Covid-19 A Veterinary Journal (6)

As we cruise into the middle of May, we find ourselves almost back to full strength, staff wise, at Crawford.  There are still challenges to face as New York prepares to move towards allowing certain businesses to start to open up.  Our goal and the goal of our upline management remains to maintain staff safety while meeting the needs of our patients and their owners.  I can’t lie, it has been a challenge for us and understandably a frustration for pet owners.  This past week saw two staff members return to work and one more announce her intention of returning in two weeks.  We hope to welcome Dr. Wu back from leave at the end of June.  As the staff ramps up, we are maintaining vigilance while keeping an eye forward to the time when we can be back to a full-service veterinary practice.

So, what are we doing to move towards that goal?  We have started to allow drop off appointments in addition to our curbside check in appointments.  This gives us greater flexibility to work in sick animals rather than sending them away to specialty practices when that is not indicated.  This allows the pets to be in a more familiar environment and helps contain costs.  We have been working with a new urgent care center in Carle Place for our after-hours emergencies when that is the appropriate level of care.  We have experimented with different schedules during the day to see what gives the best capacity to care for pets that need more immediate attention, while still providing the essential preventative care so that we don’t see sick puppies from inadequate immunization or a public health crises due to lapses in Rabies and Leptospirosis vaccinations.  We continue to dispense parasite control for both internal parasites as well as fleas and ticks. 

As I was out today (social distance running) I thought how thankful I am that so many of our clients are appreciative of the work that the doctors and staff are putting in to help care for the pets in our area.  I am also thankful for the support that we have received from our field supervisors and corporate managers.  Their compassion for your pets and our safety have really helped us to maintain a safe, effective, and professional environment at Crawford during this period of stressful crises.

Covid-19 A veterinary Journal (5)

What a lovely day today is.  The weather was perfect, and my team and I are off after a long two weeks.  The other team headed by Dr. Waters was on self-quarantine for 14 days, but today they are back, almost at full strength.  My team is off today and then we have a long weekend after one day back tomorrow.  Working with a reduced staff has been a real challenge for everyone, but I am happy to say that the Crawford team pulled together and we were able to take care of all essential health issues for our patients.

Going forward, we are getting ready for the changes that Governor Cuomo will propose next week and we will see how that impacts the services that we can offer.  We are hoping that we can start to once again offer routine preventive care in addition to essential veterinary services so that we can keep our furry friends healthy going forward.  While we do not see an imminent end to social distancing and curbside check ins, we are working on plans to improve on the efficiency of our processes and the effectiveness of our client communications so that we can serve the owners and pets of our community.

But back to today.  After a morning of errands, always stressful in this environment, Bella and I returned home.  I left her and I went for a run in the neighborhood.  It is easier to maintain distance here than many of the places that I like to run.  Not ¼ mile from my house I came upon a little Yorkie jogging towards me down the middle of the street.  Fortunately, there were no cars.  Also, fortunately, he was friendly and had tags with his name and phone number.  I called his owners and indeed, he had escaped when grand mom had come to help take care of the kids and left the door open.  I tucked him under my arm, continued on my run and dropped him off at home.  This just emphasizes the importance of watching out for our pets while our regular routines are disrupted.  It also shows the importance of proper ID for our pets in case they do get out.  Tags and microchips are the best combination for pet identification.  Maybe once restrictions are lifted, we can offer reduced pricing on microchips to pets that are not identified in this way.

In the meantime. 

Enjoy this weather and stay safe.

The Results Are In!

Our April 12th Free Pee Jubilee was a huge success! Thanks to all our clients who had the messy job of catching the urine, our staff for processing all those samples, and Stanley the Sedivue for analyzing all of them. Amidst the dozens of pee jokes all day, Stanley tested 58 samples of urine, which means we learned more about 58 dogs (sorry, nobody managed to collect any cat urine!) that day. By evaluating urine, we can screen for lots of diseases and possibly prevent some life threatening ones. Out of these 58 samples, we found abnormalities in 28 of them! We found 10 urinary tract infections, 10 with crystals, 9 with an abnormal pH. And, except for one known diabetic, all of those dogs were clinically normal; the owners were not expecting to hear anything was wrong with the urine.

This result surprised us as well and confirmed our belief that something as simple as a urine sample can give us so much insight into our pets' health. Since our pets are very good at hiding illness, we all learned that getting that small sample can help us provide better health care for our patients. So the next time we ask you to bring in a sample, please try to get one, it could make a huge difference to your pet!

Dr. Sandra Wu

Hyperthyroid Disease in Cats

Dr. Stephanie Waters

Have you noticed that your cat has a large appetite, but does not seem to be gaining any weight? Or maybe he/she has been drinking a lot and seems hyperactive or nervous. Changes in food or water intake, or increases in the amount of urine in the litter box, may be signs that your cat has elevated thyroid levels. Hyperthyroid disease is commonly found in cats greater than 8 years old but it can occur at any age.  The risk factors are not well defined but environmental chemicals found in the home may be the culprit.  Early disease may be hard to detect, but advanced cases of hyperthyroidism can cause heart and kidney disease.

