Abnormal Weight-Loss in Cats

Is your cat refusing the dinner suddenly these days especially his favorite meal that he used to instantly gobble up? Or is your cat eating well, but still seems to lose weight? Are you confused about your cat losing weight? There are various reasons behind sudden weight loss in a feline. Most reasons recommend diet adjustments as a remedy. Here's the explanation about sudden weight loss in cats. Top and most prevalent weight loss reason in cats is different medical conditions and disorders. Take your cat to a veterinarian; he/she will further conduct a few tests to determine whether your pet is suffering from any serious medical disorder. Weight loss is a major symptom of diabetes mellitus. The most common in older feline is type-2 diabetes also known as 'sugar' diabetes in cats.

Old age can also be another reason for your cat losing weight. Cats are more likely to show changes in their weights with their growing age; some may gain rather some may lose weight. This mostly happens as their sense of smelling food reduces. Sometimes dental disorders also play a major role - dental check-ups are thereby recommended. Older cats may suffer from constipation with weak metabolism further resulting in weight loss. Take your feline to a veterinarian; it may need some changes in its daily diet plan; a high-protein and a low-carbohydrate diet may help it get back to its proper weight bag again.

Few but common gastrointestinal issues might be the culprit for your cat's weight loss. Certain food allergies or a sudden bigotry may also be a reason for slimming down of your cat; but there could be something within your cat's intestine that is bothering: vermin. Kittens are more likely to get worms in their body through lactation - especially roundworms. Check the cat's feces for any worms to be found; consult a vet than after for medication to de-worm your cat.

Stress and messy meal-timings may also be another reason. A stress-less environmental ambience and cleanliness is one very important factor to be considered for your cat's growth - or else it may result in your cat developing anorexia - refusal to food. This can be related to stress or fatty liver diseases. If it is due to stress, such refusals last for a day or two; but if this continues for more than a day you must call your vet immediately to reduce the danger of liver disorders.

A healthy diet; a clean and a friendly home ambience; cleanliness and an hygienic check of your cat with a regular veterinarian consultations shall keep your cat away from most medical disorders and also reduce the changes of your cat losing weight.

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First Steps In Training Your Parakeet To Talk

Parakeets have always been the most popular pets among birds. They are known for their chitchatting and easy domestication. Their basic color feather is yellowish green, but they also come in other colors, such as colorful blue, and sometimes, they can be completely white or yellow.

A parakeet as a pet usually means a lot of fun. It is true that they can be so noisy, but it is very interesting and nice watching them bristle and chat with themselves or even with a little thing. As any other kind of parrots, they mimic the sounds they often hear. They usually imitate phone ringing, bell ringing, or even a part of your favorite tunes. However, when it comes to talking, it is a little harder for them to emulate words, usually because of some consonants which they find hard to pronounce. Yet, it is not impossible. With a little effort and patience you can successfully teach them pronounce a few single words, even shorter sentences.

For the beginning, if you haven't acquired your parakeet yet, it is great, because buying is the crucial step in teaching your parakeet words. Make sure to buy a very young parakeet, preferably a chick, because they are best at learning words and sounds while they are young. If they are old, you will never be able to teach them talk. When choosing a parakeet, let it be a male. Males are easier to domesticate and teach, and they prefer chatting to squawking. Females are usually wild, and you will need more time to domesticate them and teach them words.

This may be cruel, but if you want to teach your parakeet talk, don't buy a couple. When they are together, they focus on each other and will not pay much attention to external sounds. You will also notice that it will take longer for them to imitate a simple sound; it often happens that they produce nothing but chitchat and squawking. The same applies to little mirrors; once a parakeet has it in its cage, it will never separate from it, and thus, will not pay attention to you or the sounds.

Now when you have all done well, start with learning. Start with simple and short words with more vowels. Once they master the simple words, they will easily overcome the harder ones. However, do not despair if your parakeet curiously and silently watches you while teaching it; it is a good sign because it tries to memorize the words. Patience is essential in this case. Sometimes, it takes only a few days, but sometimes a couple of weeks; but patience always pays off in the end.

