Medical Blog

Cats are master of disguise!

More than half of all pet cats in this country are overweight or obese. With this condition comes a myriad of health problems. So, if your cat is losing weight, it must be a good thing, right? Especially if Fluffy is battling the bulge, it seems logical that shedding those pounds should be applauded.

But what if Fluffy is not on a diet or exercise plan? What if Fluffy is mysteriously slimming down? This is a cause for concern because cats don't typically lose weight easily. Almost anyone who has tried to diet a cat will empathize.

Remember that cats are small creatures, so small weight changes are important. Ounces are significant, and pounds are alarming. A 15-pound cat that loses only 1.5 pounds has lost 10% of it's body weight.

Unexplained weight loss may be the only obvious sign that Fluffy is in the early stages of a serious illness. Very often, these cats are still playful, interactive, eating and drinking. But inside their bodies, something is changing so that they are not able to process food for energy as they have in the past.

Being aware of these changes and bringing them to the attention of your veterinarian might allow early intervention.

Whey does my veterinarian say it is necessary to bring my older pet in for a checkup two times a year.

The health and well-being of an aging pet can change rather rapidly. Conditions such as arthritis, heart disease, kidney disease, thyroid disease, cancer and diabetes become much more prevalent as dogs and cats enter their middle to geriatric years (small dogs and cats more than eight years of age and large breed dogs over six).

The key to treating or managing these conditions successfully is early screening and detection. Veterinarians recommend twice-yearly checkups for elderly pets to increase the chance of catching illness at an earlier stage. This should include a thorough physical examination and a body-weight check, as well as laboratory testing (if indicating) such as blood work, urine testing, intestinal parasite screening and a check of the blood pressue.

Keeping your veterinarian updated on any changes in your pet's thirst level, appetite, activity level or body weight can also provide clues to adverse health conditions your pet may be experiencing. Twice-yearly checkups, together with open and efficient communications with your veterinarian, can make all the difference in keeping your pet healthy and happy for years to come.

Feline Trainspotter

A cat in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, has gained fame for routinely dropping off and picking up Nicole Weinrich as she returns home from work.

Train Cat has arrived.

"He always seems to know which train carriage I am on and will be sitting there behind the yellow line when the doors open, because he is all about safety," Weinrich told the Herald Sun. "I've heard people get off the train and say, 'Look, it's Graeme'. Some just call him 'rock star'," she added.

When he's not greeting Weinrich, he can often be found sunning himself and being pet by curious train passengers while there.

"He likes peak hour and people getting off the train...he seems to be a people cat," one commuter told the Herald Sun.

Weinrich told the Herald Sun, "He's one of a kind."

Indeed train cat may just be.

http://video.heraldsun.com.au/2131780176/Feline-trainspotter

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/20/cat-waits-for-owner-at-tr_n_971881.html

Talking Dog

Teamwork has never been more adorable

FDA Launches New Outbreak Response Team

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assembled a new network of epidemiologists and other public health experts in hopes of responding more quickly and effectively to outbreaks of foodborne illness.

The CORE network is a multi-disciplinary team of epidemiologists, veterinarians, microbiologists and other specialists who will work full time on outbreak prevention and response, the agency said.

"The CORE Network builds on the best practices FDA has already implemented in its outbreak response efforts," said Mike Taylor, FDA deputy commissioner of foods.  "And, in keeping with the reforms of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, CORE activities will learn from outbreaks to develop preventive systems in an effort to reduce them.

The fulltime staff will be better equipped to respond to outbreaks, Karas said. "And we can concentrate more on lessons learned, to try and prevent incidents in the future."

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/09/fda-launches-new-outbreak-response-team/

Veterinarian to receive National Medal of Science for the first time

Ralph Brinster, a prominent veterinary scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, is to receive the National Medal of Science for his work on transgenic lab animals - research that helped lay the foundation for much of modern biomedicine.

Brinster, 79, a professor of reproductive physiology at Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine, is among seven recipients of the science medal this year. They are to be honored at a ceremony this year, along with five inventors who are receiving the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

In the early 1980s, Brinster and colleagues made some of the first mice with foreign genes, a powerful technique for drug development because such mice can be tailored to have a particular disease. The scientists created these mice by injecting the genes into mouse eggs and then implanting them in a female mouse.

Untold numbers of mouse "disease models" are still made this way in nearly every university lab in the world.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/130679108.html

Research

Researchers use dogs to study obesity in humans

Taking Fido for a walk can keep people from getting husky, say University of Massachusetts researchers who are trying to get couch potatoes up and out by appealing to their love of dogs.

The first-in-the-nation clinical study at the University of Massachusetts Medical School aims to see if Rover has the power to unleash new levels of human motivation and combat the nation’s obesity epidemic. Researchers are launching a study that will use social networking and other methods to encourage test subjects to walk their dogs — and measure how much walking they do.