A Domestic Dog Virus Takes Out A Rare Cat

I hate to have report stuff like this but at the same time, I feel like the world "at-large" has no idea about what our wild cat population faces. This includes many small, unknown cat species.  In this case, it involves a subspecies of our Siberian Tiger, an already endangered cat. 

Mystery Tiger Deaths Solved: Canine Distemper Plagues Siberian Tigers

By John R. Platt | October 11, 2011 | 1

In June 2010, an emaciated and disorientated female Amur tiger(Panthera tigris altaica) named Galia wandered into the Russian town of Terney seeking any prey she was still strong enough to kill. Authorities were forced to put her down, a sad day for a subspecies that numbers maybe 250 to 300 animals in the wild.

The story got worse as all three of Galia’s 3-week-old cubs were also found nearby, dead, their bellies empty.

Galia was the fourth similar death of a radio-collared Amur (or Siberian) tiger in the 10 months leading up to her shooting. At the time, there was no indication of what caused the tigers’ illness, and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which has been heavily involved in Amur tiger conservation, voiced fears of a mystery illness, possibly an epidemic spreading through the species.

Now, thanks to a cross-continental team of experts from the WCS and Russian health and veterinary organizations, we have an answer: Galia was infected with canine distemper, a viral disease which causes fever, diarrhea, labored breathing, dehydration and seizures, among other symptoms. It is usually fatal in the wild. The virus likely left Galia too weak to hunt, either for herself or for her young, and she probably entered the village looking for domesticated dogs, which would be easier to kill than wild game. The team presented their findings in September at a Russian symposium on wildlife diseases.

The Rest of It is Here!

"It's Our Cat, You Know..What's His Name?"

These were the words I heard uttered today that had me LMAO.


Let me back up a bit and first tell you that this blog is not about veterinary medicine. It does involve some felines connected to football. I figured it was at least an animal related topic.


Hint:

I went to see Purdue lose a heartbreaker of a game at Beaver Stadium today to PSU. Well, it WAS their homecoming weekend, so being the magnanimous mid-westerners they are, Purdue decided to give the game away by leaving 6 points on the field (one missed extra point, a missed 2 pt conversion and a missed FG) - not to mention a few other mistakes. 


I sat in front of two ladies, who while they were a bit obnoxious, were nice and harmless. What they said throughout the game was funny. At least I was laughing at something. Sometimes watching my Boilers shoot themselves in the foot gets painful. Yes, I am used to it but it still hurts. There's nothing worse than a glimmer of hope smashed! 


Near the end of the game, I hear them talking and one says to the other: "What is that they are passing around over there?"


Lady2: "I don't know"


Lady 1: "It's our cat...you know, what's it's name, what is it?"


I turn to her and go "You mean the Nittany Lion? Your mascot?"


Now mind you, I had already heard several times how they've been coming to games and watching games for 30 years. I don't know if they are PSU grads (I can imagine the PSU grads that read this will cringe if they are) or their husbands are (they were sitting next to them), but even if you don't watch much of the game, after 30 years, you think you'd pick up a few basics.  


They laughed at my answer and said "Yeah yeah, lion, tiger, whatever, it's a kitty, we like cats."


I said, "Well, it's a bit different than an Auburn Tiger or a Bayou Bengal" (I'm sure those references are lost on them)


Then they go "Well it's got fangs, so" and "Do you think he's neutered?"


I replied quickly "Yes, he is. I am a veterinarian and I neutered him a few years ago." LOL. They laughed at that. 


But let me tell you a few other things they said so you get a clearer picture
1. They thought for the longest time, until recently, that the same guys went on the field (ie, didn't realize there was an offense and a defense)
2. They didn't get how on TV the yellow line moved and today they couldn't keep track of where they needed to move the ball because there was no yellow line.
3. When the teams first came out, they had trouble differentiating their uniforms (PSU - white and blue, Purdue - gold and black w/white) 


I am NOT kidding on any of this. And they didn't seem to be drunk or intoxicated at all.  Though they felt they could keep track of the name "Boilermaker" a lot easier - because of the drink. Hmmm..


But no, I think they are really THAT smart.


They did like my black and gold nails and helped me find the closest ladies room to our seats.  Like I said, they were nice but they reminded me of the male version of the two old men in the balcony on the Muppets.  


