One Dog, Two Cats And Three Deer
Transcript for:
One Dog, Two Cats And Three Deer MR. SAM LITZINGER
12:43:40
I'm Sam Litzinger with Dr. Gary Weitzman of the San Diego Humane Society. Ask your animal-related questions, 1-877-610-3647 or animalhouse@wamu.org. Again, our telephone number is 877-610-3647. You can email animalhouse@wamu.org if you prefer to do it that way. That's fine by us. Let's take a telephone call from Barbara. Barbara, glad to have you with us in "The Animal House." Question for Dr. Gary?
BARBARA
12:44:09
I do. I have actually two questions. I'm hoping to get both of the them in.
DR. GARY WEITZMAN
12:44:12
Oh, we'll try to make one of them accurate then.
BARBARA
12:44:15
Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:44:15
On answers anyway.
LITZINGER
12:44:16
We have modest goals here, Barbara. Go ahead.
WEITZMAN
12:44:18
Yes.
BARBARA
12:44:19
Well, recently -- well, over time I had found a sort of mass on the back of my dog who is a Goldendoodle.
WEITZMAN
12:44:28
Okay.
BARBARA
12:44:29
She's about eight years old and for about, I don't know, six months or a year, I've been feeling this thing and just presuming that it was, you know, innocuous, and it wasn't...
WEITZMAN
12:44:38
Yeah.
BARBARA
12:44:38
...it was just a little fatty cyst or something.
WEITZMAN
12:44:40
Right. Okay.
BARBARA
12:44:41
And I took her in about a week ago for shots and pointed it out to the vet and he was disconcerted by -- he said it felt a little odd and sure enough it said it should come out, but he -- and it did. This past Monday it was removed and they're having it biopsied.
WEITZMAN
12:45:00
Okay. Okay. Good.
BARBARA
12:45:01
But he explained to me at one point, I think, in an attempt to reassure me, that these things can -- they're seldom invasive and that...
WEITZMAN
12:45:12
All right.
BARBARA
12:45:12
...they're oftentimes basal cell, but under, you know, dogs get them internally versus humans who get them on the skin.
WEITZMAN
12:45:21
Right.
BARBARA
12:45:21
And so we don't, at this point know what it is for sure. She's come through the surgery, she's sitting right here, and she's perfect, and -- but...
WEITZMAN
12:45:29
Okay. Did he feel like he got it all out, that it was just a separate, you know, mass that he could remove?
BARBARA
12:45:35
He did say that. Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:45:37
Okay. Good. Good .
BARBARA
12:45:37
I mean, I didn't actually -- yeah. I think he did feel like he got it out.
WEITZMAN
12:45:41
Okay.
BARBARA
12:45:41
But I just want to know is that -- is that your understanding that they're typically not invasive?
WEITZMAN
12:45:43
Yeah. Yeah. Actually, you know, the vast, vast, vast, vast, vast majority of them are absolutely innocuous in dogs and to some extent cats, but mostly dogs develop them as they get older with vigor and they're not anything to worry about, but the right thing to do is to always have your vet check them out. And if there's any question in any of our minds, we do a little fine needle aspirate and see what kind of cells it looks like and then go to surgery if we need to, or sometimes just go to surgery if it feels funny.
WEITZMAN
12:46:11
And it's always, you know, better to err on the side of being conservative, but what I would tell everybody out there is that, you know, partner with your vet and discuss it. But your absolutely right, Barbara, I think that was right if he or she was concerned to take it off and find out what it is. But in most of the cases they're absolutely benign. They're called lipomas and they're just a benign mass that's made up of fat cells.
BARBARA
12:46:35
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:46:35
And they do nothing but form large globs underneath the skin. So, you know, it's aesthetic and that's about the worst thing.
BARBARA
12:46:42
If they're not benign, are they then invasive, or they can usually be or you...
WEITZMAN
12:46:45
Well, it absolutely depends on what the cytology comes back as -- what the histology comes back as.
