Signs your Cat may be Sick
~by Nomi Berger~ Has your puss-in-boots lost the spring in her step? Has he turned tail and taken off at your approach? Has she given her food a sudden “paws down”? Has the love light dimmed in his eyes Then, perhaps all’s not well in kitty town. The more attuned you are to your cat’s daily routines and behavior, the sooner you’ll notice even
Cherry Eye in Dogs
~by Nomi Berger~ The condition commonly called “cherry eye” occurs when a tear gland protrudes from your dog’s eye socket. Easily spotted, it appears as a pink or red mass bulging from the corner of the eye nearest your dog’s nose. It can affect either one or both eyes AND can be recurrent. Located underneath the nictitating membrane (known as the third eyelid) which
ADOPTING CATS WITH FIV
By Nomi Berger A cat diagnosed with the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) is still an ADOPTABLE cat. What, then, is FIV? FIV is a type of virus called a retrovirus. It is in the same family as feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS in people. It is a slow virus that attacks the immune system over
ADOPTING CATS WITH FELINE LEUKEMIA
By Nomi Berger A cat diagnosed with Feline Leukemia (FeLV) is still an ADOPTABLE cat. What, then, is FeLV? FeLV is a virus that weakens a cat’s immune system, predisposing it to certain infections, severe anemia, and potentially leading to cancer. Most at risk are kittens born to FeLV positive mothers, cats under the age of one, cats living with an infected cat, and
A CAT-PROOFED HOME IS A CAT-SAFE HOME
By Nomi Berger A cat-proofed home is a cat-safe home whether your new pet is a newborn kitten or a fully- grown cat. Before that first front paw crosses your threshold for the first time, your home must be a health zone, not a hazard zone. Be especially attentive to the sensibilities of former “outside” cats, who may never have walked on wooden floors,
Dental Care for Pets
by Nomi Berger Protect Your Pet: Provide Proper Dental Care Did you know that 80% of dogs and cats over the age of four have some form of dental disease? As with people, the main culprit is a build-up of plaque, which eventually hardens into tartar, leading to gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) and periodontal disease. The result? A bacterial invasion of the gums
Pet Alert: Tick Prevention for Dogs
By Nomi Berger With the arrival of summer in southern Ontario, comes the arrival of an annoying and possibly fatal pest: the tick. For the past 20 years, what was considered a nuisance found only in the wooded countryside and farthest reaches of the province, has been invading cities as large and diverse as Toronto. Now ticks can be as close as your neighbourhood