I'd love to be there with them when Northwestern comes to town. 

Of Course - It's About My Favorite Cat

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Two male snow leopard cubs at the Philadelphia Zoo have undergone surgery to correct eyelid abnormalities, zoo officials said.


The male cubs, Kimti and Dian, were born with the center of each upper eyelid missing, allowing the eyes to become irritated.


The condition known as coloboma is seen in humans and animals including domestic short-haired cats, Florida panthers and snow leopards, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Thursday.


If doctors didn't operate, Zoo veterinarian Keith Hinshaw said, the rare cats' eyes would remain sensitive and susceptible to infection.


"The surgery went perfectly," University of Pennsylvania veterinary ophthalmologist Andras M. Komaromy said. "But we know this is not the end yet."


Zoo staff said they would be carefully monitoring the cubs to ensure a successful recovery from the Tuesday surgeries.


On Wednesday Kimti and Dian were squinting a bit, as expected, but were eating well and appeared happy, zoo officials said.




Snow Leopard Cubs Get Eye Surgery

True Love for A Pet

PETS: Success Story: Family chooses to give Nini the 17-year-old cat one more wonderful summer

Posted: Tue, Oct 11, 2011 : 8:15 p.m.

By Ann Arbor Hospital

End of life decisions are, sadly, a part of owning a pet. To euthanize or not to euthanize due to medical problems, quality of life, and (unfortunately) the cost of extreme medical care are all issues which must be weighed by responsible pet owners. Also, whether an owner decides to euthanize a beloved pet or opt for medical care, we should be careful not judge them for the choices they make.

In an ongoing series regarding end of life decisions, we will be discussing individual cases that will include success stories, some examples of grieving families who made a compassionate decision to euthanize, as well as ways many have come to terms with the loss of a beloved pet. It is our hope that there are lessons we can learn about the importance of pets in our lives, as well as ways we can nurture the animals we love, whether it be extensive medical intervention or a compassionate and caring end in the arms of someone who loved them.

This is the story of a family that went to extreme measures to extend the life of their beloved pet. For them, it was just not yet time for her to go. Although they recognize they extended their cat’s life for a short period of time (after all, Nini was more than 17 years old), they opted for a surgical removal of a tumor to improve quality of life, if even temporarily.

Cat Survives after Liver Surgery

When Bad Things Bring Out The Best

Today I am not blogging about a specific animal, medical condition, surgical procedure, cool news story or some weird case that I saw. 


I just want to say that, very often, a small animal hospital runs like a soap opera. There is often a lot of drama, gossip and sometimes turnover in these places. I've seen it in every single one that I have worked at. 


However, recent events have shown me another side to this business. Some very upsetting, dramatic, horrible things happened (on purpose) to a practice owner, an wonderful human being and excellent veterinarian. This person did not let it get her down and drew on her own faith and the rest of us, to keep things going. 


We were a close group before - had fun, did our jobs to the best of our abilities, put the animals and clients first - but sometimes it isn't until you are truly tested that you see what people are made of.  I am impressed and touched to see this group of people stand behind someone and the business. And you know what?  We still managed to have fun, smile and laugh. Even the person most hurt by this. Sometimes when someone does something to another person with ill intent, they do not realize that it only makes the person stronger! 

Cat Dies From Peritonitis: Owner Demands $125,00

Dr. C was presented with a cat for lameness. The owner believed the cat had jumped from a height of approximately 15 feet and hit its shoulder on a table. Dr. C took radiographs of the cat's leg and found no visible fractures. Dr. C treated the shoulder as a soft tissue injury and administered pain medication. About a week later, the cat's condition declined. The owner presented the cat to another veterinarian, who diagnosed the cat with a fractured leg and a torn GI tract. The cat developed peritonitis from the GI tear and died. The owner demanded financial compensation.


Dr. C filed a report of claim, and the PLIT-sponsored insurance carrier investigated the case. Dr. C provided a report from a board-certified radiologist stating that Dr. C's radiographs did not indicate a scapular fracture and the the likely cause of the cat's lameness was a soft-tissue injury. After reviewing the medical records, Dr. C's insurance carrier explained to the owner that the evidence failed to prove veterinary malpractice and that Dr. C was not liable for the cat's death. The owner responded with an opposing opinion from another board-certified radiologist. Dr. C's insurance carrier reviewed the expert opinion but upheld its liability position based on these facts: Dr. C's radiographs did not reveal a scapular fracture, and when Dr. C examined the cat, it did not exhibit any signs of intestinal damage or abdominal pain; therefore, there was no indication to pursue additional radiographs or diagnostics at that time.


