news alerts
We work as a team to provide information for all the cats in your family.
In effort to help you, we’ve provided online information and news alerts.
HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS INFORMATION
To help prepare you and your pets this hurricane season, here are some recommendations.
The single most important thing you can do to protect your cat is to bring him/her with you.
Even if you think you will only be gone for a few hours, it's better to take your cat.
You really have no idea what will happen and conditions may prevent you from returning to get your cat.
Please do not wait until a storm is eminent before preparing and gathering necessary items for evacuation.
Remember to research and contact all possible destinations for evacuation early, some pet friendly policies may have changed.
Before the Hurricane
- Bring indoor/outdoor cats inside well in advance of a storm, reassure them and remain calm.
- Pet shelters will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Call ahead to determine availability. Pet shelters require that all animals have
a proper identification collar and rabies tag, proper identification on belongings, a carrier or cage, an ample supply of food, water and food bowls,
and any necessary medications.
After the Hurricane
- Keep your cat(s) indoors or confined to one room, if your home sustains structural damage. Often familiar scents and landmarks may be altered and pets
become lost outside. Also, downed power lines, reptiles, and debris brought in by high water can all pose a threat for animals after a storm.
- If your cat(s) cannot be found, contact the local animal control office to find out where lost animals can be recovered. Bring along a picture of
your pet if possible, preferably one that captures
identifying features.
- After a change in their environment, animals can become aggressive or defensive. Monitor their behavior.
In the event of a hurricane, please check this page for updates.
SUBJECT: FOOD RECALL
Dear Cat Lovers:
You have no doubt heard of the massive food recall due to an, as of yet, unnamed sub-ingredient of cat food manufactured by a company named Menu Foods. This
ingredient has been added as a component to many cat foods (see website link: Recalled Cat Product Information). Apparently, this ingredient, which has been added to only canned and pouch cat foods, is causing acute kidney disease in our
beloved feline family members.
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Hills Prescription brand food M/D dry has been implicated in having been made with an agent similar to what has been found in the Menu Brands tainted food. We
are recommending that if your cat is currently eating M/D that you stop feeeding it to your cat and call us for an alternative dietary suggestion. It is
important to make clear that M/D dry is the ONLY Prescription Diet in question at this time.
Signs of kidney failure are non-specific and include vomiting, lethargy, hiding under beds or in closets (so-called "sick cat" behavior), and not
eating. We can usually tell if the patient's kidneys are affected by blood tests and a urinalysis.
If your cat has ingested any of the food brands on the list of affected foods and you are concerned about your cat's health, please make an appointment with us
and we can do laboratory testing to see if your cat's kidneys are damaged, either before or after the clinical signs have begun.
Please call us if there are any questions about your cat's health in regards to this unfortunate event.
Your Cat Practice Staff
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