Nancy
Goodyear, AZ

You illustrate in your question the reason why I never try to guess how big a puppy will be when full grown. This is especially true of non-purebred dogs. Dogs are like people. Some grow early, and others grow late. Either can be normal, and this makes it devilishly hard to guess how big a puppy will be when it is an adult.

The tallest person in a sixth grade class may be among the shortest of the cohort during high school graduation. And the shortest person in the sixth grade could be among the tallest in the twelfth. In general I refrain from speculating on the final size that I expect juveniles of any species to reach.

But your question was about feeding. How much should a dog (or cat, or human) eat? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to that one. Different lifestyles, activity levels, and baseline metabolisms all come into play. The type of food eaten is important, too. Active dogs that eat low calorie food need to eat large amounts in order to survive. Sedentary indoor cats that eat calorically dense diets can get by on close to nothing.

Formulas exist to calculate energy needs for pets. I haven’t used them in years, but I do recall that they involve body mass to the 3/4 power. I also recall, vividly, that the formulas are useless. They make great theory, but real life is more complicated–and at the same time more simple.

I recommend that you feed your pet the amount of food necessary to grow, thrive, and maintain a healthy body weight. That may sound obvious, but it is true. The only method that truly works in my experience is trial and error. If your pet is overweight, feed him less. If your pet is underweight, growing or training for the Iditarod, feed him more. Tinker until you get it right.

Two meals daily is the standard for dogs in the United States, but this rule isn’t set in stone. Some animals, most notably small breed puppies, should be fed more often (young Yorkshire Terrier and Chihuahua puppies should be fed at least four times each day to prevent low blood sugar). I have some patients that eat three square meals every day. Others eat only one (although I generally don’t recommend one meal each day due to an anthropomorphic opposition to going 23 1/2 hours without food).

For most pets the number of meals fed doesn’t matter anywhere near as much as the total amount of food offered. Your dog, as you mention, is “solid”. To me it sounds like you’re doing things right.

Photo: Pogo’s weight looks fine.

shantae
creve coeur Illinois usa

Aging a cat is as much an art as a science. To be truly good at it, one needs to have evaluated hundreds (or preferably thousands) of cats.

The teeth generally are the first area of the body to be evaluated when trying to determine a cat’s (or dog’s) age. Kittens less than three weeks old may have no teeth. Deciduous (baby) teeth erupt between three and six weeks of age. These are replaced by adult teeth between four and six months of age.

For the first year or two of life, the adult teeth will be clean and white, with minimal evidence of dental disease. Over the next several years, the teeth will show progressive discoloration, infection, gum loss, and root exposure.

Cats who benefit from good oral care (tooth brushing or regular dental work) will not develop characteristic symptoms of dental disease as rapidly as those whose teeth are neglected. Well-cared-for cats with healthy mouths tend to look (and feel) much younger than they are.

The eyes can assist in determining a cat’s age. At about seven years, most cats develop a slight hazy discoloration in the lens. This phenomenon does not compromise quality of life, but it does become more prominent as cats mature.

Young cats tend to have very soft and supple coats. As most middle aged men can verify, youthful hair rarely lasts forever. Elderly cats (especially those over 12) often have coarse, dry fur that appears to grow in clumps.

Finally, the flexibility of the rib cage changes as cats mature. Young cats have very supple ribs. After about seven years of age, the ribs become progressively firmer and more brittle. Always be gentle when feeling a cat’s ribs!

Remember that each individual ages in a unique fashion. Some cats age more gracefully than others. Some cats look young for their age; others appear older than they are.

Laura
Oklahoma City Oklahoma

Two factors could be playing a role in your kitten’s coughing.

The first and most likely factor is that she was recently adopted. Cats and kittens with a history of recent rehousing often develop respiratory infections.

Moving is stressful. Stress weakens the immune system. A weakened immune system predisposes cats and kittens to opportunistic respiratory infections that can lead to coughing.

Cats and kittens who recently lived in shelters have especially high rates of respiratory infections. Shelter environments are generally stressful, and cohabitation with large numbers of other stressed animals is a recipe for the spread of disease.

The second factor that might be playing a role in your kitten’s symptoms is the vaccine that she received. Vet visits, unfortunately, also can be stressful for cats. And vaccines are designed to interact with the immune system. Some times shots can tip the balance in a cat who is just barely fighting off illness (this is why vets don’t like to vaccinate animals that don’t appear healthy). Finally, certain types of vaccines very rarely can trigger mild illness in animals (or people). This is called reversion to virulence.

