Q: My 6-year-old cat Emma has been scratching her head behind the ears, on her neck quite often, and she also has been shaking her head. When I pet her on the head/ears, she shakes her head or moves away. Any ideas as to the causes? Also, how can this be treated?

A: Cats don’t exhibit the same classic allergy symptoms that people do. The same grass pollen that might make you sneeze and have watery eyes, is likely to cause severe skin itching that causes your cat to scratch and rub excessively.

Cats also commonly develop allergies to food and flea bites, and each type of allergy has unique symptoms. Click here to read more about allergies in cats and help your cat become itch-free!

Dr. Donna Spector, DVM, DACVIM

Do you need vet advice? Post a comment with your veterinary questions and we will send them to Dr. Donna Spector to be answered in a future column.

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He was just a rabbit, a small black Netherland Dwarf rabbit to be precise. How exciting could his life be? His day consisted of mainly eating hay, pellets, and sometimes his own poop. His owners were two very un-extraordinary people — just myself and my husband. We were blessed to have George in our lives for over 14 years.

You read correctly….over 14 years (average life expectancy is 6-8 years) and, in those years, George’s life was anything but boring.

George was the reason I married my husband. Well, he was at least one of the many reasons. My husband and I didn’t have too much in common when we first met during my first year of college. However, we did share a deep love for animals. George was my husband’s illegal dorm rabbit and was named after the Bugs Bunny cartoon titled “The Abominable Snow Rabbit.” How could I not fall in love with a man that owned a rabbit and loved Bugs Bunny?

George was with us as we graduated college, got engaged, got married, and got our first cat followed by our first dog. He saw other pets come and go while he still remained. He was taken outside to enjoy the new grass of spring, and we amused ourselves (not him) by dressing him up in costumes for Halloween.

In his younger years, he was the fastest rabbit at destroying any and all electrical cords. Televisions, phones and radios were all left dead thanks to George’s ability to sever an electric cord in 0.5 seconds. George enjoyed the other pets in the house, and they enjoyed him. As he got older, he particularly liked to sit next to the dogs, likely for warmth and comfort. He was a very affectionate bunny who was easy to handle and truly enjoyed our company.

As George reached the age of 8-years-old, we started to think about the inevitable. Unfortunately, all living creatures pass away at some point, and we knew that one day we would have to say goodbye. When he reached 10 years of age we thought we were really lucky to have him around. When he was 11 years of age he lost his eyesight because of a parasite rabbits can carry around with them their entire lives, called E. cuniculi. We treated him for the parasite, but it left him blind. Even though George was completely blind, he still knew who we were, where everything was in the house and still enjoyed munching on new grass.

At 12 we started to joke that George was going to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records and by 13 we started looking into it. At 14 years of age George successfully became the Oldest Living Rabbit in the world. (more…)

If you watched Ellen on Thursday, you saw her interview with Mimi Ausland, a 12-year old girl who started a website to help abandoned animals. After becoming concerned with the increasing number of pets without homes, Mimi created Free Kibble as a way to make a difference.

Mimi has been featured throughout the press, including the Today Show and numerous news outlets. However, it was her appearance on yesterday’s Ellen that may have proved most rewarding, as Halo and Ellen offered a huge contribution to Mimi’s cause. Ellen announced Halo’s donation of $20,000 of Halo natural pet food to the charity – that’s a lot of kibble!

When you visit Freekibble.com or Freekibblekat.com, you too can help out pets in shelters. Stop by either site, and you will have the opportunity to answer a trivia question; each time you do, sponsors donate 10 pieces of kibble to an animal shelter. It’s an easy way to help out needy pets every day – drop by often, and support this important cause!

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World Rabies Day was developed to raise awareness about human and animal rabies, how easy it is to prevent it, and how preventing rabies in dogs is critical to saving human lives.

Rabies in humans is 100% preventable through prompt appropriate medical care, yet rabies is still a killer. 55,000 people around the world die from rabies every year — one person dies from rabies every 10 minutes, according to the Alliance for Rabies Control.

In recognition of World Rabies Day, many events are scheduled worldwide including vaccination clinics, lectures and educational seminars, festivals and dog walks.

Visit Worldrabiesday.org to see the schedule of events and get more information about how individuals are getting involved in Working Together to Make Rabies History!

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On October 1, a law requiring pet owners to spay or neuter their pets will become mandatory in Los Angeles. The law, which was devised as a way to stem the tide of pet overpopulation, was effective in April, but a grace period extended until October 1.

The law applies to all cats and dogs over the age of four months; pet owners found in violation are subject to fines starting at $100. Those exempt from the law include service animals, those with health concerns, dogs and cats in the show circuit, and those bred by professional breeders. The Los Angeles Animal Services website lists a number of resources for those in need of lower cost spay/neuter services.

Spay/neuter laws have been popping up throughout the US over the past year. Those in favor of these laws cite pet health benefits, as well as staggering overpopulation statistics – according to the Humane Society of the US, there 3 to 4 million animals euthanized in shelters across the country annually. Those opposing the law claim that this type of legislation does more harm than good by unfairly shutting down home breeders and taking away pet owners’ freedom to make their own decisions.

What do you think? Are mandatory spay/neuter laws a good idea? Leave a comment to share your thoughts on this topic.

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