[music playing] ANNOUNCER: Support for Conversations Live comes from the Gertrude J. Sandt Endowment, the James H. Olay Family Endowment, and the Sidney and Helen S. Friedman Endowment, and from viewers like you.

Thank you.

[music playing] ANNOUNCER: From the Dr.

Keiko Miwa Ross WPSU Production Studio, this is Conversations Live.

[music playing] Good evening.

I'm Anne Danahy.

Pets can be companions, loyal friends and calming influences.

They can also leave us with lots of questions.

What is a dog or cat trying to communicate to us?

What should I be feeding my pet?

How do I know if another animal will fit in with the ones I already have?

Here to help us make sense of all of that and answer your questions are two expert veterinarians.

Dr.

Andrea Loar is the owner and a veterinarian at CP Vets, an emergency and critical care facility in State College.

She's a graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University.

And she raises beef cattle in Clearfield County, where she also has horses, cats, and a dog.

Dr.

Debra Smart is co-owner and veterinarian at Centre Animal Hospital in State College.

Originally from Lancaster, she's a graduate of Princeton University and Colorado State University, where she earned a doctorate of veterinary medicine.

Her special interests include dentistry and feline medicine, along with Guinea pigs and other pocket pets.

You, too can join tonight's conversation.

Our toll-free number is 1-800-543-8242.

Our email address is connect@wpsu.org.

Andrea Loar and Debra Smart, thank you both so much for coming in to talk with us.

Thank you.

Thanks for having us.

I have a question about the winter weather.

So hopefully, we're in the home stretch of winter here soon, but we still could get snow.

We still could get ice.

And one of the things that comes with that is road salts.

People putting salt on their sidewalks.

Of course, we have it on the roads.

And I just wondered, Andrea, if this is something that pet owners need to worry about.

I'm thinking specifically of dog owners, when you take your dog out for a walk, and also, possibly the impact on wildlife too.

Yeah.

So it certainly is a potential irritant to the feet of your dog when you're out for a walk.

So hopefully, we're using the pet-safe salt.

But it's a good idea to wash your dog's paws when you come inside from outside.

So you can either use the booties that keep them clean, or you can use a couple of baby wipes, or just teach them to dip their paws in a little cup of water when they come in.

And that way, you're keeping them clean.

And you should do that year round because it will keep down the dirt and pollen and things like that-- Is that what you tell clients too, that just even road salt or otherwise, just to give your pet.

I think that's a great plan.

I think there are some-- Andrea mentioned there are some pet safe salts.

And at our vet clinic, we're very careful to use those in our parking lot and on our sidewalks and stuff like that.

So I think there are some safe alternatives, too.

That's great to.

Well, this is kind of in keeping with the idea of preventative care, trying to head off problems before you even get to them.

Deb, what does it mean when you talk about preventative care with your clients?

Are there certain tips or pieces of advice you give them?

So I think one of the key elements to preventative care is to have a relationship with your local veterinarian.

So get your new pet in or your pet in if you move to a veterinarian, go in for a visit and have a relationship.

We help a lot of our clients out.

Everybody wants to send a text message or an email, and some of the time we can help.

But I have to have a relationship with you and your pet.

I have to have seen your pet and know your pet to be able to help you to-- to be able to help you.

So that's the first start to preventative medicine.

We have some routine vaccinations.

Those vaccines are going to be recommended for your pet based on your pet's age and activities and the type of animal that it is.

And then as your pet ages, there are some things like dental care and baseline blood work to help with problems of aging like arthritis, or other metabolic diseases.

So a lot of things that we can do a lot for if we find them and address them early.

And so I think creating that relationship so your veterinarian knows you and your pet is really the first cornerstone to setting up a good preventative relationship.

That's really great to know to have that relationship like you said.

So maybe you can just check in when you're not sure about something or finding out about it.

And Andrea, you're coming at this from a little bit of a different perspective.

So you have an emergency care clinic.

So how do you see that?

Do you talk with people who bring their pets in about preventative care?

Are there any tips or suggestions you would give to people?

So oftentimes the things that we're seeing are things that could have either been prevented or could have been managed by their general practice veterinarian if they had one.

There are a lot of clients that we see that don't have a pre-existing relationship with a veterinarian for their pet that end up coming to us because they can't get in anywhere in a reasonable amount of time.

And so again, as Dr.

Smart said, having that pre-existing relationship with a veterinarian who knows your pet can really help you avoid coming to see us.

And we're always happy to help.

But we also value that relationship with a primary care veterinarian.

And Deb, you raised a couple of issues, things that a primary care doctor will be looking out for.

And one of them was weight.

And I think this is something that a lot of pet owners myself included, really struggle with.

It's like, OK, why your-- my case, it's a cat or you want your dog or whatever your pet is to be a healthy weight.

But on the other hand, just like a person, once you've gained the weight, it's really difficult.

I don't know.

What do you tell people?

How do you, I guess, be preventative about that with your pet?

And what do you do once you get there and you're trying to get your pet to lose maybe a little bit of weight?

So as we see somebody's pet over the years, we check their weight every year when they come in.

And so we catch trends.

And so a lot of times, I see them at one year or two years of age and I'm like, OK, they're getting a little heavier.

Are you measuring their food?

How much are you feeding?

A lot of times, the recommended amounts on the dog food and cat food bags can be up to twice as much as our animals really need.