Regardless of the cause of your kitten’s cough, there is good news: most respiratory infections in cats and kittens are self limiting. This means that most individuals recover completely with basic nursing care (ensure that the kitten has a comfortable place to rest, ample food and water, and plenty of love). Some infections get out of hand and require treatment with antibiotics. But almost all cats with respiratory infections recover.

I recommend a vet check up for any cat with symptoms of a respiratory infection in order to confirm that medications aren’t necessary. In most cases they are not.

For more information on respiratory infections in cats, visit my website:

http://drbarchas.com/uri

Photo: Ashley get ready to let one rip.

Kortnie
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

Anyone who has lived with one knows that puppies and kittens produce proportionately more waste than adult dogs and cats.

Their rapid growth is the reason for this. Young animals must process a great deal of food to make muscles, organs, and tissues. They need to drink large amounts of water in order to process the large amounts of food. And, because they eat and drink so much, they produce large amounts of waste.

Young puppies also urinate more often than adults until they are house trained (this is a behavioral matter). Also, puppies may urinate as a sign of submission. And many different diseases and syndromes may cause changes in urination.

But based on your description, I’m guessing that your puppy is urinating and defecating normally.

Salma

You started your question by mentioning that you’d already searched my website. That’s a surefire way to get your question to the head of the line.

Tapeworms are common and disgusting intestinal parasites of cats and dogs. However, they are not terribly pathogenic. This means that although they are bad for the health of their hosts, tapeworms rarely cause overt disease.

The most common tapeworm in cats (and dogs) is spread by fleas. The tapeworms are not directly contagious. As long as no fleas infest the cats in the house, the tapeworms should not spread. The key to controlling the problem is to use a good flea preventative in all of the cats who aren’t pregnant . . . and possibly the one who is (more on this below).

Prescription tapeworm treatments are generally pretty safe. So are high quality flea preventatives. However, it is best to avoid medications during pregnancy. In an ideal world, no cat would ever need medicine while pregnant. In your case, one must weigh the risks against the benefits.

The safe use of tapeworm medicines and flea preventatives during pregnancy has not been established. However, neither praziquantel (the most commonly prescribed tapeworm medicine) nor any high quality flea preventative is a documented teratogen (a compound known to affect fetal development). If you use the medicines, the kittens will probably be fine. This is especially true during the last trimester of pregnancy (the last 21 days), which is not that far off.

Try to keep your house flea-free. Use a high quality flea preventative on all of the non pregnant cats in the house. If I were in your situation, I would also apply the same sort of medicine to the pregnant cat. However, you must accept the very remote risk that flea preventatives could cause harm to the kittens.

Likewise, I would treat the pregnant cat for tapeworms. This may (but almost certainly won’t) lead to problems in the kittens. Tapeworms are only mildly pathogenic. But they are pathogenic.

I believe that the benefits of flea and tapeworm treatment outweigh the risks in your situation. But it is not an open-and-shut case.

I do, however, sometimes feel like I am alone in my willingness to admit that I don’t have all the answers when it comes to animal vaccination. And I frequently bump heads with two groups who claim, wrongly, that they do know how often pets should be vaccinated.

Members of the first group aren’t likely to comment on this blog, but they have plenty of money to throw around. They fund “studies” and publish “scientific papers” to justify their cause. I am referring to vaccine manufacturers. Their conflict of interest is obvious. If they sell more vaccines, they make more money. I am skeptical of what they say, and I urge you to take the same attitude.

The second group uses tactics that are remarkably similar to push for the opposite agenda. This group consists of anti-vaccination activists. Members of this group publish online summaries of data that cherry-pick the scientific literature to focus on and exaggerate the risks of vaccines. They tend to ignore data that contradict their arguments. Like the vaccine manufacturers, their interest is not in true science. They are promoting an agenda. I view everything they say with the same skepticism that I reserve for the companies making vaccines.

The true facts of animal vaccination are incredibly complicated. The details are phenomenally nuanced. Anyone who claims the matter is simple either does not understand the subject or is pushing an agenda.

I urge you not to heed the calls of those who claim that all pets need every vaccine every year. Equally, when someone tells you that pets never need shots, please ingest their comments with several grains of salt.

Do not let your pet fall victim to any group’s agenda.

