If you have a cat, you may have never heard of toxoplasmosis, even if it is a characteristic disease of the cat. If, on the other hand, you are a woman, and more precisely are a mother, you have probably heard of toxoplasmosis even if you don't have a cat.

In fact, it is a somewhat particular disease, because it does not give the cat any problems but it is very dangerous for pregnant women, because it can lead to one of the worst consequences: abortion.

What is toxoplasmosis?

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease. It is caused by a microscopic parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, which has its "definitive host" in the cat: therefore, it can reproduce and lay its eggs only in the cat's intestine.

However, in our four-legged friend it does not give rise to any symptoms: despite living in his intestine, there is no diarrhoea, no fever, no lack of appetite ... In short, nothing at all. For this reason it is impossible to know if our cat is sick with toxoplasmosis or not, and we must always behave as if it were sick, to keep our baby and ourselves safe. Humans manifest the disease only, not cats.

In reality, as long as we are men or women who are not pregnant, it does not matter: in fact, toxoplasma will only give these people a little diarrhoea for a couple of days, which in any case is an annoying situation that is worthwhile avoiding.

The toxoplasma specimens that we ingested (we will see how in the following paragraph) will then be expelled with the feces and will return to the environment; if ingested by a cat, they will reproduce again and the cycle will begin again.

How is toxoplasmosis transmitted and avoided?

Toxoplasmosis is transmitted in one way only: with feces. With that being said, it might seem a bit disgusting, but it is a completely plausible mechanism.

The cat, in fact, lays its own feces that contain the "eggs" of toxoplasma. By the time the cat poops, these eggs are still immature, and cannot infect anyone; it takes about 24 hours for the eggs to mature, after that time the poop will have already dried out. Someone could step on it, especially if it was laid outdoors, and crumble it so that a person can breathe in the toxoplasma eggs, which are nothing more than specks of dust for us. This is how we can get infected.

The wind, however, could also carry these eggs onto a salad leaf, which we can eat; or on the grass, where our dog (not cat!) could roll and then shake, spreading the eggs in the air within reach of human breathing.

As we can see, the possibilities of contracting toxoplasmosis are many and it is impossible to predict them all. Doctors help pregnant women by handing over a list of foods to avoid as it is possible that eggs might have survived on them; often one of the tips is to get rid of the cat to avoid problems, but this is not true. Our cat can cuddle with us for the entire duration of pregnancy without any problems.

First of all, cats can transmit toxoplasmosis through their feces, not their fur. We can caress it and keep it on us as we see fit.

Second of all, as we said earlier, the eggs become mature after 24 hours, and when the poop is fresh it does not turn into dust we are able to breathe. The cat usually defecates in the litter box, and it is sufficient to clean it before 24 hours from the laying. If we clean it four times a day (morning, lunch time, late afternoon and after dinner) we can rest assured that the eggs will never be ready to be infectious. If we close them in a sealed garbage bag, and throw it in the bin, no one will get infected with our cat's feces. If we don't feel safe cleaning the litter box, let's have someone else do it, like our husband or a friend.

As we said before, despite the cat being the "source" of this disease which can also become very serious, following both the advice of doctors and those we have said now on the management of the cat feces, we will be able to live a peaceful and serene pregnancy without the constant fear of toxoplasmosis.

The thyroid is a very important gland both in humans and in our animal situated in the neck. 

The function of the thyroid is to produce thyroid hormones. Its function is not very known despite its very important role in the regulation of our dogs and cats metabolism. Any dysfunctionality might be due to both poor functionality or excessive functionality of the gland and respectively give origin to two different disease, hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism

It is very important for us to know about these disease because as time passes they might produce a lot of damage to our dog and cat. We must always evaluate our pets behavior and in any anomalous case, contact a vet.

In this page we deal with a very important symptom, not easy to see but which we must be aware of and for which we must periodically check our dog and our cat: in fact, we are talking about anemia, situations in which the blood cannot perform its normal functions.