Cats are masters of deception and often will hide the early signs of illness. Owners often struggle differentiating what is normal for their cat and what might be the early signs of disease.  Vomiting, (other than an occasional hair ball), decreased grooming activity, seeking cool places to sleep, as well as changes in appetite or litter box habits can be early signs of a serious problem. Changes in your cats’ routine can be the key to the early diagnosis of many treatable conditions such as Hyperthyroidism.  A simple lab test including a blood profile, CBC, and a urinalysis can differentiate between normal and abnormal conditions. By monitoring your cats blood work and giving a medication to decrease thyroid levels, your cat can be back to normal for the holidays! If you are concerned about taking your cat to the vet because they are fearful of the carrier or of the car ride, please call us ahead of time and we can talk about a low stress appointment or a house call!

 “How do I medicate my cat?”  Good question!

Luckily the medication needed for hyperthyroidism in cats comes in several compounded forms; small pills, capsules (that can be opened up on wet food), transdermal (liquid placed right in front of your cats ear) etc. Alternatively, we could discuss iodine-restricted diets as a first step, thyroidectomy (removing the thyroid) or radioactive iodine therapy (I-131 therapy) in order to eliminate clinical signs and keep your cat healthy and happy.

The thyroid gland controls all aspects of our pets’ metabolism. So, there is more to hyperthyroidism and the effects of this disease on other organ systems.  We will address some of these problems in future blog posts.  If you have questions about hyperthyroidism, you can message us at facebook.  If you are concerned about your cat’s thyroid levels, schedule an appointment for an examination and screening blood work.  Remember, we have cat only office hours on Thursday evenings.  No annoying barking dogs in the waiting room.

Fear Free Veterinary Care Helps Cats Get the Care They Deserve

CATS NEED TO GO TO THE VETERINARIAN

It is a sad state of affairs that most of the pet cats in this country do not receive adequate veterinary care.  Oh, I’m not necessarily saying that people don’t bring their cats to the veterinarian when they are sick; I’m saying that for many reasons, they do not bring them to the veterinarian before they are sick, when disease can be prevented. Wellness care and preventive medicine can improve the overall quality of life and increase the lifespan for our feline companions.  I’ve heard all sorts of excuses and I think this is a good place to start to address them.

My cat doesn’t go outside so it doesn’t need shots every year.  

This one is sort of true.  Indoor cats are at a lower risk of contracting infectious disease than cats that go outdoors.  Kittens that receive complete inoculation series and are boosted at a year of age probably have a good immunity to many viral diseases for several years.  We actually do not vaccinate adult cats against most diseases every year; rather we recommend that with the exception of rabies vaccination, adult cats should be given an FVRPC vaccine every three years.  Why?  Today’s scenario was an unvaccinated senior cat, living alone in a home with its owner until 4 days ago when she adopted a rescue cat from Florida. Now her older cat has potential disease exposure.  Or, last week’s case where I made a house call to a second floor apartment where the cats never went outside but the owner did some work with a cat rescue group.  Guess what?  She brought home a respiratory tract infection to her two pets.

We always had cats and they lived to be old and never got sick.  

That was true until they died of some illness.  30% of pet cats that die in the United States die of chronic kidney disease.  Now, coming to the veterinarian will not prevent renal disease, but early detection can slow the progression of this disease and increase your cat’s lifespan by years.  The same is true for diabetes, hyperthyroidism, dental disease, heart disease, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease; the list goes on and on.  Many chronic diseases that eventually lead to decrease vitality and early death in our pet cats can be treated, if not cured if detected early enough.

My cat hates going to the vet. 

This may be true but it is just an excuse, a barrier that owners create that prevents their pet from receiving the care it deserves.  If your cat is stressed by veterinary visits, just let us know.  Dr. Stephanie Waters is certified as a “Fear Free” veterinarian and she has brought many ideas to our practice that lessen the stress for both our feline and canine patients.  Medications can be given prior to the visit to reduce anxiety. Pheromone sprays can decrease stress, and treats in the office are always appreciated.  We now have soft, warm pads on the exam tables because we know that cats hate the cold stainless steel surface.  We have sheets in the waiting room if you think that covering your cat’s carrier will decrease stress.  We have office hours on Thursday evenings that are exclusively for cats, no barking dogs in the waiting room (except for emergencies).  If that isn’t enough to convince you that Crawford Dog and Cat Hospital is feline friendly, we make house calls.  Our doctors and staff will come to your home and examine your cat.  Just think all the benefits of proactive veterinary care on your very own couch.

Don’t let your anxiety, or your cat’s stress prevent you from doing what is best for your pet.  Wellness visits, routine blood work, and rational vaccination and parasite prevention can lengthen your pet’s life and keep your bond strong for years to come.