[music plays] [no dialogue] >>Kelly Runyon: The money we spend on our pets can sure add up.

On this episode of the Paw Report, we're talking about cutting pet care costs.

Dr. Ericka Yeley from the Farm and Family Veterinary Service in Marshall, Illinois joins us to talk about some preventative measures that may be excellent money savers.

More on that coming up.

You're watching the Paw Report.

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And we thank you for joining us for this edition of the Paw Report.

We'd also like to welcome and thank Dr. Ericka Yeley from Marshall, Illinois, from the Farm and Family Vet for joining us.

And she brought along a little friend, and why don't you introduce who your little friend is?

I love the name.

I love the name, and I love the nails.

And you'll probably get an up-close shot of that a little bit later in the episode.

>>Dr.

Yeley: This is Foxy Brown.

>>Kelly Runyon: Foxy Brown, what a name.

And Foxy Brown's been with you in your office for several years, hasn't she?

She's an office cat.

>>Dr.

Yeley: Yes, she is.

She welcomes our clients and, well, she tries to welcome the dogs a lot of times, too.

So, she's very friendly.

>>Kelly Runyon: She is; look at her, she's sweet.

Well, today we're talking about the cots of veterinary care.

And as we were talking, you know, people bringing dogs and cats and pets into their homes now more than ever, probably now so more than the last 50 years; it's becoming an integral part of people's families.

And when they bring animals into their homes, it is an investment; it is an investment to your family.

It would be like taking a child to the doctor.

You have to take your dogs and cats to the doctor, as well.

But there are some things people can consider when looking at veterinary care.

Would you say that the number one money saver in pet care cost would be preventative care?

And what is that?

If you could explain what preventative care is.

>>Dr.

Yeley: Most definitely/ I think preventative care is probably one of the number one ways that you can save on your pets.

For a typical visit, we would see the animal and do a nose to tail exam.

So, we'd start at the nose and end up at the tail.

So, a lot of times we can pick up on problems that maybe the owner didn't notice, like an ear infection or dental problems, skin tumors, things like that, that the average pet owner just isn't going to notice because they're so subtle.

The other thing we would do is update vaccines if necessary, and talk about heart worm preventative and flea and tick prevention.

>>Kelly Runyon: Now, you know, most dog owners will take their pet every year to the vet.

Is that something that cat owners should think about doing, too?

Do they have to be vaccinated like dogs?

>>Dr.

Yeley: They should also be vaccinated, as well.

Rabies is not mandatory, at least in Illinois, as it is for dogs, but it's a good idea for cats that go outside.

They can be exposed, just like dogs can.

They're also prone to upper respiratory diseases.

So, the feline vaccine is a combination of the upper respiratory viruses.

It also may include feline leukemia.

And cats that go outdoors may be susceptible to feline leukemia, as well.

So, definitely something that you want to keep up to date on is vaccines for your cat.

But in addition, you'll want to take your cat, even if your cat's totally indoors and you don't think vaccines are necessary, you'll want to take them in for a wellness exam.

Because, cats can be very subtle with their signs of illness.

And a lot of times, they've been sick for a long time before you notice that they are ill.

Weight loss is definitely something to be aware of, as well as things like vomiting.

People think hairballs are normal, but a lot of times they're a sign of illness.

Diarrhea, changes in their litter box habits, or changes in their behavior that can just be really subtle.

They tend to hide their illness.

It's kind of a throwback to Mother Nature, back when they were out in the wild.

They like to hide their illness because they don't want to be a target of a predator.

>>Kelly Runyon: Are there things people can do at home, not just with cats, but with dogs too, tok give their animals routine health checks at home?

Things that they can do and maybe keep charts of, so that when they do go to the vet, they have, you know, the background information to present to you.

>>Dr.

Yeley: Absolutely.

Probably the first and foremost is to keep good records from your veterinarian, so, especially if you're going to move.

Make sure that you keep a copy at home so that, if you think there's weight loss, you can make a check of that.

And you know when was the last time they were vaccinated, when are they due again.

