Determining how much to feed a kitten isn’t easy. Even when you hit upon the right amount, it’s going to change before you know it because they just grow so fast. Feeding your kitten the right amount of food is one of the best ways you can help them grow up to be a healthy and happy adult cat. Here’s how.
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If you have a pond in your backyard—or if you’re thinking about adding one—you’re probably dreaming of stocking it with lively, colorful fish. But which species fare best as pond fish? We consulted aquatic veterinary experts to compile this list of some of the most popular—and unique—species to consider when stocking your backyard pond with fish.
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Grooming is part of basic pet care, and doing it regularly not only keeps your best four-legged friend looking good, but will keep him in good health too. Regular grooming will familiarize you with your pet’s body and alert you to any changes or abnormalities immediately—and help you both strengthen your bond for life. Taking your pet to a professional groomer is certainly the easiest way to keep your pal’s coat and skin in great shape. But professional groomers can also be expensive and if your pet is not entirely comfortable with strangers, he may prefer your personal touch anyway. With our expert tips below, and guidance on which tools and products are worth your hard-earned money, you can feel confident about taking care of your pet in the comfort of your own home.
Lameness in Rabbits Lameness is defined as the disabillity of a limb to the point where movement is impaired. This is typically the result of a severe limb injury or as a side-effect of severe pain in the limbs. As the rabbit spends less time using the limb it may begin to favor other unaffected limbs. Moreover, the rabbit will appear to walk rather than hop, as it will not use its hind limbs to push off. The muscular, nervous, and skin systems may all be affected by lameness. Symptoms and Types In addition to limited range of motion in the joints, abnormal positioning of joints, and abnormal joint sounds, a rabbit with lameness may display signs such as: Pain Depression Lethargy Hunched posture while sitting Reluctance to move Hiding Teeth grinding Grunting or crying with movement Decreased appetite or water intake Lack of self grooming Faulty gait — difficulty with hopping, climbing (stairs) Imbalanced muscle mass Bony prominences Swelling over joints Urine scald in the perineal region (due to inability to correctly position self for urination) Causes There are a variety of causes for lameness, including: Congenital development abnormalities Injury to soft tissue, bone, or joint Infection — abscess, septic arthritis, pododermatitis (foot infection) Soft tissue or bone tumors Arthritis Shoulder or hip dislocation (dysplasia) Elbow dislocation (dysplasia) Ligament tears or injuries Fractures Spinal diseases (intervertebral disc disease) Spondylitis (inflammation of the vertebrae) Obesity, lack of exercise Diagnosis Your veterinarian will need to begin by differentiating between lameness due to muscle imbalance and lameness due to a nervous disorder. You will need to give a thorough history of your rabbit’s health, onset of symptoms, and possible incidents that might have led to this condition. A blood and urine analysis will be performed, and an examination of joint fluid to identify and differentiate joint disease. Visual diagnostics will include X-rays for all suspected musculoskeletal causes, and computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to help identify and differentiate between causes. Your doctor may also use electromyography (EMG) to test the muscle’s electrical activity. A muscle and/or nerve biopsy to study the cellular structure of the muscle tissue may also be necessitated by your doctor’s findings. Treatment Treatment will depend on the underlying cause and severity of the disease. If your rabbit is suffering from severe loss of appetite, tube feeding can be used to sustain nutrition until its condition has stabilized. Sedatives, or strong or mild pain relievers may be used – such as morphine or regular anti-inflammatory drugs to decrease inflammation and swelling, thereby decreasing discomfort. If infection is suspected, antibiotics may be used with caution. Bandage or splint care may be all that is needed to correct the limb problem, but if the condition is of a more severe nature, such as joint deformities, fractures, abscesses, etc., surgery may be done to repair or remove the cause of the disability. Living and Management At home, you will need to provide your rabbit with a quiet spot in which to recover, with soft bedding and daily bedding changes. Removal of soiled bedding and measures to keep the fur clean and dry will be an important part of protecting your rabbit from a worsening of its condition. Activity should be restricted to protect the limb from any further injury until the symptoms have resolved. It is important that your rabbit continue to eat during and following treatment. Encourage oral fluid intake by offering fresh water, wetting leafy vegetables, or flavoring water with vegetable juice, and offer a large selection of fresh, moistened greens such as cilantro, romaine lettuce, parsley, carrot tops, dandelion greens, spinach, collard greens, and good-quality grass hay. Also, offer your rabbit its usual pelleted diet, as the initial goal is to get the rabbit to eat and to maintain its weight and nutritional status. If your rabbit refuses these foods, you will need to syringe feed a gruel mixture until it can eat again on its own. Unless your veterinarian has specifically advised it, do not feed your rabbit high-carbohydrate, high-fat nutritional supplements.
If you put yourself in your kitten’s shoes, it’s easy to imagine how their fears can develop—the world is so big, and they’re so small! But there’s more to most kittens’ fears than just that. Kittens need proper socialization, aka stress-free introductions to a variety of people, places and things. This helps them learn the difference between unexpected surprises and serious threats to their safety. And while socialization is a lifelong process that you’ll continue after you bring your new kitten home, it’s especially important when your kitten is between 2 and 7 weeks of age, also known as their prime socialization period or socialization window. Knowing what your kitten was exposed to during the socialization window (and how positive or negative their life experiences were at the time) will give you valuable clues to help you understand their fears and how to help them overcome them. If your kitten has positive experiences during the socialization window, they’re less likely to act shy and fearful, says Dr. Elizabeth Chapman, DVM, of Just Cats Clinic in Reston, Virginia. But negative experiences, or a lack of new experiences, have the opposite effect, often leading to anxious or fearful behavior. “That’s why socialization is critical at this age of development,” Arguelles says.,Jump to section Why Is My Kitten So Scared? 6 Tips to Help Your Kitten Overcome Their Fear Creating a Calm Environment for Your Kitten Calming Solutions for Kittens
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We’re all washing our hands (for 20 seconds to the song of our choice) and cleaning our homes more than ever before to protect ourselves against COVID-19. With all this scrubbing and disinfecting going on, we need to make sure the common household products we’re using don’t accidentally harm our pets. Pets have such a strong sense of smell, and that can lead to serious problems when cleaning products are around. “Many are scented so that people think they smell pleasant, but that scent could lead to pets ingesting the products,” says Dr. Katy Nelson, Chewy’s resident veterinarian and an associate veterinarian at the Belle Haven Animal Medical Centre in Alexandria, Virginia. The most severe cases of toxicities are when pets ingest the product, but even if they don’t directly ingest it, it could still cause problems, she says. For example, they could inhale dangerous aerosol cleaners or get chemicals on their paws and try to lick it off which Dr. Nelson points out could cause irritation of paws, tongue, and GI tract. We still need to thoroughly disinfect the surfaces of our homes, but by thinking ahead to pet safety we can mitigate some potential problems. Follow these tips to keep your pets safe around cleaning products during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
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