If Your Cat Does This, Always Assume There's a Problem

By Dr. Becker

At some point in their lives, many kitties do something their humans find quite repulsive – they pee outside the litterbox. (Some cats also poop outside the box, but this is a much less common problem.) Even worse, for reasons known only to them, some kitties turn their owner's bed into a second bathroom.

And let's face it - there are few things as unnerving as waking up in a puddle of piddle left by Mr. Whiskers or Miss Fluffybottom.

But all joking aside, feline house soiling is such a widespread problem that it is the number one reason cats are banished to the outdoors, dropped off at animal shelters, or even euthanized. That's why it's important to address a litterbox issue as soon as it occurs.

If Kitty is Relieving Herself Outside the Litterbox, There's a Reason

Cats adapt quickly to using a litterbox because their natural instinct is to eliminate in a substrate (earthy material) that allows them to bury their urine and feces.

Domesticated cats descended from African wildcats for which the desert served as a giant cat box. Modern-day felines are probably attracted to litter because it's the closest substrate to sand they can find inside a house.

It's also the nature of cats to bury their feces in their urine, and wet desert sand is the perfect substrate. This is likely why most domesticated kitties prefer clumping litter to other varieties.

Since it's entirely natural for your cat to seek out her litterbox to eliminate in, you should immediately assume something is haywire if she chooses another location to relieve herself.

It's misguided to suspect your feline companion has suddenly developed anger issues or an attitude problem. There's a reason she's doing what she's doing, and it's your job to sort it out.

First Stop: Your Veterinarian's Office

Any behavior change in a cat is the first sign (and often the only sign) of a medical condition, so if your kitty has started relieving himself in inappropriate places, you'll want to rule out a health problem first.

Urinating outside the litterbox is one of the primary symptoms of feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD), which is a very common condition in cats. Other signs your pet might have this problem include:

• Frequent or prolonged attempts to urinate
• Straining to urinate
• Crying out while urinating
• Blood in the urine
• Excessive licking of the genital area

Any kitty can develop a lower urinary tract disorder, but it's most commonly seen in cats who are middle-aged, use an indoor litterbox exclusively, eat a kibble only diet, don't get enough exercise and are overweight, and who are stressed by their environment.

If you suspect your cat might have a lower urinary tract infection, it's important to make an appointment with your veterinarian.

If your cat isn't passing urine, a situation more commonly seen in males than females but can happen to either sex, this is a life-threatening medical emergency and you should seek immediate care.

Once a kitty's urethra is blocked, the kidneys can no longer do their job. This can lead to uremia, a ruptured bladder, as well as organ failure and death within just a day or two.
Besides lower urinary tract disorders, other medical conditions that can contribute to inappropriate elimination include diabetes, cognitive dysfunction, and hyperthyroidism.

Is the Problem Actually Urine Marking?

Another common reason cats pee outside the litterbox is to urine mark. Kitties who urine mark generally use the litterbox normally, but also perform marking behaviors. Some cats do both house soiling and urine marking.

It's easy to tell the difference between the two once you know what to look for.
Urine marking, when it takes the form of spraying, happens on vertical surfaces.
Urine marking can be hormonally driven, but more often it's the result of a natural system of feline communication, or stress. Examples of common kitty stressors include:

• The addition or loss of a pet or human family member
• Changes in the daily routine brought on by a change in work hours, illness, etc.
• A neighbor's cat or a stray in your yard or around the outside of your home
• Illness of another cat in the home, or a change in the relationship between cats
• Aggression between cats

Both male and female cats spray, as do both neutered and intact cats. However, neutered cats spray less, and neutering can reduce or eliminate spraying in some cases.
But some cats urine mark on horizontal surfaces, which can make it more difficult to determine whether you have a marking problem or a house soiling problem.
Where your cat marks can provide clues, for example:

• If he marks under windows or on baseboards, he may perceive a threat from animals outside – usually other cats
• If he marks on or near furniture or doors inside your home, he might be having problems with other cats in the household
• If your cat marks personal belongings – clothes, bed linens, a favorite chair or a computer keyboard – he may have some anxiety about the human who owns those things

Tackling Urine Marking

Resolving urine marking involves identifying and addressing the source of your cat's stress. When did the marking begin, and what was happening in her environment at that time? Just as cats favor certain scratching surfaces, they also return to the same spot to urine mark. You'll need to use an enzyme-based product for clean ups to remove stains and odor.