Most vets will send you a reminder, but it's good to have that as a backup.

But checking at home, you can start at the nose and go to the tail, just like we do.

But you'll want to look for things like discharge from the nose.

You can pull up the gums like this and check the teeth.

You'll want to especially check the back teeth.

That tends to be where dental disease can hide from us, because we see the front teeth every once in a while when they open their mouth.

But I get comments from clients all the time, well I never look that far back there.

So, you know, just lift up the upper lip and open up the mouth.

With a cat, you can even take a Q-tip and stick inside the mouth and pull the lips back, and get a good view of those back teeth.

If you see anything, any signs that the gums are red, or there's brown build-up on the teeth, or anything that just looks abnormal to you, have your vet check it out.

>>Kelly Runyon: Dental care, dental hygiene is very important, and can save pet owners in the long run if they routinely brush.

You know, talk about maybe some experiences that you've seen between grade one dental issues vs. grade four, and costs that are involved in that.

>>Dr.

Yeley: If you're doing a grade one, dental grade one is just a small amount of calculus or tartar on the teeth, and no signs of any fractures, nothing that needs extracted.

Grade four would be all the way up to, I had, my record I think is 13 teeth that I pulled at one sitting on a dog.

Just because the periodontal disease gets so bad that the ligaments that hold the teeth in loosen, and those teeth just have to come out because they're causing disease.

So, as you can imagine, pulling 13 teeth from a dog, and the amount of time that takes, and the cost of the procedure just goes up and up.

So, if you can prevent that even a little bit, you're going to save a lot of money.

>>Kelly Runyon: So, just weekly dental cleanings, and you can use maybe a baby brush or something, or Q-tip for cats?

>>Dr.

Yeley: Once a week is good.

More often is better.

I'm sure your human dentist would tell you that, as well.

But you'll want to use a pet safe toothpaste, because pets, we can't tell them to spit out like we can our children or ourselves.

So, they will swallow it, and you don't want the fluoride to build up.

So, you don't want them swallowing a fluoride toothpaste.

Plus, most cats and dogs don't go for mint so well.

They make pet toothpastes that are flavored with poultry or beef, things like that.

They do make a vanilla mint one that's actually pretty nice.

So, if you're not wanting to brush the teeth with meat flavored things, that's an option, as well.

But there are pet toothbrushes.

There are little finger brushes that fit on your finger that you can use to brush the teeth.

There are also regular toothbrushes, but they have smaller heads on them to to use inside your pet's mouth.

Probably for a cat or a small dog, the finger brush is best.

And if you're just starting out, just start a little bit at a time; don't set out to do the whole mouth at once, or you'll be disappointed, and your pet will be just as frustrated as you are.

So, if you start out and just kind of, you know, play with them a little bit.

And with dogs, of course, you know they're probably going to go after the toothpaste more than anything, and that's okay.

But just start out a little bit at a time until they really get used to you messing with their mouth.

>>Kelly Runyon: You know, we hear a lot about spaying and neutering, and that is to control the pet population also.

But really, that can also in the long run help with, you know, the health of your animal, whether it be male or female.

So, why don't you talk about the other sides of the importance of spaying and neutering?

>>Dr.

Yeley: Spaying and neutering is probably the best bargain that you can get in veterinary care, because most veterinarians have discounted the procedure because they want to encourage pet owners to spay and neuter their pets to control the pet population.

Because, just like your average animal lover, we don't like to see bad things happen to animals, and we don't like to see pets that end up in shelters, and animals have to be euthanized.

So, vets have discounted the procedure so that it's affordable for most pet owners.

If you look at the cost of other procedures, a lot of people have sticker shock when they go to do another surgery, because the cost is not discounted like it was for the spay and neuter.

But the spay and neuter is important not only just because the cost of raising a litter of puppies and finding them homes is expensive, but it can also prevent things like mammary cancer.

In a dog, if you spay a dog at or before the first heat cycle, you will reduce their chance of mammary cancer.

