Question: Seeking the current treatment options for cat asthma. Are Flovent and Brethine still used? How Does Flonase fit into the tx. plan which is what my vet suggested.

Answer: Inhaled steroids (e.g. flovent) are currently the treatment of choice for feline asthma. Medications such as inhaled albuterol or oral terbutaline are used for acute flare-ups of coughing in asthmatic cats. Flonase is not typically used in asthma. It is a nasal steroid and has use for nasal allergies (rhinitis) and other nasal problems. Perhaps your veterinarian detected a nasal issue in your cat…it often goes hand in hand with asthma. Ask to be sure.

Hope that helps.
Dr. Donna Spector

Let’s donate a bazillion meals of Halo to homeless kitties! Play Meow Trivia at Freekibblekat.com today (2/5/10) and Halo is donating 5x the normal kibble. As a reminder, here’s yesterday’s post on the event:

On Friday, February 5th, don’t forget to play for the kitties on Freekibble.com!

The website and Halo, Purely For Pets have teamed up to generate five times the kibble (50 pieces) each time you play Freekibblekat.com (the cat section of Freekibble.com) for homeless cats.

Freekibble.com founder Mimi Ausland, 13, hopes that the event — called Freekibblekat Hi-5 — attracts some 65,000 players to the site that day. (On normal days, 40,000 to 50,000 people play daily; for each question answered, right or wrong, 10 pieces of kibble are raised.)

Freekibble.com’s first Hi-5 event on November 5th was a huge success: twenty-thousand meals for dogs were raised. “We hope to raise that for the cats,” says Mimi. “I know there arealot of cat lovers out there.” As of this week, FreeKibble has raised and donated 400,000 pounds of cat and dog food to scores of shelters across the U.S.

The food generated from Friday’s gaming is going to about six shelters in the Southeast; Mimi hopes the donation feeds each shelter’s cats for many months. Says Mimi: “It’s a big thing for them because it’s unusual to get high end cat food.”

Click here to send your friends and family an e-card to tell them to play on February 5th.

And click here to play FreekibbleKat.

On Friday, February 5th, don’t forget to play for the kitties on Freekibble.com!

The website and Halo, Purely For Pets have teamed up to generate five times the kibble (50 pieces) each time you play Freekibblekat.com (the cat section of Freekibble.com) for homeless cats.

Freekibble.com founder Mimi Ausland, 13, hopes that the event — called Freekibblekat Hi-5 — attracts some 65,000 players to the site that day. (On normal days, 40,000 to 50,000 people play daily; for each question answered, right or wrong, 10 pieces of kibble are raised.)

Freekibble.com’s first Hi-5 event on November 5th was a huge success: twenty-thousand meals for dogs were raised. “We hope to raise that for the cats,” says Mimi. “I know there arealot of cat lovers out there.” As of this week, FreeKibble has raised and donated 400,000 pounds of cat and dog food to scores of shelters across the U.S.

The food generated from Friday’s gaming is going to about six shelters in the Southeast; Mimi hopes the donation feeds each shelter’s cats for many months. Says Mimi: “It’s a big thing for them because it’s unusual to get high end cat food.”

Click here to send your friends and family an e-card to tell them to play on February 5th.

And click here to play FreekibbleKat.

Question: My dog, who has no history of urinary problems, was recently diagnosed with mineralization of the renal pelvis bilaterally. This diagnosis was made from a CT scan for an unrelated issue and was later followed up by a negative urine culture, so we do not have any more detailed information about what exactly caused the mineralization. Our vet suggests switching to a prescription diet with these ingredients:

RICE, GROUND CORN, CHICKEN FAT, CHICKEN MEAL, CORN GLUTEN MEAL, NATURAL FLAVORS, DRIED EGG POWDER, SODIUM CHLORIDE, CELLULOSE POWDER, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, CHOLINE CHLORIDE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, CALCIUM SULFATE, TAURINE*, VITAMINS [DL-ALPHA TOCOPH should also mention that oEROL ACETATE (SOURCE OF VITAMIN E), BIOTIN, D-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, NIACIN, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (VITAMIN B6), VITAMIN A ACETATE, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, THIAMINEE MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT, RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID], TRACE MINERALS [ZINC OXIDE, FERROUS SULFATE, COPPER SULFATE, MANGANOUS OXIDE, SODIUM SELENITE, CALCIUM IODATE], PRESERVED WITH NATURAL MIXED TOCOPHEROLS, ROSEMARY EXTRACT, AND CITRIC ACID.

I know that this prescription diet is designed to increase water intake in the dog, increasing the volume and frequency of urination, but it appears low quality to me. Instead, I am considering switching from Spot’s Stew dry to canned food, to increase the water content of the food, along with getting him to drink water more frequently, which we can usually do by encouraging him and offering fresh water. What do you suggest? Thank you!

Answer: Increasing water intake is undoubtedly one of the most important treatments to promote kidney health and to prevent canine urinary stones! Drinking more water produces dilute urine. Dilute urine contains less concentrated minerals so they are less likely to form calcification and then stones.

You can increase your dog’s water intake by feeding canned food. Some dogs will drink more voluntarily if a pet-designed continuous water fountain is used. Also try large bowls placed around the house in all of your dog’s favorite places. The addition of light salt (potassium chloride) to your pet’s food can also effectively increase the amount of water they take in.

Hope that helps.
Dr. Donna Spector

If you’ve been following the devastating news from Haiti, the photos of bloodied children and adults is heartbreaking. But what about the animals? And what can you do to help in Haiti?

A multi-agency group called Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) is now in Haiti assessing what the animals need. One of ARCH’s members is a Halo friend, the Best Friends Animal Society, America’s largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned pets.

The Utah-based rescue is accepting donations that go directly to help Haiti’s homeless and sick animals. Click here to make a donation.

If you want to go to Haiti and help, Best Friends is lining up volunteers with a history of responding to major disasters and with experience handling small and/or large animals. Click here for more information. If you are interested in volunteering, please email bfvolcoord@bestfriends.org.