Dry Food vs. Wet Food: Which Is Better For My Pet?

Whether you have a cat or a dog, you’ll want to know about both dry and canned pet food, simply because of the dizzying number of choices available. Today, we have put together a quick guide weighing up the key benefits and downsides to both, and which you should choose.

 

About dry pet food

Pet owners of both cats and dogs often opt for dry pet food for a few different reasons, such as:

  • It is less expensive when compared to canned food
  • It has a long shelf life and can be bought and stored in larger quantities, making it far more convenient
  • It can be left out for your pet to eat as they please
  • Because it is hard and dry, it scrapes tartar and plaque, which is better for dental health.

 

About canned pet food

Canned pet food is beneficial because it contains a lot more water than dry food; hence, it is often referred to as ‘wet food’. The hydration helps to alleviate dehydration as well as kidney or urinary problems in both cats and dogs. Therefore, wet food is often recommended for pets with these issues.

There are, however, some cons to canned pet food:

  • It must be refrigerated and can be stored for no more than a week, which can be inconvenient
  • It is more expensive than dry food
  • Wet food leads to more gastrointestinal disturbances, such as diarrhea
  • Pets predisposed to dental issues will need more attentive dental care, as wet food is sticky and does not fight plaque or tartar.

 

So: dry food or wet food?

After weighing up these pros and cons, it is clear to see that dry pet food holds more benefits than wet food. Not only is it easier to store and more affordable to purchase, but the health and dental benefits outnumber those of wet food.

While research is essential, each pet is different. Therefore, it is also a good idea to ask your vet what kind of food your pet should be eating. Looking for a vet in Cranbourne? Our veterinary clinic is fully equipped with the medical equipment and skills necessary to treat your pet. Just give us a call today on (03) 5995 3444 to schedule an appointment with a vet in Cranbourne.

Common Household Pet Toxins

As pet owners, it is our duty to take extra care to ensure our pets don’t come into contact with poisons – especially if those toxins are perfectly harmless to humans. Today we’ve compiled a list of toxins commonly found in the household that can be deadly for pets. Is there anything on the list in your home?

 

Plants

The best way to avoid having your pets coming into contact with harmful plants is to keep the houseplants in a separate – or better yet, inaccessible – area to your pets.

Here are just a few common houseplants that can be deadly news for your pet:

  • Lilies
  • Aloe Vera
  • Bird of Paradise
  • Florida Beauty
  • Devil’s Ivy
  • Yucca

Before purchasing a new plant, you should consider whether it affects cats or dogs. The few plants mentioned above are only a handful from the list; therefore, it’s important to conduct your research on the other kinds of plants that are toxic to your pets.

 

Food

Again, you should be consulting your vet or conducting research to find out a full list of harmful human foods for cats and dogs.

However, the most common toxic foods include:

  • Chocolate
  • Grapes
  • Salt
  • Tomatoes
  • Garlic
  • Avocadoes

You should also beware of unnatural ingredients found in human foods. For example, Xylitol (found in sugar-free gum) is another common and harmful toxin.

 

Human medication

As with plants, the best way to guarantee your pet doesn’t come into contact with your medication is to keep it hidden or inaccessible, preferably in high cupboards. Medication suitable for humans can cause severe health issues for pets. For example, medicines like Advil are actually a common cause of gastrointestinal ulcers in cats, dogs, birds, hamsters and ferrets.

Other common medications to keep out of reach include:

  • Antidepressants
  • Paracetamol
  • Cold medicines
  • Muscle relaxants

 

Rodenticides

 Rodenticides include rat and mouse bait. But they don’t just attract rodent pests; they can smell appealing to your pets, too. Even if your pet doesn’t directly consume a rodenticide, they can still be affected. If your cat eats a poisoned rat, for example, your pet can indirectly ingest the rodenticide.

You should take extreme caution and care when placing baits. Set the traps in spots your pets can’t access or perhaps get your pest problem professionally treated to avoid impacting your pet.

 

What do I do if my pet has ingested a toxin?

 There are a few steps you should take as soon as you notice your pet has ingested or chewed anything harmful:

  • Collect labels and packaging in a zip-lock bag. This will help your vet identify the toxin involved.
  • Collect remnants of the poisonous substance, even if it has been chewed or vomited. Again, this helps with identification, especially if there’s no packaging.
  • Contact a vet as soon as possible. This is extremely important, as symptoms of poisoning may not show until hours or days later.

At Vets in Cranbourne, we pride ourselves on our friendliness, expert advice and professional treatment. If you are concerned about your pet, do not hesitate to call us today on (03) 5995 3444.

 

Snake Bites: Will Curiosity Kill The Cat?

