Educational Articles
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Sago Palms are pretty plants but beware—they pack a deadly punch for pets. The popular Sago Palm enhances outdoor landscapes in warmer areas of the U.S. and serves as indoor decor in many colder climates. All parts of the Sago Palm are poisonous, but the seeds (nuts) are the most toxic to pets. As with all poisoning cases, early detection and treatment increases the rate of success.
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Seborrhea or seborrheic dermatitis is a skin disorder in which the sebaceous glands produce an excessive amount of sebum causing scaly, flaky, itchy, and red skin. It typically affects the back, face, and flanks and may be worse in areas with skin folds such as the feet, neck, lips, armpits, thighs, and underside. Seborrhea can be a primary or secondary disease and is diagnosed using multiple tests to determine the underlying cause. Treatment or management depends on the cause
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A seizure is a sudden surge in the electrical activity of the brain causing signs such as twitching, shaking, tremors, convulsions, and/or spasms. Epilepsy is used to describe repeated episodes of seizures. With epilepsy, the seizures can be single or may occur in clusters, and they can be infrequent and unpredictable or occur at regular intervals. Since many different diseases can lead to seizures, it is important to perform diagnostic tests to investigate the underlying cause of the seizures. Treatment of seizures in the cat depends on the nature of the underlying disease.
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Several changes occur in the aging cat; they often progress slowly, so it is essential to have your senior cat examined by a veterinarian twice yearly. This is important so that if your cat develops a disease, it can be recognized and treated as early as possible, thereby maintaining her quality of life for as long as possible.
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A biopsy is one of the more common diagnostic procedures performed in cats. Biopsies provide valuable insight into the type of cells in an abnormal area of skin or a skin growth and whether the growth poses a more serious health threat to your pet. Either the entire mass or a small representative section of skin is removed and submitted to a veterinary pathologist, who will perform a histopathology analysis. The pathologist will attempt to determine the nature of the lesion, identify the type of cells and their relationship to each other, as well as any evidence of malignancy.
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Soft tissue sarcomas are a broad category of tumors that can develop over the chest, back, side, legs, and facial tissues of your pet. The clinical signs depend on where the tumor is located and the tissues that are affected. Often, pets have a noticeable mass that is growing in size. One of the biggest concerns with soft tissue sarcomas is their ability to invade the local surrounding tissues. The most commonly pursued treatment is surgery. Chemotherapy is not usually pursued as a primary treatment unless surgery or radiation are not options for your pet based on the tumor size or location.
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Solar dermatitis is a skin disease caused by exposure to the sun. It occurs mainly in cats with white or pale patches of skin that are non-pigmented areas. The most commonly affected areas in the cat are the ears, but the nose and the eyelids are sometimes involved. Your veterinarian will recommend taking a tissue biopsy from the affected area if there is any concern that the condition may be progressing to squamous cell carcinoma.
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There are lots of ways to find adoptable pets, and large or small, local or national, online resources and shelters have the same goal: match available pets with the most suitable homes. Social media has helped find homes for countless dogs and cats. Well-developed websites that are updated frequently and actively used by rescue groups and humane societies make shopping for a pet online a fruitful experience. Shelters are another great option if you want to see many pets at one time.
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The two groups of spiders responsible for most medically significant spider bites include the widow spiders (Latrodectus spp., including the black widow spider) and the recluse spiders (Loxosceles spp., including the brown recluse). The clinical signs and treatment of black widow and brown recluse spider bites vary significantly due to differences in their venom.
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Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a tumor of the cells that make up the contact or upper layer of the skin. UV light exposure has been described as a developmental factor in people and appears to be associated with its development in cats. Areas affected include the ear tips, skin, toes, or peri-ocular region. Fine needle aspiration or biopsy may be performed for diagnosis. The metastatic rate does not appear overly clear, though staging is always recommended. SCC of the toe can occur as a primary tumor or may have spread from the lung (lung-digit syndrome). Surgery is almost always recommended in any case of SCC; the role of chemotherapy is controversial. Radiation therapy has an excellent response rate in cats with the SCC affecting the nasal planum and may give long-term tumor control.
