What color is your pee?

Hi All,

Libby here.

I'm feeling much better- thanks for asking. Though, to be totally honest, now that we've had our big snowstorm of the season, I would be happy to kiss winter goodbye until next year.

But alas, I don't exactly control the weather.

So...brace yourself—things are about to get personal. 

Have you ever eaten asparagus and smelled the weird after-scent when you go to the bathroom? It's one of those things that's simultaneously disgusting and completely captivating. Like a horror movie- you want to look away but you can't help yourself. At one point or another, we've all done something that would probably qualify as disgusting behavior related to our bathroom habits. It's ok. Everyone's doing it.

Well, as a pet parent, you should be applying some of that same 'disgusting' behavior when it comes to your pets. Since they can't really speak up about their health, you need to be extra vigilant when it comes to changes in their normal state of being. Take urine for instance—a change in color can indicate a health problem.

Not to get too graphic (but I kind of have to), the next time your pet goes to the bathroom (number one of course), take a look at what color it is. Dark or very yellow urine can be an indicator that your pet may be suffering from any of the following conditions:

• liver problems
• biliary problems (the part of the liver that makes bile to help digest fats)
• gall bladder disease
• red blood cell destruction

If you notice a change in their urine color, there are other symptoms you might want to look out for:

• loss of appetite
• vomiting
• diarrhea
• swollen abdomen
• excess drinking
• excess urinating 
• pale mucous membranes

The combination of dark urine with any of the above may be an indicator that something's not quite right with your pet's health.So, as parting advice, pay more attention when your pet goes to the bathroom! And if you notice any of the above, pop by the PPAC for a checkup.

Til' next time,

Libby

It's finally happened

Hi All,

Libby here.

Sorry for the late hour of my post but I've been sick in my kitty-bed all day long, catnapping on and off.

Cough cough-I think I have a hairball.

It was imminent that I would get sick eventually in this weather and it's finally happened.

So I'm going to take this opportunity to rest, and recuperate, and hopefully I'll be back up to snuff next week.

I'm going to drag myself back to bed now.

Til' next time,

Libby.

Snow, glorious snow!

Hi All,

Libby here.

I love snow!

I'm the happiest kitty in the world. I love perching on the windowsill of the PPAC, looking outside at the gorgeous snow fall. Look at that view in Prospect Park! There's really nothing better than it in the whole wide world. It's especially stunning before certain four legged animals run outside and turn the snow yellow.(AHEM) 

Speaking of snow, isn't it just the cutest thing in the world when a dog with short legs (have you met the Silverman's dog, Bernie?) can't manage to get their little legs over the big heaping mounds of snow. SO sweet. But, I digress.

A few weeks ago, I spoke about general cold weather warnings for your pets. But, that was before there was this giant snow storm! I now feel obligated to write an addendum to that post specifically pertinent to the snow!

So without further ado...Here's a human analogy for you to chew on. I know I write a lot of these human analogies but, you are humans. And you have pets. So it seems fitting to write something that you might actually be able to relate to so as to draw a comparison and understand the situation better than you otherwise would. Capish? 

OK. Let's say you're going for a run. And it's freezing out. And there's snow on the ground. Before you go, you'll stretch, right? Warm up. Maybe jog in place to get the muscles warmed up and ready to face the cold. If you didn't do this, you'd exit your house and likely have a massive shock to your system. Your muscles would tense up and you'd be a lot more prone to injury.

Now, imagine you have four legs. And fur. And live in an apartment in New York which means you probably don't have tons of space to run around in. Which makes 'warming up' slightly more challenging for a dog. And you see snow on the ground and can't WAIT to get outside so you can pee on it, and roll around in it, and run around to your little heart's content.

The point of this whole analogy deal was to say that dogs can't warm up in the same way as humans can. So, when exiting the house into frigid conditions, they're more inclined to sustain skeletal injuries because of muscles tightening in the cold. I see a lot of pets coming into the PPAC with some pretty serious injuries because they played too hard in the cold. Or, because the combination of frigid conditions and damp weather awakened pre-existing injuries. I've also seen that some pets who were adopted from shelters come in with skeletal issues that their owners hadn't even been aware of. That is until their dog plays around in the snow and gets injured! 

If you can get your pet to run around a bit indoors before leaving the house, great. If you can't however (I imagine this will be most of you!), make sure to exercise caution with your pets. Don't let them run too hard or for too long. And if you notice them looking fatigued or walking with any pain or discomfort, bring them inside! Not worth sustaining new injuries (or exacerbating old ones) just to have a roll in the snow.

Til next time,

Libby

It's not polite to stare

Hi All,

Libby here,

Not sure if you heard but Dr. S. recently had his second knee replacement surgery. A year and a half ago, he had his left knee done and this time, he had his right knee! He's now firmly on his way to becoming a bionic man.

Other than your love for Dr. S., why am I telling you this information? Well, it's a bit of a warning.

You all know Dr. S. as this robust, healthy individual. Over the next few weeks however, he's going to be looking a bit less er...robust.

He's going to be walking around with a cane. And sitting on a red bar-stool during appointments.

Here's a picture of his knees. You might not be doing so hot either if you'd just had metal inserted into your body in place of bone.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you not to stare. It's not nice.

He'll be up and running again in no time.

And yes, I recognize how this post lacks relevance to animal medicine (specifically). I don't care. Just go with it.

Til next time,

Libby.