Sunday, August 17, 2008

Pet Nutrition Seminar To Help Homeless Animals


Volunteers from Ariel Rescue will be hosting a fundraiser at VCA Arroyo Animal Hospital (Lake Forest, CA) on Saturday September 13th from 10:30 to 12:00. Susan Davis, Pet Nutritionist and Dr. David Gordon, Medical Director, VCA Arroyo, will be speaking about how holistic veterinary medicine and pet nutrition can enhance your pet's health. $15 entrance fee with 100% of proceeds going to Ariel Rescue, a 501 (c) (3) public charity that saves the lives of shelter dogs in impoverished communities.

Special Note about Ariel Rescue: With the current state of the economy, we have been doing our best to stretch donations to help get the dogs out of the shelters and into loving homes. But, overall, there has been a big shortfall. Yesterday, we hosted a bake sale at PETsMART in Aliso Viejo which helped to pay for veterinary bills for the 4 dogs we had available for adoption. Happy to say that 3 of the 4 dogs were adopted yesterday! Ariel Rescue has saved over 1000 dogs that would have otherwise been euthanized over the past 9 years. For more info about Ariel Rescue, please visit http://www.arielrescue.com/ To make a donation, please send to Ariel Rescue, P.O. Box 723, Dana Point, CA 92629 We will send you a tax deductible receipt.
Thursday, August 7, 2008

Feline Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Terms: Feline Inflammatory Bowel Disease/Cat IBD/Feline Irritable Bowel Disease

If your cat has been diagnosed with feline inflammatory bowel disease, this is a term that describes a variety of gastrointestinal disorders which can occur in the small or large intestine or stomach. While the diagnoses is characterized by inflammation of the mucosal lining in the digestive tract, pet owners may simply observe symptoms such as weight loss, vomitting, lack of appetite or diarrhea. What can be frustrating to pet parents is that their cat may have eaten a variety of foods for many years and now with age, the cat is displaying this intestinal discomfort. For some cats, the symptoms appear when they are young kittens but many times, it appears in older cats. Sometimes the symptoms can be a sign of another health disorder such as pancreatitis, kidney disease, intestinal lymphoma, for example, so it is very important to see your veterinarian right away if your cat is displaying any of these symptoms. Please don't just disregard it as simple pickiness or hairballs, there could be an underlying serious problem.

Many times, this is good wake up call for a pet parent. This is especially true since feline inflammatory bowel disease can often respond well to dietary changes. I have spoken with many pet parents who for years were feeding lower quality (albeit popular name--well advertised) commercial brands without ever looking at the ingredients. Now, that their cat is having problems, for the first time, they are finally realizing that feeding foods just because their kitty "likes it" isn't always the best for their cat's health. It can be tough to transition your cat away from some of these brands, in the same way as it it tough to take a child off junk food and introduce fresh fruit in place of candy. But, it can be done and many, many pet parents have been amazed at how much better their cats look and feel. Sometimes it means eliminating poultry, fish and a variety of other potential allergens. Each case is different however, so for best results, it is recommended that you seek the advice of your veterinarian or pet nutritionist. Click here for more information about feline inflammatory bowel disease at AskAriel.