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

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.

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.

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

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.

We needed to help. Earlier this month, with the help of Freekibble.com, Halo donated almost 6,000 cans of Spot’s Stew to McKamey and two other shelters and rescues in Tennessee, which have been distributing the food to pet owners in need.

“We are absolutely thrilled to do it,” says Lisa Reeves of the Nashville Humane Association, which gives out their Halo Spot’s Stew every Sunday and Wednesday. “If we have (the food) and we can help someone, we will. We try not to turn anyone away.”

In addition to the food, all three organizations (the third is A New Leash on Life in Lebanon) received a variety of other Halo products, including Herbal Healing Salve and X-tra C, an instant vitamin C powder.

“It makes me feel great to know that this food is getting to people who really need help feeding their animals,” says Mimi Ausland, the 13-year-old founder of Freekibble.com. “I know that because of this, people will be able to keep their pets and feed them a really good food.”

The Nashville Humane Association first started distributing food in November, 2008, and since then have helped some 500 families keep their pets. “I think it’s hard for some of these people to come in,”
says Reeves. “You have families who never had to ask for help, and now they do.

“People have been in tears, they’ve said, ‘I don’t know what I would do if you weren’t here,’” Reeves continues. “It’s sad, i think pride gets in the way of some people but they have to come in and do it.”

On November 5th, Freekibble.com had a Hi-5 promotion: for every trivia question someone answered about a dog or cat, 50 pieces of of kibble would be donated by Halo. That day, some 60,000 people played Freekibble.com, raising 5 million pieces of kibble, or the equivalent of 20,000 Meals of Halo. And the need to help these financially-strapped pet owners continues to grow.

At McKamey Animal Center, there has not been the usual post-holiday slowdown in animal surrenders, says Sebes, noting that the 26,000-square-foot shelter now has 288 dogs and puppies, 455 animals in all. McKamey has shared the donation with two local food banks to reach more pet parents in need. “They’re very grateful we have this a service to them,” says Sebes. “People come to us for help with their animals and it’s great we can provide for them.”

According to actress and mom Eva Larue (of CSI Miami and All My Children fame), “There is a great new generation of mothers, and the Hot Moms Club speaks their language.”

Other animal-friendly or health-conscious celebrities on the list include Dr. Oz., Alicia Silverstone, Kathy Freston and Jason Mraz.

We think all caring pet parents qualify as “hot moms.”

“I have been a big fan of Halo Pets for years,” says Gary D. Nice, president of NCCF. Some of the criteria that NCCF used to choose Halo include our high-quality, natural products and fresh food products developed by experts in pet nutrition.

We at Halo are honored to receive this award. “So many of us have lost four-legged loved ones to this terrible disease,” says David Yaskulka, Halo’s Vice President of Marketing Communications, who lost a cat to cancer. “While we all strive for a cure, health professionals are telling us to eat natural foods, avoid harsh chemicals, and lead active, healthy lives to have the best chance of avoiding cancer. Halo customers try to do exactly that for our pets.”

According to the National Cancer Institute, proper nutrition plays a tremendous role in the prevention of many diseases, including cancer: “Leading causes of death, which include heart disease, high blood pressure, many cancers, diabetes and stroke, are largely preventable through lifestyle choices such as eating more fruits and vegetables. Eating 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day is one of the easiest things everyone can do to lower their chances for all of the diet-related diseases.”

In Halo Spot’s Stew, we make sure to include a variety of fruits and vegetables including carrots, celery, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, green peas, sweet potatoes, apples, blueberries and cranberries.

Answer: Sounds like you started the chicken near the end of December. I would recommend the chicken formula only for 3 weeks as some cats require a much longer transition period. Also make sure you are not feeding low quality treats or other things that may have synthetic additives, flavors and colorings. Treats filled with these ingredients can cause digestive disturbance and allergic-type reactions. You can try the Halo Liv-a-Littles or some of our other natural treats that cats love. If after three weeks, your cats are still having tummy troubles, ask your veterinarian about a high quality natural probiotic to get them on their way to feeling better.

Hope that helps.
Dr. Donna Spector

Halo’s philanthropic co-owner, Ellen DeGeneres, will be answering phones for the Hope for Haiti Now Telethon at 8 p.m., which will feature musical performances from Los Angeles, New York City and London.

Also on the phone banks will be George Clooney (the telethon’s organizer), Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, Brad Pitt, Anna Kendrick, Sandra Bullock, Zac Efron, Bradley Cooper and many other celebrities.

“George invited me to join him  and of course I said yes,” Ellen says in her newsletter.   “I hope you will watch and donate. You may even end up talking to me!”

Justin Timberlake, Sting, Taylor Swift, Alicia Keyes, Christina Aguilera, Shakira, and Bruce Springsteen will be performing throughout the two-hour event.

Donations will benefit the The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, United Nations World Food Programme, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, The Red Cross, UNICEF and the Yele Haiti Foundation.

The show will reportedly be the most widely distributed telethon in history, airing on more than 25 networks.