There are many choices out there for pet insurance. Here are some tips to simplify your decision:
DO
- Research pet health insurance policies before or soon after you obtain a pet.
- Enroll your pet when healthy.
- Ask your veterinarian which illnesses are most likely to affect pets like yours – and investigate coverage for those ailments.
- Ask your veterinarian, hospital staff and friends for pet health insurance company recommendations.
- Compare policies offered by at least three different companies.
- Make sure you understand how the policies will calculate reimbursement of benefits.
- Ask how often your premium will change and why.
- Ask how much your premium will be in the future.
- Ask how long the company has been in business.
- Ask if the numbers of claims submitted affects your premium.
- Choose the deductible and required co-payment you can afford.
- Visit independent websites with customer reviews of providers and policies.
- Visit each company’s Facebook page to see what comments their policyholders are posting.
DON’T
- Wait to get a policy until your pet needs medical care. Pet insurance policies will not cover pre-existing conditions.
- Make a decision solely on advertising. Read the fine print on how the policy actually works.
- Base your purchase decision on cost alone. A low premium now may not provide enough benefits when needed later, while a higher premium may be affordable now, but may become too costly to keep in the future.
For a comparison of the most common pet insurance companies please click on this pdf link. http://veterinarybusiness.dvm360.com/vetec/data/articlestandard//vetec/122013/808464/article.pdf#page=1&zoom=150,0,761
Have you ever wondered what to do with the used syringes or needles from your pets insulin or fluids? If you were thinking you should not just throw them away in the trash you were right. Each town in Massachusetts has a specific place you can take them to. For example here in Watertown you take them to the Administration Building for the Health and Fire Department at 149 Main Street. You do need to call ahead to (617) 972-6446 to find out the drop off schedule and if they have any restrictions. That is true of any of the needle disposal sites. To access the PDF list of all the disposal sites here in Massachusetts please click on the link below.
http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/aids/needles-syringes-disposal.pdf
As pets get older, they may develop new, undesirable behaviors. This can be caused by changes in the household, stress, or the effects of disease and aging on the body, including the brain. Changes in eating, elimination habits, personality, and activity levels might be the first signs of an emerging health problem. In fact, behavioral changes may be the first or only sign of medical conditions such as pain, a decline in sensory or organ function, endocrine diseases, or brain aging. Most dogs are considered middle-aged at 7-8 years (around 4 years for large breeds) and senior at 10-11 years (around 6 years for large breeds) while cats are considered middle-age at 7-10 years and senior at 11-14 years. It is important to report any changes in the health or behavior of your senior pet to us immediately. We will work to detect any emerging problems during wellness exams, though a physical exam and potential blood and urine screening tests. These will help detect changes even before there are physical signs of disease. Since pets age much more quickly than we do, senior pets require more frequent wellness visits.
There are many examples of the behavioral changes you can see due to disease or aging. Pets that are in pain from dental disease or arthritis may be more irritable, more aggressive, more fearful, less active, or less hungry. Pets that begin to lose their hearing or sight may be less attentive, sleep more soundly, and startle when approached. Diseases that affect the nervous system can have a wide variety of effects on behavior including personality changes and disorientation.
Changes to the brain in older animals is similar to that in elderly people. The changes can be anywhere from nothing at all to dementia. This can occur as early as 8-9 years old in dogs and slightly older in cats. There is a wide range of signs associated with brain aging, including the following.
Disorientation: Some typical signs could be getting lost in familiar areas, getting stuck behind furniture, or showing decreased responsiveness to sights and sounds.
Activity changes: Your pet may begin to sleep more and play less. There may also be an increase in activities such as restless pacing, licking, and repetitive barking.
Sleep cycle alterations: Pets may experience restless, unsettled sleep, or waking in the night.
Changes in social interactions: Pets may become less interested in greeting or social play with familiar people or pets. Some may also become more irritable.
Apathy and depression: Pets may have less interest in people, other animals, toys, eating, and grooming.
