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We all have that one person that is impossible to buy for during the holidays. Eastside Veterinary Associates understands that, for some of us, that person is a cat. Read on to find some of our favorite and best pet care products to indulge your cat this holiday season.
Most of our kitties are used to living in the lap of luxury already, but with some of the newest and best pet care products out there, you can up your ante. Some of our favorite and best selling pet products for cats include:
But what about the cat that truly has everything? There are some trending pet products and services that might interest the cat owner with enough “stuff.” Consider:
Buying a gift for those you love can be a fun and rewarding experience. We hope that we have helped you find the purr-fect gift for your whiskered family this holiday season
Nov 23If you hear an unusual, somewhat alarming sound from your dog—not quite a sneeze, not quite a cough—you might ask yourself, “What was that noise?”
This unusual honking sound could just be a reverse sneezing, and this article will discuss what it is, why it happens, and what you can do about it.
Reverse sneezing is a fairly common condition that affects dogs of all ages and breeds. It may last for just a few seconds or go on for several minutes. During a reverse sneeze, the dog suddenly stands still, extends its head and neck, and produces a snorting sound.
A reverse sneeze is a sudden, involuntary inhalation through the nose accompanied by a loud snorting sound. A dog may reverse sneeze several times in a row or just once. It’s not unusual for the dog to have a mild nasal discharge and difficulty breathing during or after the episode.
Why Is My Dog Reverse Sneezing So Much?
It’s not entirely clear why some dogs experience reverse sneezing, but it’s thought to be because of irritation of the soft palate (the flap of tissue that connects your dog’s mouth to his nose) or trachea (windpipe). Excitement, stress, or water getting into the airway during exercise may also contribute to episodes.
Reverse sneezing has been linked to allergies, which can cause inflammation of the nasal passages and windpipe. This inflammation makes it difficult for air to pass through your dog’s nose and throat.
When your dog tries to inhale, the throat momentarily closes off. Your dog then opens its mouth quickly to try again—this is when you hear the loud snorting sound. The pressure behind the closed windpipe causes your dog to take rapid, shallow breaths, similar to a short series of sneezes.
Airway irritation can be caused by:
The best treatment for reverse sneezing is prevention. Try to avoid situations or substances that tend to bring on reverse sneezing in your dog. Anxiety and stress—even excitement—can exacerbate the problem.
If your dog begins to reverse sneeze, stay calm and let the episode pass on its own. You can help your dog by holding it upright and gently rubbing its back or massaging its throat until the episode passes.
If your dog’s reverse sneezing becomes worse, contact your veterinarian.
Reverse sneezing can be alarming to witness and hear. Your dog may appear to be choking, with its head back and mouth open. But this behavior is actually a reflex that causes the soft palate to contract and then relax repeatedly.
Your dog may seem restless during an episode of reverse sneezing, but it shouldn’t show other signs of distress, such as pawing at its nose or face, gagging, or trying to vomit. If your dog displays these symptoms and can’t clear its airway after several attempts, seek immediate veterinary care.
If your dog has had episodes of reverse sneezing in the past, it’s likely to continue throughout its lifetime—although the occurrences may become less frequent with age.
If you have questions about your dog’s reverse sneezing, give us a call at 425-882-7788 for our Kirkland location or 425-276-4100 for our Renton location. Our team is always happy to help!
Oct 20Everyone knows your dog or cat provides the best stress relief on the planet. Maybe your pet greets you at the front door after a challenging day. Playing with them and stroking their coat can help your stress virtually dissolve into thin air. At Eastside Veterinary Associates, we’re not surprised that pets can provide other mental health benefits. Keep reading to learn about the link between pets and mental health research, and look at your dog or cat in an entirely new light:
During the past few decades, numerous studies have delved into the benefits of pets for human health. Specifically, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health’s January 22, 2021 edition published a qualitative study on how human-animal interactions can affect pet owners’ mental and physical health. The UK-based study analyzed feedback from 5,926 participants locked down at home during the COVID-19 pandemic’s first wave.
Study participants reported that their pets helped to support their mental and physical well-being during a challenging time. Participants said their pets’ unconditional love and affection was a great stress reducer and mood enhancer. Animal ownership also helped participants to maintain a sense of purpose while decreasing feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Many study participants said their pets helped them to maintain their physical activity during an otherwise sedentary period. Walking their dogs provided good exercise and exposure to green space and the natural world. Pet owners with horses reported benefits from caring for and exercising their equine companions.