The owner filed a lawsuit against Dr. C for $125,000. The insurance carrier secured legal defense for Dr. C. The case and legal proceedings laster more than two years - the owner's attorney continued to make the case complex and employed tactics such as submitting a 92-page amended complaint, demanding a new judge, and filing a civil complaint against Dr. C's insurance carrier with the state department of financial services. The owner later reduced the demand to $75,000. The insurance carrier upheld its liability position, and Dr. C's attorney continued with the case discovery, expert testimony, and trial preparation. Before the case presented in court, the owner offered to dismiss the lawsuit against Dr. C in exchange for $1,000. Dr. C agreed to this settlement and personally paid the expense (because Dr. C did not consent to settlement under the malpractice policy). The suit was dismissed with prejudice which means the owner is barred from bringing an action against Dr. C on the same claim. 


Legal fees paid for by the insurance carrier to defend Dr. C totaled $92,895.


This is a classic example of how what we see on day 1 can be totally different than what we or someone else sees on day 5.
This is exactly why in vet school they told us to never be so quick to judge what another vet saw/did at THAT time. Each time we see a patient, it is simply a snapshot in time. Things change by the minute. I could easily see this type of thing happening. It happens all the time: kitty does something in or out and injures a leg - nothing major, the cat seems fine, so we send it home on pain meds,etc. AT that time, on the physical exam, there is NO reason to think anything else. But boom, a few days or a week later, something finally shows itself. 


This is why I stress to owners that when I want to do bloodwork a month, heck, even a day later, it's not because I want to make more money off of them. It's because I have literally seen a dog go from normal Sept 1 to diabetic Oct 1. I have seen blood work be good Monday and totally bad on Tuesday.  


This person has no clue about any of this and cost the vet and the insurance company and the lawyers countless hours and a pretty decent dollar amount to boot - not to mention the stress it put that vet under.

Who Knew??

...that a Moray Eel could have a slipped disc?? This is a very cool story!

Veterinarians look to canine world to help injured eel 

Of Eels and Wiener Dogs

by Paul Bowers

The team of veterinarians at the Charleston Veterinary Referral Center doesn't see a lot of eels. So when Dr. Jason King deduced that a green moray eel from the South Carolina Aquarium had a slipped invertebral disc, he drew on his knowledge of house pets.

"We see it fairly often in dachshunds," says King, a neurologist at the 24-hour clinic who saw the six-foot-long patient on Sept. 22. In both eels and wiener dogs, he reasoned, an out-of-place disk can pinch nerves in the spine and lead to weakness or even paralysis. Jason Cassell, an aquarist at the S.C. Aquarium who is in charge of day-to-day care for the snakelike creature, had been the first to notice problems. He says he has never named the fish (only the more popular animals get nicknames) and does not know whether it is male or female (eels have no external sex organs), but in conversation he refers to it as a male.

"His posture was different from how he normally sits," Cassell says. Ordinarily, the eel could often be seen at the bottom of the Great Ocean tank with its back half resting in the gravel and its front half elevated. But starting in September, it became less active and tended to contort itself sideways at a 90-degree angle. It also had a hard time turning right.

Read more and see an eel about to go into a CT scanner

The Oryx

Never heard of this creature before? 

They are another type of hoofstock - a medium size antelope in the bovidae family (think cows.) Here's a nice story about them coming back from the brink of extinction. I recall seeing them at the Phoenix Zoo approximately 14 years ago.  


Check it out: Phoenix Zoo

Senior Pets: Don't Miss the Signs!

The other day I saw a 16 yr old cat who hadn't been to the vet since ???  What I find frustrating is why owner's wait. I honestly think in this case, it was simply that she didn't understand the signs to watch for in an older pet. I think many pet owners see changes as due to normal aging, when in fact, they can be signs that the animal needs to be brought in to see us. 


