Filling Pet Prescriptions at Human Pharmacies

I recently came across a very disturbing article in a veterinary publication about the errors being made by human pharmacists when filling prescriptions from a veterinarian. The Oregon Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) conducted a survey to determine how often mistakes are occurring; and the results are horrifying! Examples of these errors include: • Changing Insulin. Pharmacists may substitute a cheaper product for the prescribed insulin. They do not understand that the many different types of insulin are not interchangeable. Using the wrong product may cause serious problems for pets. • Thyroid hormone ...

2017-03-23T14:33:43-07:00November 21st, 2012|
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Declawing Alternatives

Updated 5/17/25 Declawing is a brutal orthopedic surgery that amputates 1/3 of the cat's paws. It irreversibly changes the way the cat walks and can lead to many long-term complications including chronic pain, arthritis, and behavior problems. All reasons for non-medical declawing have non-surgical alternatives. There are many humane choices will still protect both human and feline health, as well as sofas and Persian rugs: Scratching posts, mats, corrugated cardboard, logs, softwood boards, sisal rope Training (yes, cats CAN be trained!) Regular claw-trimming Rotary sanders (Dremel) Nail caps (SoftPaws, Soft ...

2025-05-17T15:49:30-07:00November 17th, 2012|
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Can You Make Your Cat Sick?

This is a question many people would like to know more about! Animal disease transfer to people is called "zoonosis." Humans transmitting diseases to their pets is called "reverse zoonosis." How and why this happens is still poorly understood. But veterinarians wonder if pets could be getting sick from humans, and not the other way around. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, "While new strains of flu can evolve from animal populations and ultimately move into human populations, it now appears that humans have passed the H1N1 flu to ...

2017-03-23T14:34:09-07:00November 13th, 2012|
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What Your Vet Must Tell You about Vaccines (but probably won’t)

Many thanks to our good friend Jan Rasmusen for the following video and information. Click here to browse her vast resources on vaccines and more. Please be sure to sign this petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/veterinarians-fully-inform-us-before-vaccinating-our-dogs-and-cats The Darker Side of Pet Vaccination: A Video to Save Lives My sweet Maltese Jiggy died in August. His last moments are pictured here. His descent into lifelong illness started 11 years ago with rabies vaccination and puppy shots gone wrong. Vaccine-induced autoimmune liver disease — yes, this is a well-known reaction – eventually spawned two unrelated kinds ...

2017-03-23T14:04:28-07:00October 14th, 2012|
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Rice Bran – No Good for Cats!

You would think that cat food manufacturers would make sure that the ingredients they use are safe for cats. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Rice bran is what makes brown rice brown. It is the fibrous outer portion of the rice grain. Many cat foods incorporate brown rice and/or rice bran; these are allowed ingredient in pet foods. Unfortunately, a study done about 10 years ago found that rice bran depletes taurine when fed to cats...and because brown rice includes the bran, researchers speculated that it may also ...

2012-10-10T20:34:20-07:00August 10th, 2012|
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AVMA vs Raw Food

Updated 8/1/26 In 2012, the AVMA adopted a policy position against raw meat diets for pets. Originally, it cited six studies that did not actually support its conclusions. This article was first written to rebut those conclusions. Update (2026): The AVMA has since revised its policy. It still discourages feeding raw or undercooked animal-source proteins, but it now recognizes scientifically validated pathogen-reduction methods other than cooking or pasteurization. This is a welcome improvement over the original policy. This article has been substantially revised to reflect developments in the scientific literature ...

2026-08-02T10:14:12-07:00July 25th, 2012|
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Tell FDA: Label Genetically Modified Foods!

Did you know that 85% of corn and more than 90% of soy in the US is genetically modified? GM foods may cause serious damage to your body, but the FDA does not want to give you a choice whether to eat them or not. According to the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption, including infertility, immune dysfunction (which can contribute to allergies, asthma, and inflammation), accelerated aging, insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation. GM foods also directly damage ...

2015-06-02T13:51:08-07:00July 12th, 2012|
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Declawing: A Physical Therapist Assistant’s Perspective

Thanks so much to by Ruth Y. for letting us post her great article about the long-term physical effects of declawing! (Originally posted at Pictures-of-Cats.org). There are many good reasons to be against declawing, but the most persuasive are perhaps those which deal with the changes in a cat's functional mobility and the potential for arthritis later in life. I suppose these are the reasons that speak to me because I work as a physical therapist assistant. I recently entered this field, in part because I enjoyed a course in anatomy and ...

2012-07-02T15:15:53-07:00June 6th, 2012|
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Relief for Declawed Cats

So, your cat is declawed: maybe it was done prior to adoption; or a landlord or  family member may have insisted on declawing, your veterinarian may have talked you into it, or you just didn't know at the time how physically and psychologically damaging declawing is. But at this point the damage is done, and it is irreversible. Now what?  Fortunately, there are things you can do for a declawed cat to help relieve pain and improve quality of life. 1. If you think your cat may be experiencing declaw ...

2017-08-19T11:52:44-07:00June 6th, 2012|
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Chronic Pain of Declawing

Declawing is an extremely painful procedure. According to the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP), "Physically, regardless of the method used, onychectomy causes a higher level of pain than spays and neuters. Patients may experience both adaptive and maladaptive pain; in addition to inflammatory pain, there is the potential to develop long-term neuropathic or central pain if the pain is inadequately managed during the perioperative and healing periods."  (Emphasis added; please note that veterinarians who claim that using a laser decreases pain are not justified by the facts; using a laser ...

2016-03-04T13:24:16-07:00June 6th, 2012|
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Green Cleaning

Mercola.com has a very good article on "green" household cleaners--and why the ones you buy at the store (even those that claim to be "green" or that you get from the health food store) may actually be no safer for you or your pet than the other toxic brews on store shelves. By Dr. Mercola Commercial cleaning products, even "green" ones like Simple Green, clean faster than soap and water can. But this is because they contain small amounts of the most powerful grease-cutting class of chemicals known -- glycol ethers. ...

2018-08-02T21:59:59-07:00May 30th, 2012|
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A Declaw Story

NOTE: One of our readers, Karen Whitaker, contacted us with this story about her cat Sasha, and has graciously (and courageously)  given us permission to post it. Thank you so much, Karen, for telling your story, and helping people understand the devastating consequences of declawing. This kitty probably isn't the image anyone has of animal cruelty. I however am as guilty as any other perpetrator, although it was not my intent. After our precious kitten destroyed a substantial amount of furniture and exhausting every anti scratching methodology I ...

2012-07-04T14:09:18-07:00May 28th, 2012|
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Cat Litter Roundup & Review

Updated 9/18/25 Kitty litter used to be so simple. When I was a kid, it was my job to tear newspaper into strips for the cat's box. Easy peasy. Then they invented clay cat litter, and later clumping clay litter, and cats became America's favorite pet thanks to their adaptability to apartment living. But clay litter has problems (which we'll talk about in a minute), so companies have come up with a wide variety of alternatives. Kudos to the folks who are trying to make a cat-friendly litter from non-toxic ...

2026-08-03T20:24:04-07:00April 30th, 2012|
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Mad Cow Discovered in California

I'm in California this week (May 2012) visiting family...and there are so many interesting things happening here! But of course, the one that may most profoundly affect our pets is the discovery of a cow infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or "Mad Cow Disease"). The cow was, as usual, a dairy cow. Dairy cows are the only cattle that stay alive long enough for BSE to be an issue, as the disease takes several years to incubate and manifest. Beef cattle are typically slaughtered too young to show symptoms. ...

2017-03-23T14:46:34-07:00April 26th, 2012|
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