As you can see, a good start is very important here. It is not just about buying a parakeet with beautiful color, but taking a young bird that will learn quickly and be your friend for several years. However, keep in mind that all parakeets are not the same; some will learn slower, some faster, and some will be able to imitate just a few simple words. It also depends on how much time you can devote to it. So, good luck!

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Do Dogs and Cats Need Their Teeth Cleaned? YES!

One of the more frequent conversations I have with pet owners before or during a teeth cleaning procedure (or dental treatment procedure) is about having to extract teeth. Usually it goes something like this:

Doctor: "Pet owner, your pet has multiple teeth with end stage periodontal disease. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to fix this, so I need to extract X number of teeth" 

Pet Owner: "Oh no! Why so many? Do you have to? How is he going to eat? Will he be in pain?"
Doctor: "Yes, there may be some discomfort, but actually the teeth that are diseased are already causing pain. We will treat the discomfort of extractions with medicine at home after the procedure. He will eat fine, but you may need to soften the food for a week or two. We have to take out the teeth because the disease has progressed too far and there's nothing else we can do."

You may wonder why I'm writing an article about this. I'm hoping to explain a little bit about the mouths of dogs and cats, and the reason why we have to perform extractions, so that it may not be a big shock if your pet needs teeth extracted.
I have heard comments about "vets who likes to extract teeth." Actually, that's not the case; most of us prefer not to. If there are no teeth to extract that would mean that there isn't disease present and your pet is healthier. Extracting teeth is sometimes hard work. Most animal professionals prefer to prevent extractions. The fact of the matter is that most animal patients haven't had the dental care needed to prevent extractions, and by the time I perform a dental treatment procedure it is too late.

Let's think about how we take care of our own teeth. When we are children we are taught how to brush our teeth well before the permanent teeth develop. Then we continue that oral hygiene regimen, usually twice daily, often floss daily, and visit out dentist once or twice a year. We have very clean teeth and periodontal disease is avoided. Humans need all their teeth to chew because we grind our food and cannot swallow it whole, so proper oral hygiene is important to prevent tooth loss. We only have 32 teeth (28 if you've had your wisdom teeth removed), so it's necessary to keep them all healthy.

Now let's contrast what happens with our pets. Most pet owners don't realize that their dog or cat has baby teeth and lose them. Sometimes dogs will not lose all of their baby teeth, and if your vet doesn't notice this, (or if your pet isn't taken in to the vet) those extra baby teeth can cause problems. Most pets will have all of their permanent teeth present by 6 months of age. Dogs have 42 teeth (that's a lot!) and cats have 30 teeth. After 6 months of age tooth brushing should begin, but many pet owners don't do this because they've never had instruction or been told to, and many pets resist it. So if a pet is lucky, they get their teeth brushed occasionally, like when they go to the groomer. It's inevitable that plaque and tartar will accumulate and cause gingivitis. Plaque, tartar and gingivitis wouldn't be a big problem if the pet was given a professional, anesthetized dental cleaning once it started to accumulate. But for a number of reasons this doesn't always happen, so eventually that plaque causes gum and bone damage and loosening of the teeth. Now we have end stage periodontal disease, which requires extractions.

Luckily dogs and cats don't need teeth to eat. They don't grind their food like we do, and we can prepare food for them that's in small bites and soft enough to just swallow whole. In fact, many dogs and cats who have no teeth at all still eat dry food! It's not a terrible thing to extract bad teeth, in fact it usually makes the pet feel quite a bit better. Many clients tell me that after having diseased teeth removed their dog is more active, acting like a puppy again, and is eating better.

Pet owners need to understand that tooth extractions are an unfortunate fact of dental treatment procedures for most pets. However, extractions can be avoided if pet owners will take the necessary steps to try to prevent dental disease. These preventative steps include regular visits for dental health evaluations, regular (daily) tooth brushing, and regular anesthetized dental cleanings.

Author Sarah Bashaw can be reached at El Dorado Animal Hospital, a full service, state-of-the-art veterinary clinic designed with client comfort and patient care in mind.

Call El Dorado Animal Hospital for your appointment today (480) 837-0800 or visit our website http://www.eldoradoanimalhospital.com

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