Month: January 2018

#43 Essential Oils and Cats- Jan 24, 2018

essential oils for cats
Essential oils for cats

I want to comment on a topic that has been running around Facebook that essential oils are poisonous to cats. This is complicated, and there are lots of “it depends”.
What is an essential oil? They are defined as organic constituents of plants which are volatile and contribute to fragrance and taste. They are extracted from plants and are used in aromatherapy, personal care products, flavorings, and liquid potpourri. I personally use several essential oils topically and even have used a passive aromatherapy diffuser with lavender at the animal hospital as part of our Fear Free plan. In general, I like and use essential oils around myself.
There are many variables that affect their safety and toxicity. Some essential oils can be toxic to cats, especially orally or topically, or in high concentrations or large volumes. The veterinary literature has definite reports of certain classes of chemicals that might be toxic to cats based on their different liver pathways of metabolizing compounds in the body. Commercial essential oils aren’t regulated like prescription drugs, so quality, purity, and concentration vary quite a bit, and their testimonial claims can be quite grandiose. The other big variable lately is the active nebulizing diffusers that actually pump out tiny micro droplets of the essential oil into the air, greatly increasing the exposure to cats over the former passive diffusers.
I haven’t seen ANY cats with suspected poisoning from inhaled essential oils, but I have seen some bird with respiratory problems on the old fashioned potpourri that resolved when they removed that scented product from the house. I have seen some small dogs with symptoms from skin contact with the owner’s topically applied hormone creams. The feline symptoms listed at the Pet Poison Helpline (http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/blog/essential-oils-cats/) are drooling, vomiting, tremors, ataxia(wobbliness), respiratory distress, low heart rate, low body temperature, and liver failure. Cats showing these symptoms should be moved immediately to fresh air, and seek emergency veterinary care if they don’t quickly resolve.
I am sure this will be a hot topic for some time since so many pet parents are using essential oils at home for their own health, so we should be careful around cats. I currently recommend not using them topically or orally in cats, using care when handling cats after application of EO on your skin, avoiding the nebulizing diffusers, and choosing the passive diffusers instead. We also need better reporting of suspected toxicity just like we do with prescription drugs, diets, and household chemicals like rodenticides. It would also be great to have some evidence-based university sponsored research for efficacy and safety of common essential oil products, not just testimonials.
Stay tuned. Essential oils will be a topic I actively follow.

https://www.today.com/pets/essential-oils-danger-cats-warning-signs-look-t121300
https://www.snopes.com/are-essential-oils-poisonous-to-cats/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
http://www.animaleo.info/

#42 Lewisville Animal Service and dog park updates- Jan 18, 2018

Gene Carey Lewisville Animal Shelter and Adoption Center

I reached out to the staff at the recently renamed Gene Carey Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, aka the Lewisville Animal Shelter. They had reached capacity a few weeks ago for large dogs, and put a notice out on Facebook. Fortunately, they were able to reach out to the SPCA and placed 11 large dogs and now aren’t at capacity anymore.
The volunteer program is up and running, accepting new applications. They even accept teenagers 16-18 years old. You must complete an online application, and the next orientation is in February. Volunteers help with many day to day operations, including hands on animal experience. The popular “jog a dog” has been restructured, and is now tier based.
For more information- https://www.cityoflewisville.com/about-us/city-services/animal-services/volunteer-with-animal-services
They also accept donations, including cash, treats and blankets.
The Dog Park at Railroad Park is still open despite the freezing weather. They have no updates. It should be a marvelous weekend to be outside after all the cold weather. It is open daily from 8 am until 10pm during the winter.
For more information– https://www.cityoflewisville.com/about-us/city-departments/parks-recreation/park-listings/dog-park