To get those recommended amounts on the bags, it's a little technical, but the way that they get those amounts is they have to feed them to animals in specific situations and have those animals not lose weight for six months.

And often those are younger animals in kennel situations and a lot-- you can't compare how much you feed a six-month-old dog or a two-year-old dog to what a five-year-old dog needs.

They just need fewer calories as they age, just like we do.

And so a lot of times, if we're monitoring their weight as they age, we're able to have people dial back on the amount of food or get out of measuring cups so they have a specific amount that they're feeding.

Cats are another issue because they'll wake you up at 3:00 in the morning if they think they need to be fed.

And so I love automatic feeders for people with certain cats.

You can set that automatic feeder to go off at 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning.

And instead of staring at you and your bed waiting for the food to arrive, the cat will go downstairs and stare at the automatic feeder and wait for the automatic feeder to provide food.

So that can be really helpful for those kitties who will get you out of bed or pester you until you give them one more little snack.

And then the minute that you get out of bed at 3:00 in the morning to feed them, then you've trained them to come wake you up at 3:00 in the morning to get a snack.

And it can be really hard to get weight off some of those persistent kitties.

Because you need your sleep, even if you're a pet owner.

Well, we're going to come back, Andrea, and get your thoughts on that.

But first, we have this call and it is from Mary in Boalsburg.

Hi, Mary.

Thanks for calling.

And do you have a question or comment?

MARY (ON PHONE): I do.

Hello to all of you.

We have a 13-year-old kitty named Zoe who, no matter what we do, she jumps up on counters looking for food and also on our table.

And we have the automatic feeder and we give her dry food.

So I'm wondering, does she need more protein or because she was a feral cat, is this behavior she learned as a kitty?

But we love her.

But she's annoying with his getting up on the counter and our table and always having to cover food.

So thank you.

Thank you, Mary, for that question and the perfect timing.

We were just talking about food and the importance of diet.

I don't know.

Andrea, do you want to take a stab at that?

Are there any tips, anything you can do for a cat that is persistent like that?

Cats are smart, and it can be very hard to train them away from that.

I have one that we fight with that all the time.

So I'd actually be interested to know if Dr.

Smart has any recommendations for me and for Zoe.

So I think what it sounds like is Zoe's been trained to jump up on the counter and the table because she gets a food reward when she does that thing.

And so that's what you're fighting against when you're trying to redirect her.

So my recommendation would be to take Zoe away from that situation and not allow her to be rewarded by jumping on the table and the counter.

And it might be as simple as putting her in a laundry room or a bedroom when you're eating your dinner, because every time that she jumps up on that table and steals a little bit of something tasty, she's reinforcing that behavior.

And sometimes there are negative reinforcements that we can use.

But I don't really like those a lot.

I think just avoiding the situation is probably the best way to counter-condition her.

Maybe feed her in a space that's away from that space so that those spaces become less associated with food.

But one of the things that I thought was really interesting that Mary talked about was the fact that Zoe is an older kitty.

And we do see a lot of a disease condition called hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid, in our older cats.

And that can make them incredibly hungry.

And sometimes cats who've been relatively well socialized and polite for their whole life are driven by this overactive thyroid to seek out food in all kinds of places.

And many times, those cats are actually losing weight because they're so hypermetabolic, but they're literally starving.

And so if you haven't had Zoe checked and had an exam with a veterinarian and maybe some senior blood work, that might be a good place to start because sometimes those really aggressive food-seeking behaviors in older cats can be associated with this disease called hyperthyroidism.

And sometimes we can diagnose it or get a suspicion of it from something as simple as just doing an exam and gently feeling their neck.

A lot of times my clients think I'm just petting their cat, but what I'm actually doing is checking both their lymph nodes and their thyroid gland in their neck.

And sometimes, we can get a sense that this might be something that's going on for your kitty.

OK.

Great advice.

Thank you.

And then just going back to some of those preventative care.

Andrea, do you have any other thoughts on that?

Some of the common issues that might come up.

Wait, we talked a lot about that, but also teeth or other things.

Weight, teeth and weight has a lot of connotations and a lot of potential problems.

We see a lot of dogs that have arthritis, that show up with limping and other things because of their weight.

So really focusing on that is important.

Great.

Well, we have another call and this is from Doris in State College.

Hi, Doris.

Thanks so much for calling.

And do you have a question or comment?

DORIS (ON PHONE): Yes, I have a little dog.

He's a toy schnauzer, and he's crazy.

The vet told me that he needed a dog psychologist when he was real little, and I thought that was a funny comment.

So any thoughts on what you could do that.

OK, Doris, thank you for that question.

So is this something that-- yeah, thank you.

So we'll see if our veterinarians have any advice or thoughts on what you can do for a dog that presents these types of challenges.

I guess Doris, are you still there?

Are there anything in particular?

All right.

I think we lost-- we lost Doris.

I have some thoughts.

I'll get going, if that's all right.

Yeah.

So Schnauzers are extremely active little dogs.

They're teeny little dogs, but they're just balls of energy.

And so a lot of times, if we have dogs with behavior problems, the first thing is to make sure that they're getting adequate activity and stimulation.

And she described it as starting when her dog was a young dog.

And young dogs are very active and they need to be socialized.

They need to be out with other dogs and with people.

There are critical periods of training up until about six months, and then in the first year of their life, where they have what we call neuroplasticity and the ability to learn new things.

