Taking care of pets is knowing their needs and possible illnesses, as veterinarians Teresa Megía and José Ignacio Ballester detail in this article.
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Pet care. Photo courtesy of AniCura Velázquez Hospital.
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Pet care. Photo courtesy of AniCura Velázquez Hospital.
Pets are part of our lives and it is necessary to take care of their health and well-being. In this article, Teresa Megía, head of the Feline Medicine and Oncology Service, and José Ignacio Ballester, head of the Minimally Invasive Soft Tissue Surgery Service, AniCura Velázquez Veterinary HospitalThey offer advice and information.
By Teresa Megía and José Ignacio Ballester
In Spain, in recent years, there has been an increase in households that have a pet. Currently, 50.2% of families have pets, when in 2019 only 39.7% of households had an animal as a member of the family.
People are increasingly concerned regarding feeding and caring for pets. Their care begins from the neonatal period, during the first 2-3 weeks of life, a phase in which they depend 100% on their mother’s care.
From these weeks, the puppy reaches sensory and motor maturity, enough to start interacting with its environment.
The weaning It should be done at eight weeks of age, since dogs weaned prematurely (less than 8 weeks) have more problems in socialization and behavior.
Cats up to the fourth week of life are fed exclusively with breast milk and, from that moment on, the mother does not allow them to suck whenever they want, so the weaning period begins and is completed around 8 weeks, the same than in dogs.
First visit to the vet
If the state of health of our animals is good, this first visit is made around the sixth week of life.
In it, the veterinarian weighs the animal and performs a complete physical examination. In addition, the internal deworming protocol appropriate to the age of the animal is initiated and recommendations for feeding and health care are given. An appointment is also scheduled for the first vaccination, which is done at around 12 weeks of age.
Most puppies are protected by maternally derived antibodies (MDA) in the first few weeks of life. This passive immunity is lost following 8-12 weeks, this being the appropriate time for primary vaccination.
As recommended by the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group (VGG), basic vaccination should be started at 8-12 weeks of age and then repeated every 2-4 weeks until 16 weeks of age or later.
Most common diseases in pets: dogs and cats
Both dogs and cats are prone to oral problems throughout their lives, including tartar and gingivitis.
However, it should be noted that periodontal disease is the main problem in oral health for both. In this sense, regarding 80% of dogs over three years old show signs of some periodontal disease. It is possible to stop it by doing an ultrasound oral cleaning followed by dental polishing.
An infectious disease of vital importance is canine leishmaniasis, a vectorial disease caused by protozoa of the Leishmania genus whose main route of transmission is through the bite of mosquitoes of the Phlebotomus genus.
It is present in fifty countries around the world, with a high prevalence in the Mediterranean area and in regions of South America.
The prevalence of leishmaniosis canine in the Community of Madrid, according to the Official College of Veterinarians of Madrid (COLVEMA), is around 7-8% although there are cities that exceed this figure such as Malaga and Barcelona.
The leishmaniosis canina It is one of the diseases of animal origin to which man is very sensitive, along with rabies or covid-19. Most of the infectious diseases that people suffer from are of animal origin.
Another of the most frequent diseases suffered by animals and cats is diabetes mellitus, a disease characterized by an absolute or relative deficiency in insulin production. The symptoms of this disease are polydipsia (they drink more water), polyuria (urine more quantity) and polyphagia (they eat more quantity).
Finally, there are many animals that from the age of ten suffer from cancer. However, advanced imaging tests, such as Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT), have acquired vital importance in recent years in the sector, since they are very useful for the diagnosis of primary tumors and metastases, determining which organs are affected. and to be able to carry out surgical planning in advance.
