You would think that making a hotel reservation in San Francisco 10 months in advance might guarantee you would show up on the appointed day. You would think that by talking about this proposed trip to your fellow staff members, every day, all day, starting a week in advance would promote your cause and that you would, indeed (for once), be on time. San Francisco isn’t that far away.

 

My choice of careers sometimes leaves me sweating. We work by appointment but I rarely bother to check my schedule. Planning ahead is great but means nothing because truly, illness is not planned, nor are emergency hit-by-cars or BBBD’s (Bit by Big Dogs) or other accidents. So I show up on time and pack my lunch. From there I proceed as directed. Helping animals is interesting and fulfilling for me and it is rare for me to begrudge an intrusion into my “personal” time.

 

I felt a little frisson of apprehension when Donna, the Zookeeper of Merced City’s Applegate Park Zoo, mentioned that Mac wasn’t eating. It was the day before I was supposed to leave. Mac is our Mountain Lion. He and I go way back – so far back that he is actually my namesake! Mac was sent to the Zoo as an orphaned cub weighing only 5 pounds. Mountain Lions (felis concolor) are also known as cougars or pumas. They range in the foothills and mountainous areas of our region. Our Zoo cares for a population of native wildlife that has been orphaned or injured, deemed non-releasable to the wild and would otherwise be humanely euthanized. We provide these animals a safe home and in turn provide an educational resource for our community to learn about the birds and animals indigenous to our area, from the waterfowl that migrate through our great Valley to our unique variety of Birds of Prey. We are enriched by the mountain lion, bobcats, black bears, foxes, coyote, and deer found within our zoo and native from Merced up to Yosemite National Park.

 

Mac was spotted and spunky, with a baby “roar” that sent shivers down your spine. He had to be bottle fed, but didn’t tolerate the Kitten Milk Replacer (KMR) he’d been started on. I called a wildlife expert at UC Davis and they advised that tigers and lions should not be fed KMR, only smaller cats. Who knew? We straightened out his formula and Donna, the Zookeeper, put hours of care into bringing him back around.  Mac was vaccinated, microchipped and neutered and grew into a gorgeous, well-muscled young lion. In the early morning hours he could be found intently creeping along the ground, stalking young visitors outside his pen. The kids never noticed. Donna he fell in love with, and will answer her and purr just at the sight of his foster Mom. For Donna’s part, she respects his wild nature. Donna knows that one playful swipe of his enormous paw could gut her. She stays outside his fence at all times.

 

Animals in the Zoo have the benefit of living much longer lives than they might in the wild, being well fed and receiving medical care. On the downside, they are not as active nor do they have the stimulus of hunting for their food. Avid zookeepers search for ways to enrich the environment of their charges and many novel sights may meet your eyes as you tour the Applegate Zoo. Mac has a log cabin and a very high “mountain perch”. He has a large “kiddie” swimming pool which he especially enjoys in the summer and has been known to nap in. Mac the Mountain Lion also loves soft cuddly towels but may not have them because he eats them.

 

The Zoo is supported in part by the Zoo Society, through fundraisers. Each year for Halloween they put on “Zoo Boo”, decorating the Zoo in spooky costumes and offering safe trick-or-treating. Mac hates Zoo Boo. Like the “Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, he hates the noise, noise, noise! So when he went off his food this year, no one was worried at first. But 2 days went by, the ghosts and goblins were gone and still he wasn’t eating. Now, a Mountain Lion who needs an exam is no easy patient. So at noon on Friday (San Francisco on hold) we had to squeeze him up close enough for me to inject an anesthetic. Once asleep, I examined his mouth for anything caught in the back of his throat but it was clean, so off we went to the vet hospital. An x-ray of his abdomen revealed that his stomach was packed full of “something” that didn’t belong there! Into surgery went Mac! We opened up his abdomen and hefted out a very heavy stomach. Once opened in a procedure called a gastrotomy we removed 2.2 pounds of firehose, wadded up in big mountain lion-sized bite sized pieces. Mac had been offered this as a play toy for “enrichment” but had chewed it up and eaten it instead. Many sutures later he was all put back together and returned to his home at the Zoo, where he is making a full recovery and already looking for more mischief to get into. And yes, I made it to San Francisco after all. Good grief!

