Our four-legged friends know how to be sad, offended, jealous. Remember the movie “A Dog’s Life”, where pets completely copy their owners, even suffer from the same diseases. This movie. In reality, the younger brothers also suffer from obesity, fight cancer, suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular system, stomach and do not sleep at night due to problems with ears and teeth.
Veterinarian, oncologist and pathomorphologist, Pavel Arepiev spoke about the main human diseases that occur in animals.
Our smaller brothers live in absolutely the same conditions as you and me. They eat the same food or industrial high quality feed made from the same ingredients. Speaking about the ecological situation, we can give a simple and ordinary example: a cat living in a house with a smoking owner suffers from nicotine no less than people. Only a person often travels to the forest, where you can enjoy walks in the fresh air, and a pet often spends its entire life in an apartment sealed with plastic windows in the center of an already polluted city. What confuses me the most is the question each owner asks during the reception: “Oh my God! Where does this infection come from in animals? ” “Oh my God! – I want to say in response. – Why should they have something different? After all, our pets literally keep pace with us.
Oncology remains the most terrible diagnosis for both humans and animals. Where does this ailment come from? “Ecology is far from the only proven cause of cancer,” says Pavel. – There are also spontaneous mutations in cells, the impact of hormonal factors, a virus and many others, some of which have not yet been proven empirically, and some are completely unknown to mankind. My four-legged patients are subject to the same risk of oncological diseases as humans, and given that all metabolic processes in animals proceed almost ten times faster than ours, the rate of development of tumor pathologies is many times faster and more aggressive, and the forecasts worse and shorter. Oncology is often disguised as poisoning (vomiting, diarrhea), viral and bacterial infections (weakness, fever), trauma (lameness, fractures), inflammatory diseases (otitis media, etc.). People who bring animals to an appointment in such a state are amazing that even I can be scared to look at them! I just want to take it by the breasts and ask: “How? How could a tumor grow on the mammary gland of a Yorkshire Terrier to the size of an orange? She’s almost the size of a dog! ” Meanwhile, life depends on the length of the period between the time the pet gave the first cry for help and the time the owner turned to the veterinarian. Any formation on the body of a dog or cat, regardless of its size, should be alarming. Do not forget to periodically check the condition of your pet’s oral cavity – any growths on the gums, a sudden loss of a tooth should alert you. If you are the owner of a female animal, then every lump, hardening, pea, or whatever you can call it, should force you to make an appointment with an oncologist in the coming days. It is necessary at least once every few months to carefully feel the mammary glands from the armpits to the groin, believe me, this is not difficult, while breast cancer takes the lives of thousands and thousands of animals of different age groups. If you notice severely enlarged lymph nodes on the body of the ward, run to the oncologist. With a timely appeal to a veterinary clinic and getting an appointment with a competent oncologist, your animal will inevitably undergo a number of studies: cytology, X-rays, all kinds of blood tests and much more. It is quite possible that the neoplasm, about which you will contact your pet, will simply be excised surgically, and you will forget about it forever. But, you may need a number of postoperative procedures, well-chosen chemotherapy or radiation.
Seeing your veterinarian in time can save your pet’s life.
From the school course in zoology, everyone knows that the body of an animal is a complex mechanism that allows many systems and organs to interact. Animals have the same systems: excretory, reproductive, nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal systems. This mechanism can easily fail.
Our smaller brothers have heart and cardiovascular problems all in all. Like you and me, animals can face heart defects, genetic diseases, myocarditis and pericarditis. “Unfortunately, cats often suffer from arterial hypertension (high blood pressure), which in turn can provoke a number of diseases and complications,” says Pavel. – And at the same time, not every clinic will offer you to measure the pressure of your pet, which is related to the cost of the tonometer. A device for a person costs from 2 thousand rubles, and for cats – about 200 thousand. But at the same time, the measurement of pressure is incredibly important, both for a person and for our furry friends. “
In addition, absolutely all animals are subject to an incredible amount viral and bacterial diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract. All kinds of bronchitis, pneumonia, laryngitis, and so familiar to us, occur in dogs, cats, and ferrets. It’s just that many diseases proceed unnoticed for us, and we find clinical signs only when the disease has fully come into its own.
Allergy appears in every second pet. It can be barely noticeable redness or rashes, which do not bother our younger brothers at all, but there can be itchy and festering eczema. “Do not forget that allergies can be of food and non-food origin,” warns the veterinarian. – And it can be quite difficult to understand the root cause. As in the case of humans, we resort to a variety of diagnostic procedures, as well as artificial and natural diets, to correct and detect this malfunction in the animal’s immune system. And it should be added that most drugs for the treatment of allergic reactions in veterinary medicine are identical to those taken by people with similar ailments.
Pets often suffer from problems with digestive system… Moreover, in addition to diseases that occur in humans, animals have only animal ailments. “Gastritis, duodenitis and various gastrointestinal disorders are the pathologies that we constantly encounter,” says Arepiev. – Remember the gastroscopy procedure? This is when a long rubber hose with a light bulb at the end is pushed into our stomach. So, this diagnostic measure often falls on the heads of dogs and cats that need an accurate and quick diagnosis of pathologies of the stomach and duodenum. “
Side pathologies musculoskeletal system often do not give life to older dogs and cats. Joints are prone to arthritis and other inflammatory conditions. Large and heavy animals often suffer (it should be noted that obese people are also at increased risk). When treating such diseases, the veterinarian prescribes various tests and tests, asks the owners to take a picture or an MRI scan for their pet, and selects various anti-inflammatory drugs. If they do not help, then they resort to surgical methods.
Not all pet owners pay due attention condition of teeth and gums their wards. “Dogs themselves do not brush their teeth and that something is not going as usual, the owner learns from the difficulty in eating or the unbearable smell from the mouth of his beloved Yorkshire Terrier, who constantly climbs to kiss all family members,” says Pavel … – If you notice something similar, then perhaps we are talking about diseases of the oral cavity, which lead to deep ulcers, loss of teeth and even fragments of the lower or upper jaws. All of these problems tend to stem from poor grooming, carelessness, and improper feeding. Veterinary dentists always urge pet owners to look after their pets as they are themselves if they want to keep the mouths of their wards full until they get older. “
It is important to understand that any organ or organ system of dogs and cats also malfunctions, as similar systems in us humans. All processes and mechanisms for the most part develop according to similar or generally identical scenarios. “As a veterinarian, I insist on the medical examination of animals over five years old, trying to convey to the owners how important it is and can extend the lives of their wards, and also help the owners to save a lot of money,” argues Pavel Arepiev. – After all, many diseases established at the early stages are treated many times easier, faster and cheaper than neglected cases. Do not forget that you are responsible for those you have tamed. “