You might also want to spray a synthetic pheromone called Feliway on kitty's favorite marking spots. Cats also "mark" by rubbing their cheeks against objects, and Feliway may encourage your cat to mark with his cheeks instead of his urine. Cases of urine marking can be quite difficult to manage, as often the root cause, if determined, can't be resolved completely. And sometimes despite addressing all possibilities, cats still mark.

Litterbox Aversion

A third very common reason for inappropriate elimination in cats is distaste for the litterbox. Kitties who are comfortable with their bathroom arrangement typically approach and jump or climb into the box without hesitation; take a little time to poke around and choose a good spot; dig a hole; turn around and do their business; inspect the result and then cover it up with litter.

Cats who are unhappy with their litterbox may approach it tentatively. They may balance on the side of the box or put only two feet in. They may actually use the litter, but immediately leap from the box when finished. Worst case they may walk to the box, sniff it, turn, walk away … and jump up on your bed to urinate.

Pooping outside the box, but very close to the box, is almost always a litterbox aversion problem. Kitties develop litterbox loathing for a number of reasons. Perhaps your cat's box isn't being cleaned frequently, or frequently enough to meet her standards.

Maybe she's sensitive to a chemical used to clean the box, or perhaps she's not fond of a box with a hood. The box may be in a noisy or high traffic location, or where another pet in the household can trap kitty in there.

How to Cure Litterbox Aversion

If you have multiple cats, you may need to add more boxes. The general guideline is one box per cat, and one extra. If your house has more than one floor, you should have at least one box per floor.

It could be kitty doesn't like the type of litter in the box, or it's not deep enough (four inches is recommended). You can discover your pet's litter preference by buying the smallest amount available of several kinds of litter (unscented, different particle sizes, and made from different materials), and several inexpensive litterboxes.

Place the boxes with different litters side by side and see which box gets used most often. Once you've discovered your cat's litter preference, you can donate the remaining litter and extra boxes to your local shelter or cat rescue organization.
Find locations for litterboxes that are somewhat out of the way, and away from noisy household machinery and appliances. Choose warm locations in the house rather than the basement or garage. And make sure boxes aren't close to kitty's food or water bowls.

Boxes should be kept scrupulously clean. They should be scooped at least once a day and more often if you're dealing with a potential litterbox aversion situation. Dump all the used litter every two to four weeks (I recommend every two weeks, minimum), sanitize the box with soap and warm water, dry thoroughly and add fresh litter.
Plastic litterboxes should be replaced every year or two.

Dr. Becker

Dr. Becker is the resident proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian of HealthyPets.Mercola.com. You can learn holistic ways of preventing illness in your pets by subscribing to MercolaHealthyPets.com, an online resource for animal lovers. For more pet care tips, subscribe for FREE to Mercola Healthy Pet Newsletter.

Why Cats Hide Pain and the Signs to Look For

By Dr. Becker

Cats present a special challenge for the humans who love them because most mask the pain when they are injured, ill or debilitated.

Cats also present a challenge to the veterinary community because there are a limited amount of medical options available for feline pain relief.

Many of the medications used to treat pain in dogs aren't safe for kitties.

Your Pet's Pain is Serious Business

It used to be popular to assume pets didn’t feel pain with the same frequency or for the same reasons humans feel pain.

And in fact, certain quite painful procedures were often performed without anesthesia and without follow-up pain management.

Nowadays we’re more enlightened (or most of us are) and realize that while their response is not always similar to ours, companion animals do indeed feel pain, and for the same reasons we do.

A good rule of thumb for pet owners is to assume if something hurts or causes you discomfort, it is doing the same to your cat or dog. 

Pain is a serious medical problem requiring treatment.

Pain can delay or prevent proper healing from injury or surgery.

It can cause loss of appetite, which for cats can be a life-or-death situation.