Not surprisingly, the benefits of pets for human health continue. Multiple studies have demonstrated that the human-pet bond can result in reduced blood pressure, triglyceride levels, and cholesterol levels.
Playing with your dog has been shown to increase dopamine and oxytocin, the feel-good brain chemicals that produce well-being sensations. Older pet-owning adults have improved cognitive function. Pet ownership can also help to reduce anxiety and PTSD symptoms.
Taking your pet to work offers two proven benefits. Whether you work at home or in an office, studies have shown that having your pet nearby helps to decrease your stress and increase your job satisfaction. And sometimes, a few timely licks or nuzzles can help to smooth out uncomfortable situations.
On-the-job pets can help to improve productivity. When a dog visits a virtual meeting, participants rank their coworkers higher on several important variables. And it’s impossible not to laugh when your cat plops himself on the keyboard while you’re trying to type an important email.
By providing your dog or cat with consistent wellness care, they can better improve your quality of life. At Eastside Veterinary Associates, our skilled veterinarians and veterinary team stand ready to help keep your pet in tip-top shape. Call us for an appointment in Kirkland: 425-882-7788. Call us in Newcastle/Renton: 425-276-4100.
Sep 22
We love sharing our lives with animals. In fact, few things compare with a good snuggle, and for many of us, the time spent holding and nuzzling a sweet, furry feline is life-affirming. Part of what makes this closeness possible is a proactive approach to disease prevention. Unfortunately, zoonotic diseases, or those that can be transmitted between animals and people, can make living in such close proximity dangerous. Cat scratch fever is one such illness.
Cats have the potential to carry various zoonotic diseases, including rabies, ringworm, toxoplasmosis, and more. A reasonable concern for most cat owners is cat scratch fever, or Cat-Scratch Disease (CSD). A bacterial infection caused by the bacterium Bartonella henselae, CSD is a zoonotic disease carried by approximately 40% of all cats at some point in their lives.
It would be one thing if owners saw obvious symptoms of cat scratch fever, but many cats show no signs of illness. Most carriers of the disease are kittens younger than a year.
Cats get infected with Bartonella by way of fleas, specifically through bites and flea dirt (feces). When flea dirt builds up around the feet and claws, or near the mouth, the chances of passing the infection to others increases. If a cat with the bacterium scratches or bites you, or licks an open wound, the Bartonella organism can enter the bloodstream and cause infection.
Signs of Cat-Scratch Disease in humans can include:
While CSD can be mild enough to warrant little to no medical intervention, reactions can be more serious in young and immunocompromised people.
Either way, it is worth it to protect yourself and your family from problems associated with CSD.
Your cat benefits from an effective parasite prevention medication, and so does your entire household. Keeping them free of a flea infestation is an important precaution, but knowing that their medication can prevent CSD is an additional motivator.
Furthermore, cat owners can protect themselves from CSD in these ways:
While fleas can find even strictly indoor cats, it is proven that indoor cats have lower rates of problems related to fleas and other parasites.
If you have any questions about your cat’s health, safety, lifestyle, and behavior, please give us a call at 425-882-7788 for our Kirkland location or 425-276-4100 for our Renton location. We’re always here for your cat at Eastside Veterinary Associates, and hope you and your cat can squeeze in a good, disease-free, snuggle soon.
Aug 24Despite our best efforts, pets age. Unfortunately, with aging comes challenges and health conditions that we cannot entirely prevent. Eastside Veterinary Associates sees many senior dogs who suffer from joint pain and decreased mobility. Just because your pet is aging, though, doesn’t mean that we are totally helpless. There are many options for pet arthritis pain management that we have to offer your older animal.
Arthritis can affect any animal of any age, size, or breed. Most commonly, though, we diagnose osteoarthritis (also known as degenerative joint disease) in our senior dogs and cats.
Injury and normal wear and tear result in the degradation of the cartilage and inflammation with joints. Symptoms can include:
While arthritis is a progressive disease with no cure, it is possible to slow its progression and manage the discomfort that comes along with it.
When our veterinarians diagnose or suspect arthritis in a senior dog, the plan for treatment is often multi-faceted.
