The truth about cats and dogs

• Tremendous progress been made in the management of canine hip dysplasia, a hereditary condition frequently seen in large dogs that often leads to degenerative joint disease. Advanced surgical procedures, such as the triple pelvic osteotomy, help to restore joint and limb function and improve the personality and activity levels in affected dogs.
  
  
• Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been developed to provide relief from canine arthritis, a painful degenerative joint disease that affects one in five adult dogs.
  
  
• As many as one in 200 cats have feline diabetes. Today, they are successfully treated with daily injections of insulin products designed especially for animals.
  
  
• Although there is still no cure, several safe vaccines have been developed to protect cats from exposure to feline leukemia virus, a disease that attacks the immune system and is considered the most common cause of serious illness and death in domestic cats.
  
  
• Heartworm is a devastating disease that causes substantial damage to the heart and lungs of cats and dogs. Transmitted by mosquitoes, it is an infestation of long, thin worms in the right side of the heart. Heartworm is readily preventable with the regular administration medication (invermectin). And though somewhat more difficult, treatment is also available to kill the parasites.
  
  
• The diagnosis and management of heart disease in cats and dogs has been dramatically advanced by the development of noninvasive laboratory tests and specialized instruments that assess the extent of cardiovascular disease and pinpoint congenital heart abnormalities.
  
  
• The prevalence of epilepsy in the dog population is estimated to be 0.5 to 5.7 percent. One or more seizures per month can be controlled with anticonvulsive drugs, such as Phenobarbital or diazepam (Valium).
  
  
• Abnormal cardiac rhythms in cats and dogs can result in weakness, poor stamina or even loss of consciousness - if the arrhythmia deprives the brain of oxygenated blood for more than a few seconds. One of the most effective remedies for heart rhythm disruption is the pacemaker, which controls heart rate with electrical stimulation to the heart muscle. These impulse generators have a working life of seven to 15 years which usually accommodates the life expectancy of most middle-aged pets. Although not all animals are suitable candidates for pacemakers, results are good for carefully selected pets.
  
  
• A new technique in open heart surgery to correct subaortic stenosis (a narrowing of the aorta), which had been performed on children with this congenital heart defect, has been successfully adapted by veterinarians to extend and enhance the lives of dogs with this common heart abnormality.
  
  
• Simple dietary modifications have been discovered to extend and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of house cats with urinary tract diseases and chronic kidney disease.
  
  
• When renal failure in cats is prolonged and progressive, and other moderate disease maintenance approaches are no longer beneficial, kidney transplants are performed to enhance and extend life.
  
  
• Three treatment regimens – surgery, radioiodine therapy and anti-thyroid medication – are now available for cats with hyperthyroidism, the most common endocrine disease affecting older cats. Hyperthyroidism usually results from the development of a benign tumor(s) of the thyroid gland which produces too much thyroid hormone and greatly increases metabolism, causing severe physical and behavioral changes.
  
  
• Many effective vaccines, both modified live virus and inactivated (killed) types, are widely available to protect dogs and cats from rabies, an acute viral infection of the central nervous system (brain) that is almost always fatal, once clinical signs appear.
  
  
• Safe and effective vaccines are available and recommended for routine use to protect cats and kittens from contagious infections caused by panleucopenia virus (profound reduction of white blood cells), rhinotracheitis virus (herpes) and calicivirus (upper respiratory diseases).
  
• Safe and effective vaccines are available and recommended for routine use to protect dogs and puppies from contagious infections caused by distemper virus, parvovirus (diarrhea), viral and bacterial agents (kennel cough).
  
  
• Animal rehabilitation is becoming established in veterinary medicine to help cats and dogs recover after surgery. In addition to simple physical therapy, high-tech equipment is in use to treat animals with orthopedic disease, joint disease, and osteoarthritis.
  
  
• Separation anxiety in dogs, a condition characterized by behavioral signs of distress only in the absence of the owner, is successfully treated by early administration of anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines).
  
  
• Two percent of the American dog population is estimated to have canine compulsive disorder. Medication with selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors is being evaluated for its effectiveness in dogs that exhibit excessive tail-chasing, licking and barking.
  
  
• Advanced dentistry is available to relieve pain and restore function in an estimated 85 percent of dogs and 75 percent of cats with dental problems. New preventive dental therapies reduce the plaque and tartar build up that leads to gum disease and eventually to heart, liver and kidney damage.
  
  
• Laser surgery has become practical for treating dogs and cats for chronic ear infections, eye surgery and tumor removal. The number of veterinarians using lasers is expected to grow exponentially over the next few years.
  
  
• In addition to the use of analgesic medications, many new approaches to pain management, including hydrotherapy, massage, and acupuncture are being evaluated for veterinary patients.
  
  
• Veterinarians are adopting minimally invasive procedures such as laparoscopic and arthroscopic surgery to view, diagnose and treat health problems in animals. This method, which results in substantially less recovery time, involves making only small incisions in the animal’s skin and muscle into which tiny instruments, a lens and a light source are passed.
  
  
• X-Rays, CAT (Computer Axial Tomography) Scans, MRIs (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and Ultrasound imaging technologies that are used to diagnose humans are being adapted by veterinarians to help animals. Brain tumors, often found in dogs over five years of age, are diagnosed by MRI.
  
  
• Companion animals with failing eye sight can adapt very well and live long, active lives without vision. But for working dogs, in service as seeing-eye companions, police dogs or search and rescue operatives, cataracts can mean the end of a productive career. Fortunately, cataract surgery, performed with the same procedure and equipment used on humans is available to restore sight.
  
  
• Animal contact lenses are now available for companion and service animals that have suffered eye injuries. The lenses ease the pain and promote healing of eye wounds – giving aging pets a new lease (or leash!) on life.
  

Updated Feb 14, 2003