Blog Posts by vetstreet.com

By Dr. Patty Khuly | vetstreet.com

Cat BitesIt's a conundrum, for sure. One minute your beloved kitty is over the moon with pleasure as you scratch her favorite spot and the next thing you know you're left staring at tooth marks on your arm.

You're not the only one suffering. Many pet owners call this common behavior "Love biting," but feline behaviorists have given it a more formal name: Petting-induced aggression-and it's a poorly understood topic.

Typically, a friendly cat seeks out human attention, only to turn on his lavisher of attention once the affection seems to have gone on for too long. Owners describe these cats as changing from friendly to feral "like a light switch."

See Also: Why Does My Cat... Knead Me?

Despite the perplexing nature of this uniquely feline way of acting out, a couple of possibilities have been proposed to explain why cats might do this:

1. It may be a manifestation of so-called status-induced aggression, in which cats seek to control a

By Dr. Andy Roark

ThinkstockLast year, in a much-discussed New York Times article titled "Let's (Not) Get Physicals," a physician reporter named Elisabeth Rosenthal argued that annual physical examinations for human patients are pointless. She cited a Canadian government task force recommendation to abandon annual physical examinations because they are "nonspecific," "inefficient" and "potentially harmful" (in that they may lead to unnecessary tests). The task force said examinations should be replaced with intermittent screening tests for age- and risk-specific conditions (mammograms, Pap tests, etc.). Dr. Rosenthal argued that this logic is sound in the United States as well.

See Also: 10 Questions Veterinarian's With Pet Owners Would Ask

Scrutiny of annual physical examinations for people does not come as a surprise. Health care costs are soaring, and research consistently shows annual physicals don't save lives. Most treatment is started because a patient feels sick and comes

With all the glitz and glamour that comes out of Tinseltown (not to mention the endless tabloid fodder), it's not always obvious that many celebrities are animal lovers, too. In fact, some stars use their fame to go above and beyond for pets and wildlife. Click to see which celeb do-gooders make us say, "Hooray for Hollywood!"

Credit: CBS via Getty ImagesBob Barker

You Might Know Him From: Barker served as the host of The Price Is Right for 35 years, retiring in 2007.

How He Helps Animals: Those who have seen The Price Is Right know that Barker closed each show with a plea to viewers to spay and neuter their pets. He was the spokesperson for Be Kind to Animals Week in 1985 and in 1987 and stepped down as host of the Miss USA pageant because real animal furs were offered as prizes. The former game show host's DJ&T Foundation has raised millions of dollars and helped support animal rescue and neutering programs.

See Also: Celebrity Pets That Had a Great Year

Photo courtesy of The Ellen DeGeneres ShowEllen DeGeneres

You Might

By Dr. Patty Khuly | vetstreet.com

Tattoo NeedleRecently, a man who describes himself as an artist and a dog lover took his tattooing trade a tad too far for most animal lovers' taste when he tattooed an intricate design on his young dog's belly.

"Cruel and unusual" was the general consensus from those who were infuriated by the act. On his tattoo parlor's Facebook page, dog defenders cited the pain of the tattooing process and the pointlessness of an elaborate illustration that does little more than serve one man's ego.

In response to the outrage over his dog's ink, the proud owner of this crop-eared bully dog asked, "What's the big deal?" He claims he adores his dogs, paid a lot for them, and is therefore entitled to mark them however he pleases. To further his point, he highlights the fact that he's done so "artistically."

Related: All About Microchips and ID Tags - Why Your Pet Needs Them

Tattooing serves a purpose, he explained. "What do they do

By Amy Sinatra Ayres | vetstreet.com

San Antonio Humane Society / Facebook -- Sesame, a 2-year-old Shar-Pei, has a new home after two surgeries on his wrinkles. Sesame, a 2-year-old Shar-Pei mix at the San Antonio Humane Society in Texas, had so many wrinkles on his adorable face that he couldn't see, and the wrinkles covering his ears were leading to infections.

Related: 8 Most Wrinkled Dog Breeds

After surgeries in February and March, Sesame is recovering well. Although his vision was damaged, he is more playful than ever.

"He can basically see what we are assuming is shadows … but he can definitely see now," said the shelter's director of communications, Seamus Nelson. "He's just so happy to be outside. Imagine not being able to see for your whole life and then suddenly being able to."

And Sesame's story now has an even happier ending: he was adopted on Friday by a woman who's an experienced Shar-Pei owner. Read it at ABC News

More on Vetstreet.com:

* 10 Insects & Creatures Dangerous to Cats and Dogs
* One Type of Mulch Is Very Toxic to Dogs
* Can All Dogs

By Linda Lombardi | vetstreet.com

Photo courtesy of the Indiana Academy of Science If you live in the Northeast, soon you'll be hearing the drone of periodical cicadas. They've been living underground for 17 years. Now they're back, and they've got one thing on their mind - finding a mate.

The male cicadas make the distinctive noise with an organ under their wings called the tymbal, which is sort of like a drum pad. "Basically the calling attracts the cicadas to the treetops," says Michael Raupp, professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, who has a website called Bug of the Week. "It's a way for them to aggregate. They're saying, 'Party up here!'"

It may be music to their ears, but to us, not so much. In fact, the group call is so similar to the sound of machinery that even the cicadas are sometimes fooled. "Leaf blowers, weed whackers, even some riding lawn mowers send out vibrations that trigger the same response, and the males will swarm users of these power tools," says Gene Kritsky of the

By Dr. Andy Roark | vetstreet.com

ThinkstockJust last week, while I was performing euthanasia for a critically ill patient, the pet's owner looked at me and said, "I bet this is the hardest part of your job." That gave me pause.

For me, putting animals to sleep is not one of the hardest parts of being a veterinarian. That's because euthanasia is often a blessing and gift to a suffering animal. In my experience, the hardest part of being a veterinarian is telling owners that their beloved pet has a terminal illness and will soon be leaving this world. The emotions that pass across their faces, even if they have suspected the worst for some time, are heart-wrenching.

Related: Euthanasia - Why Some Pet Owners Choose to Stay and Some Choose to Go

I still remember the first person I had to share this terrible news with. He was a nice, middle-aged man with two small children and an 8-year-old Rottweiler named Stone. Stone was a member of the family, and when he

By Dr. Marty Becker | vetstreet.com

What can second-hand smoke do to dogs, cats and birds?Q. As part of a workplace stop-smoking class I'm taking, the instructor said secondhand smoke is as bad for pets as it is for people. Is this true?

A. If you've been looking for one more reason to stop smoking, you may have found it. Your instructor is correct: Secondhand smoke puts both people and pets at risk. Health authorities believe secondhand smoke kills thousands of nonsmokers every year, and though the number of pets affected isn't clear, the risk is.

• In cats, exposure to cigarette smoke produces higher than normal rates of mouth cancer and lymphoma.
• In dogs, being around secondhand smoke increases the odds of nasal cancer.
• In birds, lung cancer shows up more frequently with exposure to smoking in the home.

See Also: 26 Common Household Items That Are Dangerous to Pets

A study by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University looked at the link between secondhand smoke and cancer in cats and found