Ask the Veterinarian!

[Celes_29]

Xana44

Celes_29

for me the question is not about my pet (i have an adorable dog and a hermit crab i caught yesterday lol ) Its for you, i'm studying biochem hoping to go into vet school after, any suggestions? i did pretty bady with gen chem, i'm planning on retaking that class, other than that my grades ae decent sweatdrop

Good grades are very important, as it is harder to get into vet school than med school. But it is also very important to have experience and good recommendations. Biochem or biology is a great place to start with studies. My undergrad degree is in biology. Check with the vet school you want to attend to see what their prerequisites are.

You really need to find a veterinarian or two who will allow you to shadow or work for them. That way you can get some experience and those recommendations. Most vets are pretty cool with students coming to shadow. Just watch for the first few days, then offer to start helping the techs and assistants. It will both help you get your feet wet and help you to know if this is really what you want to do. It is a tough career, but the rewards are great!

thank you biggrin

[Xana44]

Sweetpea The Tigress

Hi Xana, mrgreen
Hi EnviouSPoppeT mrgreen

There are these cats that live out behind my building. I can hear them fighting at night, and my cats watch them from the window- I was wondering- What do you think about these catch and release programs? Is it a good idea, or does it hurt the cats? I am wondering because the ASPCA sometimes works with people to do that, but I don't know if its a good idea.

I mean, might my cats catch something from me handling other cats, or is it mean to the outside cats?

Trap, neuter, release is a good program.What TNR does is catch the cats, spay or neuter them, then releases them to the area where they were caught. This helps to control the cat population but does not leave a "vacuum" that simply removing the cats would. If you just remove the cats (particularly if the food source that the cats are utilizing is not removed) other cats will just move in. Removing cats has been shown repeatedly to be unsuccessful. Desexing the cats not only controls the population, but decreases fighting and the spread of diseases. This process is likely stressful short term for the cats involved (although not usually painful, per se) but they recover from the stress very quickly once in their home environment.

If you have the opportunity to help in these activities, I would definitely take it up. Before you come home to your house cats, I would recommend changing clothes and spraying shoes with disinfectant. Washing hands goes without saying. This should remove any possibility of carrying home disease to your cats. Bringing home an upper respiratory infection or parasites is the greatest concern.

Sorry, a lecture is probably not what you wanted to hear. I hope I answered all your questions. If I did not, just post away!

[Xana44]

Celes_29

thank you biggrin

You are very welcome. Best of luck in your schooling and future career plans.

[EnviouSPoppeT]

Sweetpea The Tigress,
With the feral cats we also test for Feline Leukemia and FIV (both are immune diseases in cats that sometimes are fatal). If they are positive unfortunately we do have to euthanize them because if they are going to be going out in the wild they are more likely to spread the disease to other healthy cats.
They are both spread trough, sexual intercourse, bite wounds, saliva and bodily fluids. They likelihood of them spreading in the cat colony after they are spayed or neutered decreases, however we are not there to monitor and make sure that the disease stays under control.

Good luck with the Spaying/Neutering, also ask if your area has a grant for spaying/neutering. Sometimes some counties are given money from state or private funding to help with the stray population of cats, that way your not paying out of your own pocket. biggrin

[Obliviously Obvious]

I actually have 2 issues here O.o gomen nasai...

the first is about my kitten Anara - she'll be a year old on August 9th

I've recently had a BAD flea infestation...

we had to remove my indoor pets for the time being to get the house under control.

we treated the house, and after four bombings, lots of vacuuming, and carpet powders, our house is finally flea free - I hope... I havent had one jump on me in two days

we did treat our yard for fleas

and I've done everything for the animals ... I went outside to check my kitty and see how her fleas were (she was an indoor only kitty before this happened, I only took her outside twice since I got her back in september - so naturally, shes skiddish outside) I noticed 1 flea crawling on her (which tells me there HAS to be more)

I've given her baths, put a flea collar on her, buzzed her fur down to a short, manageable length, sprayed her with flea killing spray for cats followed by coming her fur with a flea comb, AND I've given her a dose of frontline... all prior to me noticing the one on her today

what should I do? I want to bring her in ASAP but I dont want a reinfestation.

