Articles Library on Cats, Dogs, Birds, Horses, Fish, Rabbits, Reptiles, Ferrets, Exotics, Chinchillas and other pets.

Physical Characteristics

The Snowshoe has a smooth but short coat, which is colored blue, lilax, chocolate or seal point — “point” is in reference to a pale body color with relatively darker extremities; i.e., the face, ears, feet and tail. It is a long, stout medium-sized cat with startling blue eyes. Athletic, with a tendency to be stocky in appearance. The cat’s white feet are its most distinguishing feature (and the reason for breeds name), with the white frequently extending to the ankle, giving the feet a sock, or boot appearance.

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Metabolic Skin Disease in Dogs

Diabetic hepatopathy is a disease of the liver which causes lesions to develop on the liver. It is associated with diabetes mellitus, and for unknown reasons, this type of liver disease is also associated with lesions on the skin. One of the possibilities may be a link to metabolic system and a change in the organ systems.

This is a relatively uncommon disease and there is no breed that is more disposed than others, but it does tend to affect predominantly male dogs that are middle-aged to older.

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Retained Deciduous Teeth in Dogs

A retained or persistent deciduous (baby) tooth is one that is still present despite the eruption of the permanent tooth (between three to seven months of age). This can cause the permanent teeth to erupt in abnormal positions, resulting in an incorrect bite pattern (or how the upper and lower teeth fit together when biting or chewing). Retained deciduous teeth may also cause overcrowding of teeth, accidental bites into the palate, or an abnormal jaw position.

As with most oral issues, early recognition and immediate dental care is essential to prevent permanent damage. Unfortunately, it often goes undiagnosed until later in life.

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Electrocution in Cats

Electrocution from chewing on an electrical cord is the single most common type of electrical injury in household pets. Electrical injuries can result in burns to the surrounding area (e.g., the mouth, hair), or in alterations to the electrical conduction in the heart, muscles, and other tissues. The possible complications that follow an electric cord bite injury are fluid accumulation in the lungs (pulmonary edema), and high blood pressure in the arteries near the lungs (pulmonary hypertension). Additionally, there have been reports of animals developing cataracts – an eye abnormality – after such injuries.

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Although it is referred to by various names, including Longhair and Highland Fold, Coupari was the name given to the long-haired version of the Scottish Fold by British breeders. Its large eyes and folded ears make this affectionate cat a wonderful pet for both children and adults.

Physical Characteristics

The appearance of this medium-sized cat has been compared to a wise owl: large, rounded eyes, sweet expression, full cheeks, and a short nose. Its most remarkable feature, however, is its folded ears, which do not fold forward until the cat is three months old. Its soft, resilient single coat, meanwhile, is long and comes in a variety of colors and pattern.

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Exophthalmos, Enophthalmos, and Strabismus in Dogs

Exophthalmos, enophthalmos, and strabismus are all diseases which cause the dog’s eyeball to be abnormally positioned.

With exophthalmos, the dog’s eyeball protrudes, or bulges, from the orbit of the eye. This may be due to a space-occupying mass behind the eyeball. Enophthalmos, meanwhile, causes the eyeball to recess, or sink, into the skull. Lastly, strabismus is when an affected animal’s eye appears to look off at a different angle, unable to focus in the same direction as the other eye. This can occur with one or both eyes, and is more commonly referred to as “crossed eyes.”

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Rhabdomyosarcoma in Dogs

Rhabdomyosarcomas are malignant, aggressive, easily metastasizing (spreading) tumors. They arise from striated muscles (banded – not smooth, muscles of the skeletal and cardiac musculature) in adults, and from embryonic stem cells in juveniles. These tumors are often found in the larynx (voice box), the tongue, and in the heart. Aggressive and widespread metastasizing can occur in the lungs, the liver, the spleen, the kidneys, and the adrenal glands.

The condition or disease described in this medical article can affect both dogs and cats. If you would like to learn more about how this disease affects cats please visit this page in the PetMD pet health library.

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Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a bacterial urinary infection in rats. Though more common in wild rats, it is highly contagious and quickly transmitted to any pet rat that comes in contact with urine from an infected animal. Leptospirosis can be transmitted to humans (zoonotic) or other animals. It is therefore recommended that a rat or rat colony infected with the disease be euthanized.

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Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a disease in which cancerous lymphoblasts (cells that are in the beginning stage of development) and prolymphocytes (cells in the intermediate stage of development) reproduce, and then circulate through the bloodstream, entering into the body’s organs. These cells will also infiltrate both the inside of the bone marrow and the outside (extramedullary) of the bone marrow, displacing hematopoietic stem cells. Hematopoietic cells are the normal, healthy precursors of red blood cells, lymphocytes, erythrocytes, platelets, eosinophils, neutrophils, macrophages and mast cells. Dogs with this disease will acquire impaired immunity, and will be inclined to contracting infections.

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Anemia in Cats

When the body is deficient in iron, red cells do not develop as they should. The lack of iron causes the cells that are produced by the bone marrow to be too small, and too low in oxygen-carrying features. In adult pets, this condition is usually caused by some kind of blood loss. It is important to recognize iron-deficiency anemia, because the underlying disease can be life-threatening.

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