Aspiration Pneumonia | Dr. Justine Lee
If your dog or cat was just diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia, read on! This is a potentially life-threatening emergency that warrants an immediate trip to your veterinarian or emergency veteriarian for oxygen therapy and treatment. Aspiration pneumonia is the condition when gastrointestinal contents have been inhaled into the lungs. This results in a secondary inflammation and infection of the lung. Due to this inflammation, excessive fluid and mucus accumulates within the lower airway,...
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Does my cat have a urinary tract infection? | Dr. Justine Lee
Does my cat have a urinary tract infection (UTI)? How do you tell if your cat has a UTI? Signs include: Blood in the urine Urinating in unusual places Frequent trips to the litter box Lethargy Fever When in doubt, know that the true incidence of UTI in cats is pretty low – as low as 2%. Typically, these signs are due to Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (a sterile cystitis). Check out this SwheatScoop video here for more info on...
Read MoreWhat is FLUTD in cats? | Dr. Justine Lee
While it seems trivial, an unclean litter box can result in serious behavioral and medical problems in cats such as: • Urinating inappropriately around the house • Spraying • Defecating right outside the litter box • Potentially predisposing to medical problems such as feline urethral obstruction (FUO) or feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) That’s why we veterinarians advocate getting n+1 litter boxes per cat. In other words, if you have n=3 cats, you need to have n+ 1, or...
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Nordic Naturals® Inspires Support for Nonprofit Paws and Stripes | Dr. Justine Lee
“Buy One Bottle. Help Two Heroes.” Initiative Kicks Off October 1 Watsonville, CA (September 30, 2015) – Nordic Naturals is kicking off “Buy One Bottle. Help Two Heroes.”—a fall initiative to benefit Paws and Stripes, a nonprofit organization that pairs combat-wounded military veterans with shelter dogs, which the veterans train at Paws and Stripes. By integrating service dog training and education with mental health support, Paws and Stripes helps our nation’s heroes live...
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How to puppy proof your house | Dr. Justine Lee
Ah puppies. So cute, with their soft fur and puppy breath. However, with those pros come the cons of curiosity. As I deal with puppy training, sleepless nights, and the joys of puppy ownership, I reflect back on how “easy” it was to have a geriatric, well-trained older pooch! In hind sight, I haven’t had a puppy in over 14 years! My previous pit bull, JP, was very well trained and hence never got into anything bad… In other words, my house wasn’t appropriately puppy poison-proof for...
Read MoreWhy veterinarians need to use less antibiotics | Dr. Justine Lee
Super excited to see this press release from Clinicians Brief today on the judicious use of antibiotic use in veterinary medicine. As an emergency critical care specialist and toxicologist, I often feel that we over-dispense antibiotics, resulting in increased resistance in pets. Remember, antibiotics don’t work for viral infections (e.g., upper respiratory infections, influenza, etc.). Here, the press release: TULSA, OKLAHOMA, September 24, 2015—“In a perfect world,...
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