I heard dish soap kills fleas... would it hurt if I tried to bathe her in this?

My second problem is with my pitbull puppy Liberty - just turned a year old on May 15th.

Liberty has Demodectic (spelling?) Mites... this is causing her to have mange. Our vet's told us her mange was simply genetic and cannot be spread to other animals or humans and also that pitbulls have a genetic predisposition to demodectic mange...

we bought a shampoo from them thats supposed to remove dead mites and clean out the hair follicles?? Im not sure (my boyfriend is the one who takes care of Liberty and he's the one who went to the vet)

well, we couldnt afford the shots, but my boyfriends mom used to work with the state doing necropsy and she made friends with a vet who became a good family friend.

we consulted her about Liberty's mange, and she told us to buy some ivermectin from a local farmers shop and she'd give us the instructions on giving liberty the shots ourselves.

we followed her instructions, and she showed us how to administer the shots properly and watch my boyfriend do it to make sure he did it right, and that was that.

we continued her treatment - we used a graduated system starting with smaller doses then moving up to her full dosage in a few weeks (were supposed to give them like twice a week or so)

Her mange cleared up and she was well again... granted our vets told us she probably didnt even know she had the mites and she was in no pain...

but we've noticed lately that her fur is starting to fall out again and the patches are getting big like they were last time...

the vets told us she'll have mites for the rest of her life, and if she gets stressed out it'll turn into outbreaks like this...

what should we do?? should we treat her like we did last time?

[Xana44]

Kitten issue 1;

Fleas can be very hard to deal with. It sounds like you have done the right things. Please remember that even if you have treated a pet, if the environment (the outside esp) is infested, you may still see the occasional flea. It will die on the pet in time and is almost immediately stunned. So don't get too stressed. Preemerged adults (pupae) are very resistant to any type of treatment and are in the environment. The frontline will kill them on the pet, but not in the environment. If the fleas do bite the pet, Frontline plus will also sterilize them.

If you applied the frontline more than 48 hours ago, you may give a bath. I would recommend pert plus though, as I have had the best luck with it.

[Xana44]

Regarding the puppy problem 2:

It is true that Liberty potentially could have outbreaks of mites her entire life although most dogs outgrow the problem at about two years.

My recommendation is that you see a vet again and confirm the diagnosis before making any treatment. Unfortunately the skin only has a few ways to respond to disease, so many things can look alike. If the vet sees mites on a skin scraping, you can repeat the treatment. But allergies, bacterial infection, and ringworm can all look very similar and would not respond to the mite treatment.

The ivermectin treatment is reasonably safe, but not something I would want to put a dog through if I did not have a firm diagnosis.

I hope these answers help you. I know how frustrating both of these problems you are facing can be. It sounds like you have been taking great care of your pets. Keep up the good work.

[Obliviously Obvious]

thank you so much for your replies =3 I feel better about the issues...

I try to take the best care I can of my pets - considering that they can get expensive and I am relatively poor at the moment...

my pitbull just went through her first heat cycle so I think thats why we have the outbreak... I know that a few months ago on her comprehensive check-up they did a second skin scraping and said that she still had the mites on her and her mites have been diagnosed twice...

your replies have eased my mind and I really appreciate the answers.

I like this thread and am glad you made it =3

[tulin13]

I just want to say that this thread is awesome and I am subscribing.
I've noticed that there are some people in this thread with questions about their fish.
I've had a bit of experience with fish, and have been through a lot of varied fishy incidents throughout.
So if it's okay, I'd like to help out giving fish advice <3?

This thread is fantastic - it's really supportive for all pet owners! Two more cheers for Xana and Poppet!

[Xana44]

tulin13

I just want to say that this thread is awesome and I am subscribing.
I've noticed that there are some people in this thread with questions about their fish.
I've had a bit of experience with fish, and have been through a lot of varied fishy incidents throughout.
So if it's okay, I'd like to help out giving fish advice <3?

This thread is fantastic - it's really supportive for all pet owners! Two more cheers for Xana and Poppet!

I know I would not mind other people giving advice. If I disagree with the advice, I withold the right to to state my difference of opinion, but will do it in a respectful manner.

It is a good thing to share experiences and advice. The more the merrier!

Thank you so much for your support!

