July 2014, Arthritis treatment, Tony the clinic cat, and noise phobia
Have a wonderful 4th of July! If your pet doesn’t share this sentiment, remember we carry an all-natural herbal product in liquid or capsule form called Nutricalm that helps calm their anxieties without causing drowsiness, allowing you to desensitize with training successfully.
Just a reminder that our clinic offers Wellness Plans. These plans allow you to spread out your veterinary expenses over a year plus you get a discount of 10% on non-covered services while enrolled in the plan. See https://www.wholehealthpetcenter.com/services/wellness-plans/ for more information.
Our clinic now has a cat! Tony is a former stray that was initially cared for by another veterinary clinic in town. We have adopted him and are now working on his nutrition and supplements to support his immune system as he tests positive for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus. He’s the perfect clinic cat, very mellow and quietly loving with people, and mostly indifferent to other animals. Because of his FIV status he can’t live with other cats, so being a vet clinic cat is perfect for him since he won’t be grooming or biting other cats in this situation. 
Arthritis Care Options: I thought this month would be a good time to illustrate the different treatment options for arthritis in pets and how our clinic handles these cases somewhat differently than most. A conventional clinic will make a diagnosis either from an exam or x-rays and prescribe pain-relieving drugs of various types. Some MIGHT discuss weight loss if your pet is very overweight, and a few will recommend joint-protecting supplements.
At Whole Health Pet Center, while we offer the same medications, we look for ways to minimize the needed dose since many of these drugs (steroids, Rimadyl, Tramadol) are known to damage the liver or kidneys over time, and can also cause irritation or ulceration of the stomach or bowel. To this end, we offer the following integrative holistic approach to dealing with arthritis in our pets. We firmly recommend weight loss in any pet over ideal weight and can offer substantial guidance in the appropriate way to achieve this. We always recommend supplements of herbs and foods known to be joint-protective and anti-inflammatory. Regular chiropractic care is necessary since arthritic animals compensate for their pain by moving differently and this throws their joints out of proper motion and alignment. Cold laser has excellent pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory action so will often be our next suggested therapy for affected joints. Acupuncture can be added for greater and more long-lasting pain relief. We can instruct you as the pet owner in some massage and physical therapy techniques and recommended exercise, and we also schedule canine massage therapists to offer their services at our clinic on a regular basis. Those muscles get tight from trying to protect painful joints! Sometimes pets exhibit greater pain from tight muscles and trigger points in the muscles than from the actual arthritic joint. All of these combined therapies can often significantly reduce or sometimes nearly eliminate the need for medications that, while pain-relieving, may be harmful to your pet in the long run. And also of note, our wellness plans cover many of these therapies! If this approach appeals to you, call us for an appointment at 816-331-1868 today!
