Benjamin Franklin is attributed with coining this phrase, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” in an unsigned letter to his newspaper The Pennsylvania Gazette. The Founding Father – who is known for his common sense eloquence – was actually referring to fire prevention. Of course, this phrase is applicable to preventive human and veterinary medicine as well.
Are you rolling your eyes at us now, as you accept that your companion pet needs to lose weight and that you need to reduce your personal salt intake? Yes; daily preventive health measures are basic, but possibly the hardest to adopt because they can affect our everyday routines. It is very easy to slip back into old habits.
Indeed, one of the presiding themes throughout our Blog is preventive veterinary medicine. The necessary changes to embrace preventive care for your companion pets might take a little more time out of your day and might cost a little more now, but surely can improve your companion pet’s vitality, longevity, and save you money in the long run from veterinary medical care costs.
#1. Give your companion pet his own space.
Crating a dog is not cruel. Think about it: free-ranging dogs have dens. That’s their safe space – their home. Crates can help reduce anxiety, which – if sustained for long periods of time – can impact glandular, metabolic and immune systems. We understand if perhaps your companion dog will not take to a crate. However, we have noticed positive behavioral effects in some dogs by leaving the door open and not goading them in it. If you live with multiple dogs, each dog needs his personal space that is sized appropriately. We at least encourage you to get dog beds or pillows.
Cats, too, that have their designated beds in closets or small spaces, may prevent them from sleeping on your bath linens or clothes.
#2. Switch to the right type of bowls and wash them daily.
We suggest stainless steel, earthenware, stone wear or ceramic materials from the United States or a country with similar lead laws.
#3. Speaking of bowls, wash them daily.
#4. Give your companion pets filtered water.
To help avoid lead and other contaminants in drinking water.
#5. Even better, get a pet drinking fountain – particularly for companion cats and multiple companion pet households!
For many cats, fountains encourage them to drink. They like to play in the water or use it to clean their paws. Fountains help prevent the most common of chronic cat diseases such as urinary tract infections and kidney disease. We have also seen water systems for cats that monitor how much they drink in a day so you can work with your veterinarian to prevent these diseases.
#6. Switch your companion pets to wet food.
Cats – in particular – get the majority of their hydration from food. Indeed, all companion cats and dogs benefit from wet food to prevent diseases. Examples of wet food include canned, dehydrated, raw or nutritionally balanced homemade diets.
#7. Put your companion dogs and cats on a feeding schedule.
Why? Again, it’s better for their health. In cats, scheduled feeding helps to avoid pancreatitis and other cat diseases. Dogs benefit from reduced anxiety and other health conditions.
#8. Do not skip annual wellness exams.
#9. Keep a calendar when to give your companion dog heartworm or other safe parasite preventatives.
#10. Exercise!
Again, exercise, exercise and exercise for physical and behavioral health!
#11. Feed human-grade treats.
Dogs can eat many fruits and vegetables, which make great, low calorie and healthy treats!
What do the majority of these preventive suggestions boil down to?
Answer: Combatting Obesity
Renowned animal nutrition health professor, Anna Shoveller of the University of Guelph, and four of her colleagues from around the world, wrote an editorial that discussed many of the companion pet nutrition research studies recently conducted. In the conclusion, they brought the focus back to where we all really need to concentrate, “While cardiac disease may have been recently in the news, overweight and obesity remain the number one nutritionally related issue in our pet population.”
Indeed, the latest survey findings from the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) state that 59.5% of cats and 55.8% of dogs classified as overweight or obese.
- Overweight and obesity can lead to chronic diseases in companion dogs and cats:
- Osteoarthritis
- Type 2 diabetes
- Respiratory and Heart disease
- Kidney disease
- High blood pressure
- Chronic inflammation, including gum and tooth disease
- Many forms of cancer – especially intra-abdominal cancers
Dr. Ernie Ward, who leads the association, has excellent tips about caloric intake and how much body weight a companion dog or cat can safely lose in a month. You definitely need to work with your veterinarian to make a plan to get those extra pounds off. We would also suggest running annual thyroid testing for companion dogs that includes checking T4, freeT4, T3, freeT3 and TGAA and is sent to a reference laboratory. For older cats, thyroid testing for occult hyperthyroidism includes T4, freeT4, T3, fre3 T3 and TSH. Including the TSH for geriatric cats is a must!