BARBARA
12:46:51
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:46:51
And if it's -- and that's why it's good to send it off. Your vet's right, of course, basal cell tumors are generally benign in dogs. And honestly, in my experience, if you can go in there and just take it out, it's generally a completely benign, innocuous, you know, mass….
BARBARA
12:47:07
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:47:08
...that you don't have to worry about. In the cases where it actually infiltrates and it goes farther, then we watch them. In a lot of cases, those are not a problem either, but, you know, we know that they might grow back. But you did the right thing to get the histology on it from your vet.
BARBARA
12:47:21
Okay.
LITZINGER
12:47:21
Good for you, Barbara. What's your -- now, what's your...
WEITZMAN
12:47:22
But I would say don't worry too much right now.
LITZINGER
12:47:24
Yeah. Until the results come back, and then you can report back to us...
WEITZMAN
12:47:26
Yeah.
LITZINGER
12:47:27
...one way or the other. Now, what was your second question, Barbara?
BARBARA
12:47:29
My second question I wrote in had to do with heat and there was the article about how to keep your dogs cool, and I read it through...
WEITZMAN
12:47:35
Mm-hmm.
BARBARA
12:47:35
...and he had always shaved our dogs and now I have the impression that's not a good idea.
WEITZMAN
12:47:42
It depends on the coat of the dog. There are certainly Huskies and those animals that have the very thick undercoat, Shepherds that you want to get that at least raked out, but seriously, I've seen such a change in a dog's temperament during the summer when they've had a good clip.
BARBARA
12:47:57
Huh.
WEITZMAN
12:47:58
And I think it's a great thing to do. Now, you may not have to do it because my real advice on keeping your dog cool is to keep your dog inside in air-condition.
BARBARA
12:48:05
Right. Right.
WEITZMAN
12:48:07
But, I mean, so it just really depends on how much outdoor activity you're expecting from her...
BARBARA
12:48:11
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:48:11
...and what you're, you know, really what her activity is like, and if she's at all overweight.
BARBARA
12:48:15
Well, I'm keeping it very low at the moment.
WEITZMAN
12:48:18
Yeah. Absolutely. And yours too, I'm sure.
LITZINGER
12:48:20
Right. All the human activity is at a low level too.
BARBARA
12:48:22
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:48:22
But, you know, it's the same thing with, you know, obesity too in dogs. We don't want them to get too overweight because we're not, you know, increasing their activity in the summer. On the other hand, if they are overweight, that is even more of a burden on them to stay cool. So I would say if you're dog seems comfortable, i.e. she's not panting or dragging behind you outside and you're keeping it to a brief activity outside, you're probably doing fine just to groom her and get that coat raked out.
BARBARA
12:48:48
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:48:48
If she really seems like she's uncomfortable in the heat...
BARBARA
12:48:50
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:48:51
...yeah. Get her shaved down. They look like puppies.
BARBARA
12:48:54
All the way down to the skin, or...
WEITZMAN
12:48:56
No. No. No. You know, just a very -- your groomer will know exactly where to go.
BARBARA
12:48:59
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:49:00
But like with a number two clipper and it just goes down so there's sort of a buzz cut around her.
BARBARA
12:49:04
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:49:05
And they're all fuzzy, they look terrific. So I think that's absolutely fine to do. And you know what, your groomer is a really good resource here too.
BARBARA
12:49:12
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:49:13
Because they'll know exactly what to do with your particular mix of dog.
BARBARA
12:49:16
Okay. Well, thank you.
WEITZMAN
12:49:17
But there's no harm in -- no harm in shaving.
BARBARA
12:49:19
Okay, great.
LITZINGER
12:49:19
Thank you, Barbara. You're going to have a fashionable dog I think.
WEITZMAN
12:49:22
Yes. Well, they look like puppies.
BARBARA
12:49:23
She's always fashionable.
LITZINGER
12:49:24
She is. (laugh) Thanks, Barbara. Let's take a telephone call from Ann. Ann, glad to have you with us in "The Animal House." Question for Dr. Gary?
