Blog Posts by vetstreet.com

cat with extra toesRegular cats have five toes on their front feet and four on their back, for a total of 18. But polydactyl [pronounced pol-ee-dak-til] cats boast more toes, usually on their front feet.

If the word polydactyl sounds Greek to you, that's because it is - the Greek root poly means "many" and daktylos means "digits or toes." The record holder for most toes was a kitty named Jake, who had a whopping 28.

Polydactyl cats are known by many names, from "Hemingway cat" and "mitten cat" to "big-foot cat" and "six-toed cat" - or even "cats with thumbs."

See Also: Why Does My Cat... Shed His Claws?

• The first scientific record of polydactyls is in 1868. They were mostly found in the northwestern United States and Nova Scotia. One theory is that the first mitten kittens were brought to America by English Puritans in the 1600s.
• Famed American writer Ernest Hemingway became a fan after a ship's captain gave him a six-toed cat. Descendants of that cat still live in

By Vetstreet.com

A number of human foods are dangerous to pets. Many of these foods may seem tasty to our pets but can prove deadly if eaten. It can be very tempting to offer pets food from the table, but pets should not be given human food unless recommended by your veterinarian.

If you suspect your pet may have eaten a dangerous food, contact your veterinarian immediately. In many cases, early recognition and treatment are critical.

See Also: How to Keep Your Pets Food Safe (and Recognize When It's Not)

Keep that coffee away from kittyChocolate, Coffee, and Caffeine

Chocolate contains theobromine, a chemical that is toxic to dogs in large enough quantities. Chocolate also contains caffeine, which is found in coffee, tea, and certain soft drinks. Different types of chocolate contain different amounts of theobromine and caffeine. For example, dark chocolate and baking chocolate contain more of these compounds than milk chocolate does, so a dog would need to eat more milk chocolate in order to

By Linda Fiorella | vetstreet.com

Meowing CatFrom gentle head nudges to a quick flick of a tail, cats are masters of subtle communication.

But while most felines aren't too inclined to meow their opinions, there are some cats who are downright chatty.

See Also: Why Does My Cat... Head Butt Me?

According to Dr. Ilana Reisner, DVM, PhD, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist at Reisner Veterinary Behavior & Consulting Services in Media, Pa., if it's clear that the object of a cat's meow is a human, she likely wants something.

"That might be anything from food to opening a door to an indirect communication of 'worry' about something else in the environment," Dr. Reisner says, adding that your chatty kitty could also just be saying that she's happy to see you.

Each kitten is born with a "baseline noisiness," Dr. Reisner says, noting that some Siamese and other Oriental breeds tend to be very chatty, which points to a genetic basis.

By Yvonne Claire Stecher

Can Pets Get the Flu?Recent news reports, such as this ScienceDaily article, have been covering the potential for transmission of flu from humans to animals. These reports have caused pet owners to wonder if they are putting their own animals at risk. But how realistic are these fears?

We put that question to Dr. Tony Buffington, a professor of clinical sciences at The Ohio State University and a member of the vetstreet.com veterinary advisory board. According to Dr. Buffington, researchers at his university say that while there is evidence of possible exposure to shared flu viruses between pets and their owners, there is as of yet no documented report of a clinically sick dog or cat and a sick owner sharing the same infection.

That's not to say such an infection can't happen, but at the moment, it hasn't been reliably documented.

VIDEO: Dr. Marty Becker on How To Protect Your Dog From the Flu

In the meantime, Dr. Buffington advises dog and cat owners to

By Dr. Marty Becker l vetstreet.com

Should Dogs Sleep in Your Bed?Q. We just got a new puppy, and my wife doesn't want him going upstairs in our house, where the bedrooms are. I think it's mean to keep him downstairs, especially when we're all in bed at night. How can I convince her to let him treat the house like his home?

A. In my lifetime, and in my more than three decades as a practicing veterinarian, I have seen dogs move from the barnyard to the backyard to the bedroom - and into the bed itself. My own dogs, like many others, have fully made this transition, but I can remember well the first time I pressed my father to let our farm dog sleep in the kitchen during a big snow storm. The dog would have been just fine in his insulated area in our barn, but in he came, and the Becker dogs have been pretty much inside ever since.

Related: Why Does My Dog... Sleep Belly Up

(And the fact is, I wouldn't want to push my wife too hard into choosing between me and her precious Quixote if there were room

By Shayna Meliker l vetstreet.com

Rayden and his toothless catA Utah boy's tragedy is pulling at heartstrings across the world, thanks to a letter that the 8-year-old wrote to his local newspaper about his cat's untimely death. Rayden Sazama composed the note after his pet, Toothless, was mistakenly euthanized by the Cache Humane Society - after the boy's father turned up at the shelter to claim the cat.

"Yesterday grown-ups killed my kitty, my best friend, when they weren't supposed to," wrote Rayden.

In the letter, published in The Herald Journal, Rayden lays out the sad turn of events that led to his cat's demise: He and his 5-year-old brother began to worry when Toothless didn't return home for two days, prompting them to go door-to-door through their neighborhood to ask people if they'd seen the cat.

Although none of the neighbors admitted to seeing Toothless, the family would later find out that some neighbors had actually played a part in the kitty's disappearance.

Also on Vetstreet:

By Arden Moore l vetstreet.com

The winner of the 2012 American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards is about to be crowned at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

The black-tie, star-studded event - everyone from Betty White to Jewel will be in attendance - is designed to honor the many amazing canines who make a difference in the lives of countless people, ranging from therapy pups to search-and-rescue dogs.

Also on Vetstreet: Why Does My Dog... Sleep Belly Up?

This year eight dogs are vying for the top title, and Vetstreet caught up with the handlers and owners of four of the heroic canine contenders.

Gabe, the Military Veteran

Although he's now retired, this Labrador Retriever completed more than 210 combat missions in Iraq, and successfully sniffed out 26 explosives and weapons finds, earning him three Army Commendation Medals.

"We were deemed the most productive military dog team in the theater of Iraq in 2007," says Gabe's former

By Dr. Patty Khuly l vetstreet,com

Why Does My Dog Eat Poop?Dog eats poop. Pet owner gags. Dog eats poop again. Pet owner runs screaming from the room.

Yes, it's disgusting. Yes, it's potentially unhealthy. And, yes, it's fairly common in the animal world.

Related: Why Does My Dog... Kick Grass After Pooping?

A pup will eat his own poop for a number of reasons:

• He thinks it smells and tastes good. (Dogs are notoriously poor arbiters of taste.)
• He's hungry.
• He may be missing key nutrients in his diet or suffer malabsorption.
• He likes to keep his territory or bedding clean.
• He has fun playing with it. (This is especially true for dogs that are mouthy.)
• He's bored.
• He knows that removing the evidence means no punishment for inappropriate elimination.
• He knows that fewer predators will give him grief if there is no physical evidence of his having been around.

There may be other reasons for routine coprophagy, as the condition is known. It can be hard to