Rat Bite Disease

It's not uncommon to get an occasional scratch when you play with your cat. However, it's important to take care of your wound and monitor it carefully for complications. Not all cat scratches are dangerous, but certain circumstances may increase your risk of developing certain diseases and other health risks. Read on to learn more about some of the possible dangers associated with cat scratches, and whether you need to seek medical attention. Even during seemingly harmless play with your feline companion, occasional cat scratches are inevitable. Johns Hopkins Medicine says that kittens under 1 year old are even more prone to scratching — you may notice more incidents during play and laptime snuggles as your younger cat is getting used to their movements. Regardless of age, cat scratches can mean more than just pain and temporary red or discolored marks. These wounds can sometimes sting, bleed, and even become infected. Both feral and domesticated cats may also transmit certain...

Training your dog may seem like a major task at first, but once you settle on a training plan and gain a sense of routine, it'll get easier. Utilizing specific dog treats for training will become a big factor in letting your dog understand what they're doing right. Positive reinforcement is a popular technique and treats play a big role in facilitating good outcomes for puppies. The first thing you need to decide is what type of treat your dog enjoys. Texture and flavor are the main components here. Does your dog enjoy chewy treats or bite-sized nibbles? Most training treats are eaten within a few seconds to enhance the timeliness of the training and to keep your dog motivated. Small treats are best for this technique, but if your dog is very receptive to a treat that takes a little longer to eat, that's okay too. The main goal of training is to let your dog know they did a good job at the right moment, and giving them their favorite treat is the best way to accomplish that...

Veterinarians say regular check-ups, deworming and vaccinations will help prevent illness More cases of tick-borne diseases in dogs and cats are being witnessed in the city. The disease causes thrombocytopenia-reduced platelet count, one of the most common, yet serious platelet disorders. The condition also results in anaemia and treatments often need blood transfusion. "A dog is diagnosed as thrombocytopenic when its platelet count is less than 50,000/cmm. Per day 10 to 15 cases are treated in the Madras Veterinary College (MVC) Hospital for this condition," said S. Balasurbramanian, Director of Clinics, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS). Ticks are a major cause of concern for the animals and pet parents as they are carriers of parasites like Babesia gibsoni and Ehrlichia canis that cause blood infection. One in four dogs in the country is prone to this infection. "Signs include hemorrhages on the skin, pale mucous membranes, nose...

You have fallen head over paws in love with your new COVID-rescue mutt, and are now wondering if you are the only human who firmly believes this is the most beautiful and intelligent example of its breed in the history of the world. There's only one way to find out: a dog show! But before you trot your pooch into this minefield of abject discipline and merciless judgement—we've seen a few minutes of that Westminster thing on TV—you, the human, need to know some things. Dog shows are aggressively formatted, hewing to a tradition that began in 1850s England and still retain a whiff (so that's that smell) of the arch prim-and-properness of its Victorian origins. The idea behind them was, and is, to see if a purebred dog was indeed the perfect specimen for that breed, and thus ideal for breeding stock. Which explains why dog show judges are so adamant about the details: the size, the weight, the proportion of all of it, the teeth, the musculature, and the way the dog mo...

Rat-bite fever is a bacterial infection that transmits through contact with rats, other rodents, and contaminated foods and drinks. In May 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that many communities have reported increased rodent activity. The risk of infection due to a rat bite is around 10% , and children living in poverty have the highest risk of developing rat-bite fever (RBF) as a result. Without antibiotic treatment, RBF can cause severe complications, including damage to bones and inflammation of the heart, brain, and spinal cord. It can be fatal. In this article, we describe RBF and discuss its causes and treatments. RBF is a severe infection caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis or Spirillum minus bacteria. These spread to humans through rat bites, contact with rat urine and feces, and contaminated foods and drinks. As researchers observe in a 2020 review , "Annually, more than 2 million animal bites occur in the United States, and rats ...

The normally affectionate pair weren't going to let anyone threaten their pack. Editor's Note: America's Best Pet Pals is a nationwide search for the animal friendships that make you laugh, cry, and purr. Reader's Digest will be honoring the best in pet friendship in print, online, and on social media. This is a finalist in our "Lifesavers" category. Scroll to the bottom to cast your vote for Rue and Finn. To see our full list of finalists, go to rd.com/petpals and vote in each category. When my first German Shepherd, Little Bear, died, she left behind a grieving owner and equally grieving housemate, Rue. Just a year old, Rue was full of boundless puppy energy which vanished quickly when Bear passed away. A couple of weeks after Bear's passing, a friend asked if I'd foster a five-month-old German Shepherd pup who'd already been rehomed three times. He was anxious, nervous, and fearful with an energy level off the charts. Within minutes of watchi...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Sophia's Story – A New Life After Greyhound Racing    coastalbreezenews.com

It's not uncommon to get an occasional scratch when you play with your cat. However, it's important to take care of your wound and monitor it carefully for complications. Not all cat scratches are dangerous, but certain circumstances may increase your risk of developing certain diseases and other health risks. Read on to learn more about some of the possible dangers associated with cat scratches, and whether you need to seek medical attention. Even during seemingly harmless play with your feline companion, occasional cat scratches are inevitable. Johns Hopkins Medicine says that kittens under 1 year old are even more prone to scratching — you may notice more incidents during play and laptime snuggles as your younger cat is getting used to their movements. Regardless of age, cat scratches can mean more than just pain and temporary red or discolored marks. These wounds can sometimes sting, bleed, and even become infected. Both feral and domesticated cats may also transmit certain...