ANN
12:49:32
Yes. I really like the program.
LITZINGER
12:49:34
Well, thank you. It's all Gary. He does all that good work there.
ANN
12:49:36
I know. I know.
WEITZMAN
12:49:38
Thanks, Sam.
ANN
12:49:39
So, my sister lives in Chapel Hill, N.C., and she happens to be in Montana right now and couldn't be able for this. She called -- we are to stay in very close contact through the phone. And she called me one day when she was sitting in her car. She had pulled in, she stopped. When I asked her why she'd stopped, she said to listen to the end of on NPR program and she said when she looked up, there was a mother -- she knows now it was a mother deer...
WEITZMAN
12:50:07
Okay.
ANN
12:50:07
... there was this deer, an adult deer staring at her and she stared back and it seemed to go on for a long time.
WEITZMAN
12:50:16
Okay.
ANN
12:50:16
At that point, she didn't know had fawn. They may have been around. That might have -- but she didn't know that, and she kept wondering...
WEITZMAN
12:50:22
Yeah.
ANN
12:50:23
... what the mother deer wanted, what the deer wanted. She felt she was being asked something and she didn't know how to answer.
WEITZMAN
12:50:29
Oh, I know. I'm sure the deer was wondering what your sister wanted...
ANN
12:50:32
Of course.
WEITZMAN
12:50:32
... sitting in the driveway.
ANN
12:50:34
Right. Right.
WEITZMAN
12:50:35
You know, it's an issue, you know. It's wonderful to live in an environment that abuts the woods and we've got nature all around us. It's kind of like a Walt Disney moment and, you know, deer are certainly -- they are a beautiful creature to run into, especially if we're in a more urban setting. But it happens more and more and it's a problem. And most communities, urban communities anyway, Chapel Hill being one of them, are looking at ways to control and manage the deer population.
ANN
12:51:02
Yes, they are.
WEITZMAN
12:51:02
And it's incredibly controversial as you'd expect and, you know, to me, it always goes back to the question that we wanted to ask earlier about the gophers underneath Sahi's house, is it a problem? So if your sister is driving into her home and there's a deer there, even if she had fawns with her, is it a problem? And, you know, to me it's just a -- it's a beautiful thing to see, but if she has all of a sudden an entire herd in her backyard, that might be. That might be a problem.
WEITZMAN
12:51:32
So the question is how do you control it, and there's anything from deer abatement to try and, you know, culling the deer, which is incredibly, as you can expect, controversial, to finding ways to relocate the deer, to -- it's just very difficult...
LITZINGER
12:51:46
Trying to sterilize the deer I've heard. Everything.
WEITZMAN
12:51:48
Sterilize the deer. Right.
LITZINGER
12:51:49
People are coming up with all kinds of ideas.
WEITZMAN
12:51:51
And it's an issue, and I don't know how big of an issue it is for your sister, but if it's not a big issue, I'd just say live peaceably. It's a good exercise for all of us. If it is an issue, then there are wildlife rehabbers to consult with and there are all these products out on the market that have incredibly variable success rates to try to keep deer off your property. There are chemicals and they're usually nontoxic. I would encourage people to make sure they're nontoxic before they put them down and I don't think that they work that well, but she could always try that.
ANN
12:52:24
Well, I'll just let her decide that.
LITZINGER
12:52:26
Yeah. She's got...
WEITZMAN
12:52:27
Well, there's a way to have both. That would be probably be the best solution. I think the fence is not a bad idea.
LITZINGER
12:52:32
Yeah. That's what -- the way I, Ann, personally out at my place, because we had a vegetable garden for years, and then for the first two seasons it was like a deer buffet, you know, deer came from everywhere.
WEITZMAN
12:52:40
Yeah.
ANN
12:52:41
That's right. That's right.
LITZINGER
12:52:41
And this year I said, you know, I'd like to have some of these vegetables that I planted for myself, so I put up a fence in some areas of the garden and that seemed to work out. So it's a kind of compromise.
WEITZMAN
12:52:51
Yeah.
