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If you have ever noticed a handful of cats lounging behind a restaurant, under a porch, or at the edge of a park, you have met Peoria’s community cats. Some are lost or abandoned pets, and some were born outside and have never lived with people. As the city talks about how to manage them,…

By Dr. Rachael Kuhn-Siegel, DVM, owner of Prairie Animal Hospital in Brimfield, Illinois, serving pets and families in the Peoria area for 12 years. Heartworm disease is a serious, potentially fatal infection spread by mosquitoes, and it is far easier to prevent than to treat. Prevention comes down to an annual heartworm test and a…

By Dr. Rachael Kuhn-Siegel, DVM, owner of Prairie Animal Hospital in Brimfield, Illinois, serving pets and families in the Peoria area for 12 years. If your cat or dog already has chronic kidney disease (CKD) and suddenly stops eating, starts vomiting, or seems much weaker, they may have a new acute kidney injury layered on…

Most puppies need a series of vaccine visits every 3 to 4 weeks, starting around 6 to 8 weeks of age and finishing at 16 weeks or older. If you’ve just brought a puppy home, that schedule can feel like a lot of trips to the vet. There’s a good reason for every one of…

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…

If your dog or cat has a dental cleaning on the calendar, you probably have a few questions and maybe a little bit of dread. That is completely normal. Handing over someone you love for the day is hard, even when you know it is the right call. So here is exactly what happens during…

Pancreatitis is one of those diagnoses that catches families off guard. The dog was fine yesterday. Then he skipped breakfast, threw up a few times, and now he is standing in the kitchen with his front end down and his back end up, looking miserable. It is one of the more common reasons dogs end…

Every week someone comes into the exam room with a question they found online, and I love it. It means you are paying attention. Some of what is circulating right now is useful, and some of it worries me. Here are the five questions I hear most often, answered the way I would answer them…

Every week we hear the same handful of questions in the exam room, and lately they are the same ones filling up pet groups online. Some of them come with a lot of confident, conflicting advice attached. Here are five that keep coming up, answered plainly. Why is my dog suddenly drinking so much water?…

Whether your dog’s favorite spot is a trail walk along the Rock Island Greenway, a backyard in Dunlap, or a muddy creek bank out in Kickapoo, one tiny thing can follow them everywhere: the mosquito. And around here, mosquitoes can bring heartworm along for the ride. If you just got the call that your dog…