Health

ChemNutra Inc., a Las Vegas-based ingredients broker, pleaded guilty on June 16 to federal charges of distributing tainted wheat gluten that led to the mass pet food recalls of 2007. The charges stem from a February 2008 indictment that alleged ChemNutra imported more than 800 metric tons of melamine-contaminated wheat gluten from China between November 2006, and February 2007, then sold the product to various pet food manufacturers.

We live in a litigious society. We have laws governing birth, death and the taxes in between, so its no surprise that we also have a host of laws relating to the animals weve taken into our homes. At the federal level, laws generally address issues such as the safety of pet food, the impact of hazardous products on pets, evacuating and transporting pets during emergencies and regulating the use of animals in research. But most of the laws directly affecting our pets are made at the state and local level. These ordinances can differ by city, township and county, and pet owners should contact local officials when getting a new pet or moving to a new place to find out what possible laws pertain.

Thanks to advances in veterinary medicine, its not uncommon for a cat to live to the ripe old age of 20 - roughly the physiologic equivalent of age 93 in a human. Thats the good news. The bad news is that cats, like humans, become increasingly susceptible to age-related disease conditions as they grow old, and most of these disorders are bound to have an effect on an animals behavior. For example, arthritis is likely to cause an active cat to slow down dramatically as it transitions through its golden years; kidney and urinary tract disease may affect its litter box behavior; progressive periodontal disease and tooth loss may alter its eating habits; and progressive hearing problems may make a cat decreasingly responsive to its environment. In some cases, however, an elderly cats behavioral peculiarities will remain unattributable to any underlying disease condition. In such a case, the animal is apt to be diagnosed as "senile," a vague term used to describe an animal that exhibits physiologically inexplicable cognitive dysfunction, the outward signs of which resemble those associated with age-related dementia and Alzheimers disease in humans.

How can you possibly go on living without your cat - the beloved best friend with whom youve shared your life for the past 10 or 15 years? That is one of the challenging and possibly unanswerable questions that loving and conscientious cat owners must ponder when their veterinarian suggests that they might want to consider euthanasia. The Good Death. The term euthanasia is derived from two Greek words - eu, which means good, and thanatos, which means death. In a report published in 2001, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) defined this "good death" as follows: "Euthanasia is the act of inducing humane death in an animal. It is our responsibility as veterinarians and human beings to ensure that if an animals life is to be taken, it is done with the highest degree of respect, and with an emphasis on making the death as painless and distress-free as possible."

One mosquito bite can infect a cat with heartworm, a potentially destructive and insidious disease, which reveals itself as H.A.R.D. (Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease). The American Heartworm Society (AHS) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) have teamed up to get this urgent message out to cat owners through the KNOW Heartworms campaign (www.knowheartworms.org). Experts now feel that heartworm prevention in cats is extremely important because the dangers of heartworm disease are much more significant that previously believed. Here are five common myths about heartworm disease that can put your pet at serious risk.

You hear a familiar retching sound in the kitchen. Striker is vomiting up his dinner again. As you walk downstairs to clean up the mess, you wonder if its just hair balls - or something more serious that requires a trip to the veterinarians office. Cats vomit for numerous reasons, ranging from benign dietary indiscretion to potentially fatal systemic diseases such as renal failure or hyperthyroidism. The experts say that cat owners should pay close attention to a cat that regularly becomes sick to his or her stomach. Be Observant. "When it comes to vomiting, the important concept for cat owners is observation," advises Fred Scott, DVM, PhD, interim director of Cornells Feline Health Center. "Vomiting in association with signs of systemic illness must be addressed rapidly." Signs include lethargy, fever, loss of appetite or weight loss. Even if the cause of vomiting is transient or self-limiting, loss of fluids and electrolytes can have life-threatening consequences.

