Cats: ringworm

Last week Scabby’s owner came in. I usually remember pets’ owners depending on how difficult or severe the case was.  Scabby had the most severe case of ringworm I had seen in a tiny kitten, and an owner with a heart of gold, wishing to do all that was necessary. And she did. 

It was wonderful to see Scabby’s owner coming in last week to neuter some strays which she also feeds.  She told me that Scabby had turned into the most loving of house cats and she was really grateful.

Ringworm is not a worm; it is a fungal disease of the skin.  The name ringworm is derived from the fact that quite often it spreads in a circular fashion, and as it spreads the centre heals and leaves the shape of a ring.  Ringworm is very common in stray kittens, possibly due to the fact that they live in damp conditions and would not have developed any immunity when they are young.

Ringworm is contracted by direct contact, even by humans, so it is very important to avoid touching strays unnecessarily and to always wash hands afterwards.  But Scabby was bad. Not only was most of her body affected, her case was complicated by having a superimposed skin infection and most of her nails were deeply involved. Poor Scabby, I recalled, was just about the size of my palm when I first met her.

Good deeds never get the amount of publicity as bad deeds.  So often, especially during Sunday emergency clinic, we see people coming in to save a stray kitten they have found, not to mention the many people who take care of the countless colonies of cats around the island, and the volunteers working in dog sanctuaries.

There is really far more kindness towards animals in Malta than we give credit for.

Dr Martin Debattista
thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com

 Bathing your Dog

This week Sherry couldn’t sit still.  Where Sherry normally sat quietly on the examination table, here she was, frantically scratching, licking and nipping whatever she could get at. Her owner wearily told me she was even keeping them awake at night.

Sherry is a 12-year-old, amber-coloured Golden Retriever. This breed was originally developed as a gundog, but Sherry is now in her twilight years and prefers to take it easy in the garden, sunbathing in the winter sun on a warm patch of soil.  Skin allergies are common with Golden Retrievers, but Sherry had long been placed on a diet designed to minimise such problems.  Nevertheless, Sherry’s skin was dry and flaky, and patches of exposed skin had become raw with scratching.

 

A sandfly test was taken, and a skin scraping was examined under the microscope for mites. Both these tests proved negative. Something else was bothering Sherry. Having also discounted a possible flea allergy, I asked Sherry’s owner about her dry skin condition. How long had it been since she was bathed?

 

In over 30 years of veterinary practice, I have dispensed a considerable amount of advice. Yet I find myself repeatedly returning to a fundamental topic that is rife with myth. Sherry had not been bathed for over six months because her owner was told by well-meaning people that washing dogs too often is harmful to the wellbeing of their skin and coat.  With such a myth perpetuated, countless dog owners choose to live with smelly dogs. And when dogs’ skin condition dries out too much, they inevitably exhibit considerable discomfort, just like Sherry.

I often liken the skin of a dog to that of a tree which needs to be watered frequently in the summer months and less often in winter – about once or twice a week in July and August and down to once every three weeks during the coldest of winter months.

As with humans, a quick shower has a drying effect on a dog’s skin, while a long bath has a hydrating effect, so baths are preferable.  But do not use your own shampoo. The PH of your dog’s skin is different to yours and your shampoo will only dry out and irritate its skin. The formulations of dog shampoos nowadays has become as sophisticated as ours and conditioning agents have been added to the basic detergent to make sure that both dogs’ skin and coat are cleaned and conditioned without stripping them of their natural oils.

Please do not use flea and tick shampoos unless your veterinarian has actually prescribed it for your dog. This is another misconception. A flea and tick shampoo will only remove fleas or ticks that are actually on your dog at the time of bathing. But it will not provide long-lasting protection.  There are a number of good shampoo products available. Ask your vet for advice on which best to use, since this choice could actually depend on the size of dog, type of coat and the place where your dog lives or sleeps.

Leave the option of using medicated or treatment shampoos in the hands of your veterinarian as and when needed.  Throughout, you need to be observant. Just as not all shampoos agree with us, so it is with your dog.  Bathing should never make your dog’s skin condition worse. If you notice any reaction – redness, flakiness or increased itching after bathing, don’t give up on bathing your dog – just seek the advice of your vet.

Sherry’s days of sunning herself in the sun while lying on soil in the garden had a cumulative effect on drying out her skin. And as with humans, her age also meant that her skin produced less naturally hydrating oils. A good long soak, and plenty of them, will see Sherry continuing to enjoy her retirement.

Dr. Martin Debattista
Veterinary Surgeon

thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com

Timely action against Sandfly

This week, it was great to see Thor again.  Thor is a Springer Spaniel, full of fun and mischief. The word 'Spaniel' comes from Spain or Hispania, due to the fact that this breed originated in this country.