This cat was brought in because for the previous 2 days, she had been walking around crying. On her exam, I found her to be quite thin and very dehydrated. After questioning the owner, we found out the cat had been drinking a lot for a few months and had lost weight at the owner's observation.


The top three differential diagnoses on this patient are:
1. Chronic renal failure
2. Diabetes mellitus
3. Hyperthyroidism


These are the top 3 things we see in our older feline population. 2 and 3 we can manage with medication and diet. The first one is a bit tougher and carries a much poorer prognosis.


Our kitty has 1. I believe the owner will be bringing her in soon to have her euthanized. 


Now had she brought her in sooner could we have saved her from renal failure? Ultimately no. BUT, if we had detected it earlier we have been able to do some dietary and supplemental interventions to delay the onset.


My continual goal is to get the word out to pet owners that senior pets need an exam EVERY 6 months. We need to start getting a baseline blood panel on these guys at least 7 years of age (with dogs, breed dependent - could be younger for the GIANT breeds who only live to 8 or 9 yrs.)

This Is Why I Love Surgery Days!

A 12 year old cat was seen by one of the owners of the practice on Friday for a MONTH long duration of purulent (aka pus-sy - see how that gets us into trouble and especially in this case..) vaginal discharge. Oh and she was NOT spayed. I have no idea why not! 


A radiograph revealed a mass like lesion mid-abdomen but given her history and signs we diagnosed her (most likely cause) with a pyometra, or infected uterus - generally filled with pus. The only reason she wasn't severely ill was because she had an "open" pyo. Dogs and cats with a "closed" pyo go downhill pretty quickly because the cervix is closed, keeping the infection trapped inside and quickly leading to sepsis. 


She was sent home on antibiotics and scheduled for surgery with me today. She had blood work that showed what we expected - an elevated white blood cell count and anemia.


The thing with pyometras is that typically the entire uterus is filled with fluid or pus. It sometimes is segmented but not so isolated as it was in this cat.  


Below are some photos of this cat:

A very unusual presentation. That large round "mass" was also adhered to tissue inside the cat's abdomen.
(NOTE for certain MD's out there: This cat never had surgery but had adhesions...gee, an inflammed organ will cause that!)

FYI, I love pus so I had to cut into this and see what was inside it

I was glad I did because as it turned out, it was more of a solid mass than is normal so we took a section to send out to the pathologist.  

Stay tuned for the results. I'll post them when they come in!


Her prognosis right now is good. If this comes back as some type of malignant tumor, most likely it will be a type that doesn't spread to other parts of the body and her ovariohysterectomy should be curative! 

A Cat I Can Relate To

A very sweet  9 year old spayed female Oriental Shorthair was seen by a colleague at the practice in June for an upper respiratory infection. She was rescued only a few years ago by a nice couple, who are excellent pet owners. Some cats have chronic nasal discharge from infections when they were young kittens. This seems to happen more in the cats that have spent some time in shelters. 

I saw her about 3 weeks later because she wasn't improving on the antibiotics.  She also had an ear infection. We put her on ear meds and switched the oral antibiotic. Blood work done on her that day was non-remarkable (this included a complete blood cell count, chemistry panel - liver, kidney, pancreatic, etc values , and a thyroid test). The only "blip" was an elevation in her amylase, which we most often associate with the pancreas but it is not exclusively produced by it.  

She came back in another 3 weeks and was seen by one of the owners of the practice. This time her ear problem had worsened, so she was sedated and  found to have a ruptured ear drum.  She was given a steroid injection locally in the swollen ear tissue and the owner was told to discontinue the topical meds until we could re-exam her.

I saw her for a recheck in another 2 weeks and she was doing great! She was feeling better and her ear was on the mend.

In another 2 weeks, she came back because she was not doing well but in a different way. She wouldn't eat and was lethargic. She was 7lbs 4oz when this first started. On this date she was now 1 lb lighter. This is NOT good for a cat - think about the percentage of weight loss that this represents.

We put her on an appetite stimulant and ran some additional blood work. Again, nothing major going on there. Her Amylase was elevated a bit more than previously. As as side note, her lipase was never elevated AND these are both not often even elevated in cats with raging pancreatitis! 

