A few weeks ago, it was brought to our attention that a cat in British Columbia needed some extra love and lots of special care.   

  
This is Binx and though she’s only 7 months old, she’s had an eventful few months and has already used up two of her nine lives!

Earlier this year, she was rescued from a dog’s mouth and though this may have been a traumatic event for her, she did not lose her respect for dogs. Unfortunately, her adventures didn’t end there.                                    

Fast forward to the end of March and now Binx was making headlines as the cat that saved herself from a burning building.

Stuck inside a burning building, Binx waited for help. With no help on the way, she took matters into her own paws and jumped from the burning building and lived to share her story.  

They say cats always land on their feet and Binx was true to form, though it’s not surprising that she injured herself when she landed. The tips of her ears were burned off, her faced was singed and she dislocated and fractured her leg. Lucky for her, a volunteer with Action for Animals in Distress Society found Binx and quickly took her to Norgate Animal Hospital in North Vacouver where she was well taken care of by Dr. Sidhu and his team.

Dr. Sidhu performed surgery to reset Binx’ leg and over the next few weeks, Binx would need a safe place to heal before she could be considered for adoption. The staff at Norgate Animal Hospital and the volunteers at Action for Animals in Distress Society spent that time caring for Binx and nursing her back to health. Lucky for Binx, she had all the love and care she needed, however she still needed a home and the clinic still had an outstanding vet bill just over $1600.  

Nikki Forbes, from Action for Animals in Distress Society, contacted her local community to collect donations for Binx’ surgery and find her a suitable home. Soon after, Binx found her forever home with a wonderful loving family. It was during this time that our Territory Manager Carli Barber stepped up.  She knew this was something Petsecure pet insurance would want to help with, after all, the shelter is a huge supporter of our Adoptsecure program.

With a quick email to our CEO explaining Binx’ story, Petsecure pet insurance covered the cost of Dr. Sidhu’s veterinary services! Binx had her home and the wonderful people at Action for Animals in Distress Society and Norgate Animal Hospital are on their way to saving more furry lives! 

It’s stories like this that make our Petsecure pet insurance team feel extremely fortunate to be working in the pet health community and most imporantly  with such amazing people with big hearts! Our relationships with our shelters, vet clinics and breeders are very important to us and we are grateful for all the wonderful (and hard) work they do. 

As we celebrate 'Feline Friday' today on Facebook and '2011 as the Year of the Cat', we encourage you to head down to your nearest shelter, humane society or clinic and meet the amazing staff and the furry friends they’re caring for. Donate some time or love or maybe you’ll discover you have the perfect forever home for a furry little friend. 

To learn more about:

Petsecure pet insurance’s coverage options, visit: www.petsecure.com 

Care of Cats – 2011 Year of the Cat, visit: www.careforcats.ca

Action for Animals in Distress Society, visit: www.actionforanimals.net

 
Meet a new member of our team - Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Colleen Skavinsky. She keeps Petsecure pet insurance connected to vet practices and the vet community. Her wealth of knowledge helps Petsecure pet insurance with products, ongoing claims and advice to members.

Every week we’re encouraging pet parents to send us an email with any pet health questions or concerns to Dr. Skavinsky at askavet@petsecure.com

This week’s question:

Dear Dr. Skavinsky, I have three Labrador Retrievers - one of each color, ranging in ages from 5 yrs to 9 months.

As you may be familiar, Labs love having things in their mouth. My younger two not only like to have things in their mouths, but occasionally like to swallow them. My middle Lab has already suffered from foreign body obstruction. Thank heavens for insurance.

Any suggestions to change or modify their mouthing behavior?? 

Dear Pet Parent:  Labrador Retrievers are terrific pets, but we can never forget that they have been bred to swim in cold water and retrieve ducks and geese. I’m sure many of them feel “naked” when they’re not carrying something in their mouths. As pet owners, we need to realize this fact about them (and lots of other dog breeds) and give them a proper outlet for this behaviour. 

Monitoring how your dogs chew their toys is key.  Do they just chew them up, shred them or do they like to eat what they’ve been working on, like your dogs have?  It’s important to get into the habit of removing smaller pieces or chunks before dogs get a chance to swallow them.  Every dog is different in their preferences; however, the larger hard rubber toys tend to be the best.  There are some other thick fabric-type stuffed toys that are difficult to shred and also offer a reasonable option.  Rawhide can be a reasonable choice for some dogs, although I usually recommend the strips so that it’s more difficult to swallow larger pieces.  I do not recommend the hard plastic toys or large cooked bones, even the ones from the pet store; because dogs who chew vigorously are more likely to fracture (break) their teeth. 

Two other things to consider for enthusiastic chewers are that some dogs will become territorial about their toys and may be more prone to swallowing them just to prevent somebody else (dog or person) from stealing their toys.  They can be really sneaky about it, so it can take a little observation to see if that is really what’s going on.  We also want to make sure that dogs are getting enough exercise and other kinds of stimulation.  We may see it more in single-dog homes, but we want to make sure that chewing doesn’t become a substitute for expending energy in bored or anxious dogs.

For more information about your pup's health, training or caring needs, visit Petsecure's Pet Healthipedia at: www.pethealthipedia.com

Check out our desktop wallpapers for the month of May!

