Clinical Medicine

PRACTICING CAT FRIENDLY The articles presented by American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) focus on feline-specific information on cats’ unique behaviors; diagnosis and evaluation of disease and conditions; better approaches and techniques for cats; and strategies to decrease stress associated with the veterinary visit for cats, caregivers, and your team. BEHAVIORAL RESPONSES Cats caged against …

Head tilt in dogs is a clinical presentation that most veterinarians encounter frequently in practice, most often due to dysfunction of the vestibular system.

SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN TECHNIQUE For larger dogs, nasal lines can be easily placed using a cathether inserted via the ventral meatus to the level of the medial canthus. Supplemental oxygen is an important treatment for animals with signs of respiratory distress. Hypoxia refers to low tissue oxygen concentrations and can occur for several reasons (TABLE 1). …

Malia Ireland, DVM, MPH, Leslie Kollmann, BS, CVT, AAS, Joni Scheftel, DVM, MPH, DACVPM Staphylococcus aureus is a human-host adapted, Gram-positive bacteria commonly found on the skin and in the nasal passages of people. Often considered a commensal organism, it is also an opportunistic pathogen, causing skin and invasive infections. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was …

Keeping any anesthetized animal from hypothermia before, during, and after surgery is challenging. Here’s how to keep the patient warm.

Tekla Lee-Fowler, DVM, MS, DACVIM (SAIM) Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine Asthma Therapy Management of the actue and the chronic asthmatic feline patient must be addressed using a multi-modal, anti-inflammatory approach. Feline asthma is an inflammatory condition of the lower airways that manifests clinically as a chronic cough and, in some cases, intermittent exacerbations …

Alice M. Jeromin, RPh, DVM, DACVD Veterinary Allergy & Dermatology, Inc., Richfield, Ohio Novel Protein A thorough diet history must be asked of the owner inquiring which proteins the pet has been exposed to previously. Hippocrates said, “let food be your medicine and your medicine be food.” Wouldn’t it benefit our allergic patients to be …

Michael W. Dryden, MS, PhD, DVM, DACVM (parasitology) Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology Kansas State University Dealing with Tick Control When dealing with most 3-host ticks, the problem is that the majority of the reproducing ticks are not on the dogs or cats, but on their natural wildlife hosts. While often the same products that are …

Bridget M. Lyons, VMD Lori S. Waddell, DVM, DACVECC University of Pennsylvania HOLDING WATER Water loss may result from pure water loss, as seen with diabetes insipidus, elevated body temperature, primary hypodipsia, and water restriction. Alternatively, it may occur with loss of fluids that are hypotonic relative to plasma, such as with vomiting, diarrhea, third-space …