Nutrition

This on-demand online module includes a step-by-step approach to setting up an in-clinic weight management program, as well as six case studies covering a range of cat and dog weight issues. (1 CE credit)

When "big-boned" doesn't cover a pet's condition anymore, veterinary team members say conversations about pet obesity are important ... but not with every client.

Veterinary clients are turning down therapeutic diets for pets, complaining that they're too expensive. Are you the reason cats and dogs aren't getting the food veterinarians say they need?

Many hospitalized and critical care pets are at risk for becoming severely malnourished because they lack the appetite or the ability to eat. By instituting nutritional support you want to meet the pets' nutritional requirements, and if possible prevent additional deterioration.

MYTH: Meat by-products are inferior in quality compared to whole meat in a diet.

In their natural environment, cats are an obligate carnivore, meaning that their nutritional needs are met by eating a diet that consists of animal-based proteins (i.e. mice, birds). How have our efforts to domesticate cats been affected by this dietary requirement?

Addressing the nutritional needs of our hospitalized and critical care patients can dramatically improve their outcomes, but also allows them to return home sooner. Oral enteral nutrition is the ideal route, but if the patient is unable or unwilling to consume at least 85% of their calculated resting energy requirements (RER) than another route needs to be utilized.

People have spent much time and energy over the years molding dogs into various shapes to suit our needs; The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds lists 91 hound breeds, 43 working breeds, 44 herding breeds, 49 gun dogs and 31 terrier breeds. Due to our changing life style, many of these breeds are no longer needed for what they were bred.

Does the use of feeding tubes have a place in everyday practice? We are all familiar with the use of feeding tubes for Hepatic Lipidosis cats, but how many times do we deal with the older animal with no obvious physical problem other than an unwillingness to eat adequate (in our opinion) amounts of food?

Instead of viewing anorexia as a secondary problem that will improve when the primary disease has resolved, it is better to be proactive and administer nutrients early.

The number of pets that are overweight or obese has reached epidemic proportions in the USA and other industrialized countries. For example, just over 35% of adult cats in the USA are overweight or obese. As veterinarians, we need to be proactive on focusing on obesity prevention.

Replacement heifer development is a critically important area for veterinarians to offer production medicine advice to their beef-producing clients. In order for replacement heifers to calve at approximately 24 months of age and to reach puberty the equivalent of three heat cycles before the start of the mature cow breeding season, heifers must become puberal by 11 to 13 months of age.

The past decade has seen a revolution in our understanding of adipose tissue. The functions of fat have traditionally been understood as energy storage, thermal insulation, and structural support for some organs. It is now known that adipose tissue is metabolically active and constitutes the largest endocrine organ in the body with unlimited growth potential at any stage of life.

Dietary therapy plays such an integral role in the management of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases that it constitutes a part of the therapeutic plan in virtually every such case. Diet can be part of the diagnostic process as well, such as using an elimination diet in a dietary trial. It is beyond the scope of this discussion to address each disease of the GI system and the recommended diagnostic and therapeutic approach for each.

The most common application of nutrition and nutraceuticals in the world of pet pain is among chronic, maladaptive pain patients... These are the patients who benefit the most from a multi-modal, multi-target approach to their pain relief. In order to provide the very best care for these patients so as to achieve the best outcome on their behalf, we need to adhere to a few simple strategies.

It has been estimated that at 25 to 33% of cats are either overweight or grossly obese, with the highest rates seen in middle-aged cats. Yet the 2003 AAHA Compliance Study (The Path to High-Quality Care) found that veterinarians are significantly under diagnosing feline obesity. Owners also may not recognize when their cat is overweight, nor be aware of the associated health risks. Obesity should be the easiest disorder to diagnose, but it is also one of the hardest to treat.

Enteral feeding tubes are an essential tool in the provision of nutritional support to animals unable or unwilling to consume sufficient calories on their own. Nutritional support should be considered for any animal that has been anorexic or has had inadequate voluntary caloric intake for ? 3 days, has lost ? 10% of their body weight or has other signs of malnutrition (e.g. poor hair coat, muscle wasting, poor wound healing, hypoalbuminemia, lymphopenia).

Adequate nutrition is essential for the critically ill patient. Nutrients are necessary to provide substrates for normal cellular functions, protein synthesis, and daily metabolic processes. The critical patient is often in a hypercatabolic state, so early nutrition is essential to prevent glycogen depletion, immune dysfunction, and loss of body mass, and to provide substrates for wound healing.

Salmonella fears trigger recall of some 22 veterinary formulations

There's no question that therapeutic diets benefit your patients, but they aren't cheap-and many clients are balking at the price.

Cincinnati -- Concerns about possible Salmonella contamination pushed Procter & Gamble to voluntarily recall two lots of an Iams veterinary formula of dry cat food.

This webinar will review current research findings on the use of nutraceuticals and probiotics in small animal clinical practice. (1 CE credit)

What type of diet may harm dogs with protein-losing enteropathies?

Buffalo, N.Y. -- Potential Salmonella contamination has prompted Feline's Pride to expand an existing recall of its raw food with ground bone for cats and kittens.

Guide helps communicate therapeutic diet needs to clients.

Buffalo, N.Y. -- Feline?s Pride has voluntarily recalled its raw food with ground bone for cats and kittens, natural chicken formula, because of possible Salmonella contamination.

Cincinnati, Ohio -- Recall now includes an expanded list of nutritional supplements sold nationally at various retailers.

Cincinnati, Ohio - The Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G), owner of Iams, is taking the final steps toward buying Natura Pet Products, according to both companies.

Chronic diarrhea is best managed with targeted therapy based on a specific diagnosis.

A weight-loss contest sparks unlikely friendships ad gives this veterinary technician a new perspective on life and her job.