Animal Airwaves

Frequent nail trims are part of keeping your cat safe, so it helps if you can trim them yourself.

Start with a cat nail clipper that’s sharp enough to cut quickly. Styptic powder also helps in case you clip a nail too short.

Try wrapping your cat in a towel, extending one paw at a time, or having your cat lie on your lap, facing up and away. Start by just rubbing a paw for a bit. Once your cat’s comfortable, press a toe and extend the nail. Offer a treat after every short session.

For the next step, let your cat explore the clipper. To get your buddy used to the sound, clip a piece of dry pasta nearby then offer a treat.

Next time, start by clipping one nail, removing only the point. Gradually try more nails, offering treats as you go.

Nonhealing ulcers on the eye’s surface, or cornea, are common in dogs—especially those with shortened faces and prominent eyes. But now help may be coming from an unlikely source — fish skin.

Tilapia [tĭ-LAH-pē-ah] skin, to be precise. It’s chock full of collagen that stimulates cell growth. Tilapia skin has already been studied in human and veterinary medicine, from bandaging burns to repairing heart valves and more.

Now, a veterinary ophthalmologist is studying its use to repair corneal lesions in dogs. She sutures a scaffolding matrix made of pure tilapia collagen over corneal lesions to promote cell regeneration. Over 400 dogs have healed quickly with minimal scarring.

Next, she plans to study the technique in cats — and humans, too.

Horses are living longer lives these days, thanks to improvements in health care and nutrition. Due to these improvements in equine longevity, horses are much more likely to develop age-related diseases in their senior years.  One of the most common diseases of older horses is equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, or PPID.  PPID is a neurodegenerative disease that is similar to Parkinson’s disease in people. Once known as equine Cushing’s disease, this condition can cause dramatic changes in the affected horse’s performance, immune function and overall health. Left untreated, horses with PPID lose their muscle mass and ultimately develop a long, shaggy haircoat.  On this show, Dr. Dianne McFarlane, an expert in senior horse health care as well as equine endocrinology, will discuss what causes PPID as well as how to recognize its signs, diagnostic tests used to confirm disease, available treatments and why a good relationship with your veterinarian is so important.

Each day in the United States, about 20 military veterans die by suicide, often after suffering with traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder. But it turns out that connection with a service dog may mean the difference between life and death.

K9s for Warriors is the largest provider of service dogs for veterans. They rescue most of their dogs from shelters before training them to help their veteran companions re-enter society with dignity and independence. After graduating from the program, the vast majority of veterans report fewer thoughts of suicide. They need less medication.

As K9s for Warriors puts it, “Each pair who graduates from our program represents two lives saved — the service dog and the warrior.”

For decades, Monkey Island near Puerto Rico has been home to 1,700 rhesus macaques [RĒ-sus muh-CӐX] in a sort of natural laboratory where the monkeys roam free. Each day, researchers arrive to gather biologic and behavioral data.

The monkeys have a rigid social hierarchy, forming strong bonds with some but showing aggression to others.

That all changed in 2017 when Hurricane Maria destroyed most of the island’s lush foliage. All but 50 of the monkeys survived by adapting to their new environment and showing tolerance to other monkeys. But tests showed that their immune systems had aged nearly 2 years since the storm.

Rhesus macaques share most of our DNA, so scientists want to know what this might mean for humans facing climate disasters.

Feline brain tumors are uncommon, but they’re one cause of neurologic abnormalities in senior cats.

The most common sign of a brain tumor is seizures, but affected cats can also exhibit problems with their vision, behavior or movement as well as back or neck pain. There are many causes of neurologic problems, so test results are key to diagnosis.

The words “brain tumor” conjure up an inevitably fatal disease, but that’s not always the case. About 85% of feline brain tumors are meningiomas [mah-nĭn-gē-Ō-mahs], which are benign, so they don’t spread. And because they develop in membranes that cover the brain, they can be relatively easy to remove.

If your cat starts showing neurologic signs at any age, make an appointment with your veterinarian.

Winter poses special concerns for keeping pets safe and cozy. Indoors, our furry friends are warm enough if we are. It’s outdoors where hazards run high.

That’s where pets are at risk of frostbite to their ears or unfurred areas. Road salt and de-icing products are irritating too, through skin contact or licking. So, be sure to wipe your pet’s paws after walks or get them used to wearing booties. Also, exposure to ethylene glycol antifreeze can be deadly, so use a nontoxic propylene glycol product instead.

Outdoor pets need a dry, draft-free enclosure, large enough to move around but small enough to hold body heat. Warm bedding, a covered doorway and nonfrozen, unobstructed water sources are crucial too.

Giardia duodenalis [gē-AHR-dē-ah doo-ō-dǐ-NӐ-luhs] is an intestinal parasite that can affect lots of animals — including dogs — and people too. It can also spread from animals to humans. Infection with this parasite — known as giardiasis [gē-ahr-DĪ-ah-sus] — often causes diarrhea, which is sometimes severe.

Metronidazole is the drug of choice for giardiasis, but traditionally, veterinarians only had the option of using a human formulation. However, the Food and Drug Administration recently approved an oral version of the drug to treat Giardia infections in dogs.

The medication is only available by prescription from a veterinarian and comes with label recommendations for safe handling. Ask your veterinarian for more information if the need arises.