ANN
12:52:52
Well, that makes sense.
WEITZMAN
12:52:53
I think deer are more beautiful to have on your property than flowers.
LITZINGER
12:52:56
Yeah. (laugh) He's an animal kind of guy.
WEITZMAN
12:52:59
There you go.
LITZINGER
12:53:00
But talk to your sister and then report back to us to see what you've decided at the end the day there. Thank you very much, Ann. Our telephone number is 877-610-3647. Our email address is animalhoue@wamu.org. Let's take a telephone call from Kate. Kate, glad to have you with us in "The Animal House." Question for Dr. Gary?
KATE
12:53:19
Yes. I have two Wedgie Siamese cats, Dexter and...
WEITZMAN
12:53:23
Wedgie?
KATE
12:53:24
Wedgies.
LITZINGER
12:53:25
What does Wedgie mean? What does that signify?
WEITZMAN
12:53:26
I don't even know. What does Wedgie mean?
KATE
12:53:27
Oh, they're the space alien looking Siamese cats.
LITZINGER
12:53:30
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:53:32
Oh. (laugh) Okay.
LITZINGER
12:53:33
I know what you're thinking.
KATE
12:53:33
Skinny, you know, long...
LITZINGER
12:53:33
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Really exotic looking animals, yeah.
KATE
12:53:36
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:53:37
With the pointy noses and -- okay. All right. Interesting.
KATE
12:53:40
And very loving and very friendly and just -- they're even more people oriented, all things being equal than the apple-head Siamese cats are.
LITZINGER
12:53:50
Okay.
WEITZMAN
12:53:51
Ah, okay.
KATE
12:53:52
Well, they -- they're names are Dexter and Jack, and they're 17 years old.
WEITZMAN
12:53:57
Oh, wonderful. Okay.
KATE
12:53:59
And they need their teeth cleaned.
WEITZMAN
12:54:01
Oh, okay.
LITZINGER
12:54:02
Always fun with a cat, isn't it? Yeah.
KATE
12:54:05
Yes. They're in good health pretty much. Jack's kidney numbers are just a little bit off...
WEITZMAN
12:54:13
Mm-hmm.
KATE
12:54:13
...and Dexter apparently has developed a heart murmur.
WEITZMAN
12:54:17
Hmm, okay.
KATE
12:54:18
And I am worried about anesthetizing such old guys.
WEITZMAN
12:54:22
Yeah. Yeah. I understand that, and I would agree, and I would be concerned too. Have you talked to your vet about this?
KATE
12:54:31
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:54:31
Did they recommend the dental?
KATE
12:54:33
Oh, yes. Yeah. Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:54:34
Okay. All right.
KATE
12:54:35
They've got to have their teeth cleaned. That's -- a thing about wedgies is they seem -- their teeth seem to get to need dentals more often than other cats.
WEITZMAN
12:54:43
Oh, right. Because it's that's narrow -- like a Greyhound. It's that narrow mouth, and...
KATE
12:54:46
Oh, really?
WEITZMAN
12:54:47
Yeah. You're right. There's more (word?) bacteria, they do tend to buildup more tartar and plaque.
KATE
12:54:50
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:54:52
Okay, Kate. Here's the thing that we always tell people, and I think this is a conversation that you need to have -- really sit down with your vet and talk to him or her about the next steps.
ANN
12:55:00
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:55:01
But age itself is not a disease, so your 17-year-old cats can be very healthy...
KATE
12:55:07
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:55:07
...and Siamese we know have extraordinarily -- or can have extraordinarily long lives.
KATE
12:55:12
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:55:12
So they could live to be 22, 24. I even had a friend who had a Siamese who was 27 years old.
KATE
12:55:18
Wow.
WEITZMAN
12:55:18
And that's, of course, not the norm, but they are long-life cats. So you're doing the right thing to get them checked up, get blood work done, get a urinalysis, because we know that the, you know, rate limiting factor in cats is the kidneys, and kidney function.