And for young dogs, it's really important that they are socialized with other dogs and with all kinds of people and all kinds of activities.

And then if there are behavior problems that show up, we certainly have animal behaviorists.

And those are different people from trainers.

So there are veterinarians with special certifications in animal behavior.

And then there are PhD animal behaviorists who will use training methods that are, for the most part, very positive training methods to try to redirect animals and help with behaviors that are difficult to deal with.

Many times the behaviors are natural behaviors.

So Schnauzers are meant to hunt little critters.

And so when they dig up your carpet or root around in your couch or run around your house, they're doing the behaviors that they're bred for.

And you pick this breed and it's a breed that was bred to do these very, very active things.

And when you put that dog in your living room and want it to rest on the couch, it may not be what it's actually hardwired to do.

So to a certain extent, you have to respect the breed that you pick and try to give them the activities that interest them and bring them joy.

OK.

Interesting.

So that raises the issue of finding a dog or a cat that's a good fit.

Absolutely, yes.

Yes.

Well, and I will add to Dr.

Smart's comment, a tired dog is a happy dog.

And so really, focusing-- different breeds have different energy requirements.

And you think about what were they bred for and that can give you a lot of indication as to whether this dog may fit in your lifestyle or not.

I have a mastiff.

She is a couch potato and that fits very well with me.

Dr.

Smart has hunting-type dogs and they are a lot more activity than I could ever imagine having in my house.

So looking at what is your lifestyle like versus what is the natural temperament and what is this dog bred for.

All right.

That's great advice.

And we have another question.

And we got this one by email.

And this is from Scott.

And he writes when shopping for cat food and dog food at the store, with so many options to choose from and available, what qualities of food should I be looking for?

So how do you pick out a cat food or dog food at the store.

Deb, do you have any thoughts on that?

How do you know what's going to be healthy?

I think it can be really difficult, and I think that the labels on the bags are not always the best guidelines to go by.

So we see lots of dogs-- we see lots of labels that can be misleading.

They may say that they have a certain protein or a certain amount of protein in a food.

Or it may be that a food looks great on a label or there's a wonderful advertisement for food, but really that food is not something that presents with a healthy animal at the veterinarian.

So we have a lot of dogs that eat like certain brands of food and just don't seem to do as well on them.

And I think that, again, that's part of that good relationship with your veterinarian.

If you bring your dog in to see me and you ask what type of food I recommend, I will come up with recommendations for your dog.

And it's not going to be one or two things.

It will probably be three or four different things.

And I'll say, this is why I might think about this.

This is why I might think about that.

And it's not going to be the same for every dog.

But there are things that I recommend for my clients.

And one of the things that I recommend is that most of the time you feed about half of what the recommended amount is on the back of the label.

So I would start with that, regardless of what you feed.

People who make dog food want to sell dog food.

The amounts on the labels are too much.

Start out with about half as much, and measure it.

But I think that it's really difficult just to try to look at labels and come up with a good recommendation, because I think often what's on the label may or may not accurately reflect what's in the food.

And some dogs do very well on some foods, and other dogs have their foods that have great labels and great advertisement.

And we see a lot of dogs that don't do well on some of those foods.

OK.

Interesting because I mean, can't sometimes the food be associated with the problem that the pet is having.

And so-- ANDREA LOAR: Yes.

Yes.

You want to make sure you know what to look for and what to do with that.

Yeah.

And Scott, another thing that I will say is you want to be looking for brands that have on the label that they have met AAFCO feeding trials, A-A-F-C-O.

Some foods will have that they meet AAFCO requirements, but you want it to have actually gone through an AAFCO feeding trial.

That's one of the basic levels for a higher-quality cat or dog food.

And a lot of the boutique or specialty diets don't actually meet that.

So looking at your labels, that's one of the things that you can look at and read to determine whether or it's an appropriate food.

One of the things, too, that I think I've learned in the last probably three to five years about food is really the importance of probiotics and prebiotics in the foods that we're feeding our dogs.

And there are many, many good brands of dog food out there that have excellent probiotic and prebiotic content.

And that can make a huge difference for our dogs.

As they get older, it can really help their brain health, it can help their urinary tract health.

And having that conversation with your veterinarian can help them to pick out a food that might be a really good food for your dog.

And that's something that may be hard to pick up by reading a label, where you're just looking at the content of the food.

And it also can be difficult cats or dogs, because sometimes one cat likes one type of food and the other one doesn't, and it becomes a whole thing where they seem to be fickle.

But again, want to feed them what's healthy.

So that's great advice.

Talk to your veterinarian about it.

So this will be a great time to hear from another animal lover.

And we spoke with Lisa Bahr with Centre County PAWS earlier.

And she is going to tell us a little bit about what they're seeing at Centre County PAWS, and then we're going to come back and discuss.

I've been at PAWS for 19 years now, so I've been able to watch the trends.

And with cats, we have seen a gradual increase in the demand for the requests for assistance with placing cats-- cats found outside, stray litters of kittens.

What's really interesting is that in the last three years, we have seen a sudden surge in the demand or the need for people to rehome dogs.

National statistics are telling us the reason for that is mainly due to housing insecurity and things related to cost of living, which certainly impacts your ability to afford rent at a place that allows animals.

So we're seeing more animals abandoned, more animals left alone in apartments after people leave, and more stray dogs, which we for years, we might get one or two stray dogs in a year, and now we're seeing them multiple dogs per week.