Arthritis pain management is based in a few basic areas:
There is no single treatment plan that works best for every senior dog. Rather, it is best to assess the individual patient and determine a combination of therapies to achieve arthritis pain management and improve mobility. Our veterinarians will start with a thorough history, physical exam, and additional diagnostics based on the findings to tailor the treatment plan to your senior dog.
We might not be able to cure arthritis or prevent aging, but we are here for you to help keep your pet as comfortable and happy for as long as possible. Contact us with questions or to start a treatment plan for your pet.
Jul 21Teaching your puppy the proper place to go potty is immensely gratifying. Not only are you giving them tools to be more confident, but you’re controlling the environment you share with your dog. Of course, accidents are going to happen, and sometimes they’ll happen with a maddening frequency. When potty training a puppy, you have to go with the flow, and Eastside Veterinary Associates got some tips to help you start the process and reap the benefits.
Potty training a puppy is not an experience to be taken lightly. Approaching it the right way can make all the difference to a young, growing, impressionable dog. An important chapter in their introduction to you, your lifestyle, and their new home, successful potty training ensures that your dog understands their place alongside their new people. What could be better than building confidence in your new best buddy?
You can potty train a puppy at the same time as building their eating and drinking routines. Fixed meal times can increase the control of bathroom habits.
A puppy needs a chance to go to the bathroom after every meal and each time they take a drink. Ideally, take them outside to their specified potty spot after play and nap times, as well, and at least every 30 minutes throughout the day.
You might notice that your puppy doesn’t always urinate or defecate when outside, but does so following certain events. It’s up to you to observe their behavior patterns closely and make accommodations that suit their needs. For example, your dog may only defecate upon waking up, or directly following a certain meal.
One of the largest barriers to effectively potty training a puppy is inconsistency.
Potty breaks should be at the same times every day, and must run like clockwork. Lead your puppy outside on-leash to the same place each time. Cue them with a basic command, like “go,” “time to potty,” or other commands you can repeat regularly. They’ll begin to understand what you mean. Try not to engage with them except for these specific words during this time.
If they go, immediately offer them a tasty treat and praise them for going to the bathroom. If possible, give them some fun off-leash play time in the backyard.
If your puppy doesn’t go to the bathroom during one of their scheduled trips, bring them back indoors to a contained area. Don’t let them wait there for too long; chances are they’ll go inside if they aren’t led outside in 10-20 minutes.
Once they begin to show success with your routine, you can open up their indoor world a little bit for supervised exploration.
Mistakes are going to happen, but you should never scold or punish them for it. Stay as neutral as possible when they potty inside. Take them immediately outside and wait with them at their potty spot. They may not have to go anymore, and that’s okay. Simply return to the house and thoroughly clean up the mess in a calm manner.
Investing in a good crate, puppy pads, and a marker for their potty spot outside are all helpful. You can get an odor-neutralizing cleaner for when accidents happen.
If you have questions about potty training a puppy, give us a call at 425-882-7788 for our Kirkland location, or 425-276-4100 for our Renton location. Our team is happy to help!
Jun 20As a responsible pet owner, we know you want the best for your furry friends, which means having what you need to help them in case of an emergency. A pet first-aid kit is an important accessory to keep in your house and might help you treat a serious pet injury enough so you have time to get to the veterinarian. The team at Eastside Veterinary Associates suggests the following for your pet first-aid kit:
According to the Red Cross, one of the most important elements to include in your first-aid kit is a way to identify your pet. This includes a current photo and any relevant vaccination or medication records in case you and your pet get separated. Be sure to have your contact information listed clearly. If your pet has a microchip, make sure that your contact information is up to date so that you can receive the call when they find your pet. You should also have a comfortable and safe carrier, a collar and leash, a blanket or bed, and toys. A couple of travel bowls will make it easier to give your pet food or water if you find yourself far from home.
Although we hope you never have to use them, it is a good idea to include guides on basic pet first-aid in your kit. These will have instructions on dog CPR, cat CPR, and other life-saving measures that will help you act fast in case of an emergency. These guides will also give you information on safely traveling with pets and what to do in case of a natural disaster.
No first-aid kit is complete without a selection of medical supplies that can help you stop bleeding, or address other injuries until you can get to your veterinarian. Be sure to include the following:
During an emergency, every second counts, and the team at Eastside Veterinary Associates hopes that these tips help you ensure pet safety even at home or on the road. When your pet needs more extensive veterinary care, we are always here to help. From wellness checks to surgery, we have a long list of veterinary services to keep your pets healthy. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, please call 425-882-7788 for our Kirkland location or 425-276-4100 for our Newcastle location.