Chronic pain can cause inactivity and loss of overall quality of life for your pet. It can also threaten the bond you share with your kitty if his personality or behavior changes or he becomes aggressive.

Also, when pain isn’t managed effectively, it can progress from what we call adaptive pain – pain caused by a specific injury or condition – to pain that is maladaptive. Maladaptive pain is its own disease and must be dealt with in addition to routine pain management.

Maladaptive pain can be of much longer duration than normal pain and considerably more challenging to treat, so you can begin to see the importance of getting your cat seen by a vet as soon as you suspect the presence of a painful condition.

Your Cat Instinctively Hides Her Pain

Hiding pain is an instinctive response for felines in the wild. A cat in pain is seen as weak and vulnerable by other cats and predators.

Since your pampered indoor house cat isn’t all that far removed from her wild counterparts, she responds to pain the same way they do – by keeping it to herself.

Fortunately, a tuned-in pet parent who knows what to look for can make a pretty accurate guess when a cat is hurting. Signs can include:

✓ Hiding more than normal; acting unusually quiet or withdrawn	✓ Agitation; refusal to lie down or sleep
✓ Loss of appetite	✓ Aggressive behavior or other personality changes
✓ Rapid breathing or panting	✓ Hissing, biting or running away when certain areas of the body are touched
✓ Increased heart rate	✓ Altered movement or gait

Most cats in pain do not vocalize, however, if your cat almost never howls or cries but suddenly starts, it could be a sign there's something painful going on.

Causes of Pain in Cats

The most common causes of pain in cats include:

✓ Trauma or injury	✓ GI tract disturbances
✓ Ingestion of poisons	✓ Dental/oral infections and diseases
✓ Urinary tract disease	✓ Infections of the eyes, ears, skin
✓ Arthritis	✓ Diseases of the back or spine
✓ Surgery (including dental surgery)	✓ Major diseases like cancer

Some of the causes of pain in cats are more obvious than others.

Most cat parents know when their pet has been injured, is recovering from surgery, has gum disease or a problem with an eye, ear or a patch of skin.

Less obvious reasons for pain are an underlying urinary tract problem, arthritis, a tummy ache – anything going on primarily inside your cat where you can’t see it.

So if you notice one or more subtle signs of pain and you also know your kitty has dental issues … or you can see some sort of rash or eruption on your pet’s skin, it’s time to make an appointment with your vet.

If you notice subtle signs of pain but are unaware of any health problems with your pet, it’s still time to get your cat seen by a veterinarian. The sooner you find out the underlying cause of your kitty’s pain, the sooner you can get her on the road to feeling better.

Also be aware older cats often develop osteoarthritis, intervertebral disc disease, and spondylosis (joint degeneration), and all these conditions cause pain. So if you have a senior kitty you suspect might be having some pain, once again, I recommend you make an appointment for a wellness checkup.

Medical Management of Cats with Pain

Resolving the cause of your cat’s pain – if at all possible -- is the first priority.

Often we must treat the pain separately while the underlying condition causing the pain is also being treated.

If your cat requires surgery there will be pain involved, no matter how minor or routine the procedure is. Ask your vet how he or she manages pain before, during and after surgery. For example, premedication before anesthesia not only helps decrease the animals’ pain response, it can also increase the effectiveness of the anesthesia so your kitty requires less of it during surgery.

Ideally, you’re dealing with a doctor who understands the importance of pain management and is well-versed in the most appropriate drugs for felines to prevent and alleviate the pain that accompanies surgery.

The vast majority of cats experience a great deal of stress when taken for vet visits. Fear and anxiety can make pain worse, as does being restrained for any reason.

So if your already painful kitty gets really stressed during vet visits and an office procedure must be performed while you’re there, your vet should offer -- or you can ask for -- an anti-anxiety drug for your pet.

For extremely stressed cats, the kindest option is often a few puffs of gas anesthesia (think nitrous gas for the anxious dental patient), rather than unnecessarily harsh restraint for an already over-stressed patient.

