken pretty good care of me. But one day, a few months ago, we moved to Brandon, and when we did, my owners took me to their uncle's house, where I lived out in the country, for about a month so they could get the new house ready to live in. While I was at the uncle's, I was staying outside and having a great time, but these little bugs (Dr. Watson said they were ticks) kept biting and attaching to me. Finally, my owners came to get me and found that I was covered in these ticks. They picked 'em off, one by one and told me how sorry they were that they had to leave me there. I was starting to feel kinda sick, too; I was feeling kinda sluggish and my nose kept bleeding. My owner's decided to take me to see Dr. Watson, who diagnosed me with Ehrlichia (Er-lick-ia), and heartworm disease; man, no wonder I felt so bad! Well, long story - short, I've been here at Brandon Veterinary Clinic ever since. Dr. Watson and his staff, have got me feeling a whole lot better, though! Doc said the Ehrlichia is some kind of bacteria-like bug that the ticks gave me, and that it was causing my blood not to clot. They gave me some medicine to get rid of the Ehrlichia, so I'm feeling pretty good, now. They're trying to get rid of my heartworms now, too; Dr. Watson says I'm gonna be just fine!


I really like staying at the clinic, but it gets kinda noisy sometimes and I have to stay in my kennel most of the time, cause everybody's working and I can't just wander around...there's a big dog next to me, right now, that snores all the time. Anyway, they love me here, but I should really find a regular home, so If you or any of your friends know of somebody who would like to take me home and be my new owner, I'll give you a big 'ol lick right across your cheek, or if you prefer, I'll just wag my tail really fast....it'd make me really happy!




Thanks for sharing, "Max". If you're interested in adopting "Max", he's up to date on his vaccinations, he's totally recovered from his Ehrlichia and he's started pre-treatment medications for his heartworm disease. His heartworm disease is curable, but will require some care during the treatment process. "Max" has a heart of gold and will make an excellent pet for anyone; he's great with kids, but would be great with a single owner, as well! If you'd like to know more about how to adopt "Max", please call and speak with Dr. Watson at Brandon Veterinary Clinic 601-824-9909.