Anxiety: Signs of anxiety include fear of sounds, people, or environments; clinging to family members; and an increase in irritable aggression.
Learning and memory problems: The ability to adapt to new environments and learn new tasks may be greatly impaired. Dogs may no longer respond to some of their previously learned commands, be less able to perform tasks learned in agility or obedience training, or be less able to function in the work for which they were trained (e.g., drug-sniffing dogs, seeing eye dogs). Housesoiling may also be a sign of declining memory in both dogs and cats.
We can determine the cause of these physical signs by completing a physical exam, a neurologic exam, and diagnostic tests. Depending on the findings, more specialized testing, such as an ultrasound or brain imaging, may also be needed.
There are some things you can do for your pet that can help. For example, recent data suggests that keeping pets physically and mentally active improves cognitive function. Exercise your pet daily, play games frequently, review simple obedience commands during daily walks and play, and occasionally provide new toys. The type of toy with a compartment for food or treats that makes your dog actively work for food is especially effective. If your dog has diabetes or renal failure more frequent trips outside or a doggie door would be helpful. Your cat may need to have the litterbox cleaned more frequently, need a larger litterbox, or require a litterbox that is more accessible if he has failing sign or arthritis.
Taken from Senior Moments handout from AAHA
Is your cat cat or dog on a special diet? Are you having trouble finding an acceptable treat for them? You can use their actual food to make treats. Canned food can be cut into bite-sized pieces and cooked in the microwave for 2.5 to 3 minutes or in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Dry food can be ground into flour using a blender and then water is added until it is the consistency of dough. Make into cookie shapes and bake for approximately 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
- Do not leave your pet outdoors when temperatures drop below freezing. Dogs need outdoor exercise, but take care not to keep them outdoors for lengthy periods of time during very cold weather. Pets that are mostly indoors need time to adapt to cold temperature by building up a thicker coat and toughening their footpads for ice and snow. Short-coated dogs may feel more comfortable wearing a sweater during walks. Dogs and cats are safer indoors during all sorts of extreme weather.
- Care for your pet’s feet. If your pet walks on salted or chemically treated areas, be sure to wash its paws after your walk. Gently rub the bottom of the feet to remove these irritants as soon as your dog is off the road. Many dogs need boots in cold weather, regardless of their coat length. If your dog frequently lifts up its paws, whines or stops during walks, it may be demonstrating that its feet are uncomfortably cold.
- Wind-chill is a threat to pets, even those protected by shelters. Outdoor dogs must be protected by a dry, draft-free doghouse that is large enough to allow the dog to both sit and lie down comfortably, but small enough to retain body heat. The floor should be elevated a few inches off the ground and covered with cedar shavings or straw. The entrance of the doghouse should be turned to face away from prevailing winds, and the entrance should be covered with a flap of heavy waterproof fabric or heavy plastic.
- Pets who spend a greater amount of time outdoors in the winter need more food. Maintaining warmth depletes energy. Routinely check your pet’s water dish to ensure the water is fresh and not frozen. To prevent your pet’s tongue from freezing to its feeding or drinking bowl, plastic, rather than metal food and water bowls are preferred.
- Never leave a pet locked inside a car during extremely cold weather. Cars can actually act like a refridgerator, holding in cold air, putting your pet at risk.
- Be leery of frozen bodies of water. Always keep your pets on a leash when walking them near suspected frozen bodies of water. The ice may not be sturdy enough to support your pet. If a pet falls through the ice, do not attempt to rescue your pet yourself; call 9-1-1 or go for help.
- Antifreeze and de-icing chemicals can be hazardous. Many types of antifreeze have a sweet taste than can attract animals. Always store antifreeze out of reach and clean up spills. Antifreeze made with propylene glycol can actually be swallowed in small amounts and not injure pets, wildlife or humans.
