As we move into the winter season, both human and animal allergies start to resolve until the next seasonal challenge begins. Some animals are plagued with year-round issues. Others only have seasonal challenges. There is no textbook consistency when it comes to allergies.  Some animal medical conditions always behave in a certain way. This is not the case for allergies. Let me share some opinions I have about allergies that I feel must be considered to find some success in treatment and therapy.

1.  Always have your pets on flea and tick prevention year-round. If your dog or cat are Itching, get them on good flea control. Talk with your veterinarian since we have an injectable Flea and tick, Bravecto Quantum, for dogs that lasts for an entire year. Don’t tell me you don’t have fleas. A flea is impossible to find in small numbers. One flea bites a dog or cat 50-60 times a day. That will make them itch. I have sent people home with good flea/tick prevention and that solved the problem. One dog may have an allergy to flea bites and that dog itches and the other pets in the home show no reactions. This is why all dogs and cats should be on good flea/tick control.
2. Skin infections must be treated along with allergies, or you will struggle to get resolution of the itching.  That includes bacterial or fungal infections. If your dog smells like corn chips, they probably have yeast on their skin and need medicated shampoos to get rid of that. Dogs that lick and chew at themselves create a perfect environment for yeast to thrive and create more itching. Antibiotics may be needed if the skin is broken or has scabs/pustules present.
3.  Realize that your dog will always have allergies. This is not something that can be treated and will not return. Many dogs start with allergies sometime between 2-5 years of age. It starts out minor with some feet licking or ear itching. With each passing year the symptoms intensify.  Eventually the symptoms will be so intense that you cannot sleep. You get exhausted watching your dog scratch or chew all the time. Google tells you to try antihistamines or probiotics but nothing works. 
4. Itching of ears and eyes can be only on one side. I cannot explain this. I just know that we see it all the time. Every year that same ear or eye flares, or it will switch to the opposite one. No consistency as I mentioned in my opening statement.
5. Year-round allergies can indicate food sensitivity. I like to do food trials in the winter months since we reduce the allergic response of the environment. If we offer hypoallergenic diets during an 8–12-week period and the pet improves, we can then hope as we approach warmer seasons the allergy response will be less. Talk to your veterinarian about food trials if you think this could be part of your pet’s issues.
6. It is possible to have an intense allergy reaction one year and nothing the next year. All I can think of is that in a dry summer different plants pollinate than in a wet summer. Summer 2025 we had more rain than usual so possibly there are different plants pollinating different years. Your pet may be more reactive to plants that pollinate one year more than another. Again, this is my opinion.
7. Our current allergy products are successful if they reduce the itch by 50%. The companies that make these products like apoquel and cytopoint do not guarantee 100% success in stopping the itch.  Do some dogs respond better than others when using these products? Most definitely. Cytopoint can be given as often as once a month, but many dogs get 8 weeks of improvement. If your dog is itching and it has been a month, go get another cytopoint injection. If you are using apoquel daily and your dog has an intense allergy flare, increase the apoquel to one tablet every 12 hours for up to 2 weeks. Drop back down to daily dosage after the two weeks to reduce the immunosuppression seen at higher levels for longer periods of time.
8. Most dogs will have a season where nothing seems to work sometime in their life. If you did everything right, medicated shampoos, flea and tick prevention, allergy medications, antibiotics, special foods etc., you may still have an itchy dog.

The dog’s allergies will intensify with each passing year. That can create challenges when it comes to treatment. Years ago, before Cytopoint and Apoquel, many dogs were managed on steroid injections or medications. It did suppress the allergic response, but the dogs had many other undesirable side effects. Dogs drank way too much water and therefore urinated inappropriately while on the medication.  The dogs had a huge appetite and gained weight on the steroids. Long term we saw hormonal issues especially with the adrenal gland. We were excited for the new options to treat allergies but on rare occasions we must go back to steroids to control some dog’s allergy responses. Speak with your veterinarian if you feel the quality of life for your pet warrants steroid usage.

• Purebred dogs and mixed breed dogs all have potential to have allergies. Years ago, it was thought that a mixed breed dog had less health issues than purebred dogs. I think we all can say that is an old wife’s tale. With the introduction of “doodles” mixes we see as many allergies in them as we do the purebred pets.  We see one in a litter have issues and others in the litter are completely normal . No different than children in a family. Lots of variety there as well.
• Final observation is that frost is our friend when it comes to allergies for many pets.  I now tell people Thanksgiving is when we can expect to see a solid frost in Iowa. That season has just come and gone. Hopefully if you have been battling allergies in your pet, relief is coming. 

Opinions are not based on scientific evidence. These are just observations after years of working with pet owners and their allergic pets. 

Cats are a whole different ball game. Fortunately, cat allergy issues are less common. If you see seasonal itching in a cat, talk with your veterinarian. My experience is ear itching during certain seasons of the year with some cats. They can be strictly indoors and still have ear itching.  A topical medication placed in the ears will help reduce the symptoms until a sold frost appears.

As we enter into the final month of 2025, I want to thank you for reading my blogs. I hope your Christmas Season is filled with family and friends. I hope your pet’s allergies are controlled. I wish for good health and joy in the New Year. See you next year.

