Ask a Vet!

[Karen]

My question, in reference to my horses:

How accurate is hair analysis for mineral deficiency/toxicity?

Both vets agreed - hair analysis is excellent and accurate, best taken from the mane or tail, somewhere where it grows continually, and they can give you the history of any deficiency or toxicity as well. It is best to have a vet do the collection both to make sure they get the root ball, and so, say Princess Pony will hate the vet instead of you, who has to deal with her on a daily basis (think of how annoying it is if someone yanks a piece of hair from your head!) but this is often the best way to tell with horses, especially if there are not other gross symptoms. It depends what part of the country you are in what they need to test for, of course. Does that help? I'll email you the audio files when I get them, but wanted to tell you that part, in any case!

[zippy-kat]

Both vets agreed - hair analysis is excellent and accurate, best taken from the mane or tail, somewhere where it grows continually, and they can give you the history of any deficiency or toxicity as well. It is best to have a vet do the collection both to make sure they get the root ball, and so, say Princess Pony will hate the vet instead of you, who has to deal with her on a daily basis (think of how annoying it is if someone yanks a piece of hair from your head!) but this is often the best way to tell with horses, especially if there are not other gross symptoms. It depends what part of the country you are in what they need to test for, of course. Does that help? I'll email you the audio files when I get them, but wanted to tell you that part, in any case!

Awesome, thanks and I look forward to the audio files! Out of curiosity were these the holistic vets or the traditional vets?

Does it help? Sort of! lol It was more out of curiosity than anything. Summer went through a REALLY rough patch 2-3 years ago (issues with ulcers and a few other things) and while she is 200x better, she's still not quite right. The traditional equine vets I've had her to agree something's not quite right but, even through various tests, can't diagnosis anything concrete. Her chiropractor and message therapist brought her further along but I still feel like we're missing a piece of the puzzle. A friend recently mentioned hair analysis (none of my vets have mentioned it) and I was just curious how accurate it might be. It's a fairly cheap test so it might be worth a look.

I'm interested to hear if they mentioned anything about the process. I thought the hair was cleaned, incinerated, then tested. Apparently not if they are able to give a history! Interesting!

Thanks, Karen!

[Karen]

Awesome, thanks and I look forward to the audio files! Out of curiosity were these the holistic vets or the traditional vets?

Thanks, Karen!

Dr. Carol is very much a holistic vet, and Dr. Cathy is as well. I'll email you the audio files in a minute, see what you think, and if you have any follow-up questions, I can give you email addresses for them!

And for everyone else, we are doing "Ask the Vets" again next week, but at a new time, and this show will be live so if you are at a computer you can listen next Thursday at 3 .p.m. Eastern as we record the show!

[Moesha]

Unfortunately, I'll be working at that time and unable to listen, but I would like to know what the vets say regarding Oscar's problem mentioned in this thread: http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...LEX-any-advice. I haven't found anything on the Internet that mentions removal of all teeth to stop the problem once it progresses past the steroid treatment stage. My vet didn't think it was caused by a food allergy but rather an allergy to bacteria in the mouth. So, I guess I'd like to know if that is common or if there is a way to determine what is causing Oscar's allergy and if any of them have heard of or tried for themselves removing all of the teeth. I hope that makes sense. If you have any questions, let me know, and I'll try to be more clear.

[Karen]

Unfortunately, I'll be working at that time and unable to listen, but I would like to know what the vets say regarding Oscar's problem mentioned in this thread: http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...LEX-any-advice. I haven't found anything on the Internet that mentions removal of all teeth to stop the problem once it progresses past the steroid treatment stage. My vet didn't think it was caused by a food allergy but rather an allergy to bacteria in the mouth. So, I guess I'd like to know if that is common or if there is a way to determine what is causing Oscar's allergy and if any of them have heard of or tried for themselves removing all of the teeth. I hope that makes sense. If you have any questions, let me know, and I'll try to be more clear.

Got it!

[Karen]

Anyone else have any questions for the vets this week?

[krazyaboutkatz]

I have one. I know that herpes eye virus in cats can't be cured and that lysine will sometimes help. What other things can I do to help prevent an outbreak of this in my cats? Since I now own 10 cats, they've been having many more eye infections than they ever used to. I got rid of the Chlamydia infections but then all of my younger cats broke out with what my vet thinks is the herpes eye infection. First it was Finnegan, then Radar, then Rory, then Reece, and then Colby. Right now they all seem fine again but for how long. I also know that stress will cause outbreaks. I was told by the pharmacy tech that it's happening because they are young cats so their immune systems aren't as good.