So that is certainly the newest trend that we are working on figuring out how best to respond to at this time.

Can you get a puff?

Yeah, and the other one.

The other one.

I want that one.

We really encourage people to come here to look at our animals.

It's pretty incredible, the number of animals that come through our doors each year, the number of animals in need.

And anything that you are looking for, you can find here.

We have such a wide variety of breeds of dogs ages, behaviors, temperaments of dogs.

And each year, we bring in almost 1,000 cats.

So between 1,000 cats, you can imagine, we've got just about anybody.

Yeah.

I think before adopting an animal, I think the things you have to consider are what your lifestyle is like.

Are you home a lot, or are you out on the go a lot?

And if you are a more active person, or maybe someone who's maybe a bit more of a couch potato, that is going to impact which animal is going to be right for you.

There is an animal that's going to be right for you.

You just have to figure out which one that is.

And that's one thing that I think we do really well here at PAWS is talking to people about what your lifestyle is like and which animal we have that we think would be a good match for you.

That's great advice there.

And one of the things that she mentions is that they've seen a surge in dogs in particular, over the past couple of years.

Andrea, I wonder if that's in keeping with what you're seeing and hearing, perhaps people bringing dogs into the emergency care because they're just getting-- they're just finding these dogs.

So we do get calls on a regular basis of people that have found dogs.

We offer to scan for a microchip and to help locate the owner if we can find a microchip, but we are happy to help with that to the extent that we can.

But there are a lot of dogs, unfortunately, nowadays that are being given up.

Debs, are you hearing and seeing that as well the impact of that?

Yes.

I probably hear it more from the shelter and from the places where we reach out.

We're involved with PAWS, we're involved with the Beagle Rescue, we're involved with the other local humane society, and there's a Greyhound Rescue.

And so our clinic is involved with those different rescues.

And we try to help out when we can.

But most of the folks that we see-- and we see people that are adopting dogs, and we sometimes see people who are having trouble keeping their dogs, but most of the time when they're coming in the clinic to see us, they're at a good place with their dogs.

Or they're trying to be at a better place with their dogs.

They're not necessarily trying to rehome them.

OK.

I wanted to get your thoughts too on again, talking a little bit about finding the right pet for you.

How do you find a good match for that.

But it looks like we have a call from Jean in DuBois.

Hi, Jean.

Thank you for calling.

And do you have a question or comment?

JEAN (ON PHONE): Yes, I have a 13-year-old chihuahua.

She has yeast infection on her skin.

I bathe her with a special shampoo pretty regularly, but it doesn't seem to be getting much better.

Is there anything else I can do about that?

OK.

Thank you, Jean, for that question.

Is that something that you two see?

Yeah, we see that.

So yeast infections are a common thing that we'll see with different diseases that can cause inflammation in the skin, most commonly some allergy.

But sometimes in an older dog, there can be other reasons why they might have inflammation in their skin.

Sometimes it could be something like fleas or mites or something like that that might be infectious.

It could be allergies.

So taking your dog to the vet to try to get to the underlying cause makes sense.

I love shampoos, so and chihuahuas are great because they're so little, they're easy to bathe.

And so using shampoos and using topical medications can really help to take care of bacterial and yeast infections.

But sometimes you might need additional medications like an antibiotic or an oral antifungal to try to help.

We'd want to make sure those things are safe, which is why you'd probably want to see your vet.

And a lot of times, these animals need some long-term medications for allergies.

So some of those medications can be given orally.

Sometimes they can be given by injection.

But something to help decrease the inflammation in the skin can help to heal-- to allow the shampoo to do its thing.

But being able to bathe your dog is a great first step to trying to fix that problem.

If it's not working, we probably need to try to get to the bottom of it a little more.

All right.

Thank you for that question and for that great answer.

And we'll just take a moment here to say that if you're just joining us, I'm Anne Danahy, and this is WPSU's Conversations Live-- Ask a Veterinarian.

We're talking with two veterinarians, and we'd love to hear from you.

Our toll free number is 1.800.543.8242 or email us at connect@wpsu.org.

I want to switch gears here to another topic that's coming up a lot in the news lately.

And that's the issue of vaccine hesitation or people wanting to avoid vaccines.

We're reading and hearing about that a lot for people, for maybe people in their children, if they're not sure if they should get a vaccine or they're concerned about it.

And I wondered if you two-- we'll start with Andrea, if that's something that you're hearing from patients more so now concerns about getting their dog or cat or other pet vaccinated.

And how do you handle that?

So not being in general practice, I'm not the one actually informing the vaccine question, but we do see a lot of vaccine-preventable diseases.

And so I encourage owners that have concerns about vaccinating their pet to talk with their general practice veterinarian, because there are a lot of diseases that are very easily preventable with regular vaccination that unfortunately are fatal without regular vaccination if your pet gets infected.

And so I would urge you, if you are worried about vaccinating your pet that you have that conversation with your veterinarian about the risks versus the benefits.

OK.

So you actually see people who don't-- opt out of having the vaccine, but then it causes problems and brings them into the emergency clinic?

Yeah.

And Deb, are you hearing more of that, more of those types of questions?

And what do you tell people?

Yeah, we have heard some more of those questions.

For years, we've actually offered modified vaccine schedules, where we spread out the vaccines a little bit more than we used to.

We used to vaccinate for everything every year.