Legislation in California that seeks to mandate spay and neuter surgery for most cats and dogs has been placed on the suspense file pending further review. Senate Bill 250, introduced in February by Sen. Dean Florez, requires that dogs be spayed or neutered unless their owner gets an unaltered dog license. It also requires that roaming cats be spayed and neutered. The Senate Appropriations Committee analysis on SB 250 states that the bill has costs associated with it in the short term. As a result, it was placed on a list with other bills which have a fiscal impact on state and local governments. All bills placed on the suspense file are scheduled to be taken up together at a later date. Staff and lawmakers review all bills that are projected to cost more than $150,000, and then decide which bills will be released to the committee and voted on.

Your cat normally uses the litter box a few times a day to relieve herself, but today is different. Shes going to the box every few minutes and vocalizing as she strains to urinate. The small amount of urine that finally dribbles out is filled with blood. Your cat may be suffering from bladder stones, a painful condition that, left untreated, can lead to serious illness and in rare cases, death. Causes of Bladder Stones. Bladder stones, or uroliths, are caused by an extensive concentration of salts and minerals in the urine such as magnesium, phosphorous, calcium, and ammonia. "There should always be a certain amount of salts and minerals in the urine," says Richard Goldstein, DVM, an associate professor of small animal medicine at Cornell Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine. "But when the urine becomes super saturated - meaning theres an overabundance of salts and minerals - crystals begin to form."

Everyone knows that cats are carnivores. So why does your cat keep snacking on the houseplants? Some experts say greens help cats get rid of hairballs, others that cats crave the fiber and moisture. There may be a nutritional component as well: when feeding on prey, a cat will eat the intestines first, where its likely to find plant matter. But regardless of the reason for the craving, plants can prove a serious danger to cats. Many common houseplants, such as lilies, asparagus ferns, and foxglove, are poisonous. Outdoors, a cat may eat grass or other plants contaminated by pesticides and fertilizer.

The dark brown color of normal cat stool largely results from substances in the bile, a liquid produced in the liver that then empties into the first part of the small intestine. Bile aids in the digestion of fats and contains a number of substances, among which are breakdown products of aged red blood cells. These breakdown products impart the yellow color that is characteristic of bile. As these yellow pigments pass in stool on the way out of the body, bacteria residing in the large intestine break them down further, so their original yellow color is changed to a dark brown.

At the age of 12, your cat seems to be slowing down a bit, and that could be perfectly normal. After all, a cat of her age - equivalent to the age of 65 or so in a human - has been living a full life and deserves to take it easy on herself. Nevertheless, its a good idea to have the animal checked out by your veterinarian. Its quite possible that her diminished activity is a consequence not of her advancing age but of a debilitating pain in one or more of her joints. Slowed-down, reclusive behavior is an indication of a joint problem in cats of any age, says Christine Bellezza, DVM, a consultant at the Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicines Feline Health Center. "Some of the signs are very subtle," she points out. "An affected cat may seem lethargic and may increasingly seek out comforting places to nap - in a warm corner of your home, for example, or in a spot of sunshine near a window." The reclusive behavior can also be attributed to a deeply ingrained feline instinct for self-protection. A cat may want to conceal its disability for fear of alerting a potential predator to its vulnerability. Other indications that a cat is suffering pain in one or more of its joints may not be so subtle. "The cat may have trouble hopping in and out of its litter box," says Dr. Bellezza, "and it may avoid going up and down stairs." It is also possible for a cat with a severe joint problem to become constipated because it cant position itself properly to defecate. Furthermore, due to joint pain, an affected cat may be unable to groom itself thoroughly.

Two years ago, Alex McCarthy adopted a lively, affectionate kitten from a shelter in New York City. Alex, her cat Kit and two roommates lived harmoniously in a tiny New York apartment. Then Alex decided to move with Kit to an apartment of her own. "The day the movers came, Kit was terrified," says Alex. Once they were settled in the new apartment, Kit was never the same. She would only allow Alex to go near or touch her. When visitors came, she would run up and sniff them, then hiss. If they attempted to pet her, she would lash out at them with her paws. Sometimes, she even scratched them. Now its people who are terrified of Kit. What happened to the sweet kitten? She may be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can occur after a very stressful or frightening event - just as it can with humans.