How to "Cat"ify Your Home

Cats are interesting and social creatures but they love to have their own space.  You can bring out your cats personality and help them have happier lives by making a few simple changes in your home.

1.  Provide lots of resting spaces

We all know cats love to nap, but what they love even more is to nap in a comfortable secure place.  Giving them a special bed with sides and is elevated off the floor is sure to make your cat purr with delight.  This can be as simple as a cardboard box with a fleece blanket, a cat carrier with the top taking off or as fancy as a cat tree with multiple resting spaces.  Be sure to provide one space for each cat in the home and remember to think vertically!

2.  Provide a food and water bowl for each cat

Cats are social and will sometimes enjoy spending time with their friends, but they really like to have their own stuff.  Imagine if you had to share your plate or water glasses with someone else in your home!  It is just an unpleasant for your cat as you can imagine it would be for you and can set your cats up to compete with each other or block access to food or water from each other.

3.  Provide a bathroom for each cat in the house plus one

Again cats don’t like to share their stuff and the bathroom is something they would prefer to have to themselves.  Having a litterbox for each cat in the home plus one extra means the chances of a cat making their own bathroom some place you find unpleasant less likely

4.  Scratching Posts

Cats need to scratch it is their way of leaving post its to let the other cats in the home know what is going on.  If you provide your cats with a centrally located message board that is appealing in a few areas around the house they will be less likely to turn your sofa or favorite chair into one.

5.  Feliway

All cats experience some stressors in life just as we do.  The problem is often times it is hard for us to identify what is upsetting them and many times they are upset by the tiniest things.  To decrease your cats ups and downs in life we can remove what stresses them if we can identify it OR we can use a little plug in that gives off a happy cat scent.  Feliway is a great product and can help to make your home a happier place for your cat.

Article written by:

Lorene Rockwell, DVM

Formerly of Wolf Merrick Animal Hospital

Happy Halloween! Let's Have a Fun and Safe Time!

In my home, Halloween marks the beginning of the high calorie festivities season.  Costume dreams and candy-fetching master plans are at the forefront of the minds of most children, including my own.  It is a fun day for people of all ages, but for our pets, it can be a far different experience.  With some simple precautions, you can make this a much easier day for your pet. 

• Even for an easy going pet, the visiting trick-or-treater’s can be stressful.  Children are noisy and fast moving already, but in a costume and well “sugared”, kids can be terrifying to some pets.  Pets should be kept indoors and may feel more secure in their own space away from the chaos.  If needed, your veterinarian has calming pheromone diffusers that help alleviate anxiety in cats or dogs. 
• The frequent opening and closing of the door offers opportunity for escape.  Be sure your pet is well identified with a collar and tags at minimum.  A microchip affords permanent identification.  Having your pet stay in their own secure space or at least on a leash will lessen the possibility of escape. 
• Burning candles in Jack-o-Lanterns pose a burn risk and fire hazard.  There are plenty of candle-like options available that do not have an active flame. 
• Candy will make your pet sick.  Most people are well aware of the dangers of a pet eating chocolate.  Fewer people know about xylitol, an artificial sweetener found in more and more “sugarless” products, especially gum.  In dogs, a xylitol overdose causes a dangerous drop of the blood sugar as well as liver failure.  Ingestion requires immediate treatment.  Toxicity issues aside, the sugar, wrappers, sticks or plastic parts of candy will cause significant gastrointestinal upset or even obstruction. 
• As cute as pet Halloween costumes are, be sure they are comfortable and fit appropriately.  The pet should be able to freely move and eliminate.  Be aware of small parts on any costume that could be removed and eaten.

So, plan the costumes and treats for your neighbors, friends, and family, but remember to keep your pets safe and secure on Halloween night! 

And - if you haven't already - make sure to enter our Halloween Pet Costume Contest on Facebook for your chance to WIN $100 in hospital credit! See below for information on how to enter. (Again, please make sure these costumes are comfortable and safe for you pet.) Good luck! 

article written by:

Dr. Laura Rau-Holl

Wolf Merrick Animal Hospital, Kenosha, WI

Ultrasound

Ultrasonography is an important medical imaging technique used in humans and pets alike.  Companion Animal Hospital is happy to provide this imaging option as it plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of many medical conditions.  Ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves and their echoes. The technique is similar to the echolocation used by bats, whales and dolphins, as well as SONAR used by submarines. 

An ultrasound exam is a way of looking inside your pet’s body (liver, kidneys, and intestines) without having to perform surgery.  The ultrasound machine transmits high-frequency (1 to 5 megahertz) sound pulses into your pet’s body using a probe.  As these sound waves travel through the body, they hit a boundaries between tissues (for example boundaries between fluid and soft tissue, soft tissue and bone).  When hitting these boundaries, some sound waves are immediately reflected back to the probe, while others travel on further until they reach another boundary and get reflected.  These reflected waves are sensed by the probe and this information is sent to the machine.  The machine calculates the distance from the probe to the tissue or organ (boundaries) using the speed of sound in tissue and the time of the each echo’s return.  The machine’s screen uses this information to form a two dimensional picture your veterinarian has been trained to interpret.   

                

Ultrasound is a valuable diagnostic tool in veterinary practice.  It does a great job of evaluating tissue architecture.  Loss of normal tissue architecture is seen in many diseases, most notably cancer.  Other examples of when ultrasound is used in veterinary medicine include:

• Early diagnosis of pregnancy
• Diagnosis of bladder or kidney stones- even those that can’t be seen on radiographs (x-rays)
• Measuring thickness of organs such as intestines and the bladder
• Echocardiography is ultrasound of the heart and is extremely important in the diagnosis of heart disease.  Recommendations for treatment are heavily based on the ultrasound findings.
• Color Doppler can be used to look at blood flow to different organs in the body.

Ultrasonography is an important part of the diagnosis of many conditions we see in pets.  Please let us know if you have any questions about this imaging modality.  We would be happy to discuss its benefits and whether it may be right for your pet!

article written by:

Derek Williamson, DVM

Companion Animal Hospital Vernon Hills and Crawford Animal Hospital