Companion a Animals
Dogs, cats, rabbits, ferits, hampsters, gerbils, fish, agriculture types
What they provide?
Love and tactile reassurance; reduced blood pressure
Associated Industries
Vet care, pet food (20+ billion dollar industry), pet treats (2.5 billion), pet services, pet supplies, pet health care products
Amino acid in Pet food
Taurine
Cats also need...
Arginine
Meal
Dry matter
Meat
Meat and water
Grain
By-product; No nutrition; leftovers (feathers, beaks, etc)
Premium
Sold through veterinary, higher priced, fixed formula diets
Types of pet food
Dry (10-12), semi-moist (25-35), high moisture (70-75)
Most palatable
Moist food
Nursing orphan pets and how many times
Commercial formulas and homemade formulas...feed 4 times a day
Avoid bacteria and infection
Warm moist cotton ball around behind
How many times to feed orphan?
4 times a day
Cats need..
Taurine
Cats cannot synthesize or metabize
Beta carotene or propylene glycol
Chemical in dog food that cats cannot have
Propylene glycol
Body condition 1
Starving, undernourished, ribs, arch in flank and hip bond, shoulder separation in neck
Body condition 2
Shoulder and neck not as extreme as 1, look at dorsal view, flank still drawn up, can be healthy (look at level of work)
Body condition 3
Ideal range (2-3) but 3 is best, see some shape
Body condition 4
Most American pets, flank at same level as rib cage, smooth dorsal view, neck starts to disappear
Body condition 5
Neglect, joint problems, heart problems, back and breathing probs, round
Common feeding problems..
Feeling chocolate to dogs, feeding canned dog food to cats
chemical in chocolate poisonous to dogs
Theobromine
Antifreeze toxicity
Contains ethylene glycol (tastes sweet), causes rapid destruction of cells in renal tubes (kidney)
Rodenticides (rat poison)
Inhibit production of clotting factors, bleed to death
Pesticides
More common in cats die to lover liver enzymes
Sugar, grains, corn (concentrate) can cause problems...
In hounds (ear infections)
Toxic plants
Easter lilies, tiger lilies, day lilies, poinsettias (cats like to lick pollen)
Chocolate poison
Theobromine, darker bad
Fleas (parasite)
Blood feeding insect with hind legs for jumping
-signs: itching, scratching, chewing, hair loss
-treatment: monthly prevention
Ticks (parasite)
Sucks blood of host and transmits diseases such as Lyme and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
-signs: visibility of tick, feeding cavities, high brush and grass are habittat
-treatment: collars or sprays (topical), and internal
Tapeworms
Use an intermediate host (injection of fleas)
-signs: intestinal cramping and diarrhea
-treatment: reinfestation (breaks off), rounds of dewormer
Roundworms (parasite)
Large round worms that live in the intestines of animals. Zoonotic especially in kids. Can cause blindess do to worms in optic disk
-signs: dull hair, pot bellied, COUGH vommitting of worms, diarrhea
-treatment: several dewormer rounds
Hookworms
Small parasite found in the intestines that feed by puncturing blood vessels. Penetrate intact skin
-signs: diarrhea, vomit, poor appetite, pale mucous membrane, anemia,death
-treatment: several rounds of dewormer 2-3 weeks apart
Whipworms
Only affects dogs, bury head into small intesine
-signs: diarrhea, weightloss, seizures due to electrolyte abnormalities
-treatment: dewormer and dispose of toys that may have eggs
Heartworms
Parasite that as adultsive in the right chamber of the heart where carbon dioxide is removed from and oxygen is added to the blood. Microfilaria (baby Heartworms) are passed from host to host by Mosquitos.
-signs: dead chest COUGH, fatigue, lethargy, weig
Canine infectious diseases
Canine distemper, Canine Hepatitis, Canine Parvovirus, Canine Coronavirus, Rabies
Feline Infectious Diseases
Feline Infectious Peritonitis, Feline Rhinotracheitis, Feline Leukemia Virus (chronic in adults), rabies
Zoonosis
Transferable from animal to human
Zoonosis Diseases
Rabies, salmonella, Lyme disease, Giardia, Cat Scratch Fever, Ring Worm (needs good conditions for fungal growth), Toxoplasmosis
Ideal Breeding Age for Dogs
Bitches start cycling after mature body size and weight are reached. The ideal age is 2-6 years
How many estrous cycles do dogs have in a year?
2
How long is estrus in dogs?
5-9 days (mating receptive)
Gestation length in dogs..
58-60 days
Growth during pregnancy is in..
Girth (width)
Queens/Pussy reach puberty at...
6-9 months of age
Cats are seasonally polyestrus, meaning...?
Induced ovulaters; have a chance of getting pregnant once a month; start in January and cycle every 30 days until September
Lordosis
Mating stance in females exhibited by swine too; locking of spine, sticking butt up in the air, immobilized
Problem with overpopulation of animals...
Diseases spread, unhealthy population, limited nutritional resources (trash), ingesting fleas or ticks (tapeworms), feces everywhere (disease transmission)