Diets, Heartworm and Microchips! |
HEARTWORM
This is a serious and potentially fatal disease spread by mosquitoes and caused by parasitic worms living in the lungs and the heart of dogs and cats. (Other mammals can also be affected including humans, in rare instances.) Dogs and cats of any age or breed are susceptible – even those who only live indoors.
Signs of infection in dogs include a mild but persistent cough, reluctance to move or exercise, fatigue after even moderate exercise, reduced appetite and weight loss.
Cats are more difficult to diagnose as their symptoms can look like other feline diseases but can include vomiting, gagging, difficulty breathing, lethargy and weight loss. Heartworm disease in cats can often be mistaken for feline asthma or allergic bronchitis, a syndrome called Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease (HARD).
A simple 5-minute blood test can detect the disease. While treatment for heartworm disease in dogs is possible, it is a complicated and expensive process, taking weeks for infected animals to recover. There is no effective treatment for heartworm disease in cats, so prevention is imperative.
Thankfully heartworm prevention is safe, easy and inexpensive. Just one tablet or topical medication once a month can prevent this devastating and costly disease.
Call us today to talk about how to prevent Heartworm Disease in your dog or cat.
More information is available at heartwormsociety.org
BIGGEST LOSER
We may not have a TV show but you can join the Aurora Animal Hospital’s Biggest Loser Campaign!
The majority of pets in our country are overweight. Some are couch potatoes; some eat all their food and then clean up everyone else’s. Whatever the reason, overweight pets are at increased risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and osteoarthritis – just like people.
But exercise and diet can help shed the unhealthy weight and dramatically improve your pet’s quality of life. Just ask Dr. Cogswell about her dog Chico, pictured here, who was nearly twice his ideal weight when she rescued him!
Let Aurora Animal Hospital customize a realistic diet and safe exercise plan specific to your pet’s needs. We’ll discuss which food is best, how many kcals are needed each day to reach their weight loss goal and can even recommend special diets or create a plan using your existing brand of pet food, including treats.
Maintaining a healthy weight is important, we can help!
CHIP YOUR CAT
Aurora Animal Hospital will microchip your cat – for free!
Less than 10 percent of lost cats taken to shelters, sadly, find their way home. Their best chance of being reunited with their family is by microchip identification. Aurora Animal Hospital is committed to reuniting more cats with their families by participating in the Chip Your Cat program.
Simply download a free coupon from ChipYourCat.com and call us to make an appointment, it’s that easy.
Aurora Animal Hospital, The DAVMS, Dumb Friends League, the Metro Denver Shelter Alliance, Bayer resQ and HomeAgain are committed to reuniting more lost cats with their families. The Chip Your Cat program is a unique local effort that is part of a larger initiative to improve health care for cats, raise awareness about cat issues, and enhance the image of cats as pets. If you share your heart and home with one or more felines, it’s time to Chip Your Cat!