There are now about 20 different breeds of spaniels, with the most well-known in Malta being the Cocker Spaniel, American Cocker, King Charles Cavalier, Brittany Spaniel, Papillion, and the Springer Spaniel which is very popular in Malta. They make good hunters, family pets and are often used by police and customs officers as sniffer dogs.

True to nature, Thor was an energetic dog. And yet, I only recently got to know the real Thor, since he was a pitiable sight when he first came in three months ago since Thor was one of the worst-affected cases of sandfly I saw last autumn.

I have already written about sandfly but this is the right time of year to remind dog owners about its importance and insidiousness. Sadly, too many dog owners already know quite a bit about this disease – either due to experience or, hopefully, because they are now well-informed and take precautions to prevent it attacking their dogs.

The sandfly disease, or as it is medically referred to 'Leishmaniasis', is contracted in the warmer months from infected sandflies. Leishmaniasis is a one-celled blood parasite which mainly infects the blood, bone marrow and other organs.

Symptoms of Leishmaniasis may vary from dog to dog, depending mostly on the type of resistance (or immunity) stimulated by this parasite. Early signs to look out for and which are usually common in all cases are loss of weight and energy.  Besides these primary symptoms, Thor was also suffering from one of the more common signs, which includes a very dry, scaly skin with swelling of the paws and bleeding ear tips. 

Since Leishmaniasis is contracted during summer and takes a few months for the disease to develop, veterinarians typically see clinical cases in the autumn and winter. January and February are the months during which it would be ideal to have your dog checked for Leishmaniasis.  Apart from clinical examinations, your veterinarian will carry out a test which gives results within a few minutes. This test has now been available for a number of years.

January and February are also when you should discuss with your vet the need to protect your dog from Leishmaniasis for the coming summer months.  This is best done as part of the flea, tick and sandfly protection programme. If you are not aware of this programme, ask your veterinarian about preventive treatment for your dog.

We are living in exciting times. Treatment for Leishmaniasis has seen some developments in recent years. There was a time when there was very little choice for this disease. Now, there are products that are far safer to administer when inner organs have been compromised by the disease.  The original preventive methods are still important, since these address the measures you need to take to reduce and prevent sandfly bites by not letting dogs sleep outdoors from dusk until dawn during the warmer months, and by using veterinary-registered products containing pyrethroids, or derivatives in the form of collars or drops, as well as citronella-based products and UV lights in dogs’ sleeping quarters.

In addition to these preventive methods, last year a new vaccine became available which gives your pet a high percentage of protection. Interestingly, the vaccine is essentially a purified protein derived from the culprit parasite. Again, now would be the time to discuss this with your veterinarian to give it enough time to kick in, well before the infective months.

In the fastest turnaround we’ve seen in the battle against Leishmaniasis, this year another product has become available, which increases the natural resistance of the dog in the most beneficial form.  Leishmaniasis is still a very important disease every dog owner should be aware of. With the help of your vet, this would be a good time to discuss a specific protection programme according to the dog’s breed, location and lifestyle.

There was a time when Leishmaniasis was truly a dreaded disease, largely because it was so widespread and also because there were limited protective measures. So it was great to see Thor again, full of boundless energy.

Dr. Martin Debattista
Veterinary Surgeon

thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com

Elderly and their pets

This week Lucy came in for her check-up. She was brought in by an elderly couple I have known for many years through what seems like a lifetime of pets. Because they are elderly and lived alone, Lucy has become the centre of their world.

Whenever elderly clients bring in their pets, the biggest concern for me is knowing how extremely important and beneficial pets can be to the health of elderly people.  In Canada, dogs were at one time banned from residential homes. This ruling had to be overturned due to the negative effect this was found to have on the well-being of the residents.

A similar case happened in Australia, where it was found that allowing cats in residential homes had a huge beneficial effect on elderly people. In the UK, I have actually met dog owners who voluntarily visit residential care homes, accompanied by their dogs that have been vetted and approved for voluntary work. And here I was once again facing a situation where elderly clients had come to the clinic worried sick about their beloved pet.

Lucy is an 11-year-old slightly overweight white female poodle. She had been limping on her left hind leg ever since she fell off the sofa the week before. My initial suspicion as to the probable cause was confirmed upon examination: Lucy had a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in the left knee joint.

The knee joint is one of the largest joints in the body and greatly de­pends on its ligaments for stability. There is no ball-and-socket con­figuration, as you get in the pelvis or the shoulder. Instead, all you have are two flattish bone surfaces of the femour and tibia which are largely held together by two ligaments in the centre of this interface.