And so we now do a lot of vaccines on a rotating three-year schedule.

But some of our vaccines prevent diseases that can be spread to people in very dangerous or potentially fatal to people.

Rabies is a big one in Central Pennsylvania.

It's required by law for dogs and cats, and people die in the United States every year because of rabies.

We have reservoirs in our wild animals, and we have bat reservoirs as well in our area.

And we have a vaccine that works really, really well when it's given to prevent rabies in our dogs and cats.

So I think that there are good reasons to vaccinate.

We have options to not vaccinate.

So if I have animals that are very sick or have disease conditions that mean that we can't vaccinate, I have ways to do what's called a waiver for the rabies vaccine and things like that.

So we have options, and we certainly consider the medical needs of all of our patients before we recommend vaccination.

Lyme disease was something that affected more than 30% of the patients in the dogs in my practice before, we had a really excellent Lyme vaccine.

We have a very excellent Lyme vaccine now, and we see fewer than 9% of my patients affected every year.

And mostly, those are animals that aren't vaccinated or aren't on preventative.

And so there are some great things that vaccines can do.

Lyme disease causes arthritis and kidney disease in dogs.

It's a crummy disease to get if you're a dog.

And we can prevent it with a vaccine.

And we live in a hotbed of Lyme here.

So it's pretty cool that vaccine is available for dogs.

I have a lot of people that tell me they wish it was available for them.

So again, if you have hesitancy, you have questions about it, to talk about it with your vet.

DEBRA SMART: Absolutely-- Find out the best options for working with that.

We don't give cookie-cutter answers to those things.

We really do consider the needs of the patient and the needs of the people that are bringing them in when we talk about what to do.

And also, keep in mind that these diseases are very cheap and easy to prevent, but not cheap and easy to treat.

Things like parvovirus and leptospirosis are two of the big ones that we see that really make pets very sick and require long hospitalizations and extensive intensive care.

And so for the cost of a vaccine, we can prevent that.

That's great to know.

And we have a call from Kari in Reedsville.

Hi, Kari.

Thank you for calling.

And do you have a question or comment?

KARI (ON PHONE): Yes.

Hi.

Do you have-- is Kari from Reedsville.

Do you have a question or comment?

We're having a little trouble connecting with that.

We're having a little trouble connecting and we'll get back to that in a minute.

I wondered if you think there's a good time, or maybe a bad time to think about getting a pet.

Are there times when people might be ready for a pet, and times when it might be best to wait a little bit, Andrea?

So pets as gifts are definitely not a good idea.

I think that it's a very individual decision.

And sometimes it's that there's been a hole left in your life by a pet that's recently passed, or losing a spouse or a companion.

So that's definitely a point to consider getting a new pet.

But I also think that just because you see a cute puppy in the window doesn't mean you need to get it.

DEBRA SMART: Right, good thoughts.

I was actually thinking a little bit about what Dr.

Loar was talking about with the expenses that people face with treating some of these preventable diseases.

And I think that when people think about getting their pets, they really do need to consider the fact that these animals need care.

And they should consider getting potentially pet insurance.

They should just be aware that there's going to be financial requirements on them.

That first vaccine that the breeder gives your puppy is not the only vaccine that puppy needs.

They need a series of vaccines that work with their immune system to create immunity that will be protective for them as they grow.

And those are things that we need to do to protect those animals.

And there are some financial requirements for doing those things.

And I think a lot of people have some concerns about those financial issues going forward and getting pets.

And I think that being aware of those issues is really important.

And I think that preventive care is one thing that we can do to try to avoid those high expenses.

Insurance is another one, and I just think those are things that we probably need to talk about a little bit too.

And I want to ask you about pet insurance.

But first, I want to-- the idea of when you're ready for a pet.

What about if somebody who is older and they might want to think about getting a pet, but they're concerned about how long they can take care of it?

Andrea, do you have any suggestions or thoughts on that?

ANDREA LOAR: So I think talking with the rescues is a very good idea with that because they can help with determining-- sometimes there are older pets that need homes that may be a shorter commitment, or pets that they can put on a longer-term foster so that if you run into a situation where you're no longer able to care for that pet, they could take it back and continue to provide care for it for you.

So I think there are definitely options.

But talking with the rescues that you are considering getting your pet through can be very informative.

OK.

That's great advice.

And we have a call.

And this is from Michelle in Bellefonte.

Hi, Michelle.

Thank you for calling.

And do you have a question or comment?

We might be having a little trouble on the phone line.

Michelle, are you there?

MARY (ON PHONE): No, I'm someone waiting for the hostess to answer my question.

I'm just holding on.

What is your-- and what is your name, where are you calling from?

MARY (ON PHONE): I'm Ms.

Mary calling from State College.

OK.

Well, we're going to go to you, Mary.

We've got you on the line here.

Mary from State College.

Do you have a question or comment?

Do you have a question, Mary.

MARY (ON PHONE): I did.

I had already-- I'm just repeating myself.

I want to know when a cat that seems-- was a foster cat, but now settled in and seems happy.

But at night, not all-- every night will howl for long periods of time.

And I mean, howl.

And it's a cat that can no longer have kittens, so it's not something to do with that.

OK.

All right.

That's a great question.

So that's a question for Mary.

And she is wondering when you adopt a cat and it's howling at night, does that mean it's unhappy?

How do we interpret that?

It's often a senior cat.

