About Jean Hofve DVM

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So far Jean Hofve DVM has created 306 blog entries.

Coconut Oil and Pets

Updated 5/17/20. Questions about coconut oil keep coming up, so I thought I'd explain in why I recommend not giving it to their cats and dogs. Humans have lived with coconut palms for millennia. Primates, including early humans, ate, and still eat, coconuts. Coconut is a natural food for us. The carnivore's natural diet is high in both protein and animal fat. Wild animals But there are only three essential fatty acids (EFA) that cats must obtain from their diet: linoleic acid (LA), alpha linolenic acid (ALA) and arachidonic acid (AA). ...

2020-05-17T09:59:08-07:00June 29th, 2016|
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Clean Teeth for Good Health

This is such an important subject! We're proud to feature this guest post from our friend Lana Fraley Rich, Catsultant®, at www.Catsultant.com.  Cat's mouth being irrigated after veterinary dentistry procedure Here is an important question for you: Do you know if you have any dental diseases? You may not know for sure, unless you are having regular dental checkups or you are having some kind of discomfort or bleeding. It is not uncommon for people to have asymptomatic dental disease. Many people don’t seek treatment until the problem becomes more advanced ...

2019-06-30T13:21:20-07:00May 21st, 2016|
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Epigenetics

Jean Hofve, DVM; Revised 3/7/21 Epigenetics is the study of changes in the way genes are expressed that do not involve DNA. It turns out that DNA isn’t in charge the way we once thought it was—it's the proteins around the DNA that really control gene expression. These proteins are influenced by the environment. This means that anything in the environment can have a profound effect on any organism, including animals and people. Research in the new field of epigenetics shows that many factors experienced by your pet, or even your pet’s ancestors—from vaccines, ...

2022-03-07T13:54:10-07:00May 19th, 2016|
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Toilet Training for Cats

Our good friend Jo Singer recently spotted an old idea being given a disturbing new life: toilet training a cat. And sorry, no... this is not a "how to" article, it's about "why not"! A 2001 book by Dr. Eric Brotman on the subject is once again the media. Brotman's doctorate is in clinical psychology, not veterinary medicine; that may explain his is utter ignorance about cats! As Jo points out in her article, it is vital to be able to monitor a cat's urine and feces output. In fact, it's one of the best ways ...

2017-03-23T14:13:52-07:00April 14th, 2016|
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Pet Food Contaminants

Updated 3/23/18  As part of my duties as an AAFCO advisor and member of several Working Groups, I attend numerous webinars and teleconferences. In one group, the discussion centered around the use of 4D meats and other rotten junk in pet food, and the consensus was that as long as these things are rendered (heat-processed) to kill pathogens, they're perfectly fine for pet food. Well, that just isn't true. So I put together the following document to show that there are MANY potential toxic principles in pet food that need ...

2018-03-23T21:59:08-07:00March 24th, 2016|
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Homeopathic First Aid: The Ten Best Remedies to Keep at Home

What is Homeopathy? Homeopathy is a system of medicine developed more than 200 years ago by German chemist Samuel Hahnemann. It is a form of “holistic” medicine, in that it takes into account the “whole” organism—its physical, mental, emotional, historical, and environmental conditions. Homeopathy relies on two fundamental principles: “like cures like” and “the minimum dose.” The first principle, “like cures like,” means that a substance, which—in a large dose—would cause a certain symptom in a healthy individual, will, in homeopathic potency, cure the same symptom in a sick individual. For instance, Syrup ...

2023-09-30T15:10:35-07:00March 4th, 2016|
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FDA Finds Toxic Sludge Going Into Animal Food

Many thanks to our good friend Mollie Morrissette for her excellent reporting on this issue. This is one more reason for why it is so important to have consumer representatives at AAFCO meetings--we provide a layer of protection (and a warning to these guys that we are watching!) when feed suppliers want to use harmful or non-edible feed materials. A similar ingredient ("Fat product, feed grade") was discussed at the last two meetings, and despite opposition from industry, was finally banned. Company warned to stop using revolting feed additives: Industrial grease, ...

2020-05-18T13:55:32-07:00February 25th, 2016|
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CatsWalk December 2015

In this issue: Cats Aren’t Loners For millennia, cats have been considered “loners” and “aloof.” But it’s absolutely not true. Recent research shows that cats can be just as affectionate and social as dogs; they just have different ways of showing it. One human behavior often… Read more → Holiday Safety for Cats and Dogs The holidays can be a stressful and even dangerous time for our cats. Normal routines are upset, visitors come and go, and overly tempting smells may be coming from the kitchen! The Christmas tree is ...

2017-03-23T13:59:27-07:00December 1st, 2015|
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Cats Aren’t Loners

For millennia, cats have been considered "loners" and "aloof." But it's absolutely not true. Recent research shows that cats can be just as affectionate and social as dogs; they just have different ways of showing it. One human behavior often provoked by the cat's theoretical loner-ness is leaving the cat alone for a weekend or holiday, with a big bowl of food and a bowl of water. That's not okay according to our friend Layla Morgan Wilde, who wrote a thought-provoking article, "Cat Myths: Home Alone." Folks who think it's ...

2017-02-18T13:29:01-07:00December 1st, 2015|
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Holiday Safety for Cats and Dogs

The holidays can be a stressful and even dangerous time for our cats. Normal routines are upset, visitors come and go, and overly tempting smells may be coming from the kitchen! The Christmas tree is the first item of great interest on your cat’s Santa list. Many cats find it irresistibly tempting to climb. First, make sure your tree is in a sturdy stand. Test it to make sure it’s tip-proof. Or put a hook in the ceiling and tie the tree to it (nylon fishing line works well and ...

2017-03-21T18:25:46-07:00November 30th, 2015|
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Yucca

Photo credit: Jean Hofve Updated 6/6/20 There have been a few myths about the desert plant Yucca schidigera floating around the internet. In particular, some are suggesting that yucca is not safe as a daily supplement, even though it's present in many pet foods. So it's time to set the record straight! Yucca is an extremely versatile and useful plant, but in large doses it is seriously irritating to the entire GI tract. There's a lot of it growing wild around my Colorado home, and it's definitely not ...

2020-06-06T18:41:28-07:00November 29th, 2015|
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When You SHOULD Induce Vomiting

We recently discussed when NOT to induce vomiting after your pet has eaten certain harmful items. Today we’ll look at common situations where you should induce vomiting (how-to instructions below). Rodent poisons often contain anti-coagulant (blood-thinning) drugs such as coumarin or warfarin; newer products contain bromethalin, a neurotoxin that is equally dangerous. If a pet ingests an anti-coagulant, or even eats an animal that has consumed it, life-threatening internal bleeding may occur. While symptoms typically take 5 to 7 days to develop, they need to be headed off by inducing ...

2017-03-23T14:00:21-07:00November 5th, 2015|
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Rabies Vaccine Reality Check

Thanks to my good friend Dr. Karen Becker at Mercola.com for this incredibly important article! By Dr. Becker I have some encouraging news to share about rabies vaccines, or more specifically, how pets with out-of-date vaccinations that are exposed to a rabid animal should be handled. Currently, if a pet with a lapsed rabies vaccination is exposed to a rabid animal, the law in many states requires the pet to be quarantined for several months at the owner’s expense, or euthanized. In October 2014, a Brockton, Massachusetts woman was forced ...

2018-06-09T13:51:41-07:00October 29th, 2015|
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