Pictures of Your Pet’s Insides: Dr. Erik Strunck of CareFirst Animal Hospital at Grace Park explains how ultrasonography and radiology are used to diagnose internal problems.

Training Talk: Dog Trainer Mary Pollard discusses the CareFirst training program.

Life According to Lillie: A Golden story…Lillie tackles the mystery of birds including how one Sun Conure tried to become a squeaky toy!

Preventive Care: 4 ways to improve your pet’s health and happiness over the next 4 months: Wellness Bloodwork, Dental Cleaning, Proper Diet Awareness, and Microchipping

What it means to Care First: learn how CareFirst Animal Hospitals give back, and how you can too.

Oberlin joins the Race for the Cure! Every year, the Susan G. Komen Foundation hosts the “Race for the Cure” for breast cancer, and for the second year in a row, CareFirst Animal Hospital at Oberlin has been running the race!

Triumph: Tales of Life

Cosmo Tutt was a happy-go-lucky Beagle without a care in the world and a relatively uneventful health history until April of this year. That is when his owners noticed that he had enlarged lymph nodes on his neck. They also noticed that he had become more lethargic than usual, so they brought him in to CareFirst Animal Hospital and saw Dr. Gordon. After examining Cosmo, Dr. Gordon agreed that Cosmo had enlarged submandibular and prescapular (meaning underneath his jaw and in front of his shoulders) lymph nodes.

SAFE Haven for Cats is a temporary refuge for the Triangle area’s Stray, Abandoned, Feral and Endangered cats and kittens. Our goal is to find permanent, SAFE, and loving homes for each of these worthwhile and affectionate animals, and continues until no animal in our community is homeless.

Since 1994, SAFE Haven has successfully found homes for nearly 5,000 cats. These forgotten animals are brought into our program for medical care, socialization, and the love of many volunteers and staff. Prior to adoption, each animal is spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. Our team of approximately 80 volunteers ensures that each cat has a clean cage and bedding, fresh food and water, toys, and plenty of attention on a daily basis.

SAFE Haven always has a need for animal-loving volunteers. Our volunteers guarantee the success of our mission. We have two-hour cleaning shifts every day of the week. Our volunteers have opportunities to meet other people who share something in common, learn new skills, participate in special events, and receive the endless appreciation of our staff and adoration from our cats.

As a 100-percent nonprofit shelter receiving no municipal, state or federal funding, SAFE Haven relies entirely upon the generous donations and support of our community and friends. Through our participation in community events and two of our own significant fundraising events (including our annual Tuxedo Cat Ball) we are able to raise both awareness of our cause and necessary financial support. Our growing donor base is steadfast, generous, and reaches worldwide.

To join SAFE Haven as a volunteer, supporter, or donor, please visit our website at safehavenforcats.org. To subscribe to our Safe Haven For Cats e-newsletter, click here. And from all of the cats and kittens of SAFE Haven – past, present and future – 

Thank You!

Well last time I barked about chasing chickens and ducks, and those were some fun adventures, so this time I thought I’d tell you all about one holiday full of excitement, that taught me a lesson or two… and took us to the vet in the middle of the night!

This adventure is pretty funny in hindsight, but it was not so hilarious at the time. See, mom and dad used to live in a little first-floor apartment in Chapel Hill, where I had no yard of my own to run and play in. But, there was a shared back yard that bordered a stream and some woods that they used to let me run around in and play fetch – shh! Don’t tell the landlord! Well most of the time, I was very good about running after the ball and then coming straight back to our porch, but sometimes, when I smelled something really stinky (and therefore, irresistible), I sort of forgot about the fetch game and went exploring, in search of exciting creatures that might be leaving the scent. Mom usually got pretty upset when I did this and scolded me, so – since I’m incredibly smart – I’d usually just come back and put my guilty look on so that she’d feel sorry for me. It wasn’t that I meant to be bad, sometimes you just can’t help yourself!

So one time in particular, I caught a really good scent and went after it. I was sure I could find something great to bring back home, I mean, who could be upset if I “retrieved” something, right? So I went through the bushes. Sniff, sniff, sniff. Hopped the creek. Wag, wag, hop! And began winding around the trees in the forest. Sniffing, hopping, wagging, and rustling the leaves as I went, nose up and down, to the ground, to the air, tracking, tracking, tracking! Until - OUCH! Something stung and burned all at the same time! I didn’t know if I’d gotten stung or bitten or what, but I did NOT like it, and I went sprinting home! I was so surprised that I forgot to even look guilty, and when mom let me in, she sent me to my bed beside the couch in the living room for time out.

I wanted to show mom my owwie, so I went over and put my head in her lap. She told me to go back to my bed, which I did, but then I went back to her and put my head back in her lap again. By this time, it was getting a little hard to see. I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like my fur was getting in my eyes. Also, my lips felt weird, like I’d just gotten a collagen injection or something. Mom looked down at me this time and gasped. “Why is your face all swollen?!” Ahh, “swollen”, that’s what this weird feeling was.