Choose from these fun styles - 'May Cat Calendar', 'All taken care of' or 'Let sleeping dogz lie.' and simply download them for free! Check back every month for new wallpaper designs!

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Happy World Veterinary Day to all of our friends and partners who love animals!  The World Veterinary Association (WVA) has marked Saturday, April 30^th this year as World Veterinary Day as a way to celebrate veterinary medicine and veterinary associations across the world.  In 2011, the WVA has selected the theme of “Rabies” to help educate people as to the importance this horrible disease still holds across our planet. 

Rabies is caused by a virus and may be spread between warm-blooded animals and humans.  The virus is usually spread through an animal bite, but any contact with the saliva of an affected animal may cause infection.  The virus travels along nerves to the brain and causes severe neurological damage, including inability to swallow with severe drooling, seizures, and eventually death.  Once there are clinical signs, rabies is considered always fatal in animals and humans. The one known world-wide exception was reported in the 2005 case of a young woman in Milwaukee who survived after intensive experimental therapy. 

Our Canadian history of strong rabies vaccination programs for our companion animals, responsible pet ownership (leash laws), and spaying and neutering of our pets has kept rabies largely under control.  Out of 123 cases reported in 2010, there were only three dogs and four cats diagnosed with rabies disease across the country.  The majority of positive cases occur in wildlife.  Depending on the area of Canada where you live, the major reservoir species of rabies are bats, skunks, raccoons, and foxes. 

Unfortunately, 99% of world-wide human cases are caused by bites from infected dogs.  One person, often a child, dies every ten minutes across the world from rabies disease today.  The World Veterinary Association wants to use 2011 to highlight the need in these affected communities for control of stray dog populations and aggressive vaccination programs in an effort to reduce the number of cases of rabies seen in both humans and animals.  There are many veterinary organizations involved in rabies control and eradication programs, including Veterinarians without Borders/Veterinaires sans Frontieres-Canada http://www.vwb-vsf.ca and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control http://www.rabiescontrol.net.

Petsecure pet insurance offers coverage for rabies vaccinations under our Secure 4 -Preventive Care plan.

Dr. Colleen Skavinsky - Chief Veterinary Officer, Petsecure pet insurance

To learn more about other pet health related issues, visit Petsecure pet insurance's Pet Healthipedia: www.pethealthipedia.com

Heartworm is a potentially life threatening parasitic infection that affects both dogs and cats, among other animals.  It appears as thread-like worms that live in the pulmonary arteries and blood vessels that lead from the heart to the lungs.

How is Heartworm transmitted?

Heartworm is transmitted through mosquitoes. Therefore, pets living in humid climates with mosquitoes are more prone to this disease.

Heartworm Disease is caused by larva called Dirofilaria immitis. When a mosquito feeds on an infected animal, these baby worms (larva) migrate in the mosquito for 2-3 weeks. Once an infected mosquito bites another animal, the larva is transmitted to the animal’s skin, eventually making its way to the bloodstream.  Here, the larva will migrate for 3-4months making its way to the heart and lungs.  While in the heart and lungs the baby worms will grow into adult worms and will lay tiny larvae called microfilaria.

It takes approximately six months for the disease to appear. 

What kind of health damage does it cause?

Heartworm disease can be life threatening if not treated. The adult worms can obstruct large blood vessels which can result in heart failure, liver failure and ruptured blood vessels. 

Some pets will not show signs of the disease, while others will show signs, only after the damage has already affected the heart. 

Symptoms to look for are coughing, heavy breathing, lethargy, unwillingness to exercise, fluid distention of the belly, pulsation of the jugular vein and decreased appetite. 

How is Heartworm Disease diagnosed? 

Usually a veterinarian will perform blood tests to see if Heartworm Disease is present in the pet’s body, while further testing through EKG or Echocardiogram will determine how severe the disease has progressed. 

Forms of testing include: 

Heartworm Seroloy which tests for protein in the bloodstream, produced by the worms. 

Microfilaria screen detects the baby worms circulating in the bloodstream.

The severity of Heartworm disease can be determined by: 

A Complete Physical Exam will detect any signs of the disease. 

A Laboratory evaluation will determine how stable your pet’s health is to receive treatment. 

Chest X-Rays can also detect the severity of the disease by exposing the Heartworms in the bloodstream, heart and lungs. 

A Heart Evaluation includes an echocardiogram which detects enlargement in the heart caused by the worms. 

Treatment for your pet

The level of treatment is subject to the severity of the disease present in your pet. In cases where baby worms are found in your pet, the drug treatment is given on an out-patient basis for a 2-3 week period. 

In cases where adult worms are present, drug treatment must be done in the clinic as the potency to rid the adult worms can cause toxicity in your pet.  Therefore, it’s necessary that your pet is monitored while being treated.  

Repeated treatment may be required for both microfilaria and adult worms. 

Preventing Heartworm Disease

There are preventative medications to prevent your pet from catching Heartworm Disease, though this medication is usually given on a seasonal basis while testing for the disease should take place annually.

To learn more about Heartworm Disease, visit Petsecure’s Pet Healthipedia at: www.pethealthipedia.com