Archive for year: 2011

There are many things we can do to practice preventative health care with our dogs and cats. Some, such as using ThePetCheckup, are best to do once per month.  Other things are as simple as keeping an observant eye over any changes in your animal’s behavior or appearance.

Dogs and cats like people can have an off day, but there are many conditions which left untreated can create serious illness quite quickly with no fanfare.  The common urinary tract infection, for instance, if left untreated can develop into a kidney infection which has the potential to become quite serious. Blockages can form – either partial or complete – and lead to a rupture of the bladder.

Like we always say:  It is always better to catch an illness at an early stage, than have to treat a more serious condition later on.

Blood is one of the reagents on a standard urine dip stick test.  And the range goes from negative through small, moderate and on to large.

However, any degree of blood in the urine is considered abnormal and should be further investigated by a veterinarian. The most common cause is a urinary tract infection which often responds quickly to treatment.  Catching the condition in the early stages is critical, however.

Other causes of blood in the urine of your dog or cat can be due to the presence of a tumor, a perforation or even just a tough blade of grass that was eaten and scratched the lining of the digestive system.

I have been seeing more stories about adoption of rescue dogs making the news lately…tv, online etc….it’s wonderful to see. I hope it continues and grows.

Went onto the People.com website at lunch today and there were 2 stories!One was about Robert Pattinson and his rescue dog. The other a sad story about a family who brought a puppy to the states after their son was killed in Iraq.

In September, when ThePetCheckup test showed Chloe was spilling moderate levels of Glucose into her urine, I brought her to the vet for further testing.  Sure enough, her glucose level was pretty high – 402.  We decided to treat her by diet and over 10 days both Chloe and Kate transitioned to a high protein, low carb canned food.

Yesterday, Chloe was retested and her glucose level is in the normal range.  I’m so proud of the little peanut!  Our vet said to keep using ThePetCheckup to test her urine, and if it creeps up out of the negative range again, I’ll bring her in for a blood test. 

I’m also relieved that both Chloe and Kate are on canned food diets and how smoothly they adjusted. Next I’ll be checking into homemade diets and other possibilities while still keeping the protein/carbs ratio in line with diabetes.