Right kitty caring

Although cats spend about half of their time awake grooming themselves, it is advisable to brush the fur of your cat because it reduces shedding, helps it get clean. The grooming time actually helps cats bond with each other, therefore, grooming your cat will help you bond with it. The brushing also reduces hairballs due to lesser loose hairs on its body.  It also improves blood circulation in the cat. 

For brushing your cat, first make sure it is happy and comfortable, then gently brush along its back with slow and long strokes. Watch the cat’s reaction carefully for any unhappy reactions and avoid brushing the spots where it doesn’t like to be brushed. Remember to always be gentle and let the cat leave if it gets irritated.

 

Alcohol is very dangerous to dogs and cats and under no circumstances should the dog have been given alcohol. Alcohol poisoning can lead to permanent organ damage and even death. The damage caused is dependent on the amount of alcohol the dog has consumed.

 You should contact your vet immediately. According to the Prevention of cruelty to animals act, 1960 section 11(1)(c)  If any person willfully and unreasonably administers any injurious drug or injurious substance to (any animal) or wilfully and unreasonably causes or attempts to cause any such drug or substance to be taken by (any animal) it amounts to animal cruelty and he shall be punishable with fine or with imprisonment for a term which may extend, to three months, or with both.

The most common of these are:  

Scabies: Also called mange, it is a skin disease caused by several species of tiny mites, common external parasites found in dogs. All dogs raised normally by their mothers possess demodectic mange mites, which are transferred from mother to pup via cuddling during the first few days of life. Most dogs live in harmony with their mites, never suffering any consequences. 

Roundworm: Also known as ascarids, they are parasites that live inside and feed off an animal’s intestines. They’re usually white or light brown and a few inches long and can be seen in the dog’s feces or vomit. The puppy’s mother may pass them when it is born, or it may get them by drinking her milk.

 Your pup can also get roundworms if it eats roundworm eggs that come from another animal’s poop, or if it eats mice or other small infected animals. Symptoms include weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, dull coat, weight loss, roundworms in feces, vomit. Humans can contract roundworm through infected feces. 

Ringworm: It is a highly contagious fungal infection that can lead to patchy areas of hair loss on a dog, and can spread to other animals-and to humans, too. Symptoms include lesions that typically appear on a dog’s head, ears, paws and forelimbs. These lesions can cause patchy, crusted circular “bald spots” that sometimes look red in the center. In mild cases of ringworm, there may be just a few broken hairs, while bad cases of ringworm can spread over most of a dog’s body. 

Hookworms: Living mainly in the small intestine, hookworms suck the blood of their hosts. Puppies can become infected from their mothers. Adult dogs can be infected through their skin or when cleaning themselves. Infection causes weakness and malnutrition and can lead to death in puppies. 

Tapeworms:  Commonly caused by swallowing a tiny infected flea. Fleas can carry the tapeworm’s larvae or babies. If your dog swallows it – maybe while grooming himself – an adult tapeworm can grow inside your dog’s intestines. Tapeworms are flat, white worms that are made up of tiny segments. Each part is about the size of a grain of rice. Tapeworms attach themselves to the walls of your dog’s gut using hook-like suckers. 

Lyme Disease: Lyme disease is one of the most common tick-transmitted diseases in the world but only causes symptoms in five to 10 per cent of affected dogs. It is caused by a spirochete (bacteria) species of the Borrelia burgdorferi group. 

When infection leads to disease in dogs, the dominant clinical feature is recurrent lameness due to inflammation of the joints. There may also be a lack of appetite and depression. More serious complications include damage to the kidneys, and rarely, heart or nervous system disease. 

The bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, is transmitted by slow-feeding, hard-shelled deer ticks. Infection typically occurs after the Borrelia-carrying tick has been attached to the dog for at two to three days.