- Warm automobile engines are dangerous for cats and small wildlife. Parked vehicles can attract small animals, which may crawl under the hood seeking warmth. To avoid injuring hiding animals, bang on your car’s hood to scare them off before starting your engine.
For additional information about keeping your pets safe, go to the State of Massachusetts Animal Response Team (SMART) website at www.smart-mass.org.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is the state agency responsible for coordinating federal, state, local, voluntary and private resources during emergencies and disasters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. MEMA provides leadership to: develop plans for effective response to all hazards, disasters or threats; train emergency personnel to protect the public; provide information to the citizenry; and assist individuals, businesses and community to mitigate against, prepare for, and respond to and recover from emergencies, both natural and man-made. For additional information about MEMA and Winter Preparedness, go to www.mass.gov/mema. Follow MEMA updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Courtesy of Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association
1. Chocolate or coffee
Vomiting, rapid heart rate and signs of anxiety can be seen with the ingestion of as little as 1/4 ounce of baking chocolate by a 10 pound dog. Coffee can produce the same effects.
2. Christmas tree preservative/water
Preservative may contain fertilizers, which, if ingested, can upset the stomach. Stagnant tree water can be a breeding ground for bacteria, which can also lead to vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea.
3. Ornaments, ribbons, tinsel
While none of these are directly toxic, ribbon and tinsel can cause life-threatening gastrointestinal blockage.
4. Holiday plants: holly, mistletoe, lilies, poinsettia
Eating holly could produce nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. If a dog or cat ingests mistletoe, gastrointestinal upset and possibly even cardiovascular problems could result. All parts of lilies are highly toxic to cats, with the potential to produce life-threatening kidney failure even from small ingestions. While the toxic potential of poinsettia has been greatly exaggerated, mild stomach upset could still occur if ingested.
5. Yeast dough
If swallowed, uncooked yeast dough can rise in the stomach and cause extreme discomfort. Pets may experience abdominal pain, bloat, vomiting, disorientation, and depression. Since a breakdown product of rising dough is alcohol, it can also cause alcohol poisoning. Many yeast ingestions require surgical removal of the dough, and even small amounts can be dangerous.
6. Table food (fatty, spicy), moldy foods, poultry bones
Poultry bones can splinter and cause damage or blockage in the gastrointestinal tract. Spicy or fatty foods could possibly lead to inflammation of the pancreas. Moldy or spoiled foods could produce food poisoning, tremors, or seizures.
7. Macadamia nuts
In dogs, ingestions can produce vomiting, weakness (particularly in the hind legs), depression, lack of coordination, and tremors.
8. Alcoholic beverages
If ingested, alcohol can potentially result in vomiting, diarrhea, lack of coordination, central nervous system depression, difficulty breathing, tremors, acidosis, coma, and even death.
9. Grapes, raisins
Ingestion of raisins and grapes have been associated with acute kidney failure in dogs.
In the state of Massachusetts, any time your pet is bitten by another animal, there is a potential risk of rabies virus exposure. It does not matter if the animal is wild or another dog or cat.
If you see your pet bitten by another dog or cat, try to identify the owner. You want to see a written rabies certificate for the dog or cat that bit your pet. If you cannot identify the owner or the owner is unwilling to cooperate, notify the animal control officer. If you cannot prove the other animal is properly vaccinated and your pet is properly vaccinated for rabies, it is important that your pet is vaccinated again for rabies as soon as possible.
If your pet is outside unobserved and comes into the house with a cut or puncture wound, it is possible that your dog or cat was exposed to the rabies virus. He or she should be examined by your veterinarian as soon as possible. If there is evidence of a wound, by state law, your veterinarian will re-vaccinate the possibly exposed pet if he or she is up to date on the rabies vaccine. If he or she is not up to date on rabies the pet will be placed in a 6 month quarantine. During this time he or she will not be allowed outside, except for dogs to go to the bathroom, and must interact with as few people and other animals as possible. Anytime you are not sure what happened when your pet was outside, call your veterinarian.