Nutrition

How do I respond when clients ask if they can cook their pets' food?

National Report - A national survey to gauge the impact of the contaminated pet food following the massive recall was launched late yesterday.

Menu Foods pet-food recall was estimated at snaring 1 percent of all pet food. As the recall list grew, so did DVM Newsmagazine's coverage. Click here for more coverage

National Report - 4/9/07 - In response to pet-owner concerns after the large-scale recall of some pet foods, the American Veterinary Medical Association issued guidelines on making home-cooked meals for pets while reiterating that non-recalled pet foods remain the best option.

National Report - 4/4/07 - Members of Congress are joining a rapidly expanding hue and cry over last month's recall of tainted pet foods, with at least three lawmakers demanding answers from the Food and Drug Administration and Menu Foods.

From Veterinary Medicine--Aminopterin and melamine: What practitioners need to know (Audio Clip)

Equine colic is "responsible for more deaths in horses than any disease group except old age." That's how Nathaniel A. White, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, described the insidious nature of the condition in a 2005 presentation to the American Association of Equine Practitioners in Quebec.

Two substances, aminopterin and melamine, have been identified in some of the tested samples of the recalled pet foods manufactured by Menu Foods (www.menufoods.com). How these substances entered the pet food chain hasn't been determined. Investigators also don't know whether these substances are the sole cause of the illness associated with ingestion of the recalled food; other as yet unknown factors are likely to be involved.

National Report - 4/1/07 - Worried pet owners nationwide flooded veterinary practices with calls last month, after nearly 1 percent of the pet food sold in the United States was recalled and later reported to have been contaminated with a rodent-killing toxin.

New York - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first drug for managing canine obesity, a common health-threatening condition in millions of dogs in the United States.

Your pet is exhibiting clinical signs that could be consistent with an adverse reaction to food.

Most practitioners recognize that some dogs and cats with pruritus or gastrointestinal conditions can be managed either in part or fully by feeding a limited-antigen diet.

Veterinary Economics asked some folks in the field how they're handling the pet food recall. Here are their tips from the trenches.

Gastrointestinal parasites are insidious causes of disease in cats. Protozoan parasitic infections in particular can be difficult to detect because there are often no signs of disease, or the signs, such as diarrhea, are nonspecific. But these infections must be uncovered and cured before they cause serious disease or spread to housemates or even owners.

To ensure that dog and cat owners know what their pets should be eating, we give new clients nutrition profiles specific to their pets.

Timely treatment of ill neonates will provide the best chances of survival. Although time-consuming, intensive care of these puppies and kittens, which requires serial monitoring, can be extremely rewarding.

If an indoor cat has a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet and nothing to do, the inevitable will ensue.

DAVIS, CALIF. - 04/15/05 - Researchers have identified the mechanism that allows animals to recognize the amino-acid content in foods. Neurophysiologist Dorothy Gietzen and colleagues at the University of California-Davis (UC-Davis) School of Veterinary Medicine say the discovery has implications for the betterment of human health, particularly in epileptics, some of whom are influenced by amino-acid deficiencies.

When I started practicing, the most common cause of death in older dogs was chronic interstitial nephritis.

Horses that are offered two sources of roughage are less likely to engage in stereotypic behaviors.

Participant drop-out rates were significantly lower in the PPET group.

Since 1980, the number of overweight children in the United States has tripled, climbing to 15 percent. In comparison, the National Research Council estimates 15 percent of pets were overweight a decade ago and nearly 40 percent are overweight today. Given a culture that increasingly regards pets as family members—and even children—with a place at an over-bountiful table, the rising number of overweight pets should come as no surprise.

Sure, Brownie's not as spry as she used to be," says your slightly indignant client, petting her basset hound's bowling ball stomach. "But that doesn't mean that she's not a healthy, happy dog, Doctor."

How many times has a client said, "But I only give my pet one scoop of food," and then you find out he or she is using a shovel?

Results of experimental and clinical investigation have confirmed the importance of dietary modifications in medical protocols designed to promote dissolution and prevention of uroliths.

Hemochromatosis results from excessive accumulation of iron in various body tissues.

Nurtured means they know the desired outcome and accept the accountability for getting there with the client and patient...

Our society is losing the war on obesity. And bad eating habits have spilled into the pet population. No matter how hard you preach, many clients don't seem to heed the warnings. In fact, client compliance with nutritional recommendations for therapeutic foods ranks at a dismal 12 percent compliance rate out of the the 59 percent of all dogs and cats that have visited a veterinarian and would benefit from treatment with a therapeutic diet, according to last year's American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) study. It was the worst compliance category. The survey estimates lost revenue in excess of $110,000 per veterinarian per year for therapeutic pet foods alone.

Fortunately, there are numerous quality diets to choose from.

To get pets eating appropriate diets quickly, this doctor offers clients a sampler pack of the therapeutic diets he recommends for cats with kidney disease.