You can also inquire whether the veterinary clinic uses synthetic feline facial pheromones to help calm cat patients. These pheromones, known to help many cats cope with stressful situations, come in diffusers that can be plugged into exam rooms. They can also be sprayed on tables, towels and hands.

My clinic also uses a variety of flower essences (Green Hope Farm Flower Essences, OptiBalancePet) to help reduce the stressed feline patient with good success.

Pain medication for cats requires special knowledge and careful attention. For example, certain opioids (narcotic pain killers) cause fewer side effects than others, and most NSAIDs (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) must be avoided in cats.

Again, your veterinarian should be well-versed in the latest trends and most appropriate medications for feline pain management.

As my regular readers know, I constantly caution against allowing your pet to be over-medicated, whether it’s with vaccines, antibiotics, Prednisone therapy, flea and tick preventives, or any other pharmaceutical or pesticide agent that carries the potential for side effects.

However, alleviation and management of an animal’s pain is a different ballgame, and I’m not shy about using appropriate pain relief drugs as needed. I use them to make the pet as comfortable as possible while I find and (hopefully) resolve the cause of the pain. At the same time, I typically employ a variety of non-drug complimentary therapies to see which ones are most effective for the individual.

Alternative Therapies for Pain Relief

Depending on the cause of your cat’s pain, there are a number of healing modalities that used alone or in conjunction with pain relieving drugs, can make a tremendous difference in how your pet feels and his overall quality of life.

A few of these therapies include:

• Veterinary chiropractic care. Chiropractic treatments are affordable and can be very effective in alleviating pain and reducing joint degeneration.

• Pet massage can reduce inflammation and pain in damaged tissues.

• Acupuncture and prolotherapy can be tremendously beneficial for kitties with degenerative joint disease.

• Adequan injections can stimulate joint fluid very rapidly in pets with arthritis.

• Adding certain supplements to your pet’s diet can provide the raw materials for cartilage repair and maintenance, among them:

◦ Glucosamine sulfate and Egg Shell Membrane

◦ Homeopathic Rhus Tox and Arnica

◦ Omega-3 fats, such as krill oil

◦ Ubiquinol and turmeric

◦ Supergreen foods, such as Spirulina and Astaxanthin

◦ Natural anti-inflammatory formulas (herbs, proteolytic enzymes, such as Wobenzym® and nutraceuticals)

◦ EFAC complex

Often, once we discover the most effective alternative treatments for kitties with chronic pain conditions, we are able to gradually reduce or even eliminate the need for pain killing drugs.

Dr. Becker

Dr. Becker is the resident proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian of HealthyPets.Mercola.com. You can learn holistic ways of preventing illness in your pets by subscribing to MercolaHealthyPets.com, an online resource for animal lovers. For more pet care tips, subscribe for FREE to Mercola Healthy Pet Newsletter.

The Secret to Soft and Healthy Paws this Winter

Did you know that your dogs paws can crack and splinter just like our hands do during the winter? Damage to the paw pads of their feet caused by low humidity, ice, and salt can get so bad that the pads bleed. If left uncared for, these cracks and sores can potentially lead to infection. Fortunately, there are plenty of products available to help keep the pads of your furry companions protected and healthy this winter.

To protect humans and vehicles from slipping and sliding on the ice, salt is most commonly used. Salt dries the pads of your pups paws causing cracks. You can avoid this on your own property by using a salt alternative, such as Safe Paw or Walk Safe. Both Safe Paw and Walk Safe are environmentally safe and nontoxic ice melters that will not cause any damage to the pads of their paws, as a side benefit they are less caustic and damaging to pavement and walkways.

Unfortunately, not everywhere you walk your dog will use this safe alternative. This means you will need to find a different way to protect their paws when out on adventures. One of the options is to use booties. Not only are booties adorable, but they also keep your dogs paws safe and many boot options exist for varied terrain situations. This means some boots are used year round.

However, not all dogs adapt well to booties. If this is your dog, there is also a product called Musher’s Secret. This is a protective wax that forms a breathable bond with your dog's paws. It was developed in Canada for use with sledding dogs and is made from 100% natural waxes.

All of these options and more can be found at Cherrybrook! Stop into any one of our retail locations today with your pooch to get more information on how to better protect your dogs paws this winter season.