The blood

Blood is a bit like the road system of the body of our animals. If there were no roads and vehicles that run through them every day, it would be very difficult to live: we would not have to eat, drink, we would not be able to go to work.

The blood has somewhat the same function: it is used to transport nutrients, the oxygen that enters the lungs, the hormones, the white blood cells that defend the body.

In the blood, we have a liquid part, composed of water, nutrients, proteins that perform the most varied functions, and a solid part, made up of small beings (cells) that can have a defense function for our body or transport oxygen.

The lastly mentioned are the red blood cells, which transport oxygen. They give the typical red colour to all bloods.

The oxygen is inhaled by the animal through the mouth and nose, absorbed in the lungs and "stick" to the red blood cells, which carry it to every part of the body. Without oxygen, the organs do not perform their functions, and in its absence we can die in a few minutes.

Anemia

Returning to the main topic, anemia is the lack of red blood cells. Few red blood cells means little oxygen around the body.

The causes can be the most varied: in general, if there are few red blood cells it means either less are produced or that too many are destroyed.

In the first case, the lower production, generally, is a problem in the bone marrow (produces red blood cells), and thorough investigations and very targeted therapies will have to be carried out to solve the problem. Even little iron in the diet, which is essential to produce them, can lead to a shortage of red blood cells.

Excessive loss can be caused by some diseases that have destroyed red blood cells, or by wounds or bleeding that have made blood come out of the body. 

Firstly, the animal is breathing heavily. It is a logical thing: the body does not receive oxygen because there are no red blood cells, by not knowing the cause, the body tries to put more oxygen inside the body with breathing.

If the organs, and in particular the defensive system, do not receive "fuel", the animal will appear tired, will have little desire to move and eat, will unwillingly follow us and will sleep a lot. In severe cases, we can also encounter fever, because the body's defensive system is weakened by this situation.

A very important index that everyone should know to evaluate anemia, is the color of the mucous membranes.

Do this test now, which may be useful for the future. Go to your dog or cat and lift their lip. You will see the internal mucosa pink in colour, if the animal is well. Here, now press with your fingertip (without hurting him) on the inside of the lip, on the pink part, for a few seconds. Remove your finger and you will realize that the point where you pressed has turned white, because you have cut off the blood supply for a few seconds; within two seconds, the colour will return to normal. You may have noticed, however, that there is a fairly clear difference between the white of the point where you pressed and the pink of the normal mucosa.

In case you notice that your pet has the symptoms we talked about before, repeat this test (maybe bookmark this page, so you can look back at it)

If the difference in colour is not as noticable as the one you have just seen, or if there was not difference at all, it means that there is some problem, and it is necessary to consult a veterinarian as soon as possible, because there is anemia. The mucous membranes are clear because there are fewer red blood cells than normal in the blood; in fact, they give the typical red colour to the blood. As we said before, consequently the mucous membranes, which would be white, becomes pink).

How are anemias treated?

Anemia therapy is obviously carried out by the veterinarian. Verifying its presence is simple: all you need is a very common blood test, which measure the number of red blood cells.

Depending on the severity of the problem, a blood transfusion from another dog or cat may be required. When the problems are less serious, somehow, an attempt is made to stimulate the body to produce more red blood cells than normal.

In any case, anemia is a situation that we need to know to be able to bring our pet to the vet as soon as possible.

Acting early is the best way to avoid the worst consequences of this situation.

In this article, we will be talking about  the mega esophagus disease, which generally affects dogs of different ages. It can appear immediately at birth but also after many years. In some cases, it is only seen after some time, when its consequences may have become serious.

It is therefore very important to know how to recognize the symptoms as soon as possible, so that you can consult a veterinarian and start the therapy. 

What is it?

The esophagus, which dogs have exactly like us, is the tube that starts from the pharynx (the "throat") and reaches the stomach. Its function is to make the ingested food flow from the mouth to the stomach, where it will be digested before passing through the intestine.

