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Instructive, Informative Videos
Cornell University’s pet health care video library has a new addition. It is all about cancer. If your pet has had a diagnosis of cancer, we highly recommend you watch this video. It is very informative. They also have other excellent videos to help you take your cat’s temperature, pill your cat, and trim nails, as well as very informative videos on kidney disease and diabetes.
Introducing Convenia®
Medication dosing compliance is a problem that medical professionals have had to deal with for a long time. Finally, we have a long-term injectable antibiotic. Convenia® from Pfizer Animal Health has been proven to be safe and effective and it continues to work for 14 days. What is the advantage? You may have the best of intentions when it comes to giving your pet the medications but, life happens. With this long-lasting injection there is no chance for missed or off-schedule doses, both of which can reduce the likelihood of treatment success. There are some limitations on the use of this product but don’t hesitate to ask your veterinarian about the new long-acting injectable next time your pet needs antibiotics.
New Landscaping
 Have you driven by the clinic lately? If not, you probably won’t recognize it. Dr. Tom worked with Buck and Sons Landscaping Service to completely redo the clinic landscaping. The plants are still young but it already looks very nice.
Feline Heartworm Disease
Heartworm is not just a dog disease. Heartworms do affect cats differently than dogs but the disease they cause is equally serious. Heartworm infection is begun by the bite of a mosquito carrying the infective, microscopic heartworm larvae. While the mosquito is taking blood from the cat, these larvae are being transferred into the subcutaneous (under the skin) layer of the cat’s body. These larvae  develop further as they migrate deeper into their new host. After three to four months they usually settle in the vessels of the lungs of the new host. There they can mature into adult male and female worms and begin to reproduce.
Most of the infective larvae never actually live to maturity, but in the cat the damage is already done. In the vessels of the cat’s lungs these larvae create an inflammatory reaction and usually cause signs of respiratory disease. These respiratory signs are called HARD or Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease. They may include one or more of these signs: coughing, difficulty breathing, rapid breathing, gagging, intermittent vomiting (usually unrelated to eating), lethargy, rapid heart rate, weight loss, anorexia, diarrhea, collapse, and sudden death. Because many of these signs mimic asthma or allergic bronchitis, HARD is commonly misdiagnosed.
Diagnosis of heartworm disease in cats is difficult since negative test results do not rule out the presence of either current or previous infection with heartworm. If suspicious of heartworm disease, your veterinarian will likely recommend other diagnostic tests including physical examination, x-rays, cardiac ultrasound, and a complete blood count. Sadly, diagnosis of heartworm disease is often made only upon necropsy.
Currently there is no viable treatment for HARD in cats. Sometimes small doses of a cortisone drug (used in decreasing amounts) can help reduce inflammation. Cats with severe signs of heartworm may require supportive therapy such as IV fluids, oxygen therapy, bronchodilators, and cardiovascular drugs.
Prevention is absolutely the best medicine in the case of feline heartworm disease – actually the only medicine. To prevent this extremely serious disease we recommend Revolution® for Cats (topical) or Heartgard® Feline (oral) on a once-amonth basis.
Watch a video about feline heartworm disease and HARD.
Welcome Kelly Dugan
Kelly Dugan has joined our team as a part-time client relations specialist. She came to Hilliard in the mid-70’s and graduated from Hilliard High School in 1980. Kelly graduated from Columbus Business University in 1982 with an associate’s degree and has worked as a bookkeeper since graduation. She and her husband Kevin, a mechanical and industrial engineer, have two children, Kevin Jr. and Kourteney. They have two cats, Remington and Marley – both rescues, a Cairn Terrier named Jax, a Congo African Grey Parrot named Doc, Casey, a Cockatiel, Jack, a Tortoise, and a Quarter Horse they call Miley. Kourteney shows Miley in English Pleasure and has won quite a few ribbons. Between work, family obligations, caring for the pets, traveling to horse shows with Kourteney, and ice hockey games with Kevin Jr., Kelly’s days are quite full.
 Meet Carly 
Meet our new clinic kitty, Carly. She is probably only about 8-10 weeks old right now. Carly was found at the Franklin County Fairgrounds by a staff member who was there attending a horse show. The kitten has warmed our hearts and is happily learning her way around the clinic. She’s been told that she has “big shoes” to fill. (In the photo on the right she is just chasing the "mouse" but it looks like she is touching Uncle Einstein. The photo is on Jen's computer screen.)
Thunderstorm and Fireworks Phobia
Thunderstorms and fireworks can really be frightening for some of our pets. These events can cause trembling, whining, panting, pacing, even outright panic resulting in damage to themselves or their owner’s property. There are some steps you can take to reduce their anxieties and to keep your pet safe during storms and fireworks. It is easier to identify what the pet owner should NOT do than to say what they should do. Anything that reinforces the behavior needs to be avoided.
- Before the storm
Set up a “quiet place” in your home where the pet will go when a storm is approaching or before the fireworks begin. A room with no windows would be best. Place a rug or dog bed there for comfort and add some “white noise” such as music or a fan to help mask the outside noises. Try to train your pet to respond to the area in a calm manner, both physiologically and emotionally. (This training needs to be done prior to the fear-inducing event.)
- During the event
If the pet is showing signs of anxiety, don’t console the pet (petting and soft vocal reassurances) as that is similar to praise and can unintentionally teach them that their behavior is appropriate for the situation. Also avoid punishment and scolding as that will only increase the pet’s anxieties. Try to just ignore the panting and pacing. Staying calm and continuing your normal activities will help your pet to relax.
- Possible treatments
- Behavior modification through counter-conditioning and desensitization can be very effective, but should be guided by trained personnel. Before you undertake a counter-conditioning program contact an animal behavior specialist or your veterinary office as many veterinary clinics have staff with special training in this field.
- There are medications that are effective in calming anxious pets. Speak to your veterinarian about the possible use of these drugs.
- Veterinarians are seeing good results with alternative therapies. DAP® (Dog Appeasing Pheromones) and Feliway® (pheromone therapy for cats) have been shown to be very effective in facilitating calm behavior in dogs and cats. These are available in sprays, plug-ins, and (for dogs only) collars. Anxiety TFLN® (Thunderstorms, Fireworks, and Loud Noises) is an oral liquid. It is made for use in dogs, cats, and birds but has been used in other species. HomeoPet, the manufacturer of Anxiety TFLN®, makes a line of anxiety medications for use in large animals also.
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