Meridian Park Veterinary Hospital

Molly - Labrador Retriever, 6 Years Old

While being chosen as the November Pet of the Month is an honor in itselt, Molly has also won a free nail trim AND a bag of treats!

Molly is a bouncy, lovable labrador with a penchant for squeaky toys. She also has a tendancy to attract ear infections, a common problem among our floppy-eared patients. Most ear infections are easily and successfully treated. But, if left untreated, they often result in serious damage. To learn more about the causes of ear infections and how to prevent them from causing your dog or cat pain and long-term damage, click here or call us at 503.692.3300!

To have your pet in the running of Pet of the Month, send us a picture and bio of your pet to mpvhospital@frontier.com.

Chloe is one of our favorite patients – she always gives us plenty of kisses and is a perfect example of a pug.

Chloe suffers from chronically full anal glands – a condition that is disgusting for us humans, but also can be dangerous for pets!

What on Earth are Anal glands?
Anal glands are two small glands just inside your pet’s anus. The material secreted into these glands is thick and foul-smelling. Most animals can empty these glands voluntarily for scent marking or in self-defense, like a skunk might do.

Domestic animals have largely lost their ability to empty these glands voluntarily. Walking around and normal defecation serves to empty the glands but some animals become unable to empty their glands at all on their own. The glands become impacted and uncomfortable. Dogs with impacted anal glands usually scoot their rear on the ground in an attempt to empty the glands. Some dogs will lick their anal area and other dogs will chase their tails. Cats often lick the fur off just under their tails.

What to do about Scooting?
The first step is to check the anal glands when any pet has a history of scooting. The anal glands can be emptied in one of two ways:

Externally: A rag or tissue is held up to the anus and both sides of the anal area are squeezed. If the secretion is very pasty, this method may be inadequate to empty the glands.

Internally: A lubricated gloved finger is inserted in the anus and the gland is squeezed between thumb and forefinger into a tissue held externally. The full anal gland feels like a grape in the location as shown in the top illustration. The emptying procedure is repeated on the opposite side. This should ONLY be done by a trained profressional to avoid causing harm or trauma to your pet!

If the glands have been emptied adequately, the scooting should resolve in a couple of days.

What if Scooting Continues?
If scooting continues for more than a few days after gland emptying, the glands should be re-checked. For some individuals, it takes several gland emptyings in a row before the glands stay emptied. If the glands are empty and scooting is persisting, another cause (such as itchy skin, tapeworms, or even lower back pain) should be pursued.

What Happens If an Impacted Gland doesn’t get Emptied?
An abscess can form and rupture out through the skin. This is a painful, messy and smelly condition often mistaken for rectal bleeding. If an anal gland abscess forms, it must be properly treated by your veterinarian. Antibiotics will be needed.

How often should Anal Sacs be Emptied?
This is a highly individual situation. The best recommendation is to let the pet tell you when the glands are full. If the pet starts scooting again, it is time to bring him in. If your pet has a history of full anal glands, bringing him in proactively is also a good idea.

What if My Pet’s Glands seem to Require Emptying all the Time?
To avoid the expense of having the glands emptied, you can learn to empty them yourself at home, but most people feel it is well worth having someone else perform this service. A non-invasive technique that helps some patients is a change to a high fiber diet. This will produce a bulkier stool that may be more effective in emptying the gland as it passes by.

Anal Sacculectomy – Last Resort
If the glands need to be emptied every few weeks or more, you may opt to have the glands permanently removed. This procedure is complicated by many local nerves controlling fecal continence, any changes in the local musculature of the anal sphincter area can affect fecal continence, and anatomy is distorted with chronic anal gland problems. Draining tracts can develop after surgery if the gland is not completely removed. Still, despite these pitfalls anal sac removal is considered a relatively simple surgery by experienced surgeons.

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How can your pet be an MPVH pet of the month?

As the MPVH September Pet of the Month, Chloe has won a FREE night of boarding! To enter YOUR pet for a chance to become MPVH Pet of the Month and a fun prize, e-mail a short bio and pictures of your pet to mpvhospital@frontier.com or bring the bio and pictures by the hospital.

Labor Day Boarding

MPVH is currently taking boarders for the Labor Day holiday weekend! The books are filling up fast, so call us at 503-692-3300 to reserve your pet’s spot today!

Boomer (grey and white tabby, ~12 months old) and Moxie (all black, ~5 months old)

Meet Boomer and Moxie! They are former barn cats in need of loving homes and can be adopted separately or together. Both have been neutered and are up-to-date on their vaccinations. Both Boomer and Moxie are VERY affectionate and have made their transition to indoor-living extremely well. In fact, we think they prefer it!

What else makes Boomer and Moxie SO special and in desperate need of adoption? They have both been recently diagnosed with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). Because of this diagnosis, they cannot be reintroduced to their former barn cat families for both their health and health of the rest of the feline population. Boomer and Moxie need homes that either do not have other cats or already have FIV-positive cats.

What is FIV?
FIV stands for feline immunodeficiency virus, just as HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. In fact, these two viruses are closely related and much of the general information that has become common knowledge for HIV also holds true for FIV. FIV is a virus that causes AIDS in cats; however, there is a long period without symptoms before AIDS occurs and our job is to prolong this asymptomatic period. Humans cannot be infected with FIV; FIV is a cats-only infection.

How does it spread?
The primary mode of transmission is through bite wounds. Casual, non-aggressive contact does not appear to be an efficient route of spreading FIV; as a result, cats in households with stable social structures where housemates do not fight are at little risk for acquiring FIV infections. On rare occasions infection is transmitted from an infected mother cat to her kittens, usually during passage through the birth canal or when the newborn kittens ingest infected milk.