The esophagus is a very narrow tube, when empty (i.e. when food does not pass) it has a diameter of about 1 cm in a dog. It is mainly made up of muscles, which carry food "down the tube", preventing it from staying inside. If this mechanism doesn't work we come across the mega esophagus.

The causes can be varied.

The presence of the right aortic arch is a situation in which a blood vessel is straddling the esophagus, (the blood vessel is useful in foetal life (the foetus does not eat)) and does not atrophy, it becomes a ligament and then breaks, as it would happen to normal things. There remains a blood vessel with a lot of blood inside, and it "chokes" the esophagus preventing the passage of food: thus the part that is located above the "choking" expands abnormally and the food stagnates in this cavity and putrefies, which is very dangerous.

This case occurs in about 10% of cases and affects foetal blood vessel which affects puppies. We realize this when they stop drinking milk (which is able to pass as it is liquid) and start eating solid foods.

Acquired idiopathic mega esophagus, is a very similar situation that generally affects adult dogs, (large dogs are mostly affected). It constitutes 75% of the cases of mega esophagus.

"Idiopathic" means "the cause of which is unknown": Practically, without any explanation, at a certain age, there are defects in the innervation of the esophagus, which no longer responds to brain control. As a result, the muscles of the esophagus that push food towards the stomach do not work, and the food does not stimulate the opening of the cardia (the "mouth of the stomach") and remains in the esophagus. Here it accumulates and begins to rot as it did in the other case.

The third case is where there is a nervous pathology (such as distemper) or other types of diseases that damage the muscles, which lead to defects in the functioning of the esophagus, resulting in a mega esophagus. The resolution is to treat the causing disease, obviously, if it is possible to cure it.

The mega esophagus is dangerous not only because the animal remains undernourished since the food does not pass, but also because in some cases the food that "stagnates" could return to the mouth and end up in the lungs, where it can lead to death in very few days because of the big infection it creates.

Symptoms of the mega esophagus

The most common symptom is regurgitation, which can occur immediately after a meal or after a few hours.

It is important to distinguish between vomiting and regurgitation: vomiting, is the expulsion of digested material from the mouth, it is preceded by retching and is generally a "loose" or liquid substance. The regurgitation is instead undigested material, which is practically "spit" and, saliva aside, is very similar to the food that was put in the dog's bowl. If they were small meat pieces, we will still see them and recognize them.

Episodes of this kind (that repeat themselves over the days) lead the dog to lose weight (because, in fact, he has not eaten for several days). If this happens, it is highly recommended to be aware of the alarm bell and immediately take your pet to the vet.

Then the diagnosis is simple, the dog ingests an "opaque meal", which can be seen on the X-rays after a few minutes: if the opaque food is still in the esophagus and the diagnosis does not proceed, it is probably the mega esophagus.

Treatment and prognosis

Treatment is primarily surgical, although it may not be needed when the cause of the mega esophagus is another separate disease, which leads to this problem (mega esophagus). The vet will do extensive analysis and understand the best way to solve the problem, either with medications or with surgery.

If the problem is the presence of the aortic arch, surgery is necessary because it must be removed. The puppy might die if the heart problems deriving from the additional vessel are too serious or he can recover completely if there are no consequences, since the esophagus will be back to normal.

In the adult dog, the mouth of the stomach is usually anchored to the main respiratory muscle, the diaphragm: in this way, with each breath the stomach will open and the food will end up in it.

Some precautions will be necessary, such as providing food which is not on the ground (with the esophagus vertically the force of gravity helps the food to go down). With a little patience, although the disease cannot completely heal, our friend he can have a long life for many years to come.

Cough is a symptom that can also affect our animals. In this article, we will understand the reasons and causes of cough.

What is cough

Coughing is a reflex action that our body has to try to eliminate all unwanted substances present in the respiratory system, from the lungs to the bronchi and trachea. When mucus, bacteria, viruses, or dust build up in these structures, it can irritate them, stimulating the cough reflex. This is how the typical coughing noise occurs, due to the air being expelled violently and forcibly.