 

Christine B. McFadden, DVM

drmc@mcmenagerie.com

 

Subtitled : Big Dogs and Harnesses

 

I have made a huge scientific discovery! Hold your breath just a moment more and I’ll share it with you. Now science, as we all know, is based on evidence. Evidence starts as a belief that must be supported by facts; a fact is something that can be proven. Facts are often supported by research. Do you remember Robert Koch from your school days? (From your science classes, of course). In 1890 he published a paper called “Koch’s Postulates” which outlined four criteria that had to be met to determine if a particular bacteria or microbe caused a disease. This was groundbreaking evidence at the time. Or possibly your school days were spent in other studies, as the Mock Turtle in Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, who was only able to take the “regular courses”. When asked what he studied he replied : “Reeling and Writhing of course, to begin with, and the different branches of arithmetic- ambition, distraction, uglification, and derision.” Whatever courses you chose to study, I shall refresh your mind about Koch’s Postulates.

 

Dr. Koch required four criteria to be met (modified wording):

1. The microorganism or pathogen must be present in all cases of the disease. (A pathogen is often a bacteria or virus that causes disease)
2. The pathogen can be isolated from the diseased person or animal host and grown in pure culture.
3. The pathogen grown in culture must cause the disease when given to a new, previously healthy patient.
4. The pathogen must be again isolated from the newly sick host and identified as same.

 

In 1890 Dr. Koch created guidelines for the scientific community as researchers hurried to determine the underlying cause of many diseases. Badly needed at the time, Koch’s Postulates have come to be refined and modified as Science has become more sophisticated and modern technology continues to open up areas of exploration where truly, no man (or woman) has gone before.

 

I wish to invoke Koch’s Postulates as the gold standard upon which I have built my own fabulous contribution to the Body of Knowledge known as veterinary medicine or maybe Truisms of Life or maybe just What Always Happens When a Large Dog appears in a Pink Harness. Here we go.

 

McFadden’s Unvarying Inviolable Life Truth:

“Large Dogs in Pink Harnesses Will Bite You.”

 

Please, take your seat, no standing ovation necessary.

 

The pathogen here is the harness. The disease is uncontrolled behavior. And I fudged a bit – Large breed dogs in ANY harness will try to bite you. Dogs in PINK harnesses will probably try to attack you. Maybe it’s the embarrassment of being caught out in pink. Boy or girl dogs.

Number 1. The harness must be present in all cases of the not-well-controlled lunging dog.

Number 2. The harness can be removed from the dog and a proper collar replaced, one capable of delivering correction and asserting control, and dog manners will improve considerably.

Number 3. Large dog harnesses, cultured under grow lamps in a factory, will, when bequeathed to a new Shephard or Husky or what-have-you, produce equally out-of-control dogs without any sense of boundaries in their life. As they jump at you, clawing your legs or snapping at your hands their owner will assure you that they just want to play.

Number 4. Remove the harness from the poorly trained dog (yep, it’s the harness) and start over. Postulates fulfilled.

 

I’m definitely on to something here.

