Annual health checks are opportunities for cats to be checked and examined thoroughly to ensure that they are in good health. It is also during wellness checks that health problems can be diagnosed while still at an early stage, making them easier and less costly to treat.

Cats also need to be taken to the veterinarian for regular dental visits. They need to have their teeth cleaned and examined for loose, damaged or rotten teeth, dental carries, inflamed gums and other dental problems.

Even if you consider yourself to be familiar with cats and their behavior, you may be unable to sense that there is something wrong with your pet because cats are experts at concealing signs of illness, especially during the early stages. In many cases, distinct signs were only noticed by their owners when the condition was already in the advanced stages.

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A dog’s nose has scent receptors that are responsible for receiving and decoding various smells. They have a very keen sense of smell; in fact, it’s over forty to a million times more sensitive than that of humans, depending on the breed. The shape of a dog’s nose will also have a big say in how scents are perceived, while the mucus membranes that line the nose help collect and retain scent molecules.

The dog’s olfactory prowess is also attributed to the fact that over a third of their brain is responsible for processing and decoding smells. Dogs also have the “Jacobson’s Organ” located within the roof of their mouths, which functions to receive and decipher odorless pheromones.

A dog’s sense of smell helps him learn more about the world around him; it allows him to gather and retain sensory memories of places that a dog has been to. ... Read more »

Diabetes in dogs cannot be cured or reversed, thus if you have a diabetic dog, your extra vigilance, proactive approach, and knowledge will go a long way in ensuring your pet’s health and wellbeing.

Keeping a diabetic dog healthy is a multi-factorial approach, including weight maintenance, feeding an appropriate diet, administering the right amount of insulin, being able to identify any changes in your dog’s condition, and knowing what to do if something is wrong.

Diet, insulin, and exercise are very important factors which can help keep blood sugar levels at a normal range. Obesity can actually pave the way for diabetes to set in, or it can exacerbate an existing diabetic condition. Keeping your pet’s weight within healthy parameters can go a long way in improving his health and making the problem far less acute.

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If you think your Abyssinian cat will need just one litter box then you may need to think again. Not sure how many litter boxes to provide your cat? Your veterinary clinic Gresham, OR can help you with this dilemma. In general, you should have at least one litter box per cat plus an extra litter box available for backup. In a single cat home, one litter box may be fine, but if your cat is sharing his home and his litter box then you may run into trouble. If your cat is spraying the area around his litter box, leaving urine or poop uncovered in the litter box, or even leaving a mess outside of the litter box then he may be trying to tell you something. Talk to your vet about your cat’s behavior to rule out possible illness. If there’s no illness then simply set out an extra litter box and see if that helps.

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If you own a cat then you probably already know that most cats are just as prone to fleas as most dogs. In order to protect your Abyssinian from an invasion of pests like fleas talk to your vet Gresham, OR about a flea and tick prevention plan. Most flea prevention plans comes with the added bonus of built in tick prevention as well. There are a variety of options available including topical or injectable monthly treatments, monthly oral treatments, and flea and tick collars. Most indoor cats only require basic treatment plans while outdoor cats require a more aggressive plan. If your cat already has fleas or ticks, call your vet and find out how to rid your pet and home of the fleas as well. It’s important to be thorough in following your vet’s advice in order to stop future outbreaks. Fleas and ticks can carry life threatening diseases.

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