A yeast infection is a frequent cause of skin and mucous membrane irritation. Some of the most common areas for yeast infection include the genitals, buttocks (diaper rash), folds of skin, and mouth (oral thrush). If you have a yeast infection, you might wonder how long your symptoms will last. For most people, yeast infections are uncomfortable but benign, and their symptoms clear up quickly with prescription medication or over-the-counter treatment. diego_cervo / Getty Images During a yeast infection, a type of fungus, Candida albicans, overgrows. While every person has Candida on their skin and in their digestive tract and genitals, this fungus is normally kept in a healthy balance with other fungi and bacteria. But if Candida outnumbers these other organisms, you can develop an itchy rash. There are several factors that may increase your risk of developing a yeast infection, or candidiasis. Candida flourishes in warm, damp, sugary environments...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Baltimore mother says 6-year-old son bitten by rat, after complaints to apt. management    Fox Baltimore

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Dog rescued from abandoned house attic    WNEP Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Dogs are widely accepted as being among the brighter creatures of the animal world and every so often the canine kingdom turns out a veritable genius. Researchers scoured the globe for extra specially intelligent dogs and – making sure to discount their proud owners' exaggerated boasts, pinpointed six that were able to learn as many as 12 new toy names in a week. At least one of them could even remember in excess of 100 names for toys over a period of months. Since the first six dog geniuses were identified – all of them border collies – a further 15 have been located, among them German Shepherds and Pekinese. "We were definitely surprised by the dogs' performance. It takes a while for most dogs to link an action, like 'sit' or 'down' to a word. So we were not expecting that the dogs will be able to learn 12 new words in one week," said Shany Dror, of Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. Names of objects are much harder to learn than commands as they a...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Ask The Vet: Helping a dog work through leash aggression    Arizona Daily Sun

Spanish Mastiff The Spanish Mastiff is a very intelligent dog, not without beauty, whose expression manifests both these qualities. Rustic, affectionate, kind and noble, he is very determined when facing dangerous animals and in front of strangers, especially when he has the opportunity to defend and protect farms or cattle. In his behaviour, one can see it […]

DETROIT – In the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were sporadic reports of a dog or cat testing positive for the coronavirus -- SARS-CoV-2. However, there was very little focus on how often it happened, which pets were at risk or if animals could spread the virus to humans. Local 4 News found an international expert to put that in perspective Tuesday. "Most infectious diseases that cause outbreaks in people come from animals, and COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, is no different -- it comes from a bat," said Dr. Dorothee Bienzle, a professor of veterinary pathology at the University of Guelph in Ontario. Bienzle has been studying the spread of the virus to animals since the start of the pandemic. She points out that given that it comes from an animal, it shouldn't be surprising that SARS-CoV-2 can be spread to animals. "During the past year we've found out that mink are highly infectious, and cats are relatively infectious. Dogs are also ...

This article was originally published here Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis. 2021 Sep 12;105(1):115539. doi: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2021.115539. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT We determined the kinetics of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody response in fifteen hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Patients were divided into mild/moderate (mild, n = 1; moderate, n = 4) or severe (n = 10) and virus-specific anti-Nucleocapsid IgM, anti-Spike IgG and anti-Spike IgA were measured in serial serum samples collected 0 to 15 days after hospital admission. Surrogate neutralization assays were performed by testing inhibition of ACE-2 binding to Spike. In 3 patients (2 severe and 1 moderate case), serum antibodies and T-cell memory were monitored 6 months after baseline. Although IgM response tended to appear first, patients affected by less severe disease were more prone to an early IgG/IgA response. Neutralization of Spike binding to ACE2 correlated with anti-Spike IgG and IgA. IgG and IgA antibody response ...

You probably arrived here because you are like me… you love your dog and are searching for the best dog food. But you may also be here because you heard about dogs eating either standard or grain free dog foods developing a heart disease called dilated cardiomyopathy, and now you are looking for the best dog food without peas, legumes or potatoes. In July 2018 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began an investigation of dilated cardiomyopathy cases in dogs whose breed is not genetically predisposed for DCM and were fed a diet containing peas, legumes or potatoes. This is also called taurine-deficient nutritional dilated cardiomyopathy. The agency released initial results of that investigation in June 2019, stating it had received 524 reports involving 560 dogs and 14 cats diagnosed with DCM. Some reports included multiple pets in the same household. That may not seem like very many considering the millions of dogs and cats in U.S. homes. The FDA stated it als...