Maggie Blackmer
Maggie is a middle-aged kitty that comes for regular visits. Her owner had noticed that she had progressively not been jumping up on things and playing as much. The change had been a gradual one. It was determined that arthritis was likely the culprit. Due to the delicate organ systems cats have there are not a lot of safe medications for management of arthritis. There is a medication called Adequan, that is composed of a compound (polysulfated glycosaminoglycan) which is a constituent of cartilage and joint fluid. When injected under the skin, it is shown to protect cartilage and joints by decreasing the inflammation and destruction caused by arthritis. Since the compound is a component of cartilage and joint fluid, it promotes the health and strength of those tissues. The medication is given as injections under the skin weekly for 4 weeks then monthly and is very safe. Maggie’s owner was very interested and quickly learned how to give the injections. Maggie did very well and was shortly jumping up on things she had not attempted in quite some time. She is playing more as well. Adequan is a very safe arthritis management option in cats (and dogs) . Maggie seems to feel a bit younger and that is why she is AHS’s feline Pet of the Month.
Mae Lee
Mae Lee is a beautiful young yellow lab puppy who enjoys playing at the lake near her house. Recently, she was messing around at the lake and came out with multiple fishing hooks in her nose and lip! Her owner tried to get her free from the hooks and in the process, got his own hands stuck with the hooks! He was able to get one free from her nose but the one on her lip was too far embedded to remove. He was able to cut the main body of the fishing hook with wire cutters just leaving the final portion with the barb in her lip and brought her in.
Mae Lee is such a sweet and calm girl. She tried to not let anything bother her. And even with a portion of a fishing hook sticking out of her lip, she acted like everything was completely normal! Most dogs with this ailment need sedation to help maneuver the hook in a position to be removed. Since she is so easy going, we elected to attempt to remove it without sedation so she could get back to her antics quicker!
Upon closer examination, it was determined that the hook with the barb was inside her lower lip, but did not exit the outside of the skin. It was very close to exiting the skin and in the location/angle that it was, there was no easy way to consider backing that hook out the way it came in! She sat wonderfully still as we injected some lidocaine local anesthetic in the area where the hook was near the outside skin of her lip. When the lidocaine took effect, we grasped the back side of the hook inside the lip and advanced the hook fully through the lip and removed it! The lidocaine worked wonderfully and with her amenable personality, we quickly and successfully removed the rest of the hook with no trouble at all!
Fish hook injuries are a relatively common problem that can sometimes be tricky to address. Since Mae Lee was such a good girl and the removal went so smoothly, we elected to place her as the March Pet of the Month. We are so happy she is doing well and did not have more significant injuries from her explorations at the lake!