Pet Insurance

Picture from freefoto.com

It's always a good idea to be prepared for anything. Pet care is certainly the same way, because you never know when you'll have an emergency with your pet. We all hope and pray it will never happen, but you can't control everything around you. So what can you do? You can get pet insurance.

There are many different pet insurance companies, and some of them cover a lot more than others. Dogtime.com has a very helpful chart where you can compare plans. Looking for just accident insurance? All 12 companies on the chart have a plan for that, from $9.50-$25 per month. Are you interested in full coverage insurance? Eight of the companies have a plan available that will cover vaccines, dentistry & wellness visits, from $28-$82 per month. There is a maximum age for a lot of them, usually between 9 and 13 years. One of the companies even has an emergency coverage plan with a MINIMUM age of 10 years. So whatever you're looking for, check out the chart and call the companies. They should help answer all your questions without pressure to buy. Be sure to ask about pre-existing conditions, as some companies don't cover those.

If you do get pet insurance, you pay for the veterinary services, and then get reimbursed by your insurance company. We will fill out whatever forms you need, and we'll fax whatever records are necessary to get you coverage. Let us know about your experiences with the companies- we want to know about what you think, too!

Rehabilitation

Dr. Michele Bishop does our canine rehabilitation here. She works out a personalized program for dogs that have had injuries, surgery, arthritis, or other painful maladies. She devises a program for each pet, detailing the activities in their medical files. Here are a few videos of Pippin, a corgi who could not stand by herself the first time she came to us. By the way, this marks Rau Animal Hospital's YouTube debut!

21st Century Cat Toys

Check out this silliness. On your iPad or Android you can download 3 free games for your CATS to play! Here's a video of them in action.

Inspirational Man creates art with a Typewriter

Paul Smith was a man born in Philadelphia in 1921 with severe cerebral palsy. Limited motor control led him to self-expression using a typewriter. He used various characters and different color typewriter ribbons to create pictures, including portraits, American Presidents, trains, seascapes, and animals. Check out this unique art gallery here.

For Adoption

Lily

This is Lily. She is a 7-year-old spayed female German Shepherd mix, around 60 pounds. Her previous owner passed away and now she needs a forever home. Lily loves people, cats and dogs, and really loves being cuddled and hugged (she let me hug her around her neck the first time we met!) She loves open space outside where she can run, and needs an owner who will take her on long walks. She is up to date on rabies, distemper (DHPP) and a heartworm test, and she will be getting a dental cleaning in the next few weeks. If you are interested in adopting this beautiful, sweet dog, contact Joyce at the Chestnut Hill Cat Clinic: 215-247-9560.

Cracking the Windows Won't Help

It's July, it's hot, and most people are out and about. It's important to stay hydrated, wear your sunscreen, and get into the A/C if you're feeling woozy. It's fun taking your dog for a ride or even along on your vacation. However, when you're doing your daily errands and taking Fido and Spot along with you, you must not leave your dogs in an un-airconditioned car. The heat can kill them.

Several studies have been done about the temperature inside a parked car. (San Francisco State University / Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society / Stanford University) They all say that a car can heat up to 45 Fahrenheit degrees hotter than the temperature outside, in 60 minutes. On a 72 degree day, that's equal to 117 degrees. Even in just 10 minutes, the temperature can rise by 2 degrees per minute when you first close up the car. It becomes extremely uncomfortable to breathe, the body heats up, and brain damage and death can be only a few minutes away. Cracking the windows, even all 4 windows, will cool the vehicle down by only 4-6 degrees, which is really nothing when you're baking inside a 110 degree box.

The most important thing is to be careful. It's a serious issue that can be remedied. When you want to bring your dog with you, bring another person too so they can sit in the air conditioned car with your pet, or they could walk the dog while you are running errands. If you can't do that, leave your pet at home.

We encourage everyone to take the utmost care, and if you see a pet in a closed car on a hot day, call the police. It's just like leaving a baby unattended. Check out this website too: MyDogIsCool.com. It has some great flyers for windshields where you see a pet in the car, and a tool that will help you determine if it's too hot to leave your pet in the car. Be careful and safe this summer!

Thumbs and Toes

Dr. Wilson at our Willow Grove office saw 2 cats on Wednesday called “Thumbs” and “Toes”. They are 15 weeks old, came from a farm in New York, and were born polydactyl (poly- “many”, -dactyl “toed”), with extra toes. “Thumbs” has 22 toes and “Toes” has 25 toes. A normal amount of toes is 18 for a cat, 5 on each front paw and 4 on each back paw.

Why do these cats have extra toes? It’s really just a mutation, called a cat body-type mutation, and probably is caused by multiple genes, not just one. Usually, the mutation is not harmful in any way. Sometimes, kittens have some difficulty learning to walk, but when they get bigger they can learn to use their extra toes as thumbs, and they’ll open latches or catch objects with one paw. It is important to pay attention to how their claws grow, and make sure they stay trimmed so their claws do not grow into their skin.

Look at those crazy toes!

The most famous polydactyl cats belonged to Ernest Hemingway, who, while living in Key West, received a 6-toed cat from a sailor. He collected polydactyl cats and these days the Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West has been converted to a museum, where as many as 60 cats live and roam free, with the help and safety of Purr..fect Fence.

Polydactyl cats are excellent climbers due to their extra claws, and were common on ships because of their excellent rodent-control abilities. They were also considered good luck by the sailors. These cats are most common along the US East Coast, and in SW England and Wales.