Cough can present itself with different characteristics based on the triggering cause or other aspects. In particular, the main types of cough include:

• Dry cough: it is the classic "irritating" cough of humans, emitted with dull sounds, without anything being expelled during coughing;
• Productive cough: this is defined as the cough that occurs with the escape of mucus, pus, blood or foamy material from the mouth or nose of the animal;
• Flare-up or paroxysmal cough: coughing occurs suddenly and persists continuously for many seconds or minutes. Indicates a very important irritation of the respiratory system;
• Painful cough: the dog or cat gives the impression that they refuse to cough, despite the presence of the stimulus. When the vet tries to provoke the cough reflex during the visit, they struggle;
• Rare cough: the dog or cat only coughs a few times from time to time.

The causes

Coughing does not occur only in the presence of irritating or infectious stimuli. In other cases, in fact, it represents the symptom of some conditions and diseases, including:

• Infections by bacteria, viruses and fungi;
• Inflammation of the respiratory systems tract;
• Allergies;
• Bronchial asthma: in the presence of irritating or allergic stimuli or in the case of physical exertion, the animal's bronchi close, making breathing difficult. A typical hissing sound may be heard during inspiration and during the most severe asthma attacks the animal breathes quickly and with difficulty;
• Lung tumours;
• Cardiovascular disease: especially in dogs, coughing can indicate the presence of a heart or circulatory system problem. It occurs mainly after physical exertion, for example when climbing stairs or returning from a walk. Cardiovascular diseases are more frequent in older dogs, unless they are malformations or problems present from birth;
• Presence of parasites in the lungs, such as cardiopulmonary filariasis;
• Presence of foreign bodies in the respiratory system;
• Pulmonary edema, that is, the presence of fluid inside the lungs.

At the same time, cough can manifest itself in animals exposed to certain situations, such as:

• Prolonged exposure to air conditioning or heating;
• Inhalation of dust;
• Environments full of deodorants and perfumes;
• Owners use of aggressive and irritating detergents;
• Collars which are too tight;
• The dog "pulls" the leash when it is taken out by the owner.

To be able to understand the causes of the cough, we must also look at accompanying symptoms, such as:

• Sneezing;
• Excessive tearing;
• Temperature;
• Altered voice;
• Wheezing during inspiration;
• Labored breathing;
• Difficult breathing;
• Expulsion of mucus, blood or foam from the nose or mouth.

 What to do

If your dog or cat coughs, take them to the vet as soon as possible, who will be able to examine them thoroughly. Therapy must be established based on the outcome of the visit and any tests, such as blood tests and a chest X-ray, which can be useful for assessing the situation of the lungs and heart.

Your vet will tell you what to do.

In most cases, the initial therapy involves the administration of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, especially in the case of bacterial or viral infections. The vet will also be able to determine if it is appropriate to start an inhalation therapy, the classic aerosol that we also use when we have a cold. For dogs and cats it may be useful to lock them in their carrier or in a very small room, allowing them to breathe the vapors emitted by the aerosol device.

If the cause of the cough is identifiable in a heart problem, specific medications or surgery may be prescribed.

Even in the case of parasites and other types of infection, therapy is specific to the responsible agent.

In any case, it may be useful to observe the situations in which the animal senses the cough reflex. If they cough immediately after coming into contact with deodorants, detergents, powders and other substances, you should stop using them or clean the house with non-toxic products.

If the dog coughs when you take him outside, he is probably allergic to something in the air, so it will be necessary to treat the allergy and perhaps try to change the area of the daily walk.

In any case, do not underestimate an important symptom such as coughing, as your pet may need appropriate therapy as soon as possible. Take him to the vet, who will know what to do to help him get better.

Salmonella infection is well known both in humans and in our animal (either dogs or cats). Different scientific advances enabled the discovery of a cure to this infection. However, symptoms are still very harsh and it is best for us to avoid this infection in our animal through safety procedures.