We spoke with the owner a few days later who felt she was not doing better AND they had trouble giving her the appetite stimulant (it's a pill). She came back the next day for a "touch" of IV valium (a wonderful magical instantaneous appetite stimulant in cats), fluids and an lateral abdominal radiograph. Just know that her abdomen palpated normally and wasn't really painful. Below is the xray:

I was VERY surprised by this. In 13+years of practice I have never seen anything like this. It had to be her gallbladder (her stomach has gas in it - black - seen just behind the bright white defined "mass"). The only other thing possible would be some sort of calcified mass in her liver but I took another view (with kitty on her back) and confirmed it was her gallbladder.   


It looked like someone had injected contrast into her gallbladder versus stones. Weird and very interesting! She needed an abdominal ultrasound to get more info on what exactly was going on here, but the vet that does those was out that day. We put her on a different antibiotic (one we use for liver and GI issues).  A few days later she did get the ultrasound and they found a shadow in that area (usually indicative of a stone) and bile duct distension. 


We referred her to a surgeon in the Lehigh Valley.  We all thought they'd take her gallbladder out but they did not. They didn't find any stones, just a lot of sludge in her gallbladder and a blocked common bile duct, which they flushed and unblocked. They elected to not remove her GB because they said it appeared healthy otherwise. They did do cultures of it and also found a small pancreatic nodule that they biopsied. They also biopsied her liver but everything else appeared normal.


The pathology on all these samples did not show any cancer and her gallbladder was simply "chronic cholecystitis." They did say she could potentially have future episodes. Cats can have cholangiohepatitis (GB and liver inflammation) for various reasons, so we will be monitoring her closely. 


There are several comments I'd like to make on this case:


1. The upper respiratory and ear issue had nothing to do with her gallbladder issue but she was in and out of the practice a lot over the summer. That happens in veterinary medicine. Fortunately these pet owners didn't try to link it all together as some do. Many times what we see are coincidental issues or 2 or 3 problems in the same patient.  None of the medications she was ever put on would cause this to happen and it was likely happening for quite a while before we even saw her for her "cold."


2. These owners are very dedicated. All of this did cost them a lot of money. So what if they couldn't go forward? In some cases, we can do things in general practice, like offer to do a procedure we may not have as much or any experience on for a much reduced cost as long as the owner is made FULLY aware of that and I'd say (in this day and age) signs a consent saying such. I would've done it for them. Since we have specialists nearby, we have to always offer referral. Back in the day (and I see this as both a good and bad thing) we just had to do it ourselves - figure it out, be creative, etc. 


3. This cat's blood work was normal. You'd be amazed at how many times blood work is normal and something BAD is going on. This is why we recommend further diagnostics. But some of us do know that even then if things are normal, something could still be wrong!  


4. I KNOW how it felt when I had this issue for 6 months! I wonder what SHE was feeling and too bad she couldn't tell us! But hey, at least she didn't have to go through 6 months of pain . THIS part of her medical history started on 8/11/2011. Her surgery was on 8/23/2011!! I think she wouldn't have lasted too much longer anyhow, because eventually she would've gone off food and become icteric (yellow)...there's a saying in vet medicine "Yellow cat, dead cat" and it is usually true.


5. Even though cholangiohepatitis is common in cats (often as part of what we call triad diease - the other two being pancreatitis and inflammatory bowel disease), THIS radiograph is NOT how it usually appears. In fact, they are usually completely normal!  It's usually found by doing blood work and abdominal ultrasonography +/- biopsies. 

Wow

I apologize to my readers that this is another brief one (and that I was off my game a bit this week with posting) but I have to go watch Purdue (my veterinary school) beat Nothing Dumber..aka Notre Dame (sorry but I HATE them..am sick of the "entitled" attitude..they SHOULD win all the time, they get televised all the time, oh and they don't have to be in a conference but get an automatic BCS bid..AND the fans that never even really went there b/c of the "legacy" and "history" blah blah). For the record, my dad is a fan of ND (something about the Catholic thing - granted Italian and NOT Irish- and back in the day, there was discrimination, etc) but for him, Penn State comes first. Still, he knows where I stand and in fact, since his only child went to Purdue, will root for them against any team but PSU. 


In case you can't tell, I am passionate about college football. Purdue and the Univ of Delaware ( in 1-AA, which has a real playoff system) are my teams!


BUT I do have an animal story - more detailed and educational posts are upcoming, I promise!