These ligaments cross over each other just like the letter X. Hence, the description 'cruciate' which means ‘cross-shaped’ and comes from the Latin term cruciatus.  Overweight dogs have a ten­dency to rupture the anterior of the cruciate ligaments. This destabi­lises the joint due to the fact that the dogs’ weight is too much for their knees to cope with, especially when making certain movements, as happened with Lucy.

The same injury can, however, happen in fitter dogs during exu­berant activities such as chasing rabbits. This actually happen­ed to another patient of mine.  There are many other ailments that may cause a dog to limp on its hind legs, and X-rays may be necessary to exclude other possible ailments and to ascer­tain the development of arthritis in the knee joint.

Diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament rupture is based on the evidence of what is known as the ‘drawer movement’ of the joint while the dog is heavily sedated. When the stability of the joint has been compromised due to the rupture of the cruciate, the two bones – namely the femur above and the tibia below – can be manually made to slip across each other in a drawer movement.

This movement and lack of stability is the reason why the dog limps and also why, if left untreated, it can give rise to secondary permanent arthritis in the joint. Lucy was lucky because her owners chose to bring her in very soon after the injury, thus preventing secondary arthritis.  Because of the elevated degree of ‘drawer movement’ and the lack of secondary arthritis, surgery was the treatment of choice. My clients were willing to have Lucy operated and within a few days the operation was carried out.

There are many different tech­niques for cruciate ligament re­pair, which may vary according to surgeons’ discretion as well as the size of the dog, but all are aimed at restructuring and rein­forcing the ligaments to re-establish the stability of the knee joint. Any orthopaedic surgery carries its own risk of compli­cations, so I was glad to see Lucy’s owners walk in one month after her operation with a big smile on their faces.

Lucy was certainly walking much better and I hope this improvement continues over the coming months.

Dr. Martin Debattista
Veterinary Surgeon

thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com

Lumps, Bumps, and Tumours

This week I was invited to a friend’s house to watch the European Champion’s League football match between Real Madrid and Manchester United.  As I entered the TV room, I met for the first time my host’s dog Spike and immediately noticed a melon-sized lump attached to the side of his chest.

 

Spike is fawn-coloured and short haired, and probably has some Great Dane blood in him as he stands very tall and slim.  Eight year old Spike is in very good health for his age but, as you would imagine, the neo-formation attached to his chest diminished his looks somewhat.

 

Having never met me before and trailing none of the usual scents of a veterinary clinic, Spike was understandably taken aback when yours truly suddenly exhibited an interest in his torso.  This is a bit over-familiar, he probably thought to himself.  But Spike being a gentle fellow and his master clearly in agreement, he allowed himself to be subjected to exploratory examination.

 

The words neoplasm, tumour, benign, malignant, cancer, and metastasis, are all terms which are commonly used and, unless well understood may cause unnessary anxiety, or over complacency if underrated.

 A neoplasm is the abnormal growth of cells of the body which when physically visible is refered to as a tumour. When tumours are malignant  they are invasive or have the ability to metastisis or move to another part of the body. Malignant tumours are generally life threatening and the word cancer is reserved to malignant tumours. Benign tumours  on the other hand are typically contained, are non invasive  and normally non life threatening , they can however , as in Spike’s case grow to enormous sizes.

 

Tumours can occur anywhere and everywhere in the body and are unfortunately common in dogs and cats as much as in humans.  Size is not really an indicator as to the severity of the tumour; nor is it an indication as to whether or not it should be removed.  Location, type, growth rate and general condition of the dog or cat are far more important factors to consider.

 

 

Depending on what type of tumour we are looking at, a biopsy can sometimes be performed whereby a small portion of the tumour is removed for microscopic examination. This helps determine first of all whether it is a neoplasm and if it is,whether it has benign or malignant characteristics.  Sometimes, even benign tumours can be life threatening.  For example, benign tumours could occlude a vital organ such as the airways or the intestine, they could grow in areas such as the ear canal where they cause irresparable damage; sometimes, they have a tendency to bleed and cause anaemia if left untreated.

Whenever you see a lump or bump on your dog or cat which persists and which should not be there, have it seem to by your veterinarian who is best placed to give you advice as to how or whether it should be treated.  Together, you can discuss the available options for possible removal, biopsy, treatment, or maybe even adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach.  As stated earlier, such decisions may depend on factors such as type, location, and growth rate.  These factors will also take into account the medical history and present medical condition of your dog or cat.

 As expected, Spike had a very large benign tumour.  During surgery, it was found to be a lipoma which is a type of neoplasm which originates from the cells of fatty or adipose tissue.  Spike is now walking even taller.

 

Dr Martin Debattista

Veterinary Surgeon

thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com