Well it was about 9:30 at night by then, and we lived 30 minutes from the vet’s office – AND it was Halloween, but mom was really worried about me, so went all the way there. Dad drove, mom sat in the passenger’s seat, and I sat on mom. I thought that was pretty cool since I weigh about 60 lbs and usually have to sit in the back seat, but mom said that since I didn’t feel well, she’d make an exception. It kind of made me want to be swollen all the time!

When we got there, some crazy lady with Halloween hair pins and Halloween socks met us at the door, followed by a poodle and a bulldog. Mom said we were at the vet, but this was definitely a cooler vet than I’d met before! She looked me over, gave me a few shots and some medicine, and in just a little while I stopped looking like a Sharpei (not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just not my style), and my normal Golden face returned.

I guess I could say the lesson I learned was not to go chasing after exciting smells, but that would be a lie, since I still do that. The real lesson is to make sure you don’t get bitten in the face when you’re sniffing through the leaf piles! Or at least if you do, make sure you do it on Halloween so you can pretend you meant to dress up as a Sharpei!

Acetaminophen-Common Household Cat Killer

Beethoven is a lucky, normal kitty. He is lucky for two reasons: first, because he is one of the lucky stray cats who has been adopted and is able to live in a loving home; second, he is lucky because he ate Tylenol and lived to tell the tale.

Being a naturally curious cat, Beethoven likes to eat things, and he once ingested acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. Acetaminophen is perhaps the most common pain medication in U.S. homes today. Unfortunately, it also seems like a tasty treat for our feline friends, and ingestion as small as 1/4 of a tablet can be dangerous.

Cats who ingest acetaminophen will develop symptoms, including increased respiratory effort, swelling of the face and paws, decrease in blood pressure, acute collapse, and dark purple gums, and even death within 1-4 hours following ingestion. Kitty patients can also develop methemoglobinemia, in which hemoglobin builds up in the blood. The blood will stay a dark, muddy color in spite of oxygen therapy, as the iron in the blood becomes oxidized from the body’s attempt to metabolize the acetaminophen.

Luckily for Beethoven, he lived due to the owner’s fast action. They noticed his panting, his dark gums, and his lethargy. The owners said Beethoven had been acting normally a few hours prior, when he was playing with his housemates. They brought Beethoven in to CareFirst Animal Hospital at Falls Pointe immediately for an evaluation. At this time in veterinary medicine, there is no immediate in-house animal test to confirm or rule out acetaminophen toxicity; however, through initial examination, blood testing, and learning Beethoven’s history, acetaminophen toxicity was the likely diagnosis.

Doctors administered the antidote, N-Acetylcysteine multiple times over 24 hours. Additionally, Beethoven received supportive treatment with oxygen therapy, activated charcoal, and IV fluids. Due to the fast action of Beethoven’s family and the rapid diagnosis and administration of the antidote, Beethoven is back home chasing his housemates and continues to be a sweet, curious cat.

We can all learn from Beethoven’s mishap. Keep your medications away and in child-safe containers (child-safe is also very cat resistant). Be sure to be safe, rather than sorry, and take swift action if you notice your furry friend acting differently, especially if you notice respiratory distress or changes in the gum colors.

During the month of January, we are focusing on Super Wellness Blood Profiles. This bloodwork is a complete chemistry panel testing 22 blood values as well as a urinalysis. It is a great way for our doctors to gain information about your pet that they cannot see or feel in a regular examination. The Wellness Bloodwork can be used for early detection of problems, as a pre-anesthetic panel, or just for finding a baseline unique to each pet that makes diagnosing illnesses easier if they come along. Those who take advantage of the Super Wellness Panel during January will receive $20 off the cost, and the panel can be used in preparation for February’s monthly discount!

February is Pet Dental Health Month! Did you know that dental disease in dogs and cats is more than just bad breath? When plaque and bacteria are trapped in the mouth and gums, it means the body has to filter them from the bloodstream. Having to constantly fight infection taxes the organs - heart, liver, and kidneys, just to name a few. Many clients have commented that their old dogs, “feel young again” after having a dental cleaning. Don’t you wish a trip to the dentist was all it took to give you that extra spring in your step? CareFirst Animal Hospitals are offering $25 off all ultrasonic dental cleanings during the month of February

Through March we will focus on heartworm preventative in dogs and cats. Heartworms in our furry friends are one of the most easily contracted AND most easily preventable health risks out there. A dog that contracts heartworms has a long, frustrating road to recovery. Treatment is expensive and time consuming, requiring strict compliance from dog and owner, including several months of restricted activity. Even once the heartworms are eliminated, they will leave lasting damage in the heart of the dog. Treating cats for heartworms is even more difficult. The good news is that prevention is as easy as a tablet or chew once a month! Since heartworms are transmitted through the saliva of mosquitoes, and mosquitoes live in North Carolina year-round, it is absolutely imperative to use heartworm prevention once a month, every month, all year long. Stop by during March to learn more about heartworm preventative!