 

Christine B. McFadden, DVM

drmc@mcmenagerie.com

 

If you’re ever stranded in Alaska in survival mode and must save yourself by eating a polar bear (before it eats you – polar bears are one of the most dangerous bears around) do NOT eat their liver! Eating a polar bear liver could kill you! (they accumulate huge amounts of Vitamin A in their livers, which is toxic at high levels). Livers fascinate in other ways. Liver is considered one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat, packed with vitamins, minerals and protein. Packed with iron to prevent anemia. Think French pates, liver and caramelized onions, foie gras. But the liver doesn’t start out as a benefit for our tables, this important abdominal organ is best known as the body’s “workhorse” or factory. It is considered the most crucial organ in the body. (The heart is obviously very important, but it doesn’t do half the things the liver does to keep a body going). Tucked under the diaphragm that divides the abdomen from the chest, the liver’s dark maroon lobes fill the upper right side of the abdomen. The liver makes body proteins and blood clotting factors. The liver makes enzymes and antibodies and detoxifies the blood. It is the only internal organ capable of regenerating itself when damaged.

 

She was a dog as straightforward as her name. “Patty” was a blue merle Australian Shepherd. She grew up on a farm, did her chores, followed her master faithfully and if a cow kicked at her or some mud got in her coat she just accepted it and kept going. Patty had a job to do. Vaccinations and visits with the vet were also just a part of life and she accepted that and moved on. Petting and treats from strangers were accepted graciously but certainly not begged for. Patty knew her value.

 

Every good athlete eventually faces that moment of recognition when the youngster can run faster and jump higher. So it came to pass that Patty, with all her experience of years and dog smarts, was noticeably slower than the younger dogs she had helped train. Time to start her on some arthritis medication. Wonderful news, it helped. Patty could still put on a good show. She’d been on medication for about four months when her owner carried her in to the vet hospital one morning. Patty wasn’t eating, had been vomiting. And she wouldn’t even get up to check out the barn in the morning. Something was very wrong.

 

Should you ever see any creature, animal or human, suffering from jaundice you will not soon forget it. From across the room the whites of Patty’s eyes glowed neon yellow. I lifted her lip to inspect her gum color and instead of a healthy bubblegum pink color they also glowed a dull yellow. The insides of her ears were eerily yellow. Patty was jaundiced, or in medical terms “icteric”. Jaundice means to turn yellow. The yellow color comes from a pigment found in red blood cells that have broken down. The liver is supposed to help process this

by-product, then wash it into the intestine so it can pass out of the body. If liver function is compromised, this yellow pigment called bilirubin will build up in the bloodstream to toxic levels, turning mucous membranes and even skin yellow. Patty was in critical condition.

 

Bloodwork, x-rays and an abdominal ultrasound all provided answers to different pieces of the puzzle. We were able to determine that although Patty’s liver function was severely compromised, she did not have an infection or cancer. Although a working farm dog, Patty had not been exposed to pesticides or other toxins. Our differential included the possibility that she was suffering an adverse reaction to her medication. Patty was hospitalized and started on intensive IV therapy to flush the bilirubin out of her system. Medications to relieve other symptoms of nausea and provide hepato-protection were also administered intra-venously. We monitored her progress  through daily blood tests. Over 48 hours passed before we could visibly see the fading of yellow from her skin. Patty made it. To be safe, we changed her arthritis medication to one processed by the kidneys. The cows sent their thanks.

 

Christine B. McFadden, DVM

drmc@mcmenagerie.com

 

 

 

 

Perhaps you are familiar with the ostrich craze that swept America in the 1990’s? These enormous non-flying land birds from Africa were seen as the ultimate in sustainable goods : High protein, low fat meat, extracting up to 60% of useable food from the average bird. Standing over 6 feet tall and with the average male ostrich weighing 250 lbs, this meant over 125 pounds of steak per bird. The hide could be used for high-end leather handbags and shoes while the feathers are highly sought after by the costume, millinery and fashionista trade. Very little of an ostrich goes to waste. Add in the calculation that an adult female can produce upwards of 35 eggs per year (read $$$$) and you’re talking some real possibilities here. The fact that support facilities and  processing plants for meat and feather production didn’t exist in the United States did not dim their enthusiastic reception here.