Elizabeth
Washington, DC

Any female who mates with more than one male in rapid succession and then releases more than one egg can host babies with different fathers in her uterus simultaneously. It happens when one male’s sperm fertilizes one egg and another male’s sperm fertilizes a different egg. This is true for all mammals, including cats, dogs and humans.

Female cats are, shall we say, quite promiscuous. If given the chance, most female cats will mate with several males when they are in heat. Therefore it is quite common for feline littermates to have different fathers.

After dogs mate, they become “tied together” for several minutes. This is an evolutionary adaptation that prevents another male from immediately mating with the female. Canine littermates therefore are more likely to share a father. However, the evolutionary adaptation is far from perfect, and it is not uncommon for puppies in a litter to have different fathers.

Human reproduction is not taught in veterinary school. However, there is no reason why we, or any mammalian species, should be different.

Photo: Who’s your daddy?

Angela
Maysville, GA

Several syndromes can cause skin lesions adjacent to the ears.

In kittens and young adult cats, ear mites are common culprits. Ear mites, as the name implies, infest the ears. They cause excessive ear wax production and make the ears intensely itchy. Affected cats sometimes scratch so fiercely that they traumatize the skin behind their ears.

Ear infections and foreign objects (such as foxtails) lodged in the ears may cause itching and self trauma as well.

Allergies can cause skin problems. Cats that are allergic to food, fleas or environmental agents such as pollen or detergents may develop sores on the face or head. Rarely, autoimmune syndromes can cause sores in the areas you mention.

Finally, skin infections with bacteria or fungus can cause hair loss. In particular, a fungal infection called ringworm often strikes young cats on or near the ears. Ringworm is contagious to people.

Your cat needs to see a veterinarian. In most cases, vets easily are able to sort out the nature of problems such as you describe.

Photo: Mocha’s ears and face look healthy.

Steph
Kansas City, KS

Cats and dogs often cough for several days after surgery or anesthesia for dental work. This occurs for two reasons. First, to safely perform anesthesia, a special breathing tube must be inserted in the throat. The tube ensures that animals are able to breathe properly. It also protects the lungs from foreign material during the procedure. However, it occasionally causes minor irritation to the windpipe that leads to coughing for several days.

Also, remember that all major medical procedures are stressful. Stress weakens the immune system and makes pets more susceptible to minor respiratory ailments.

In either case, the coughing should not be accompanied by symptoms such as lethargy, weakness, loss of appetite, or difficulty breathing. If you see these symptoms, or if the coughing persists for more than a few days, contact the vet who performed the surgery.

Pets that undergo spay or neuter surgeries before puberty should not experience permanent personality changes. In fact, one of the benefits of early spaying and neutering is the prevention of undesirable personality changes that occur at puberty.

Temporary personality changes can occur after surgery, especially if proper pain management isn’t utilized. Aggression can be a sign of pain in both cats and dogs. I strongly recommend that you talk to your vet as soon as possible about your cat’s new aggressive tendencies.

It should be noted that when pets are spayed after puberty personality changes are not uncommon. The most frequently encountered changes are decreased levels of aggression and decreased interest in sexual activity.

Photo: Zipper shows off the site of her spay surgery.

Nikki
Los Angeles

I realize that the title of this post is only tangentially related to Nikki’s questions. I will answer all of the questions in this post, but Nikki’s e-mail reminded me of an article that appeared in the November, 2008 NAVC Clinician’s Brief.

The article discussed the tendency of pets to gain wait after they are spayed or neutered. The authors of the article reached a conclusion that is relevant to Nikki and to anyone whose pet has recently been spayed or neutered: the key to preventing obesity in spayed and neutered pets appears to be keeping them slim in the time period immediately after surgery.

Nikki, your cat does not need a special diet as he is recovering from surgery. However, be careful not to over feed him for the next several months. Monitor his weight, and cut back his food if his body fat increases.

There are several other steps you can take to help prevent complications during your cat’s recovery. All pets should be kept quiet for at least a week after undergoing spay or neuter surgery (cats should be kept indoors and dogs should be kept on leash). Prevent your cat from licking the incision excessively–in some cases, an Elizabethan collar is necessary. Unless a pet is thoroughly soiled, it should not be bathed until the incision has completely healed. This can take up to two weeks.

Finally, be sure to follow any post-operative instructions that your veterinarian may have provided.

Photo: Tiger is looking sharp in her Elizabethan collar.