powerpaws.com Community for nutrtion & information on animal companions    FAQ   Search   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Log in  The time now is Wed Mar 10, 2010 5:32 am powerpaws.com Forum Index View unanswered posts  Forum   Topics   Posts   Last Post  Power Paws Discussions   Animal Nutrition     18 19 Mon Feb 08, 2010 1:38 pm Admin Animal Communication Workshops Participants talking with each other     6 10 Tue Jul 14, 2009 11:46 am Admin Lost Animals   Working with Lost animals     9 10 Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:55 pm Admin Animal Health Issues   Vaccines and health     2 2 Fri Feb 19, 2010 3:03 pm Admin Recommendations for treating ulcers from Dr. Mary Traverse KAM Animal Services is an equine nutritional company started by a vet and a naturopath. They have developed a high-quality line of alternatives for conventional (medication-based) treatments for common horse ailments, including insulin resistance, lameness (laminitis etc), allergies, ulcers, colic, arthritis, hormone problems, etc. The products are pricey but generally less than the medications that would be prescribed. (Ulcer treatment runs close to a thousand dollars for Ulcer Guard, I think, and about $500 for KAM. My vet said she has never had a failure to heal ulcers using KAM---it's as close to guaranteed as you can get.) And of course you have no medication side-effects with the KAM products. They are nutritionals, herbals, and probiotics. The two formulas that are great for ulcers are K.L.P.P. , which restores proper stomach pH and digestive efficiency (also reported to be great for colic, as a first aid treatment), and UF Formula, which is "Bioactive immunoglobulins and prebiotic factors for the support of horses who are ulcer prone, have ulcers, or suffer from poor digestion". It is recommended that you give these anytime your horse is under stress---moving, pasture change, going to a show, etc.     0 0 No Posts Dangerous Nightshades in Pastures Last week I worked with a mare that had undergone a dramatic personality change from cooperative and docile to anxious and aggressive. When I did a body scan I felt her heart racing and palpitating wildly. She "showed" me a plant she was eating and she mentioned the word "nicotine" and I realized she had been getting into a nightshade plant. Ordinarily horses will avoid eating this poisonous plant but this mare's pasture had been over-grazed and the nightshade was the only thing growing. Her person visited the pasture after the consultation and called me later to confirm that the place was covered in nightshade. The owner also said that a 7 year old horse had recently died of a heart attack in the pasture! If you aren't familiar with nightshades, pictures can be found on the internet. They're blooming right now and produce pale while flowers that resemble morning glory blossoms.     0 0 No Posts Animals can be infected by us! Cats and Dogs that live with us can pick up our sicknesses. I've noticed this in my practice and my vet has confirmed that she sees this phenomena also. Here is an article from the New York times on the subject. Well - Tara Parker-Pope on Health November 5, 2009, 2:37 pm The Cat Who Got Swine Flu By TARA PARKER-POPE Derek Speirs for The New York Times House cats like these appear to be vulnerable to catching flu from humans. A few days after two members of an Ames, Iowa, family came down with the flu, they noticed their 13-year-old cat wasn’t feeling too well either. The cat has since become the first documented case of a feline with the new H1N1 virus, commonly called swine flu. The unusual case has riveted pet owners and health officials. Companion animals have been known to contract flu from other species — canine influenza (H3N8) originated in horses, and cats contract avian influenza (H5N1) from eating birds. But this appears to be the first time a cat has contracted influenza from a human. Two pet ferrets, one in Oregon and one in Nebraska, have also tested positive for H1N1, and the virus has also been transmitted between humans and pigs. The cat was treated at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University by veterinarians Dr. Brett A. Sponseller and Dr. Albert Jergens. Although the family has asked not to be identified, Drs. Sponseller and Jergens have disclosed additional details about the case. The cat, a 16-pound orange tabby, began acting lethargic and lost his appetite on Oct. 27. He is the only pet in the house and never goes outside. The cat, described as “large framed but not chubby,” stopped eating and drinking and stopped cleaning himself. He also rested by hunching on all four feet, rather than sprawling out on his side as usual, a sign of respiratory discomfort. A few days earlier, two out of three family members in the home had developed flu-like symptoms, with fever and body aches. The worried pet owner called Dr. Sponseller, a specialist in large animal internal medicine and molecular virology, who happened to be a family friend. At the time, neither Dr. Sponseller nor the pet owner suspected the flu — because the cat had vomited, they wondered whether he might have a gastrointestinal problem. The next day, the cat arrived at the veterinary school, where he was seen by Dr. Jergens, a small animal specialist and immunologist. Upon examination, it appeared the cat had a respiratory condition, so Dr. Jergens performed a bronchial lavage, injecting fluid in and out of the lungs to collect cells to determine what was making the animal sick. “It didn’t reveal anything that was consistent with what we typically see with pneumonia in a cat,” Dr. Sponseller said. Although cats can contract flu from birds, this cat never left the house and was never exposed to any other pet. At that point, it occurred to the veterinarians that since the family members had been recently ill, they might be seeing a case of flu transmitted from human to cat. The school is the site of a major diagnostic lab, so the veterinarians were able to test the cat and quickly confirm he had H1N1, a finding that was later confirmed by additional testing by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Additional testing is being conducted to confirm that the family members had H1N1 and to try to verify that the flu was transmitted from human to cat. However, the circumstantial evidence is strong that the cat was infected by its owners and not the other way around. “This cat does not go outside,” Dr. Sponseller said. “Whatever came in, came to the cat.” Dr. Sponseller says the cat is about 85 percent recovered. He was given fluids for dehydration and put on antibiotics to prevent a secondary bacterial infection. “He’s eating well, moving around well, and he’s back in his window watching the squirrels outside,” he said. While the Iowa tabby is the first documented case of H1N1 in a cat, it’s possible that other cats who haven’t been tested also have contracted the virus from pet owners. “Since this news story broke, I’ve had owners from around the country sending me e-mails about their experiences,” Dr. Sponseller said. “It’s suggestive that it has happened before, but there’s no confirmation.” Dr. Sponseller said there is no evidence that a cat could give a person the flu, and transmission is unlikely because cats with flu typically don’t cough or sneeze. It’s not clear how the cat contracted the virus, but given how easily flu is transmitted between family members, it’s not particularly surprising that a friendly cat would come into contact with the virus as well. “He’s a very social cat,” Dr. Sponseller said. “He would visit with them in their laps when they were watching television or reading. He was known to climb up on the bed. He’s a very charming cat with a lot of personality.” To hear more about protecting your pets from flu, read “Can Pets Get Swine Flu?” and “10 Things to Know about the H3N8 Dog Flu,” on the Consults blog. * Copyright 2010 The New York Times Company * Privacy Policy * NYTimes.com 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018     0 0 No Posts All times are GMT Who is Online Our users have posted a total of 41 articles We have 19859 registered users The newest registered user is effekMelp In total there is 1 user online :: 0 Registered, 0 Hidden and 1 Guest   [ Administrator ]   [ Moderator ] Most users ever online was 34 on Tue Feb 10, 2009 6:12 am Registered Users: None This data is based on users active over the past five minutes Log in Username:    Password:      Log me on automatically each visit     New posts    No new posts    Forum is locked Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group