May 17Has your older canine companion become more odiferous in his golden years? Most dogs don’t exactly smell like roses one hundred percent of the time; after all, it’s their natural instinct to roll around in something smelly to mask their own scent. But if your dog stinks even after a bath, it’s time to sniff out the culprit of your dog’s pugent aroma.
At Eastside Veterinary Associates, we love helping your pets feel their very best. A thorough senior wellness exam can give us a deeper understanding of your dog’s overall health and reveal the causes of your dog’s distinct odors.
If your dog stinks no matter what you do, a medical condition could be to blame.
A medical assessment with a full physical examination plus bloodwork can help us diagnose any underlying medical condition or infection that could be causing your dog’s foul smell. Please contact us right away if you notice a foul odor coming from your canine or anytime you have questions about caring for your pet.
Apr 25Anal gland expression might not be the topic of choice in most social circles, but it is a very common issue in pets. Perhaps bringing the smelly, funky issue into the light could help prevent scores of cats and dogs from living through the discomfort of impacted or infected anal glands. That’s where we come in!
The anal glands are essentialy scent glands. Located exactly where you think they are (at the 8 and 4 position on either side of the anus, just below the skin), these glands help animals mark territory with a dark, strong-smelling fluid. During defecation, the stool puts pressure on the anal glands causing them to squeeze out the liquid along with the waste. This is naturally-occuring anal gland expression.
Unfortunately, the sacs that hold the fluid don’t always empty, or the fluid becomes too solid to pass. This is known as impaction, and can become a hotbed for bacteria. This issue starts as minor discomfort but can quickly develop into full-blown infection if the pressure isn’t relieved.
Some animals may experience problems related to the anal glands more than others. Other factors can include obesity, skin infections, allergies, incontinence, skin mites, and hypothyroidism. We can work with you and your pet to get to the bottom of any underlying causes of frequent impaction issues.
Owners of dogs that scoot their bums on the carpet or upholstery know that anal gland expression is imminent. Pets may also start to lick their rectum more than usual. Other signs include straining or crying when defecating, swelling around the rectum, and blood in the waste. These signs indicate that a pet needs help as soon as possible.
An anal gland infection must be cleaned out and treated with an antibiotic and pain medication. Left alone, a pet could face a ruptured abscess that requires emergency surgery and drainage.
The basics of anal gland expression involve manually placing pressure on the glands with a gloved finger inserted into the recturm. This process requires gentle handling until the gland is fully emptied. Expressing anal glands internally is usually performed by a veterinary team member whereas groomers usually apply pressure externally.
Frequent or unnecessary attention to this area can actually result in painful inflammation, scarring, and narrowing of the duct. In other words, if your pet isn’t experiencing problems related to their anal glands, don’t go there.
Anal gland expression may or may not be something you ever have to deal with. But we can assure you, the more you know about it the better. At Eastside Veterinary Associates, our doctors are experts at distinguishing anal gland issues from other problems, and advising of a treatment plan to help your pet.
If you notice symptoms of anal gland issues , please call to schedule an appointment with our doctors at:
Our team is always happy to help you at Eastside Veterinary Associates.
Mar 25If you’re a cat lover, you’ve no doubt noticed your cat meticulously kneading the surface beneath her, whether it’s your bed, blanket, or lap. This adorable feline behavior is also known as “making biscuits,” and her eyes may glaze over in an expression of pure contentment while she’s doing it!
At Eastside Veterinary Associates, we love helping your feline companions live their best, healthiest, lives. If you’re wondering what all the kneading is about, we’ve got some insights to help you understand this delightfully quirky cat behavior.
False claws for cats. The cat lies on the bed with bright false claws
From companion pets to pumas, kneading is an instinctive behavior seen in virtually every cat species. A definitive answer as to why they knead isn’t confirmed, but plenty of theories abound, including:
Kneading is natural, and positively adorable, but sometimes it comes with collateral damage in the form of torn blankets, furniture, and your clothes. Scolding is never the answer, but here are a few pointers to help make all that biscuit making more manageable:
Keep your cat healthy and happy so she can make biscuits well into her golden years! Schedule a comprehensive wellness exam, and let us know if we can answer any other questions you have about your feline’s fascinating behavior.
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