[Karen]

Unfortunately, I'll be working at that time and unable to listen, but I would like to know what the vets say regarding Oscar's problem mentioned in this thread: http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...LEX-any-advice. I haven't found anything on the Internet that mentions removal of all teeth to stop the problem once it progresses past the steroid treatment stage. My vet didn't think it was caused by a food allergy but rather an allergy to bacteria in the mouth. So, I guess I'd like to know if that is common or if there is a way to determine what is causing Oscar's allergy and if any of them have heard of or tried for themselves removing all of the teeth. I hope that makes sense. If you have any questions, let me know, and I'll try to be more clear.

They were both aghast at the mention of removing all Oscar's teeth, and would never recommend that. This is a very common condition, and the first thing to do is change his diet. It is nearly always caused by food allergies, so start with a simple one-ingredient food - cooked chicken is a good place to start, then you can try adding in other things, but getting his diet under control and figuring out the allergies is tedious, but WAY preferable to removing his teeth, in both vet's opinions. There's more, but that's what I remember off the top of my head. Will email you audio file when I get it!

[krazyaboutkatz]

They were both aghast at the mention of removing all Oscar's teeth, and would never recommend that. This is a very common condition, and the first thing to do is change his diet. It is nearly always caused by food allergies, so start with a simple one-ingredient food - cooked chicken is a good place to start, then you can try adding in other things, but getting his diet under control and figuring out the allergies is tedious, but WAY preferable to removing his teeth, in both vet's opinions. There's more, but that's what I remember off the top of my head. Will email you audio file when I get it!

Yes, my Pearl also has this autoimmune disease and my vet has never suggested that we remove her teeth. Hers also seems to be from a food allergy and she does best on a grain free diet. Good luck.

[Karen]

I have one. I know that herpes eye virus in cats can't be cured and that lysine will sometimes help. What other things can I do to help prevent an outbreak of this in my cats? Since I now own 10 cats, they've been having many more eye infections than they ever used to. I got rid of the Chlamydia infections but then all of my younger cats broke out with what my vet thinks is the herpes eye infection. First it was Finnegan, then Radar, then Rory, then Reece, and then Colby. Right now they all seem fine again but for how long. I also know that stress will cause outbreaks. I was told by the pharmacy tech that it's happening because they are young cats so their immune systems aren't as good.

They both agreed that making sure everything is completely disinfected - all surfaces, etc., while everyone is healthy, and then work on adding immune-boosting supplements to their diets. They mentioned several different over-the-counter type ones, and next time an outbreak happens, get it tested to be SURE it is the herpes virus, there ARE tests for it, and if it is or is not, there are different methods of treatment. Again, of course the audio files have more.

After Clover was spayed (like the day she was home) she drank a bunch of water until she had a large belly and I started to limit it for her a little. I assumed it had to do with her belly hurting. Anyway, she still gets this now and then where she just won't stop drinking. It's happened a few more times, and again today - her belly is bloated looking. I looked up symptoms for bloat, but she seems fine other then the large belly and thirst. If it's just an upset belly then is there something I can do to prevent her from over drinking? Is it harmful to drink that much?

Drinking that much is not necessarily harmful, but it is a clear sign that something is wrong. They worried about her liver function, which if it is off can make her *think* she needs to drink to cool her tummy off. It is a cause for a vet trip, and probably a blood test. Dr. Carol mentioned that, because it started right after her spay, the anesthesia may have done some liver damage, it happens in some dogs.

Also, yes, the fish oil capsule could absolutely cause the runny poop - get her checked out, and certainly don't give her another until everything checks out okay!

Karen, would you please ask your vets if they have any thoughts on how I can get Sparkler OUT from inside the bedsprings-box where she has been hiding so much of the time?
Thanks,
Pat and Sparkler and the other kitties

Both vets agreed that, given everything that going on with Sparkler, you need to get her out from there, even if you have to pull her (gently) out, and keep her for the time being in a small, confined space, usually a bathroom works best, so you can see her, and administer meds as needed. Later in the show we talked about aromatherapy for horses, and lavender was mentioned as a calming scent/oil for all mammals, so some lavender stem or a lavender candle, or lavender scent dabbed onto your hands while you pet her may help calm her, and help the transition form in the boxspring to her new convalescing spot.

We also talked about Slick's Merlin's diagnosis, and what she can do, and about Spot's facing chemotherapy and his cancer, so I'll be emailing audio files to them, too!

Hope this helps!

[Moesha]

Thank you, Karen!