Holiday Décor Do’s and Don’ts in a Home with Pets

Christmas trees, holiday lights, candles, tinsel, poinsettias; the holidays are a magical time with decorations galore! Knowing what can harm your pets is important when deciding how to decorate your home for this wonderful time of year. There are certain decorations that should be avoided completely depending on the pet you have, so educate yourself and avoid having a giant holiday mishap this year!

Christmas trees are a staple in many homes during the holiday season. Our Christmas trees sit in stagnant water throughout the season so they do not go bad. This water is a breeding ground for bacteria and should not be ingested by your pet. Keep your pets away from this water as it could cause an upset tummy with diarrhea or nausea. Using a tree skirt to cover the water may help keep them away from the threat. Other plants like holly and mistletoe can cause gastrointestinal upset and cardiovascular problems in dogs and cats. Many varieties of lilies can cause acute kidney failure in cats if ingested. Instead, opt for artificial plants made from silk or plastic.

Tinsel is a very common decoration used during the holidays. This beautiful, sparkly, light weight decoration is especially enticing to our feline friends. While they may look cute playing with tinsel, it can be extremely dangerous. Playing can lead to chewing, which can then lead to swallowing. If your cat ingests tinsel it can cause a life threatening obstruction in the digestive tract. Avoid using tinsel if your share your home with felines.

Holiday decorations warm our homes and hearts. Knowing what can be potentially dangerous to our furry companions means a happy and healthy holiday season for all!

Have A Safe and Happy Howl-a-day Party with your Pets

  

The Holidays are fast approaching and our furry friends want in on the friends, food, and merry! There are certain things you should keep in mind when looking to include your pets in the Holiday Festivities.

Our pets love routines, so try your best to keep to their regular schedules. Too much change can sometimes lead to a very stressed out pet which may result in unwanted behaviors. The Holiday’s can be a very busy time for us, but it is important that your pets feeding time and walking time remain as close to normal as possible. Remember; happy pet, happy you.

Many of us enjoy a good Holiday party or dinner with friends and family. Some of our furry friends love to be in on the action, while others do not. If your pet does not do well with large groups of people, set up a room for them to go as a sanctuary. 

Your cat or dog may want to hide out away from the hustle and bustle until the guests have all gone. Make sure they have plenty of water and a cozy bed in a separate room for the duration of the gathering. There are plenty of holistic calming remedies available to make this time easier on your shy pets, like Heavenly Hounds Bars and Rescue Remedy.

If your pet is a social butterfly and basks in the attention of guests, make sure there are healthy pet treats available. We all love to spoil our pets, and Grandma is no exception. Having pet treats available for your guests to give your dog or cat will help to avoid them getting table scraps from overeager guests. Alcoholic beverages, fatty, spicy human foods, as well as cooked bones, should not be fed to your furry companions as it can lead to diarrhea or hazardous blockages in the stomach.

Affecting Change Through Diet for Your Pet with Diabetes

By Lori Horton, Bedminster Store Manager

Diabetes is becoming one of the most diagnosed diseases amongst our four legged friends. While this disease requires treatment, it is not life threatening. Here is a short list of some of the tell tale signs and symptoms of diabetes in pets to watch for:

·       Drinking more water than usual

·       Frequent urination

·       Always acting hungry

·       Cloudy eyes 

With proper care, your pet can live a happy, and relatively healthy life with Diabetes. It is important to work closely with your veterinarian, getting a diagnosis and the correct medical care is a crucial part of treating Diabetes. The main goal in managing diabetes is to keep the glucose levels regulated and avoid sugar spikes and drops. This can be achieved through insulin treatments from your veterinarian. But another critical component in the proper treatment for your diabetic pet is diet. The good news is that changing your pet’s diet is something you can easily do and it will have a dramatic impact on the health of your pet with diabetes.

When choosing a diet for your pet with diabetes, the glycemic index is important to consider. The glycemic index is a scale that ranks different types of carbohydrates from 0-100 according to how high they raise blood sugar levels after they are eaten. Foods that are low on the glycemic index take longer for the body to digest, therefore, blood sugar levels rise slower. Since one of the goals in the management of your pet with diabetes is to avoid blood sugar spikes and drops, a slow digesting carbohydrate is ideal. 