[Xana44]

~Ichigo_Pie~

thank you so much for your replies =3 I feel better about the issues...

I try to take the best care I can of my pets - considering that they can get expensive and I am relatively poor at the moment...

my pitbull just went through her first heat cycle so I think thats why we have the outbreak... I know that a few months ago on her comprehensive check-up they did a second skin scraping and said that she still had the mites on her and her mites have been diagnosed twice...

your replies have eased my mind and I really appreciate the answers.

I like this thread and am glad you made it =3

We really appreciate the positive feedback.

Certainly the stress of her heat could cause her to break out with the mites.

I would recommend having Liberty (LOL we have a cat at the clinic for adoption with the same name) spayed after her heat. The immune deficiency that causes Demodectic mange appears to be heriditary. As it is very common in the pit bull breed, I would not recommend using an affected animal for breeding.

Given the diagnosis you have received, I would go ahead and treat her again. You may have to go with a longer duration of therapy, but I would discuss it with your vet friend.

Good luck with your girl. Fortunately although this is a pesky problem, it is rarely life threatening.

[EnviouSPoppeT]

tulin13

I just want to say that this thread is awesome and I am subscribing.
I've noticed that there are some people in this thread with questions about their fish.
I've had a bit of experience with fish, and have been through a lot of varied fishy incidents throughout.
So if it's okay, I'd like to help out giving fish advice <3?

This thread is fantastic - it's really supportive for all pet owners! Two more cheers for Xana and Poppet!

biggrin WELCOME AND THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL FEED BACK!!!! mrgreen
*Does cartwheels* rofl
It would be lovely if you could give us some of your fish knowledge.
Three heads are better than one blaugh

[Obliviously Obvious]

Xana44

~Ichigo_Pie~

thank you so much for your replies =3 I feel better about the issues...

I try to take the best care I can of my pets - considering that they can get expensive and I am relatively poor at the moment...

my pitbull just went through her first heat cycle so I think thats why we have the outbreak... I know that a few months ago on her comprehensive check-up they did a second skin scraping and said that she still had the mites on her and her mites have been diagnosed twice...

your replies have eased my mind and I really appreciate the answers.

I like this thread and am glad you made it =3

We really appreciate the positive feedback.

Certainly the stress of her heat could cause her to break out with the mites.

I would recommend having Liberty (LOL we have a cat at the clinic for adoption with the same name) spayed after her heat. The immune deficiency that causes Demodectic mange appears to be heriditary. As it is very common in the pit bull breed, I would not recommend using an affected animal for breeding.

Given the diagnosis you have received, I would go ahead and treat her again. You may have to go with a longer duration of therapy, but I would discuss it with your vet friend.

Good luck with your girl. Fortunately although this is a pesky problem, it is rarely life threatening.

yes, she is out of heat now, and we are intending on getting her spayed very soon (in the next two weeks or so)

its a shame too... when we bought her we were originally intending to breed her... shes a beautiful brindle pit... shes a dark golden light brown color with dark brown strips ... shes very beautiful and has an AWESOME temperament...

but after her outbreak, we decided breeding her would not be good... we dont want to put the people who buy her puppies through the same ordeal...

=3 I also have a question for you...

a local clinic around here is hiring for certified vet techs... I was wondering how to go about getting certified... or is it something you need a college degree for?

[Obliviously Obvious]

EnviouSPoppeT

tulin13

I just want to say that this thread is awesome and I am subscribing.
I've noticed that there are some people in this thread with questions about their fish.
I've had a bit of experience with fish, and have been through a lot of varied fishy incidents throughout.
So if it's okay, I'd like to help out giving fish advice <3?

This thread is fantastic - it's really supportive for all pet owners! Two more cheers for Xana and Poppet!

biggrin WELCOME AND THANK YOU FOR THE WONDERFUL FEED BACK!!!! mrgreen
*Does cartwheels* rofl
It would be lovely if you could give us some of your fish knowledge.
Three heads are better than one blaugh

=O I raise fish and have about 5 years of fish experience =3 so if someone were to come in with a question, I could also offer some input and if I didnt know, I know some people on a personal level that have been in the aquatic business for forty plus years

of course medical professions will always have rule over my word >w<