After the second heat cycle, there's no reduction in incidence of mammary cancer, whether you do it then or a few years from then.

So, it's important to do it early.

The other thing it can prevent is a condition called pyometra, and that's an infection of the uterus.

And to do that, or to treat that, we have to do an emergency spay which, as you can imagine, any emergency procedure is going to be expensive.

But it also can be life threatening to the dog.

So, spaying the dog can prevent that, especially if you're not planning on breeding the dog, then there's really no reason not to spay your dog.

It also cuts down on the mess, as far as when the dog goes into a heat cycle.

As far as neutering goes, there are three different types of testicular cancer.

And any of those, of course, can be life threatening, as well.

So, neutering them by removing the testicles, you remove the risk of that cancer.

You're also going to decrease a lot of unwanted behaviors like marking which, urine marking in a house is definitely expensive with all the cleaning costs.

Plus, the frustration of trying to train your dog not to do that.

It also can reduce aggression.

It won't solve all aggression issues, but it can reduce the incidence of aggression issues.

So, there are definitely benefits to both procedures.

>>Kelly Runyon: You've just been talking about some pretty significant procedures if people don't have them done.

That kind of leads me into pet insurance.

You know, is that something that will help in cost?

And then, you know, that would kind of lead into long term, you know, pet savings for different emergencies.

So, that's kind of a big area that could play into cost savings for folks.

>>Dr.

Yeley: Pet insurance is, pet insurance is a good thing in certain circumstances.

If you're a saver, it's probably not going to be worth your time or your money.

But if you have trouble saving, or if your income is kind of sporadic, you may be, it may be beneficial to you.

Pet insurance, you've got to be careful of what type of policy you get.

There are policies that cover just like accidental or sudden illness type things, all the way to policies that go and cover wellness care.

But you've got to, when you sign up you've got to check out what exactly is this going to cover, and am I going to spend enough during the year to get the savings back.

It's similar to something like dental insurance, where you may or may not use it.

But it's good for accidents, especially if you've got unexpected bills from your pet.

If you're a saver, you might want to put that money into a special account for your pet, and let that rack up.

If you use it, great; if you don't use it, then you still have the money.

So, it can be, it really depends on your financial circumstances what you choose to do.

But pet insurance is definitely a good safety net.

>>Kelly Runyon: If you're a saver, there are a lot of things that can happen over the course of your pet's life.

If you decide to put money into an account.

There are pet emergencies, there is elderly pet care, and then of course there's finally end of life care, which are all three very, can be very large expenses.

Why don't you talk about, you know, that area of things that happen at end of life, things that happen with elderly pet care, things that could happen in pet emergencies.

>>Dr.

Yeley: As far as emergencies go, the biggest thing that I tell people when they come in for a puppy visit, say they bring me a lab puppy.

Lab puppies, labs are notorious, if you've seen the movie "Marley and Me," you know.

Labs are notorious for getting into trouble, so they'll chew things, they'll eat things that they shouldn't, they'll get hit by a car, and they just tend to be active dogs that get into mischief.

So, I always kind of joke with my lab puppy owners that you need to set aside a savings account for your dog right now, and get prepared for something.

Because, likely something is going to happen.

Same thing with dachshunds.

Dachshunds tend to get back problems, and the surgery for, should they require it, is several thousand dollars.

So, I tell the puppy owners, it's like, don't get your dog overweight, that's one thing that's going to contribute to it, but also set aside money just in case.

Because, it could be an issue.

And when you get to that point, you don't want to be stuck between, well I'd really like to get this care for my dog, but I can't afford it.

>>Kelly Runyon: Right.

And also, we mentioned the elderly pet care.

There's, you know, joint problems and arthritic problems.

And then of course, end of life care.

That's something that can be costly as well, but if you have that set aside, that's something that's going to help a family that's maybe on a tight budget.

>>Dr.

Yeley: Right.

As pets age, one of the best things you can do is get them regular wellness exams, but also your vet may recommend to do some periodic blood work.

A lot of times, aging changes can be very subtle.

