5 Questions Pet Owners Are Asking Right Now — Answered
Lately a lot of the questions we hear in our exam rooms start with “I saw something online about…” That is a good instinct. The internet is useful for figuring out what to ask. Here are five of the questions we are getting most often right now, with honest answers.
Can my overweight dog or cat get a weight-loss shot like Ozempic?
Not yet, and definitely not from your own medicine cabinet. Drug companies are actively working on GLP-1 style weight-loss medications for dogs and cats, and the news coverage has been everywhere this year, but nothing is approved and available for pets today. What we are seeing instead are pets who got into their owner’s medication — chewing an injection pen, licking residue off a used needle, or swallowing a tablet that fell on the floor. That leads to vomiting, diarrhea, listlessness, and sometimes something more serious like dangerously low blood sugar or an inflamed pancreas. Keep your pens in a closed drawer rather than on the nightstand or counter. Please also skip the over-the-counter “natural GLP-1” supplements being marketed for pets, because several of them contain xylitol or stimulants that are truly poisonous to dogs. In the meantime, measured meals, honest treat math, and a written feeding plan still work remarkably well, and we are glad to build one with you.
Is raw food safe for my pet?
This answer has changed, and it is worth knowing why. Raw diets have always carried some risk of salmonella and listeria, which was a manageable conversation for most families. Over the past two years, though, bird flu has turned up in commercial raw poultry pet food, and cats have died from it. Several products have been recalled, and the FDA now requires pet food makers to account for the virus in their food safety plans. Cats seem especially vulnerable, and there have been cases of an infected cat passing the virus to people in the household. If raw feeding matters to you, let’s talk it through rather than guess. There are cooked and gently cooked options that get you most of what you are after with far less risk. If you are feeding raw right now and your cat suddenly seems wobbly, feverish, or is breathing oddly, treat that as an emergency and mention the diet when you call.
Can I give my dog ibuprofen for a limp?
No, and this one circulates on social media constantly. Ibuprofen and naproxen damage the stomach lining and the kidneys in dogs at doses far lower than most people would guess. Acetaminophen, the ingredient in Tylenol, is worse still and can kill a cat in a very small amount. Aspirin is not a safe stand-in either. Dogs and cats simply process these drugs differently than we do. The other problem is that a limp is information, and quietly masking it at home for a few days often turns a simple sprain into a complicated surgery conversation. We have pain medications made specifically for pets, we can usually get you in quickly, and rest paired with the right anti-inflammatory is a much better plan than guessing.
How would I know if my pet is in pain?
If you are asking, you are probably already right. Dogs and cats are built to hide discomfort, so pain rarely looks like crying or obvious limping. It looks like slowing down. A dog who stops meeting you at the door, hesitates at the bottom of the stairs, or takes an extra beat before standing up is usually uncomfortable rather than simply getting older. In cats, watch for one who stops jumping to a favorite perch, starts sleeping somewhere lower and out of the way, grooms less, or begins missing the litter box. New grumpiness about being touched counts too. Arthritis is extremely common and very treatable, and the change in a pet’s daily life once we manage it is the thing owners most often tell us they wish they had done a year sooner.
Does my indoor cat really need vaccines and parasite prevention?
Mostly yes, though I understand why the question comes up. Indoor cats have less exposure, not zero exposure. Fleas ride in on dogs, on pant legs, and inside secondhand furniture. Mosquitoes get through screen doors, and heartworm disease in cats is difficult to treat and occasionally fatal. Rabies vaccination is also required by Illinois law for every cat, indoor or not, and it protects your family as much as your cat, because a bat in the house is not a rare event around here. What does change with an indoor lifestyle is the rest of the plan. We can often narrow which vaccines your cat actually needs based on where she goes and who she meets, and that is a conversation worth having rather than a box to check every year.
The Bottom Line
The internet is genuinely good at telling you what to ask and genuinely unreliable at telling you what to do. If one of these questions sounded like something you have wondered about at eleven at night with your phone in your hand, bring it to us instead. A short appointment with someone who can put hands on your pet is worth more than an afternoon of searching, and we would much rather answer a question early than treat the consequences later. Give us a call or book online, and bring your whole list — we like the nerdy questions.