PET CLINIC by Dr. Jeff Grognet and

Dr. Louise Janes
Arthritis in Dogs and Furballs in Cats

Q: My cat sometimes sits all
hunched up and struggies to
breathe for a minute or so, is it hair
balls?

Dr. J: Cats that swallow a lot of
hair can react in a couple of ways.
When hair catches in the back of a
cat’s throat, the irritation can cause
the larynx (voice box) to spasm,
usually for about 30 seconds.
Because the air passage Is partially
obstructed, the cat must breathe
very hard to gat air into its lungs.
To prevent the problem, reduce the
amount of hair your cat takes in by
brushing him vigorously and fra-
quently.

Hair can also accumulate in the
stomach. when the stomach lining
is irritated, the cat reacted by retch-
ing and vomiting. Hair balls can be
relieved by administering a laxative
that helps the hair pass harmlessly
through the stomach into the
intestines and out with the stool.
l.ong-hairad cats may need this
treatment every day during periods
of Intense grooming — if they are in
a seasonal shedding period, if their

skin is irritated, or if it is hot (cats
lick themselves to cool off).

Q: My old dog has trouble getting
up in the morning and seems quite
stiff, Can | help him out?

Dr. G: Many old dogs, just like peo-
ple, get arthritis (joint inflamma-
tion). The most commonly affected
sites are the hips, spine and
elbows, Dogs with arthritis may
have difficulty getting up and can
be lame.

Arthritic dogs can be kept comfort-
able with medication. For mild
cases, plain old aspirin works well.
There are also stronger aspirin-like
drugs available. “:eroids, especiai-
ly cortisone, are sseful when more
Rotent pain control is needed. A
new human anti-inflammatory
called Peldene is showing promise
for pain relief in dogs. There are
fewer side effects with this drug
than traditional treatments.

Send your questions to Dr. Janes
and Dr. Grognet care of this news-

paper.

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