We can pick up things like kidney disease or diabetes before they get to be a real health concern and be life threatening.

So, those things can actually be money savers.

But again, you've got to be prepared that the expenses are going to get more as your pet ages.

>>Kelly Runyon: Let's move onto food; that's important, too, in keeping our pets' health.

I think she's... >>Dr.

Yeley: She knows that word.

>>Kelly Runyon: She knows food, she knows treats.

You know, that is an important investment.

And you can address maybe some things that, you know, pet owners should look for in foods.

They may pay a little bit more on the front end, but on the back end, if it's going to keep their cat or dog healthier in the long run, that means less vet visits.

>>Dr.

Yeley: As far as food goes, I generally to my clients, I don't necessarily even recommend a specific brand.

What I say is you generally get what you pay for with pet food.

And there's a caution there because, of course, pet food brands are out to market their product.

So, some of the claims that are put on pet foods may or may not be true.

One of the recent trends that we've seen is the grain free foods.

And that's kind of been a trend in the human food market, as well.

But with pet foods, grain free for some animals is great.

We have food allergies that we see in both cats and dogs, and sometimes it's just the grain, such as corn, that they're allergic to.

And so, by all means in those patients we want to avoid grain.

But it's not for everyone.

And if your'e paying premium for those foods when your animal really doesn't need it, you're wasting your money.

But if your animal does need it, and it does have a food allergy, by treating that food allergy you're going to save in the long run vet visits and your pet's pain and suffering of going through the itchiness and the skin disease of a food allergy.

>>Kelly Runyon: You know, we humans, we read food labels, so is it important for pet owners to look at that and take note of that before they decide?

You know, again, do the research before they get the pet to find out, you know, what should I be giving my new family member.

>>Dr.

Yeley: Exactly.

Reading labels is really important.

Also, you might get some input from your vet.

There are so many brands out there today that I can't keep track of all of them.

But if somebody runs a name by me, and I say oh, I've never heard of that one, or you know, my pet's not doing well on this diet, what would you recommend, I'll throw out a few names for them.

So, always talk to your et when it comes to nutrition for your particular pet.

But as far as... >>Kelly Runyon: For cats, same thing?

>>Dr.

Yeley: For cats, yeah, same thing.

Read the labels and talk to your vet if you have a question.

>>Kelly Runyon: You know, I think it seems pretty simple.

Yes, we should exercise our animals; it's the key to good health.

But I think you could probably reiterate that because obese cats and dogs, that's going to cause some significant health problems.

So, exercise is important.

>>Dr.

Yeley: Yes, absolutely.

And Foxy Brown here could be the spokesperson for that.

>>Kelly Runyon: Foxy Brown.

>>Dr.

Yeley: She actually, up until about oh, six or eight months ago, she was about two pounds overweight.

And she still looks a little bit large; she's got a dense hair coat here.

I'm not making excuses for her; she actually odes have a dense hair coat, and it makes her look a little bit plumper.

But she was about two pounds overweight, and we put her on a prescription diet.

And that helped her to lose the weight and keep it of.

But as an overweight cat, she was at risk for several things, the main one being diabetes.

And diabetes in a cat can be pretty expensive.

It generally involves giving a couple of insulin injections a day and a diet change and, of course, frequent visits to the vet.

So, preventing that by keeping her at a good weight is definitely money saving.

Plus, you're not feeding her as much.

But as far as the exercise goes, with a cat there are different things that you could do.

Of course, cats like to play with anything that dangles or the little cat toys on a stick.

One thing that's really good with cats is a laser, if you're cat will follow a laser pointer.

And it's very easy because you can sit and watch TV while you're exercising your cat.

But one thing that you should keep in mind when you're doing that is to always, when you end a laser play session, end it with a treat so that they feel like they actually caught something.

Otherwise, it can actually lead to behavior issues.

So, don't drive your cat crazy with a laser.

>>Kelly Runyon: We're down to the last couple minutes here, and one thing I do want to hit on is medicines, because that can be expensive for a pet owner.