This is another one of those amazing stories with a radiograph that will likely be shown for years to come and entered into "the most interesting things dogs eat" competitions put on by some of the vet magazines. Check it out!

What Will It Turn Out To Be?

A few months ago, I discussed a case where a pet owner thought their dog "tore a toe nail off" and that's why his foot was bleeding. Early into the exam, I knew this was NOT the problem.

It was clear this 12 yr old mixed large breed dog most likely had a cancerous growth of the toe. The only potential cure would be to amputate that digit (the dog would be fine without this toe). I say potential because there are some types of growths that have a higher potential to spread (or metastasize) to other parts of the body. We just won't know until the pathology report comes back what we are dealing with here.

The dog finally came in for surgery today and this is a post op pic of the foot - minus one toe! 

It will probably take more than a week to get the pathology results back. I will post the final "answer" when I get it!

No Kill Lehigh Valley Needs A Few Things

I received this email and wanted to pass it on (mainly to my local readers) in case anyone could help out.

We are always coming up with new ideas for crafting things to sell at our events so we can earn money to help more animals. We NEVER EVER use any of our NKLV funds or donated money for this and our volunteers & board members always use our own money to do these things. In keeping with the committment to use ALL money directly for animal care it does get hard sometimes to keep doing this so..... we are asking around to see if anyone has any connections or can donate any of the following items:

Dawn dishwashing liquid

vinegar, glycerin

100% cotton fabric

dried catnip

craft pillows (the kind you make your own covers for)

those fuzzy throws you can usually find in drugstores for a few bucks

ink for cannon pixma printer

white t-shirt transfers

wool for knitting color doesn't matter

printer paper

card stock printer paper

Cat/dog toys or treats

 felt christmas stockings

If you can help with any of this or have any connections to this, please let me know at ramona29@rcn.com and thank you!!!

Ramona

Dog Flu Season?

I don't think there really is a "season" to the dog flu. Canine influenza, H3N8, is a highly contagious viral disease, like our own versions of human influenza. However, it seems to pop up sporadically in "outbreaks" throughout the year. It is highly contagious and spread by respiratory secretions, including from dogs who are apparently healthy.


There is a very good vaccine for this disease that we in the veterinary field term a "lifestyle" vaccine. If your dog literally NEVER leaves your house, you probably don't need to worry about it. However, you can even get it at (dare I say it) your vet's office. Sure, if someone brings a sick patient in, they could be spreading viral particles throughout the air. Do NOT use that as an excuse to avoid regular veterinary visits. Trust me, we go out of our way to isolate these patients and keep them away from healthy animals. However, the point is, if your pet goes to a groomer, a daycare, a dog park and other such places, they are at risk.  


Since most dogs do NOT have natural immunity to this virus, they can be at risk of serious infection. Signs include lethargy, fever and nasal discharge. This can be a fatal disease, especially if leads to pneumonia, so it is not something to take lightly. 


Is there harm in vaccinating? Not in my opinion or experience. Any vaccine can cause a vaccine reaction. I have NOT seen this with this particular vaccine. I vaccinate my own dog, annually (as per the recommendation), against this disease.


Canine influenza is NOT transmissible to other species!

Fun at the Fun Dog Show

Someone I respect and cherish recently commented to me that last week's posts were a bit depressing. I don't look at the week as a whole like that too much. Each day is so totally different than then next when you are in veterinary medicine. However, I will be a bit more aware and try to intersperse the sad stuff with some good things too. It seems the sad stuff is where we and you can learn the most.  

In any case, today I went to an event called Melon's Gift Fun Dog Show. It is an event that has gone on for the past 7 years and was inspired by one lady's survival of breast cancer, her dog and her wish to do good with her time.  This is a fundraising event for breast and other cancers. And it's a ton of fun. A great day out for the dogs too. There are all sorts of cool categories such as: 

	Dog with the wiggliest butt
	Dog with the most expressive eyes
	Dog most in need of a bib
	Dog/owner look alike
	Fancy Dress
	Dog with the most expressive ears
	Best smile
	Best kisser I went along with my dog and my boss's dog and we just had a nice day out. Of course, it was a bit humid but the social time was good for human and canine alike! Amazingly, though there were dogs of all sizes, ages and breeds, everyone got along great...hmm..a lesson we humans could learn, right?