Did you know that 21 out of the world’s top 25 most venomous snakes live in Australia? Whilst we are incredibly lucky to have such a wide range of unique reptiles in our country, these beautiful creatures can also be dangerous when provoked, and in Australia, around 6,500 pets are bitten by snakes each year. In this blog, we’ll be giving you a few tips on how to keep your curious pet safe from snakes over the summer months and what to do in the case of a bite.

 

Take precautions

Make no mistake, a bite from a venomous snake is a veterinary emergency. Snakes are attracted to areas that have shelter and a good source of prey so you can make your backyard less attractive to reptiles by keeping your grass trimmed, removing any sort of rubbish or refuse in your yard, and properly storing animal feed, seeds, and other food sources so they don’t attract rodents.

 

Don’t assume that your pet will automatically perceive a snake as a danger, if your pet hasn’t seen a snake before, they will probably be curious and try to inspect or play with it. Keep your dog on a leash during walks through bushland and parks and ensure they are well trained so that if you do see them sniffing around a reptile in your backyard, you can call them in. During the summer months, it’s also better to keep your cat inside as much as possible to avoid them roaming and getting into trouble.

 

Watch out for danger signs

If your pet is unlucky enough to go head to head with a snake, they may collapse or vomit soon after being bitten. Other common early signs include; dilated pupils, hind leg weakness, and shallow or rapid breathing. A snake bite can eventually lead to a number of serious conditions like paralysis, coma, and potentially death, so it’s absolutely vital to get your pet to a vet ASAP.  Cats can often have more delayed symptoms compared to dogs so don’t assume if they are fine in the first hour that they haven’t been bitten.

 

What to do

Don’t put yourself in danger to try and identify the type of snake – any snake bite should be treated as an emergency. Try to keep calm and carry your pet to the car, then head straight to your closest vet. If you have someone with you ask them to call the vet to warn them you are on your way. It’s important that your pet remains as still and calm as possible to prevent the flow of venom. Attempting DIY first aid will only waste time, so focus on getting your cat or dog to the vet immediately.

 

The good news is that 91% of cats and 75% of dogs treated the same day for venomous bites survive. So if you’re concerned your pet may have been bitten, don’t delay – get them to the vet for treatment. Vets in Cranbourne are your local friendly veterinary practice, so for expert advice and professional treatment, get in touch by calling (03) 5995 3444.

 

 

What You Need To Know About Desexing Your Dog Or Cat

Many pet owners choose to desex their dog or cat to prevent them from breeding. There are also many other benefits to desexing your pet at an early age, such as the prevention of testicular cancer and prostatic disease in male dogs and a reduced risk of life threatening uterus infections as well as mammary/breast cancer in females. But when is the best time to desex your pet and what do you need to know? In this week’s blog, we break down why you should desex your pet, and provide information about the desexing procedure.

Why desex your pet?

The main reason pet owners choose to desex their pet is to prevent unwanted breeding. Veterinary professionals recommend that all pets need to be desexed at five to six months of age for their own health and wellbeing, as well as to avoid unwelcome offspring. Desexing your cat or dog can also prevent mammary/breast and testicular cancer as well as prostatic disease and life threatening uterus infections.

Vets in Cranbourne recommend desexing all family pets

It is important that all pet owners educate themselves on the facts of desexing. At Vets in Cranbourne, we advise desexing for all our family pets at five to six months of age, although we are happy to discuss with owners their concerns and if required, make an adjustment to this on a case by case basis.

Whilst the idea of a litter of puppies or kittens might sound cute, caring for and rehoming baby animals takes a lot of work and is a task best left to licensed breeders. Unwanted litters result in thousands of animals being abandoned every year, which pose a threat to wildlife and contribute to Victoria’s serious feral cat problem.

What to expect when your pet goes in for their desexing procedure

At our Cranbourne clinic, desexing procedures are typically day procedures where your pet will be admitted in the morning and discharged in the afternoon. In the lead up to the procedure, your pet will need to fast from 10:00pm the night before surgery (water is fine) to ensure the anaesthesia can be safely administered.

After the procedure, your pet may be a little groggy and uninterested in food. This is perfectly normal after sedation and nothing to worry about. Set your pet up in a warm, quiet room where they can rest and recover. For the first 24 hours, cats should be kept inside and dogs should only be let out for supervised toilet breaks. After this period is over, we still recommend keeping your cat indoors and not taking your dog for walks until after the stitches are removed.

Our licensed professionals have years of experience in desexing cats and dogs. For more information on desexing your pet, please get in touch with us today by calling (03) 5995 3444.

 

 

 

Paralysis ticks are in Melbourne

Along with all the benefits of living in the most liveable city in the world, not having to worry about the paralysis tick was an added bonus.

Unfortunately, thanks to climate change, they have arrived on our doorstep.