So sometimes we'll see some urinary tract infections.

Sometimes there's some medical reasons why they do that.

And so that's relatively actually common in our older cats if they have urinary tract infections, sometimes behavioral issues, sometimes cognitive decline, there can be a lot of reasons why they might do things like that.

ANNE DANAHY: So it's alarming maybe to the pet owner.

But-- I think that there's probably a medical issue going on if they're howling at night.

It's most often not just a simple behavioral thing.

That's good to know.

So that's another time you want to check with your vet.

Absolutely-- Develop that relationship with the vet.

All right.

Well, we hope that answered your call, Mary.

I want to go back to Deb, what you were saying about pet insurance.

So this is something I've heard more about lately.

And I was wondering, OK, is that a good idea to get pet insurance?

What do you think?

I think that pet insurance companies are there to make money.

So you do have to do your due diligence and maybe talk with your veterinarian about what pet insurance companies they see that are doing a good job for their clients.

But I would say that pet insurance does allow some of our clients to approach problems that are more serious, with less worry about finances, so that they can focus on the care of their pet.

And that can be very liberating for people because they're not worried about every test that you need to run.

They're more concerned with being able to fix the problem and answer the questions that will help you fix the problem.

And it's liberating for us as veterinarians because we don't want to be stuck charging people a lot of money for something that we do.

But when problems come in that are more challenging, they can be more expensive.

And that's true in general practice.

But it's even more true at the emergency clinic, I think.

ANDREA LOAR: Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, that's great to think about it that way.

Is it something that also you would see in an emergency situation?

Yes.

And we see it, I think, probably more on emergency.

It does open up the door for a lot more involved testing when things are not as straightforward as we would like them to be.

It also opens up the opportunity to bring in specialists.

So if we get to a point where we're not figuring out the problem, we're fixing the problem.

There are specialty hospitals that have any specialty that you might have in human medicine, we have in veterinary medicine.

And so those obviously come with the price.

But if you have insurance, it does open that up a little bit more readily because you're not as concerned about the bill.

That's great to know.

And I think we are going to try to talk to Kari in Reedsville again, and hopefully we'll have them back on the line.

Hi, Kari.

This is Anne and do you have a question or comment?

KARI (ON PHONE): Hi.

Can you hear me now?

Yes, we can.

Thanks for your patience.

KARI (ON PHONE): Great.

OK.

I was wondering, is there affordable ways to help strays in your backyard?

That is a great question.

So somebody is getting strays.

They want to be helpful to them, but maybe they don't want to bust the bank on buying food for the strays.

Do you either of you have any thoughts on that?

So food I don't know of any really great opportunities to help with the feeding, but even getting them spayed and neutered can make a huge difference.

And there are rescues that will help with that.

So I would research what rescues are in your area, reach out to them, find out if they do have a low-cost spay neuter or trap neuter and release program so that they can help at least stop the population from growing and help you with figuring out the best way to handle that population.

OK.

Great advice.

Any other thoughts on that?

Are there options out there for finding ways to find less expensive?

So in Centre County there is The Hundred Cat Foundation that can help with-- and I think they do help with some feeding for certain feral cat colonies and things like that.

But I'm not sure how far outside of Centre County.

So I think Kari was in Reedsville, so I'm not sure how far that reaches outside of Centre County.

And I know that the Animal Welfare Council does low-cost spays and neuters.

And I know that they work in Centre Hall now, I think, and up in Clearfield.

So there are a few options locally for getting cats and dogs spayed and neutered at lower cost.

And they do some feral spay neuter clinics.

So you'll be able to come in with several feral animals and get them spayed and neutered at a very decreased rate.

So hopefully, to cut down on the future number of them.

DEBRA SMART: Exactly, yes.

And we have Michelle from Bellefonte.

Hopefully, we have Michelle back on the line.

Hi.

Thanks for calling.

And do you have a question or comment?

MICHELLE (ON PHONE): Hello.

Hi.

MICHELLE (ON PHONE): Yes.

Go ahead.

MICHELLE (ON PHONE): Hi.

I'm calling because I'm taking care of a cat that had a urinary blockage, a male cat.

He's about nine years old.

He had a urinary blockage a few months ago.

And the vet who did the procedure was is in California, and I wasn't there.

My son brought him home.

And so he has to be on this diet, I'm told a urinary diet.

He's not allowed to eat anything other than urinary diet food.

And I asked my son why.

And he said to maintain the pH level in the urinary tract that will not-- to resist crystals.

And so I don't understand that because I look at the label and I compare it with other high-quality cat food that I feed my other cats, and it looks pretty similar.

And I don't understand what this pH balance is in his urinary tract.

And is it high pH?

Low pH.

I'm not sure.

Could you explain some of that?

OK.

Thank you, Michelle, for that question.

Maybe one of you can explain that again.

How to pick out a food and what to look for.

So as Dr.

Smart had alluded to earlier.

Looking at the ingredient label unfortunately doesn't tell you a lot of the things that you need to know.

In cats that have crystal formation in their urine, we want an acidic pH, so a low pH of the urine, because that does for the most common types of crystals prevent them from forming.

The diets that are veterinary formulated for cats with this condition do promote that acidic pH of the urine.

They also have some other things that they can do, such as increasing the water consumption of the cat.

We have formulas that help with stress, and so which is a big part of this urinary obstruction or urinary crystals as well.

