Pet Health Care: Tips, Signs to Watch for, Links to Professional Medical Sites for Precise Info and More!

Exterior Research Links Merck Vet Manual used in Vet Courses Animal Health Care.ca resourceful.

Parasites and Pet Scratching External Parasites bite and penetrate your pet's skin, therefore scratching and irritation occur. External Parasites are "bugs" you need to watch out for regularly in both cats and dogs. The list of common external parasites is: Ear Mites, Fleas, Lice, Mange Mites, Ringworm and Ticks. These are the basic and most commom external parasites that occur and with minor caution, can be avoided.

Ear Mites: Not only are ear mites a pain to the animal, they are a pain to get rid of manually. Plus, if left too long, mange can be caused or worse yet, more serious effects take place causing the mites to penetrate other areas of the animal creating a fatal situation. A normal pet's ear should be the color of your pet's skin (similar to the color of our own skin), if it isn't and there are spots of a brownish color or worse yet, full patches that are almost black - then the odds are your pet is in the beginning stages of the mites, or has had them for some time. Veterinarians suggest a one time injection, where no hand cleaning a reluctant pet or follow ups are required. IF your pet has dark black full patches in their ears as opposed to a light brown scattered effect, get your pet into the Vet for the Ear Mite shot, it'll save your animal (and you) alot of grief - struggling through ear cleaning sessions. If you're kinda stuck doing it yourself, major chain pet stores, carry a clear fluid ear cleaner (Oti-Clens is one brand name) that will help the process along. Cleaners as such carry acids that help remove the mites from the skin's surface. Instructions will say to "wet" the inner ear, but please don't. Get a small glass, squeeze some into the glass and soak one end of 7-8 q-tips for about 5 minutes. Rub the q-tip up along the top edge of the glass to remove excess fluid and begin cleaning your pet's ear. CAUTION: Don't go too deep! Cats and dogs have inner ears and permanent damage can be caused. An Ear Mite Tip Because we take in alot of strays, ear mites are a common problem that we have to deal with regularly. When your pet's ear(s) are infested with mites, it means that the mites have been coming out of the lower ear area and laying eggs in the back of your pet's neck. Once incubated, they go back to where it's warm in your pet's ear. A great hindrance that will work with any medication or inner ear cleaners, is Flea Powder. Using a Flea Powder, sprinkle some on your hand, close your hand and approach your pet to pat the top of your pet's head. Quickly sprinkle the powder from your hand - along the back of your pet's neck - at the level of their lower ears. Try to get some under their lower ear area as well, where the ear mites come out. Pat your pet and talk to them so that you set them at ease while you are rubbing in the flea powder. Once you've applied some powder, then you are hindering further eggs from being laid or getting back in, while the inside of the ear is cleaned and rid of excisting mites. Clean Again the following day, then check for the next few days to see if any more build up of mites has occured. Be sure to clean out any spots that re-occur. PLEASE be careful not to get flea powder in the eyes or inner ear areas. Have an ice cream bucket of luke warm water handy with a rag from an old towel or other cotten material - to damp clean any areas where the flea powder will do harm.

AASK Treated Animals Pellet Shot Wound beneath the ear - in the neck

Fleas Fleas can lay dormat in a home or area for a couple of years until warmth and vibration wakes them up. Otherwords, you could buy a home where someone had a pet that had fleas,then moved and the home was up for sale for 6 months and upon purchasing, you move in and within 3-4 weeks, your pet shows signs of fleas. Fleas are a nasty problem that needs immediate attention. And yes, they do bite people on occasion, however they cannot live off our bodies and die shortly after. Fleas can be a problem even if you don't have pets. Any home that has had previous flea problems and has been empty for awhile, will have a small problem once you awaken the festation. In such a case, if there is no "host" for the fleas to live on, they will die. Now Fleas are teeny tiny critters that hop and jump around your pet's body. They are hard to see because they sorta blend into the color of your animal's skin and are kinda light brown. By keeping a close eye, you can see them move and hop. Check in your pet's groin area and around the nipples (whether male or female). It's warm there and fleas like warmth. Also check around the upper chest and complete neck area. Seperate the fur so you can see skin in several areas and "watch" for 20-30 seconds to see if anything moves. Rub a finger along the area, if you feel a small bump - check it out. If you find fleas, your work is cut out. Finding Fleas means Precautions must be taken around the house as well. Wash all your pet's bedding and areas where they sleep. If you have wall to wall carpeting, carpet cleaners will not help very much in such a case. There are products in spray cans and other that can be used - we do it the old fashioned way - with a bucket and a cotton rag, using none other than - flea shampoo - scrub and rinse with a clean damp rag and later slightly dust the carpets with flea powder, making sure the powder gets into the grain of the carpet and not on the surface. The easiest solution to rid your pet of the fleas, is to make an appointment with your Veterinarian for a Flea shot. These shots, illiminate fleas and work in your pets blood stream for a couple of weeks, to deter further eggs from hatching. Speak to your Vet about other precautions you need to take. There are products out there, such as flea collars, pills and dusting powders but if you are unsure of the seriousness of the problem, it is best to call your vet for information and instruction.

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