#40 The Big Chill – Jan 4, 2018

We have all hopefully survived the 80 hours of below freezing temperatures. At least there wasn’t any measurable ice or snow with it. But it was a wakeup call to remind us to be prepared.
I like to tell the story of a former nurse who lived very close by, drove a small sports car, and had a large Great Dane that came to work every day. She seldom wore a coat even in cold weather, because “she lived so close”. And she didn’t travel with a leash because the dog was well trained. Well, one day we had freezing rain that turned to ice right at sundown, and she slid off Garden Ridge into a field while driving home. Her phone battery was dead, so she couldn’t call for help. Fortunately, one of our clients recognized her standing by her car without a coat, with her dog, got her out of cold, allowed her huge 150# dog in her car, and let her use her phone to call for help. Every year after that when we would talk about weather preparedness, we had that employee remind us all to carry a coat & leash, keep your phone charged. And maybe carry a bag of cat litter in the trunk to sprinkle if your tires need traction on ice.
Another common problem I see as a vet AFTER a spell of cold or rainy weather is dogs with urinary tract infections or constipation. Many dogs simply don’t want to “go” outside then, retain urine & feces longer than normal, and can set themselves up for problems. The solution is to encourage your dog to go outside anyway, even if that means going with them, carrying an umbrella, wrapping them in a blanket, taking them for a short walk, whatever it takes to make sure they eliminate urine & feces regularly.
If we have more icy weather, the last reminder is to make sure you are stocked up on your pet’s special foods and medicines. I don’t want Fluffy to run out of heart medicines, or Fido to be out of special kidney diets.
In the event of icy weather, I can’t guarantee we will open at 7:30 AM, or stay open until 6 PM. I insist my staff be safe. We want you to be safe too. In years past, there have been a few days when we opened at 9, or closed early at 5 due to weather conditions, but we try to alert all owners that have pets here or appointments if special circumstances arrive, just like the schools do. We actually watch the school districts decision to help make ours.
Watch the weather, and be safe out there.

#41 Texas laws on Rabies Vaccination

I received an email from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services with an informational guide to rabies vaccination for dogs and cats. The laws aren’t new but the guide brings clarity.
All dogs and cats in Texas must be vaccinated for rabies by 16 weeks of age by or under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian using a vaccine licensed by the USDA. The vaccine must be approved for that species, and given after the minimum age requirement and by the right route of administration. There are no exemptions to this requirement, even for medical reasons or by demonstrating measurable rabies antibody titers.
Animals should be boosted according to the recommended interval as established by the manufacturer, unless limited by local ordinances. Most rabies vaccines are boosted one or three year intervals. For a USDA licensed triennial (3 year) vaccine, the typical interval is booster 1 year after initial vaccination, and then every 3 years. For a 1 year vaccine, boosters are given annually. As far as I know, all the local cities and counties recognize the 3 year vaccine interval.
So what is the minimum age for dogs and cats? This is usually regarded as 12 weeks. So the sweet spot is to vaccinate for rabies between 12-16 weeks of age.
What vaccines does Garden Ridge Animal Hospital use? For dogs, I use Defensor 3 by Zoetis, approved for dogs, cats, and ferrets, has a 3 year label, and have use it for over 20 year with no problems. But for cats, I currently use Purevax Feline Rabies by Merial  since it is adjuvant free, but it only has a 1 year label. The non- adjuvant vaccine is recommended to reduce inflammation at injection site and prevent injection site sarcomas. No one wants their cat to get cancer because of a vaccine, but it can rarely happen. For ferrets, the Defensor 3 is approved with annual boosters.
What about very old pets or “inside only” cats? The law is clear that they must be vaccinated, and stay vaccinated. Realistically, an inside only cat isn’t going to spontaneously get rabies, but if they bite or scratch a human a series of events will happen that puts your unvaccinated cat in rabies quarantine, usually as a shelter. If a vaccinated pet bites a human, the quarantine time can often be served at home. All rabies vaccines are killed, dead, not alive. They seldom make pets even run a fever. The human rabies vaccine that I take is so safe I could get boosted even when I was pregnant. ( Yes, vets are vaccinated against rabies)
What if my pet was vaccinated over 3 years ago, and overdue a booster? Upon receiving a single dose of vaccine, they will be considered current, and assigned the maximum vaccination interval based on the license of the vaccine.
Why does the state care about rabies vaccination and no other diseases like parvo and distemper? Rabies affects humans, is 99.9% fatal, no cure, and the other diseases don’t. We vaccinate pets to protect humans.
For more information= https://www.tvma.org/Portals/0/Images/gr-18-rabies-guidance-DSHS.pdf?utm_source=Texas+Veterinary+Medical+Association&utm_campaign=e85243eed3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f14b6b00de-e85243eed3-140684925 Continue reading “#41 Texas laws on Rabies Vaccination”