 

Ostriches are birds. So SOMEBODY had to provide their medical care. Enter the Avian Veterinarian. Now way back when, when I was bucking for the honor of becoming a Board- Certified Avian Practitioner, I was champing at the bit for this very opportunity. I lucked out! Several ostrich farms set up business right here in Merced County! Smaller farm holders jumped on the wagon and introduced other ratites, the Emu and Rhea, also large land birds. Emus hail from Australia and may be viewed at our own Applegate Zoo as Good Citizen ambassadors from our sister city in Australia.

 

Where to start? Well, first you must catch your ostrich. As most farmers lacked any kind of facility and cattle chutes don’t fit ostriches, I had to rely on a sweatshirt sleeve. Just roll a cut-off sleeve over your arm. Offer something to the curious ostrich and as it stretches its head over the fence quickly grab the beak and slide the sleeve over its eyes. Once blinded, the bird will quiet down and become very docile. I did this successfully exactly once. All other times, if it could out run me  – at speeds of 40 mph – it did. One farmer called me out to examine his limping ostrich. I blocked half the afternoon and off we drove, my assistant and myself, way out past Winton. No one thought to ask if he had confined the bird. I wasn’t used to making ranch calls and we just assumed he would supply the cowboying, we the medical expertise. I was wrong. The bird was running freely over quite a large section of hilly pasture, dotted with rocks. If the bird was limping it wasn’t obvious to me as it disappeared out of sight behind a thicket.

 

Fortunately for me most of the birds I was called out to examine were very ill and non-mobile. Unfortunately for the birds, an adult ostrich that is down is highly likely to die.

 

So when adult bird medicine proved less than successful I turned my interest to egg and juvenile problems. The eggs didn’t hatch. If they did, the yolk wouldn’t properly absorb into the abdomen (kind of like your belly button not closing up properly. Only they needed the yolk to live off the first few days, both for food and maternal antibody transmission). If they made it past the first day they had to be trained to eat by another ostrich or they’d starve. Without enough exercise their legs turned crooked and they couldn’t walk. Juveniles had to be dewormed and some contracted the pox virus just like local chickens, developing black spots on their face and beaks. Everywhere I turned it was a mess.

 

We were all scrambling for answers. Ostrich care was a hot topic amongst veterinarians, with an ostrich-only conference formed to address their unique birdy needs. On the drive to Las Vegas to attend this conference our car over-heated in some desert town where I was stuck with three children under 6 years of age and a husband who knew nothing about cars and wanted lunch. Neither a gas station nor a fast food place was to be found. The husband asked for an airport because it wasn’t fun and he wanted to go home. I couldn’t even find him a Greyhound bus. (Yes, I looked). It was not an auspicious start to the conference, which I eventually attended…..I found few answers to the medical problems of ostriches but heard a lot from veterinarians investing in them. The hotel provided only showers in which to bathe small children and I gave up in defeat and came home. A few short weeks later I was called out in the early morning to an ostrich that had been brought down by a pack of stray dogs. I drove out to the farm through a torrential downpour. The bird lay in the mud, exposed to the rain. So was I. He had a deep laceration on one side with no other visible wounds. I deemed he had a decent chance of survival, so we decided to sew him up and treat him for shock and infection. Using local anesthesia, I was able to care for the wound. Someone fashioned a shelter out of hay bales and tarp. Surgery completed, I slid and slipped my way through the rain and mud back to the car, sterile instrument tray tucked under my arm. The hair spray on my head had clumped together in tufts not unlike moist cotton candy. I looked like mud. And then I felt the little creatures running over my head, little ostrich lice. Now I know as well as the next person that lice are “species-specific”, that they couldn’t actually, like, BREED on me. They were just having a little fun. One shower and they’d be gone. I knew that. Nonetheless, it was at that moment that I questioned my dedication to the ostrich.

 

My ostrich practice faded away (just say “no”) and it was all a mute question when the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) decided that ostriches were not birds but livestock and therefore I wasn’t covered as a Small Animal/Exotic practitioner to provide care. I didn’t fight it.