So unfortunately just looking at the label doesn't tell you what you need to.

And the prescription diets really are made specifically for cats with this problem and they are very beneficial.

ANNE DANAHY: OK.

Great information.

I would absolutely agree.

And I would agree with what your son is saying.

I think it's really important if you have a cat with a history of a urinary tract obstruction, because those obstructions can be life threatening and extremely expensive to deal with.

It is much less expensive to feed those prescription diets.

And in my experience, if cats are regulated on the prescription diets, they are very unlikely to block again.

So they can have stressful events.

And they might have some inflammation in their bladder.

We might see some blood in their urine, and that would be the time when those cats would be likely to form crystals and get mucus and have an obstruction.

And if they're on that prescription diet, they can't form those crystals.

They drink a little more and they pee out that mucus and they don't form that plug, and they have a bad few days.

But they don't get obstructed, and they don't end up with a life-threatening emergency at the emergency clinic.

And we do routinely see cats that have been on a urinary diet for a long period of time.

And the owners, for one reason or another, stop that diet.

And then a month later, they're there with us for a urinary obstruction.

So if it's working, which it sounds like it is, don't change it, please.

All right.

Great advice.

And we have another call.

And this is from Jay in State College.

Hi, Jay.

Thanks for calling.

And do you have a question or comment?

Let's see if we have Jay on the line from State College.

JAY (ON PHONE): Yes.

Hi.

JAY (ON PHONE): I have a question that I'd like to ask.

I have a dog about eight years old, and she refuses to be washed almost to the point of making it impossible.

So it's very frustrating and I've almost given up on that.

Is there a solution or an approach to that that would work?

OK.

That is a great question, and I'm sure you're not alone with that, Jay.

Do either of you have any thoughts on that or any tips or suggestions, Deb, for the dog?

So sometimes there are medications that can help if we are trying to do something with a dog that makes them anxious.

So one of the focuses that we have in my practice is decreasing fear and anxiety and stress.

We call it FAS-- Fear, Anxiety, and Stress-- in our patients that come to the vet clinic.

And I think it's really important that we try to create that positive environment if we are trying to get something done.

A lot of what you might need to do as far as grooming, might depend a little bit on the dog that you have.

So if you have a doodle or a poodle whose hair grows all the time, that dog probably needs to have their hair cut or trimmed, and it might be that you can't do it, but that a groomer could do it.

It might be that a groomer could do it with some medication.

It might be that it gets to the point where the hair is so matted, and so tangled that we just need to sedate that dog to clean it up, to preserve the health of its skin and coat.

But it might also be that you have a Labrador, and maybe you start by brushing and don't worry about giving them a bath as much.

Maybe they don't really need one.

So-- ANNE DANAHY: Yeah.

Those are a couple of my thoughts, I guess.

I think positive associations also.

So wherever you're planning on washing the dog, you take them in there, give them a treat, walk out, do some things as prep work over time.

You're not going to make that happen in a week.

But over time to create a positive space where your pet enjoys going into that area and enjoys getting brushed or getting washed with time and training.

Another dog-related question, what do you both recommend for dog training?

Is that something you need to have formal training for a puppy or dog, or is that something that people can do at home?

Andrea, do you think that-- yeah, which route do people need to go?

So I think there's a lot of benefits that a professional trainer can provide that you can't get from a YouTube video.

So I do think that formal training is beneficial.

It also provides an opportunity for the puppy to be socialized, to get to other dogs.

Other people learn that the world is not a big scary place.

Deb, any other thoughts on that?

I absolutely agree with what Dr.

Loar just said.

I think it's so important for our puppies to get out and ideally to go to a puppy class with a trainer who has helped to raise generations of puppies and knows what the right things are to get your puppy comfortable in the world.

They have this period of time when their brains are so receptive to new things in the environment and to learning new things and understanding new things, and to not being scared by new things.

And it's wonderful if we can provide them with lots and lots of stimulation during that time.

And puppy classes are a great way to do that.

And they also give you the tools to then go beyond that class and start doing things with your puppy.

And it's just fabulous to see.

I can tell the dogs that have been to puppy class when they come to see me.

They are the social dogs.

They're the dogs that know how to sit.

They still may jump and be happy and be playful, but you can tell that they've been out in the world.

All right.

That's great to know.

And it sounds like, yeah, as you were saying the other positive benefits, it's not just the training part of it only.

Well, this is a question that I had that's come up, and it's about the impact of having a wood stove on pets.

So we got a wood stove put in.

It's nice to have especially in the winter.

And it's very warm and it actually saves a little money on the heating bill.

But then one of our cats started coughing a lot and having problems.

And one of the first questions that asked, I think she asked, do you have scented candles and scented things in the house.

And no, we don't.

And then it was, do you have a wood stove or a fireplace.

And I wondered how common of a problem is this, and is there anything to be done about it, Deb.

So we see a lot of allergic airway disease in cats, and it's asthma.

We call it feline asthma.

And if you may just need to remove the trigger like so.

If it's something simple like a wood stove and that's triggering the allergic airway disease, we can treat it.

So we treat it with anti-inflammatory medications and steroids.

But those are not necessarily things that you want your cat on long term if you can avoid it.

So if you can remove the triggers from the environment, that's ideal.

Lots of cats will have reactions to the scented candles and those things.

Wood stoves, people who smoke, those kind of things can trigger asthma in cats.