KATE
12:55:33
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:55:33
But I think I would talk to your vet about can they stand the anesthesia. So there's two issues. One is the kidney starting to slow down a little bit on Dexter?
KATE
12:55:42
On Jack.
WEITZMAN
12:55:43
On Jack.
KATE
12:55:44
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:55:44
And then Dexter has the heart murmur.
KATE
12:55:46
Yes.
WEITZMAN
12:55:46
So, I would say that -- I would evaluate both of those. I am a little worried to here about kidney, you know, numbers going up, and then you're thinking about anesthesia...
KATE
12:55:56
Yeah.
WEITZMAN
12:55:56
...so that's the -- that's the conversation with your vet. And then for the -- for Dexter, there being a heart murmur could mean that there's actually underlying heart disease and it may be totally and probably is manageable, but you need to get a diagnosis on that before doing anesthesia, unfortunately. Because if there is any compromise with the heart, you do not want to knock him out until you get that evaluated. So those are two things that I think the answers unfortunately need to come from your vet examining those animals.
KATE
12:56:25
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:56:25
But the questions for you are, can Jack's kidneys withstand anesthesia...
KATE
12:56:30
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:56:31
...and for Dexter, what's the underlying problem with the heart, because you need to get that diagnosed regardless.
KATE
12:56:37
Okay.
LITZINGER
12:56:38
Two conversations or one long conversation with your vet...
WEITZMAN
12:56:39
Okay? A lot to take in.
LITZINGER
12:56:41
...coming up, Kate.
KATE
12:56:42
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:56:43
Yeah. Pretty basic questions.
KATE
12:56:43
Go back to the vet.
WEITZMAN
12:56:45
If you can do it, and everything proves to be okay, honestly animals could use their teeth cleaned when they get older, because -- especially if there's a heart murmur...
KATE
12:56:53
Mm-hmm.
WEITZMAN
12:56:53
...you don't want that, you know, that bacteria and that plaque...
KATE
12:56:56
Right.
WEITZMAN
12:56:56
...getting down into the heart. So it's -- it's very helpful.
KATE
12:56:59
Can they suddenly develop a heart murmur? Because this is the first time it's come up.
WEITZMAN
12:57:04
Yeah. Yeah. They can. And generally if it comes up this late in life, it's probably nothing too serious.
KATE
12:57:09
Excellent.
WEITZMAN
12:57:10
So don't, you know, don't be terrified. I think, you know, always good to have information and it's an echocardiogram. It does not require anesthesia, just a cardiology visit. You know, really even just once to get the diagnosis, but it can happen as they get older and it can be nothing and that's what you -- we're going to cross our fingers and hope.
KATE
12:57:27
Yes. Yes.
LITZINGER
12:57:28
Good luck, Kate.
WEITZMAN
12:57:28
Yeah.
KATE
12:57:29
Thank you.
LITZINGER
12:57:30
Thank you very much, and thank you Dr. Gary.
WEITZMAN
12:57:32
Your welcome. I'm Dr. Gary Weitzman with an "Animal House" pet care tip. It's summer and the heat is on. If your animals have white coats or pink noses, keep them indoors or out of the sun, especially if they happen to be cats. White coated cats with bright pink skin or very susceptible to squamous cell carcinoma. That's a nasty little cancer that can cause them to lose ear tips or worse. Use sun block if you can, and keep your white cats away from the windows on bright days. For "The Animal House," I'm Dr. Gary Weitzman.
LITZINGER
12:58:07
This edition of "The Animal House" is almost finished, but first, here's the answer to our Animal of the Day quiz. Earlier we asked if you knew the name of the species that is its modern-day descendant of Indricotherium, considered the largest mammal ever to walk the earth. The answer is the rhinoceros. Thanks to our guests, Rebecca Katz, Ingrid Newkirk and Douglas Lawson for their contributions today. We also thank Bob James, Acoustic Alchemy and Camille (word?) for their music today. Special thanks to Dr. Gary Weitzman for his work, and thanks to you for joining us in "The Animal House." I'm Sam Litzinger.
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