I don’t want to be an alarmist and worry pet owners unnecessarily, the risk is still very low and even lower if you and your pet don’t venture much past our neat nature strips and dog parks.

However, for peace of mind, please follow the tips below and speak to your trusted vet if you have any questions.

Tick tips:

  • Keep your pet’s hair short
  • Ticks hang out in long grass. Keep your pooch out! (snakes hang there too)
  • Check your pet’s coat regularly – ticks need to be attached for 2-3 days before they inject their poison
  • Added tick prevention – 100% necessary for those pet owners travelling with their pet either north (towards the Murray) or east of Melbourne (towards Gippsland)
  1. The Bravecto chew will protect your dog for 4 months from the paralysis tick. It can be used safely in conjunction with most other parasite preventions (Advocate, Sentinel etc.)
  2. Cats – unfortunately, there is only ONE product available. Frontline plus Spray – needs to be applied every 3 weeks.
  3. Other tick preventions – Advantix, Nexgard, Serasto collars – may be recommended.

Preparing your pets for summer

The warmer months provide a great opportunity for us to get out into the sunshine with our pets! With the heat comes a few potential dangers – here are some of the more common things to be mindful of over the summer months:

Heatstroke is a common problem seen in both dogs and cats during summer and is very serious. A few simple tips can go a long way to help prevent it:

Never leave your pet unattended in a parked car. Temperatures in a car can rise to dangerous levels and can rapidly reach more than double the outside temperature even on mild days. Tinting, parking in the shade, or leaving the windows open do not help to reduce the inside temperature significantly.

If you find your dog panting heavily, doesn’t obey normal commands, has warm, dry skin and a rapid heart beat, he may be suffering from heatstroke. Other signs include vomiting, anxiety and high fever. Try to cool them off with cool water, cold packs and a cooler environment; and of course see a vet as soon as possible.

Avoid walking or exercising your dog at the park in the middle of the day. Apart from the outside air termperature, another good test for this is to take a few steps on the footath in your bare feet – if it’s too hot for you, it is too hot for them!

Senior pets and arthritic animals sometimes can’t get themselves out of their hot kennel. Kennels should always be kept in a shaded area with plenty of airflow around it.

Keep them cool – keep inside if possible, frozen pet treats, ice blocks, paddling pools are all great ideas on those really hot days.

Is your four-legged friend a Pug, Bull dog, Mastiff, or Chow Chow? Dogs with short muzzles like the breeds just mentioned are even more susceptible to over heating, so as their owners, you need to be even more careful.

The Easter treat your pets should avoid

The best part of Easter is the sweet treats that fill your house, but not for your pet! Cats and dogs should avoid the types of Easter foods you’ll be snacking on.

Every year we warn pet owners on the seriousness of chocolate poisoning. But why is chocolate so bad? Surely a little bit won’t hurt?

The truth is, even a small amount of dark or cooking chocolate can cause very serious problems. No matter what those dark brown eyes are telling you – give them something safer! It’s not worth it.

Chocolate poisoning is caused by excessive intake of the methyl-xanthine alkaloid, theobromine. Although dogs are the most susceptible, the toxin has been known to affect or kill cats, birds, rodents and reptiles as well.

Different types of chocolate contain different concentrations of this dangerous chemical. The biggest threat is from cooking chocolate, followed by semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and hot chocolate.

The symptoms of poisoning in your pet may include vomiting, diarrhoea hyperactivity, tremors, irregular heart rate and seizures. Heart failure, weakness, coma, and death can occur 12 to 36 hours after intake.

If your pet has ingested chocolate, get your pet to [Vets on Parker / Vets on Balwyn / Vets in Cranbourne] immediately. We will be able to get your pet to vomit, which will hopefully remove most of the ingested chocolate from their system. In some more serious instances, pets need to be hospitalised or treated for cardiac problems or seizure activity.

The best way to keep your pet safe is to keep the chocolate well out of reach!

Via:: Dr Kevin Pet Advice

Scratch your pet’s itch

As veterinarians we can always give medicines to stop that itch, but not all of these medicines are safe to use long term. What we need to do is work together (pet owner and vet) to find out why they are itching.

Below are some simple tips and first steps to help reduce that itch:

1: Monthly flea control

All dogs and cats with sensitive skin benefit from a good quality flea control. Pets that are allergic to flea saliva only need one flea to bite them once a week to set off an intense allergic reaction. You don’t need to see fleas for them to be the cause of the problem.

Flea collars, flea powders and flea shampoos do not cut it! Ask your trusted vet for advice on what flea control you should use.

2: Bath time

If your pet has been scratching, but the skin isn’t raw or showing signs of inflammation, you can administer a lukewarm bath with a medically approved anti-itch shampoo to relieve the symptoms.