There are some ingredients readily found in super market pet food brands that score very high in the glycemic index. These ingredients should be avoided in order to successfully manage the health of your pet with diabetes. Absolutely avoid foods containing:

·       Corn

·       Wheat

·       Rice

·       Potatoes (both white and sweet)

Look for ingredients in a pet food that score low on the glycemic index. These include:

·       Lentils

·       Peas

·       Barley

·       Alfalfa

·       Apples

Cherrybrook offers many different food options with these low glycemic ingredients. Understanding diabetes and how you can help your pet to live a healthy and happy life after diagnosis is attainable. The associates at Cherrybrook can help you in this journey to a better life for you and your pet with diabetes.

Does Your Pet Really Need That Rabies Shot?

by Dr. Becker

In the fourth installment of this 4-part series (find the first three installments here: part 1, part 2, part 3), Dr. Becker continues her discussion with Dr. Ronald Schultz, a pioneer and expert in the field of veterinary vaccines. In this final segment, the doctors discuss the future of rabies vaccines and the vaccination protocol Dr. Schultz uses with his own pets.

Dr. Becker's Comments:

Today I'm wrapping up my 4-part interview with Dr. Ronald Schultz, Professor and Chair, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Science at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

We're returning to the subject of rabies vaccines and Dr. Schultz's fascinating work in this area.

Are Rabies Vaccinations Really Needed Every Year or Three Years?

I asked Dr. Schultz to explain why there are 1-year and 3-year vaccines, but not, say, 7 or 12 or 20-year rabies vaccines.

Dr. Schultz explains he's conducting studies at the moment to successfully demonstrate a minimum duration of immunity for rabies at 7 years. This could enable us to extend the time between re-vaccinations. Up to now, no one has done the research to prove we can go beyond 3 years.

Part of the reason is because the studies are very expensive and take a lot of time

Currently Dr. Schultz is in year 4 of his 7 year study. You can read more about the study at the Rabies Challenge Fund. He is looking to be able to recommend that after an animal is vaccinated at from 12 to 24 weeks of age for rabies, it doesn't require a re-vaccination every 3 years.

Every state in the U.S. now has a 3-year rabies law, however, depending on what city or municipality you live in, the laws may be more restrictive, requiring every-year or every two-year rabies vaccines.

Dr. Schultz reminds every pet owner that you are the one with the ability to get the laws changed if you live in a location that requires your pet be vaccinated more frequently than every 3 years for rabies. There is absolutely no scientific reason for anyone to vaccinate an animal more often than every 3 years with products that are licensed by the USDA to be given at 3 year intervals.

Re-vaccinating that animal more frequently will not enhance herd immunity or protection against rabies. Animal owners who never have their pets vaccinated will continue to avoid doing it, so the requirement for more frequent rabies vaccines is nothing more than a penalty handed out to pet owners who do get their animals vaccinated per the law. It is those pet owners who are potentially causing harm to their animals because they are complying with the every 1 or every 2 year vaccine mandate.

Is There a Difference Between the 1-Year and 3-Year Vaccines?

I asked Dr. Schultz if the 1 and 3-year rabies vaccine products are the same. His opinion is most of them are. There is also a 1-year feline rabies vaccine that has no adjuvant, but there is not at this time a similar 3-year product.

I asked Dr. Schultz why there isn't a 3-year non-adjuvanted product. His answer is the adjuvant-free 1-year feline rabies vaccine is new technology. It is a recombinant vaccine that is similar in nature to a modified live vaccine, but there's no live rabies in it. The cat's immune system sees this vaccine as live. The company that developed the adjuvant-free 1-year vaccine did studies that showed vaccinated cats were still protected 100 percent from rabies 3 years later.

However, a problem in the control (non-vaccinated) group of cats (not enough of them died) prevented the USDA from issuing a 3-year license for the vaccine. In a second round of studies, even fewer non-vaccinated cats died, so again, the USDA refused to issue a 3-year license for the product.

