UF Health Podcasts

Seizures are always something to take seriously, in humans and animals alike. But they don’t always look the same.

Sometimes seizures in pets look the way we imagine, with a recumbent animal shaking and drooling. But other seizures are more subtle, with affected animals biting the air, staring blankly into space or not responding to their name or commands.

Often an animal’s behavior changes just before, during or hours after a seizure. Unusual behavior may include neediness, fear, aggression or seeming lost.

Because there are so many reasons for seizures, it’s useful to record — either on video or in writing — what you see. It often requires teamwork to reach a diagnosis — and this can provide important clues.

Thunder, fireworks, sirens — lots of outdoor sounds can frighten our pets. But they can be bothered by indoor noises too.

Your buddy might be one of many scared by vacuum cleaners. But other sounds that don’t even register with us can drive our pets nuts. From the chirp of low batteries in a smoke alarm to more subtle sounds — like the beep of a microwave — all kinds of noises can throw pets for a loop. In some cats, sounds as benign as the rustling of plastic can even induce seizures.

While rarely that severe, changes in your pet’s behavior can provide clues — especially if the behavior normalizes when they’re away from home.

So, when you bring home anything that makes noise, consider the effect it could have on your pet.

If you have a horse, you may have already seen your buddy become lame after no apparent injury. If it hasn’t happened yet, chances are it will at some point.

A likely cause of this scenario is a hoof abscess, which can occur at any time but most commonly during wet weather. Bacteria can enter cracked hooves, foot wounds — even through horseshoeing nails set too close to sensitive tissue. Once trapped under the hoof wall, these bacteria create pus, which builds up extremely painful pressure that causes lameness and a throbbing pulse in the affected lower limb.

It’s important to contact your veterinarian as soon as possible when you see these signs, to relieve the pressure and pain and get the infection under control.

You’ve probably heard of bird flu, a severe respiratory disease that’s highly infectious in birds. The pathogen responsible — a virus known as H5N1 — has caused thousands of deaths globally in other animals too, including already threatened or endangered marine mammals.

Polar bears have been dying from bird flu, likely after eating infected bird carcasses. Adding insult to injury, pollution interferes with the bears’ immune system, making them less able to fight off infections.

In late 2023, over 17,000 southern elephant seal pups died from bird flu in Argentina. The pups were still nursing, so the only way to account for the mass die-off is seal-to-seal transmission of the virus — an ominous development in the virus’ spread.

Great apes, like chimpanzees and gorillas, share over 96% of our genetic material, making them vulnerable to human diseases. Infections that are no big deal for us can be disastrous for them.

In a Ugandan national park in 2017, over 25 chimps in a group of 205 died from a respiratory virus that causes simple colds in humans. Many more died after being orphaned during the outbreak.

As tourists come closer, they often transmit bacteria and viruses to great apes, which have no immunity. New research shows that local adults — like tour guides — may spread pathogens they inadvertently catch from their school-age children.

One thing’s for sure: Much more needs to be done to protect these endangered animals … from us.

As the weather warms, ticks become more active — although climate change has expanded their scope to year-round in many places. One of the most common tick-related issues dogs face is Lyme disease, a bacterial infection spread by black-legged ticks, like deer ticks.

Although most infected animals don’t show clinical signs, those that do can really suffer. The most common symptoms in dogs are lameness, swelling of joints and lymph nodes, fatigue and loss of appetite. However, some dogs develop serious kidney complications.

Tick preventatives significantly reduce the risk of infection, but high-risk dogs may benefit from vaccination too. Ask your veterinarian what’s best for your dog, then stick to the plan all year long.

If your dog is prone to back problems, this is for you. In fact, all pooch parents should listen up.

Intervertebral [in-ter-ver-TĒ-brăl] disk disease, or IVDD, is the most common canine back disorder. Dog breeds with short legs and long bodies — like dachshunds, Basset hounds and Corgis — are most at risk, but IVDD can affect any breed.

Intervertebral disks normally serve as stabilizers and shock absorbers between the vertebrae. But as disks degenerate, they can press on the spinal cord, often resulting in pain and lameness, which can progress to paralysis and numbness.

IVDD can be treated, but dogs fare best when the condition is caught early. If your pooch is showing signs of pain or lameness, see your veterinarian soon.

When it comes to locating and saving vulnerable animals, dogs have what it takes.

Sometimes called sniffer dogs, scent (or detector) dogs find animals by using their powerful scent-detecting abilities. Depending on their breed, a dog’s sense of smell is 100,000 to 100 million times more sensitive than ours. What’s more, seven to 40 times more of their brain is devoted to figuring out scents.

Those traits — and their willingness to please — make them great allies in searching for animals and their telltale signs, like droppings, fur or feathers.

It was a sniffer dog that famously located injured and lost koalas during the 2018 Australian wildfires. Worldwide, many other dogs play key roles finding rare and endangered wildlife.

Did you know that a dog’s chances of developing certain health conditions may be associated with their size?

The Dog Aging Project has allowed researchers to study the lifetime risk of health issues across 25,000 dogs in the United States. Among the 238 breeds studied, smaller dogs tend to develop diseases affecting the eyes, heart, liver, pancreas and respiratory system.

On the other hand, large dogs are more likely to develop cancer, bone-related issues and gastrointestinal diseases. They’re also at higher risk of neurologic and endocrine conditions as well as ear, nose or throat problems. Diseases of the urinary tract occur regardless of a dog’s size.

Eventually, researchers hope to unravel the “why” behind these links.

If your cat is breathing louder than normal, there could be lots of explanations — it’s not uncommon. Sometimes upper respiratory or sinus infections are to blame. Nasal tumors or narrowing in the back of the throat are other causes. But common culprits include nasopharyngeal [nā-zō-făr-ĬN-jē-ăl] polyps, which are benign masses that originate in a cat’s throat or ears.

Nasopharyngeal polyps typically occur in cats younger than 2 years old, but they can be seen in cats of any age. Noisy breathing is the most common sign, but others can include sneezing, nasal discharge — even a change in your cat’s vocalizations.

So, if your buddy is making extra noise, it’s likely not your imagination. Make an appointment with your veterinarian to find out the cause.