3: Fish oil supplementation

Supplementing your pet’s diet with fish oils can be incredibly beneficial. Not only will this natural anti-inflammatory aid in managing your pet’s skin problems it will also provide additional benefits for their joints, cardiovascular system and kidney health! We recommended 1000mg fish oil per 10kg body weight daily or utilizing a special skin support diet which has fish oil added already.

What your vet can do

Whatever the cause of itching, it’s important to take your pet to see a vet for peace of mind. If your pet has badly scratched themselves there may be an infection or painful sores that need professional care.

Your vet is likely to check for fleas, take a skin scraping to check for signs of mange and take an earwax sample to rule out ear mites as the cause. In some cases your vet may also perform a fungal culture to rule out the possibility of ringworm.

Once the cause has been found most cases can be resolved so that your furry family member can return to a scratch free life.

Via:: Dr Kevin Pet Advice

Dr Kevin’s top 5 tips for summer!

Our very own Dr. Kevin provides 5 top tips for keeping your pets happy this summer.

Build the exercise up slowly

The New Year is here, and it’s time to step back into our exercise routines (or start new ones!). Australians love Summer and so do our dogs. More daylight means more hours to spend at the park, longer walks and the chance to hit the beach too. But take heed – exercise related injuries are very common in spring. Remember that your dog’s fitness might have dropped off just like yours, so make sure you don’t go too hard too early.

That prickly feeling – Grass seeds

A sore paw, an itchy ear, a new lump and even sneezing – all problems which can be caused by grass seeds. Needless to say, I spend a lot of my time during summer treating problems like these.

My number one tip – check your pet’s entire coat thoroughly after a visit to the park. Pay particularly close attention to the feet, ears, under arms and groin. Keeping your pet’s coat short in summer also reduces the chance of them picking up grass seeds at all.

The summer heat!

Did you know that the only way dogs and cats can lose body heat is through panting? Heat stroke is a common problem seen in both dogs and cats during summer and is very serious. So how do you prevent this from happening to your pet? The good news is that it’s an easy fix:

  • Keep them out of the car
  • Avoid walking your dog or taking them to the park in the middle of the day
  • Senior pets and arthritic animals sometimes can’t get themselves out of their hot kennel. Kennels should always be kept in a shaded area.
  • Keep them cool – frozen pet treats, ice blocks, paddling pools are all great ideas to help your pet
  • Is your four-legged friend a Pug, Bull dog, Mastiff or Chow Chow? Dogs with short muzzles like the breeds just mentioned are even more susceptible to over-heating, so as their owners you need to be even more careful.

Australian wildlife

I am going to be totally honest with you here – wild snakes are not my favourite. Not because they are slithery and slimy, but because they kill our pets. Tiger snakes and brown snakes are the most common species which envenomate our pets. See my tips below on ways to reduce the risk:

  • Keep the grass directly around the house short
  • Control mice and other vermin, which may attract snakes, however be VERY CAREFUL if using poisons as rat bait.
  • On walks keep dogs on lead and avoid areas of long grass.
  • Keep cats inside your house or in an outdoor cat enclosure.
  • Use snake deterrents – available online
  • Attract kookaburras to your property – snakes are one of their favourite food

Swimmer’s Ear

Who doesn’t like a swim to cool down during summer? Like many dog owners, I think there’s nothing better than seeing my Macy pounce into the water after a ball or better yet, swim out with me at the beach. However, be warned of the dreaded post-swim ear infection – it’s really common. Any water getting inside your dog’s ear may lead to an ear infection. That’s why I clean Macy’s ears with a gentle ear cleaning solution after swimming and after a bath.

Via:: Dr Kevin Pet Advice

Festive foods that are bad for your pets

We all love a treat over Christmas, but making sure your pet has the right ones is important.

It’s normal to go a bit over the top with food over the festive period, but whist you’re being merry it’s important to make sure your pet doesn’t join in. The following items are bad for your pet and should be kept away.

Chocolate

Most people know that chocolate can be toxic for cats and dogs, but with the sweet stuff likely to be floating around over the season it’s important that it is out of their reach.

Raw or undercooked turkey

For many it’s a tradition to have turkey on Christmas day, but as you’re preparing the bird it’s important to make sure your pets don’t get near any raw or undercooked meat. Should they have any of your cooked turkey make sure it is boneless.

Alcohol

Those who will be celebrating the end of the year with a glass of champagne should be vigilant none gets near their pet as alcohol can lead to a lot of nasty symptoms, including vomiting and breathing difficulties.

Wrapping paper

Wrapping can lead to intestinal obstructions if a pet digests it. It is also important to keep any plastic bags or covers out of reach as pets can suffocate if they get stuck in them.

Via:: Dr Kevin Pet Advice