What does it do?
Infected cats may appear normal for years. However, infection eventually leads to a state of immune deficiency that hinders the cat’s ability to protect itself against other infections. The same bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi that may be found in the everyday environment–where they usually do not affect healthy animals–can cause severe illness in those with weakened immune systems. These secondary infections are responsible for many of the diseases associated with FIV.

FIV is Not a Mandatory Death Sentence!!!
It is important to realize that a positive test for FIV is not a mandatory death sentence. With a high protein diet and aggressive treatment of secondary infections, an FIV-positive cat can lead a reasonably normal life span. The largest threat to FIV-positive cats is secondary infections, such as bladder, skin, and upper respiratory infections. Kidney failure is also frequently seen in cats with FIV. These secondary infections should be treated promptly and aggressively in any cat, but especially with an FIV cat.

Managing FIV

• The responsible thing is to prevent the spread of this disease in your community. This means that Boomer and Moxie will need to be  indoor cats. Cats who are used to living outdoors will make a fuss about being allowed outside. It is crucial that you do not give in as this will simply reinforce the crying and fussing. If you just allow the fussing to run its course, it will cease and the cat will get used to the new indoor only life.

•  They should be fed nutritionally complete and balanced diets. Uncooked food, such as raw meat and eggs, and unpasteurized dairy products should not be fed to FIV-infected cats. There are currently numerous fad diets involving raw foods for pets. With an FIV+ cat, it is crucial not to succumb to these popular recommendations. Uncooked foods, especially meats, can include parasites and pathogens that a cat with a normal immune system might be able to handle, but which an FIV+ cat might not. Stick to the major reputable cat food brands.

• As with any cat, wellness visits for FIV-infected cats should be scheduled with your veterinarian at least every six months. Although a detailed physical examination of all body systems will be performed, your veterinarian will pay special attention to the health of the gums, eyes, skin, and lymph nodes. Your cat’s weight will be measured accurately and recorded, because weight loss is often the first sign of deterioration. A complete blood count, serum biochemical analysis, and a urine analysis should be performed annually much life we would do for a geriatric cat.

• Vaccinations should be continued for these cats just as they are for other cats. Some experts prefer killed vaccines because of the concern that modified live vaccines might revert to the virulent form in which it can cause disease. This has not panned out as a problem in reality; also, the killed vaccines have been associated with vaccine-associated fibrosarcomas, an additional problem an FIV+ cat does not need.

• The last thing an FIV+ cat needs is fleas, worms or mites, especially now that he is going to be an indoor cat. There are numerous effective products on the market for parasite control. Consult with your veterinarian about which parasites you should be especially concerned with and which product is right for you.

Are treatments available for FIV cats?

IMMUNE STIMULATING AGENTS
There are numerous products on the market claiming to stimulate the immune system of an FIV+ cat. These include Acemannan, levamisole, ImmunoRegulin®, and interferon alpha. None of these products have been shown definitively to be helpful though it appears that they certainly do not do any harm. Interferon alpha can help asymptomatic cats as it is relatively inexpensive and anecdotally it seems to help. Interferon alpha is used in an extremely dilute form (not the much higher doses used against viruses) and it is used as a salty liquid added to the cat’s food or a pill given on a daily basis.

A newer product that is a lymphocyte T-cell immunomodulator, has been released. This product will increase lymphocyte counts, especially the helper T cells that are so important to immune function. There are other effects as well that may be helpful. The product is given weekly for the first month, then every other week and then monthly as an injection. It is recommended that blood cell counts be performed monthly in cats with low lymphocyte or red blood cell counts. While this sounds like good news, keep in mind that this is a new product and clinical trials have not been published. For more information on this product, visit www.imulan.com.

ANTIOXIDANTS
Oxidative stress is rather a long story and it has been implicated in the development of cancer, in age-related degeneration, and in other diseases. In short, oxidative stress stems from reactive oxygen compounds that our metabolism generates. The oxygen compounds are able to damage DNA unless they are scavenged (rendered harmless) by either the natural antioxidant systems of our bodies or by antioxidant supplements we take in pills. Oxidative stress has been implicated in the progression of HIV infection in humans and it has been extrapolated that the same is true of FIV infection in cats. A 2008 study by Webb et al published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery looked at an antioxidant called Superoxide Dismutase in FIV cats and found an improvement in the CD4+ to CD8+ ratio in supplemented cats. This is a promising finding though cats were only followed for a 30-day period, which indicates that further studies may show more substantial clinical benefit. What this all means is that oral antioxidant supplementation may be helpful in keeping FIV+ cats healthy. While the jury is still out as to how significant a treatment this is likely to become, it is certainly clear that antioxidant supplementation may be beneficial on a number of planes and may be worth a try.

How long does an FIV cat live?
It is impossible to accurately predict the life expectancy of a cat infected with FIV. With appropriate care and under ideal conditions, many infected cats will remain in apparent good health for many months or years. If your cat has already had one or more severe illnesses as a result of FIV infection, or if persistent fever and weight loss are present, a much shorter survival time can be expected.

August Pet of the Month - Bo

Bo is a sweet, bouncy, 2 year old labradoodle who suffers from chronic Otitis Externa, otherwise known as “inflammation of the external ear canal”. This condition is often seen in our canine and feline friends. This inflammation is often indicative of underlying problems such as allergies, hereditary diseases, accumulation of wax, matted hair, debris, or a foreign object in the ear canal. If your feline or canine has this condition he or she may be in discomfort, so treatment by one of our veterinarians should be started immediately. Our doctors and staff will create a preventative action and treatment plan to provide the best quality of care for your furry friend!