 

Christine B. McFadden, DVM

drmc@mcmenagerie.com

 

 

 

 

Zack was long and lean, his black tiger stripes sharply outlined, muscles rippling as he prowled around the exam room. A Domestic Shorthair cat (DSH), he claimed two humans as his own and they were devoted to him. Zack was magnificent in his prime, weighing in at 14 1/2 pounds. As a kitten he liked to chew on electric cords. His owners claimed he got zapped and was “slow” for months but assured me he eventually returned to normal. Since “normal” included enjoying being vacuumed, I always had the sense that Zack liked to live on the edge. He had tons of personality! When Zack was 10 years old he was brought in because he was visiting the litterbox with unusual frequency. In addition to frequent urination he had lost weight, down to 11 pounds. The rest of his examination was not unusual and I suggested we check some lab work, running both blood and urine tests. The initial tests came back very high in glucose (sugar) in both the blood and urine, suggesting Zack might have diabetes. We ran another test, fructosamine, which in a cat tells us how high his blood sugar has been for the last 2-3 weeks. Zack’s test was very high, confirming Diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes). He was started on daily injections of insulin and responded beautifully. He ate more slowly, urinated only a few times a day, and re-gained his lost weight.

 

Zack was maintained on this therapy for four years. As he entered his senior years you would never know that he had an affliction. His owners had incorporated his insulin injections into their daily routine and Zack thrived, bossing them pretty badly. When he was 14 years old Zack came in for his annual exam, but things weren’t quite right. He was eating heartily but had dropped in weight again. Was it the diabetes or was he just “getting old”? His muscles had thinned with the atrophy of age and he moved more slowly, perhaps a bit of arthritis? He was a little less black, a little more grey in his tabby markings. Zack was also a whole lot more grumpy about submitting to a blood test!

 

This time the tests came back positive for Hyperthyroidism. An over-active thyroid gland was producing way too much thyroid hormone (T4). People talk a lot about hypothyroidism, the opposite condition when not enough hormone is produced and the body becomes sluggish, often obese. Hyperthyroidism in cats is the exact opposite. When the cat has too much thyroid hormone circulating in its blood stream the body’s metabolic rate increases. Excess thyroid hormone stimulates the heart to beat faster and may cause enlargement of the heart or even lead to heart failure. High blood pressure (hypertension) can damage the eyes, kidneys, heart and brain. The underlying cause for hyperthyroidism in a cat is a tumor, commonly a thyroid adenoma which is overwhelmingly benign and unlikely to spread anywhere else in the body.

 

If the tumor in the throat is very large it can sometimes be removed surgically with great success. Because of the disease effects on the heart and kidneys in these older cats the risk of surgery and potential damage to the parathyroid gland that sits side-by-side must be thoroughly considered before surgery is recommended.

 

Most cats will start a course of methimazole, an oral medication that reduces specifically the production of thyroid hormone. Very effective, it controls the disease but cannot eliminate it. Each cat is monitored via blood tests to maintain their T4 at optimal levels. If the cat has kidney function problems, the T4 will be kept higher because the increased blood pressure is beneficial to perfuse the ageing kidneys. It’s a delicate balance. Once a cat is regulated on medication and the T4 level desirable, an owner may also consider referral to a center for thyroid irradiation. The thyroid gland needs iodine to function. It is easy to attach a radioactive particle to iodine, which is selectively picked up by the thyroid and then destroys the abnormal gland, leaving all other body tissues alone! Woohoo! A cat treated with irradiation will be cured of the tumor and hyperthyroidism! The down side of radiation therapy, admittedly a big one, is that the procedure is expensive, well over $1,000.

 

The upside for cats is that the oral medication is very effective. Most cats are well controlled with this medication and live out a normal lifespan. Super-Cat Zack is entering his 16^th year and is as feisty as ever!

 

Christine B. McFadden, DVM

drmc@mcmenagerie.com