With Spring and Easter just around the corner, it is very important to consider the potential problems that can occur when cats ingest plants, especially lilies. Members of the Lilium (true lilies) and Hemerocallis (day lilies) genera can cause severe problems in cats. Both of these plants can potentially cause kidney failure and possibly death when ingested by cats. Ingestion of even a small amount of true lilies or day lilies should be considered potentially toxic
in cats.

All parts of the plant are considered toxic and only small amounts are required- less than one leaf or a small amount of pollen- to cause problems.

The symptoms of toxicity include depression, lethargy, inappetance and vomiting. A cat that has ingested lilies should be seen immediately for treatment. Treatments may include emetics (emetics potentially remove any plant material from the stomach and stop absorption of the toxin), activated charcoal (this helps minimize absorption of any plant material) and hospitalization with aggressive intravenous fluid treatment.

Close monitoring of the kidneys enzymes is very important with treatment; this also helps to determine prognosis. The important message here is that ingestion of even a small amount of true  or day lilies can be potentially toxic to your cat. It is important to determine what type of plant material your cat has ingested if you do find plant leaf particles in the vomitus.

Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease in dogs (and less often, cats.) Heartworm disease is transmitted by mosquitos. The female mosquito bites an infected dog and ingests the microfilaria while feeding.  The microfilaria undergo a life cycle change, called an infective larvae,  inside the mosquito and then enter the mouth parts of the mosquito. When a mosquito bites a pet, the infective larvae enter the bloodstream and travel to the heart. The infective larvae grow to maturity in a few months time and begin to reproduce.

Adult worms cause disease by clogging the heart and major blood vessels leading from the heart. They interfere with the valve action in the heart. By clogging the main blood vessels, the blood supply to other organs of the body is reduced, particularly the lungs, liver, and kidneys, leading to malfunction of these organs.

The most obvious signs of infection are a dry cough, shortness of breath, weakness and loss of stamina. All of these signs are most noticeable after exercise. Some dogs even faint. A dog may also have weight loss, poor coat condition, and anemia. Severely infected dogs may die suddenly during exercise or excitement.

Microfilaria (young worms) circulate throughout the body but remain primarily in the small blood vessels. Because they are as wide as the small vessels, they may block the flow of blood. The body cells being supplied by these vessels (particularly the lungs and liver) are deprived of the nutrients and oxygen normally supplied by the blood.

Destruction of lung tissue can lead to coughing. Cirrhosis of the liver causes jaundice and general weakness because this organ is essential in maintaining a healthy animal. The kidneys may also be affected and allow toxins to accumulate in the body.

In most cases diagnosis of heartworm infection can be made by a simple blood test that can be run at our hospital. Further diagnostics, such as blood chemistries, urinalysis, radiographs (x-rays), or an echocardiogram (ultrasound) of the heart are necessary to determine if the dog can tolerate heartworm treatment.

With heartworm treatment, there is some risk, although fatalities rarely occur.  Heartworm disease can be treated successfully in more than 95% of patients, with the newer drugs on the market. In some situations of advanced disease, it is often safer to treat the organ damage, rather than risk treatment to kill the worms. Dogs in this condition are not likely to live more than a few weeks or months.

While heartworm disease can be devastating to the body and potentially fatal to your pet, it is also completely preventable. We highly recommend yearly testing and heartworm prevention for your dog. Heartworm disease is much easier to prevent than to treat.

Cats are also susceptible heartworm infection. Outdoor cats are more likely to become infected, however we see a drastically lower incidence of heartworm disease in cats than dogs.  Cats are not the natural host for heartworm infection. What this means is that while a cat may become infected through a mosquito bite, they are less likely to develop disease. The cat is unable to provide the ideal environment for development of the heartworm larvae into the adult worm.  If cats do develop heartworm infection, there is generally a small number of adult worms that survive in the heart; there is usually only 1 adult worm. For this reason, it can be very challenging to diagnose heartworm disease in cats. Because there is such a low incidence of heartworm disease in cats and because they are not the natural host for the parasite, we do not recommend preventative for cats.

It’s Springtime! The lawns are getting their spring cleanup and the yard work begins. One area to pay close attention to is your metal lawn edging. Lawn edging is a leading cause of foot and pad lacerations to dogs each year. Most of these lacerations require surgical cleansing and closure. Bandages must also be applied and managed for 7-14 days. Lawn edging lacerations can be severe enough to injure veins, arteries and even tendons of the foot. 

Here are some things you can do during your spring time chores to make your yard safer for your dog:

1.) Replace your metal lawn edging with plastic, wood or concrete edging.

2.) Use a plastic cap on your existing metal edging.

3.) Do not allow your dog to run or play where metal edging exists.

4.) Remove and replace any edging that has pulled away from the surrounding soil.

If your pet sustains an injury from lawn edging, apply pressure to the foot and seek immediate care from your veterinarian.

Melinda is currently training for her 39 mile walk (a marathon and a half) through Denver as part of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Melinda is required to raise $1800 to participate in the walk, but she hopes to raise $2000. With the donations raised, the Avon Foundation will provide support and resources for women affected by this terrible disease. This may even help many women in our own town and community as well as women throughout the country. If you would like to help Melinda reach her fundraising goal, you can come in to the clinic to donate or you can donate online at her personal Avon Web page at www.avonwalk.org- click on Support a Walker- then click on Denver and search her name (Melinda Stefko). The web page contains a link for you to donate. You can make a single donation or spread your contribution over several months.

Melinda recently has a skiing accident that caused her to break her thumb. She did have extensive surgery to repair her thumb, which was broken in multiple pieces. She has a cast on her hand and is recovering well. She wants everyone to know that this will not deter her from her training or from participating in the Avon Walk. Get Well Soon Melinda! Good Luck with your Walk!

Lisa recently received her Certified Veterinary Technician degree. She passed her national exam with flying colors. Congratulations Lisa!

Tanja just returned from Italy where she worked at the Olympic Winter games in Torino. She is excited to be back and is swearing off pizza, pasta, and wine for the rest of the year! While abroad, Tanja also traveled through Switzerland, France,England and Ireland. Her favorite new place that she visited was Cinque Terre National Park in Northern Italy. She spent her time there hiking between the five towns along the mountainous coastline. Tanja’s favorite repeat destination was Zermatt, Switzerland where she went skiing in the Alps and had excellent views of the Matterhorn. Welcome Back Tanja!

Jessica has been busy volunteering at the Larimer Humane Society as well as studying for the GRE. She will be applying to CSU this summer.

Tenaya’s heeler mix, Buster, recently graduated his beginning agility class at the Canine Learning Center. He was one of the stars of the class. Tenaya and Buster will soon be enrolling in an intermediate agility class at Get Over It Agility. Tenaya will be completing her sophomore year at CSU at the end of this school year.

Tara is currently a member of the CSU Rodeo Team. The Rodeo season is just underway and for the next 6 weeks Tara will be competing in Barrel Racing for CSU. She will also be competing  at local jackpot Barrel Races in her spare time. Wish her luck!