With regard to vaccine-associated sarcomas (VAS) in cats, Dr. Schultz believes it's preferable to give the non-adjuvanted 1-year rabies vaccine over the 3-year vaccine containing adjuvants. Whereas the non-adjuvanted 1-year vaccine created no inflammatory response at the injection site (a marker for tumor development), adjuvanted rabies vaccines are known to cause more VAS. So even in genetically predisposed kitties, it is assumed the non-adjuvanted product, even given yearly, is less harmful than the adjuvanted vaccine.

Since it is known that cats are more likely to develop vaccine injection site sarcomas, the direction for feline vaccines is toward non-adjuvanted products.

Adjuvanted products are more likely to cause adverse reactions in general, across all species.

So the overall goal in future vaccine development is to 1) have fewer adjuvanted vaccines and 2) to develop new adjuvants that are less likely to create adverse reactions.

The Vaccine Protocol Dr. Schultz Would Use with a New Puppy or Kitten in His Family

The last question I had for Dr. Schultz was how his vaccination protocol has changed over the years for his own pets and those of family members.

Dr. Schultz feels very confident about the effectiveness of vaccines. He is also a risk taker in his personal life (he rides motorcycles, has a pilot's license), and not everyone (including me) is as comfortable taking risks as he is. So his choices for vaccination of pets must be put into that context.

With that said, there are very few people who know more about veterinary vaccines than Dr. Schultz, so he is really not taking much of a risk with his pets, his children's pets, or his grandchildren's pets with the vaccine protocol he follows.

He does antibody titers on the mother to know the right time to effectively immunize (not just vaccinate) the puppy or kitten for the 3 core viruses. He titers the puppy or kitten 2 or more weeks post vaccine to make sure the animal responded, and as long as the response is adequate, he would probably not re-vaccinate for the rest of the dog's or cat's life. This is a protocol he has followed since 1974.

He would also give a rabies vaccine (which is technically also considered a core vaccine), the frequency of which is not dictated by Dr. Schultz's knowledge of immunology, but is dictated by the law. He gives the first rabies vaccine sometime after 4 months of age, re-vaccinates in a year, and then again in 3 years and every 3 years thereafter. Dr. Schultz reiterates his rabies vaccine protocol is because of the law, not because every 3 year vaccines are necessary immunologically.

The law is not interested in when an animal actually needs another rabies vaccine to be protected – the law simply demands every 1, 2 or 3 year vaccinations with no consideration for whether the animal's body is already immune to the rabies virus thanks to a prior vaccine.

If you choose not to re-vaccinate your pet for rabies, it is your choice, but you should be aware it is also against the law. Neither Dr. Schultz nor I are suggesting you do anything illegal. However, if you choose not to re-vaccinate, be aware your pet is probably protected for life from the virus anyway due to prior rabies vaccination.

If Dr. Schultz's 7-year rabies study can prove the vaccine is good for at least that long, prompting a change in current vaccination laws, then a dog might only receive 2 rabies vaccines in a lifetime.

My Sincere Thanks to Dr. Schultz

I want to point out to all of you that Dr. Schultz is single-handedly changing the face of immunologic veterinary medicine. I am so grateful for the work he does – his effort and his passion – and for helping all of us make better decisions for the animals in our care.

Dr. Schultz, in turn, thanks the veterinarians who've been willing to make changes to their vaccination programs, as well as the vaccine companies that conduct their own studies with their products. Every major veterinary vaccine manufacturer has completed a minimum 3-year vaccine study with the core vaccines, and they have all demonstrated their products provide a minimum of 3-years duration of immunity.

This should say something to any veterinarian out here who is wondering if it's really safe to go 3 years between vaccinations -- as well as any pet owner with similar concerns -- that yes, they can confidently go 3 years, regardless of the product used.

Dr. Becker

Dr. Becker is the resident proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian of HealthyPets.Mercola.com. You can learn holistic ways of preventing illness in your pets by subscribing to MercolaHealthyPets.com, an online resource for animal lovers. For more pet care tips, subscribe for FREE to Mercola Healthy Pet Newsletter.