What advice can you give to folks out there if they're looking.

You know, sometimes they may think oh, I'll just run and get a human version of this, or should I go online and get this, or should I get it at my vet's office.

Is it going to cost more at my vet's office.

What can you tell, you know, people out there that may have an animal that requires medicine, and what the best advice is?

>>Dr.

Yeley: There's lots of information thrown at people from all sides, lots of advertising from different pet companies trying to get you to buy this or get you to buy that.

The biggest thing is, first of all, consult with your vet so that you know a medication is necessary.

There's a lot of supplements that are advertised that may or may not be beneficial to your animal.

So, before you spend the money on something that may or may not work, talk to your vet first.

The second thing I would say on that is there are lots of places that you can buy your pet's medications, either prescription or over the counter type medications.

If your vet has it available, don't automatically assume it's going to be more expensive from your veterinarian.

A lot of people just think, they see the advertising from the internet companies and think oh, well it's got to be cheaper online.

And In some cases it may be a few dollars cheaper online.

But in most cases the vet's offices have the same products for about the same price.

Plus, the convenience of you can pick it up on your way to the store.

You don't have to worry about, is the UPS delivery going to come.

And the other thing is some veterinarians actually have online stores, where people can order online from their veterinarian, so they know they're getting a product that their veterinarian recommends.

And the veterinarian reviews the orders coming in to make sure that it's appropriate for their pet.

And they can get it shipped to their house just like they would from an online company.

The other thing to keep in mind when you're deciding to buy your pet products is, if you can buy it from your vet for about the same price, you should probably buy it from your veterinarian.

Because, what most people don't realize is the income that goes into a veterinary practice, part of that income is supplemented not only from the services that they provide, but the products that they sell.

And when the revenue from the products goes down, the price of the services has to come up.

So, you can actually help all of America keep the prices down by supporting your local veterinarian.

And you're keeping your money in your community, as well, instead of shipping it off to, say California.

Nothing against California, but other parts of the country, rather than keeping it in your local community and supporting jobs in your local area.

>>Kelly Runyon: Great advice today.

And you know, as a pet owner myself, you know, there are a lot of things that you discussed today that I didn't consider.

You know, especially like putting aside savings in case of an emergency.

So, very good advice today.

So, Foxy Brown, we appreciate you joining us and showing off your cool nails.

Dr. Yeley, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your expertise on this episode of the Paw Report.

So, thank you for joining us.

>>Dr.

Yeley: Thank you.

>>Kelly Runyon: And we thank you for being with us, as well.

We'll see you again next time.

If you are a veterinarian, trainer, groomer, specialist, rescue organization, or shelter that would like to partner with the Paw Report by providing expert guests for the show, please contact us by emailing weiu@weiu.net, or call 217-581-5956.

If you have a topic that you'd like to see on the show, or questions for our experts, contact us with those, too.

[music plays] In this Paw Report Extra, a suburban Chicago woman is grateful her family is safe after a 200 pound deer leaped from an overpass, landing in the middle of her minivan as it traveled along an Illinois interstate.

Heidi Conner says she and her four children were traveling about 70 miles an hour on the Jane Addams tollway.

She says the accident was bizarre, adding nobody can believe this deer fell from the sky.

Illinois State Police say witnesses reported seeing the deer jump from an overpass onto the vehicle below.

Conner says the crash totaled the van and caused minor injuries, but says the way the deer landed on the vehicle was "a miracle in itself."

And also, take a look at this: otters rock it out on a keyboard.

These cute little guys showed off their skills at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

The keyboard is part of the zoo's enrichment program.

Even though the Asian small-clawed otters aren't likely to encounter musical instruments in the wild, zoo officials say the activity is good for their sense.

Production for the Paw Report is made possible by: Inyart Tire and Auto Center, in Charleston and Mattoon.

Inyart offers complete auto repair.

Inyart Tire and Auto Center cares about our community and thanks you for being a responsible pet owner.

More information at Inyart.com.

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