Sometimes, unfortunately, we see asthma in cats unrelated to triggers that we can find in the environment.

And we do have cats who need to be on either oral or inhaled steroids, just like people do for asthma.

OK.

Good to know.

Any other-- ditto what she said.

ANDREA LOAR: Yes, yes.

Dr.

Smart Is exactly right.

And we do see a number of cats with that.

But it does get worse as the winter goes on and people are keeping the houses closed and using wood stoves and bringing the Christmas tree inside and things like that.

Well, we've been talking about a whole range of topics.

And I just wondered, are there any other trends in veterinary medicine that either of you are seeing or hearing about that are interesting to talk about?

Any other ones?

We've talked about a lot of different things.

And that pet insurance is a relatively new one, and some of the concerns that have been coming up.

ANDREA LOAR: I think one of the things that I always like to bring up is that veterinarians and staff are people too.

And so it's very easy for owners to get a little bit caught up in the fact that they're worried about their pet and they're facing a bill that maybe they were not prepared for.

We really want to help you.

And so being nice and caring to your general practice veterinarian and their staff, your emergency, unfortunately, if you end up with us that we are nice people and we're trying our best to help you.

That's a great point.

I think that's a great advice to, yeah, to respect and care for the vet because you guys are really caring about the animals.

And there are a lot of things that we can offer to try to help you and your pet.

And so sometimes those things-- I always like to offer the best standard of care that I can offer.

So if you come in with a problem, I want to try to fix that problem for you in the absolutely the best way for you and your pet.

But sometimes that best way comes with a price tag that may not be something that's reasonable for you, or comes with some testing that maybe you decide isn't the right thing for your pet.

And so there are often options that we have.

And so being straightforward with us about financial limitations or concerns about quality of life that you have with your pet, those things can really help us to help you to make choices that bring your pet comfort and help your pet to get well or help to spare your pet pain, if that's what we need to do.

ANNE DANAHY: Yeah, that's great to think about, to know to have that conversation, like you were saying.

Well, we got this email question.

And this person wants to know that they got an Airstream, and they would like to get a small dog that they can travel with in their Airstream, and one that won't mind being in the Airstream, and doesn't require a lot of exercise.

What breeds would you suggest?

Put you on the spot there.

So we have somebody-- they want to bring their dog in their Airstream.

It doesn't-- that's going to not mind being traveling like that, on the other hand, doesn't need to get out and run around a lot if they're doing a lot of traveling.

I think there are definitely small breed dogs that would be good for that.

Chihuahuas definitely come to mind.

Those are really great dogs to be in your lap and go somewhere and not have to get a lot of exercise.

Shih tzus also, I think, are pretty good dogs for that, little poodle-type things.

DEBRA SMART: Little poodles, absolutely.

And I was thinking little poodles and Cavalier King Charles.

The cavies, they tend to shed a little bit, but they've never met a stranger.

So they're going to make friends with all your neighbors at the campsites if you get a little Cavalier.

But the poodles are awesome.

ANDREA LOAR: Yeah.

And then also go to your local shelter or your local rescue and tell them what you have and what your goals are.

And they may the exact right dog that would fit perfectly in your Airstream and in your life.

It sounds like that's important to you when you're picking out a dog to communicate that whether you're buying the dog or you're going to one of the PAWS or another shelter to really communicate with the people there or a cat.

Cats have very different personalities, very different about what type of situation that you have and what type of pet you're looking for.

They often know these dogs quite well and are very adept at connecting the right owner with the right dog.

We have just a couple of minutes left, and I wanted to ask you one last question.

So you both have lots of pets and animals at home.

We're starting hopefully soon to get to spring, daylight savings.

The days are going to be getting longer.

First of all, Deb, we'll put it to you first.

Do animals notice that this spring is coming?

Do they get spring fever and the days are getting longer?

And then also, what do you like to do in the spring and get outside with your pets?

Oh, yeah.

So I think they definitely noticed that the days are getting longer.

I think that the cats definitely they get a little riled up in the springtime.

And the dogs are pretty happy to sleep right now when it's cold and run outside and do their business and then come in and curl up on the couch and they'll be ready for longer walks in the springtime.

I'm probably going to be doing some horseback riding and trail riding this springtime, so I'm really looking forward to doing that.

And I'm sure we'll get out on some hikes with my dogs, but my dogs cannot be off leash when they are hiked.

They are wild bunny chasers, and so they need to be on leash or they're going to be out of control.

So we'll be doing on-leash hiking with my dogs and some horseback riding, I think, in the springtime.

OK, Andrea, what about you?

My animals definitely do know when the days start to get longer and the weather gets warmer.

My dog, pretty much.

As I said, she's a couch potato.

But we will sit outside and she just rolls in the grass and enjoys the sunshine and those are some very happy times for both of us to just sit and be together and enjoy the sun.

And also to the spring, if you can open the windows in the house, let the spring air in.

I know as a cat owner, the cats start to go really crazy over that part of it too.

Well, Debra Smart and Andrea Loar, thank you both so much for coming in to talk to us and sharing your expertise in answering all of our questions.

We really appreciate it.

Thank you for having us.

Yeah, thanks a lot.

This has been fun.

We've been talking with veterinarians Andrea Loar and Debra Smart.

I'm Anne Danahy.

Thank you for joining us on WPSU's Conversations Live.

And please join us in May for Get Your Garden On.

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