This month I want to share information about Rita Heywoof, a 4-year-old red merle Australian Shepherd.  She has been a patient at WVC since she was 4 months of age. She had her puppy vaccinations and the owners decided to do the Lyme and Bordetella vaccinations also. They spread out those immunizations to reduce how many vaccinations she would get at one time. She was fully immunized and spayed by the time she was 7 months of age. Rita Heywoof was protected from parasites with Proheart and Bravecto. 

Since the breeder had done the Rabies vaccination, we updated that in October 2022 all by itself. When she retuned a month later in November we clustered her Bordetella, Lyme, and DHPPL vaccination on the same day. Two hours post vaccination they called that she was showing abnormal symptoms related to vaccinations. 

What are vaccine reactions? How will I know if my pet is having a reaction? If it happens once, will it always happen? These are always good questions to discuss with your veterinarian even before the vaccines are given. The vaccine reactions are varied from case to case. I will discuss the less severe reactions first and end with the anaphylaxis reactions that are the most concerning.

No different than humans, our pets can have minor reactions after vaccinations. 

• Injection site swelling
• Low grade fever/sleeping more
• Limping if injection given around a leg
• Crying/yelping at time of injection

All these symptoms are minor and will resolve within a few days. These symptoms indicate that your dog’s immune system is responding to the vaccine that was given. That is a good thing. If your dog does not show any sensitivity that is normal as well and does not mean they will not be properly protected.  Dogs have different levels of pain tolerance just like their humans. There is no one size fits all when it comes to vaccine reactions.   

Anaphylactic reactions are more intense reactions that can have dogs and cats showing different signs from above. These reactions usually begin within 4-6 hours after the vaccinations are given. There is no way to know if your dog will have a vaccine reaction. The reaction may be mild the first time but with subsequent vaccinations it can become more intense and life threatening. I have seen immediate vaccine reactions and delayed vaccine reactions. The immediate ones happen before the dog or cat even left the room. The delayed are usually later in the day. 

Symptoms that are most common with anaphylactic reactions are:

• Swelling of lips. eyelids, ears, muzzle
• Hive like bumps on skin
• Breathing changes – wheezing
• Vomiting / diarrhea
• Shaking/collapse
• Seizures

As you can see these symptoms are much more concerning. If this happens to your pet after vaccinations, please contact your veterinarian. We cannot offer prevention if we are not aware that your pet reacted after vaccines were given. Sometimes the treatment is as simple as giving Benadryl to reduce the symptoms. We have clients that will return to the clinic for an epinephrine injection to reduce the severity of the vaccine reaction. This is also something that can be done in the future to prevent the vaccine reaction going forward. We also will often separate the vaccines in the future so we can determine which one caused the reaction. This will require more veterinary visits but can sometimes prevent the reactions from happening again. Some people give Benadryl before and after the vaccines are given to prevent vaccine reactions. Rarely do we need to stop giving the immunizations all together.  Most animals can handle the vaccines if the above steps are put into place. 

If you happen to have a critter that has severe reactions every time vaccines are given no matter what is done, speak with your veterinarian. I only know a handful of patients in my 38 years of practice that had complications with every vaccine all the time. The immunizations are important so please have a conversation with your veterinarian if you are seeing vaccine induced reactions.

Occasionally a delayed vaccine reaction can occur. This can happen days to weeks after a vaccination.  The symptoms most often noticed with a delayed reaction is lethargy, fever, lump at vaccine site, vomiting or diarrhea. If a pet has these symptoms and vaccines were given within the last few weeks, please tell your veterinarian about these as well. Some of the same options can be implemented to reduce incidence of delayed reactions too. The delayed reaction we see most frequently is fever in cats a few weeks after the vaccine was given. Many time the fever is self-limited but on occasion a patient may need an anti-inflammatory to reduce the symptoms. 

The importance of vaccinations outweighs the potential concerns for vaccine reactions. Statistics show 1.3 – 13 reactions per 10,000 doses given. Smaller dogs (less than 11 lbs) may have a higher sensitivity to vaccines. Therefore, consider not doing multiple vaccines at the same time. Spread them out to reduce incidence of reactions. Certain breeds may be predisposed to vaccine reactions so talk with breeders or your veterinarian prior to immunizations about your concerns. If a pet has had a previous vaccine reaction than it is important to consider pre-medicating prior to the vaccination with Benadryl or something similar. This often will prevent the reaction from occurring.

As fall is settling in be sure to continue your flea and tick prevention. I know I mentioned our new year long Bravecto Quantum. If your dog is due for a flea and tick treatment, consider doing this injection.  It has been offered to dogs of all sizes and has had no negative responses at WVC. How nice to have one shot for the whole year and not have to think about giving another pill or topical for the life of your dog. Make your appointment today. Happy Halloween!

What is a geriatric cat? Veterinarians usually consider geriatric cats to be over 12 years of age. Many factors can cause a cat to appear geriatric sooner. The first big one is obesity. We have a huge problem in our indoor cat population with obesity. The Garfield concept which began in 1978 was embraced and many thought it was cute to have these big overweight cats. This is far from the truth. Obese cats can start showing geriatric signs as young as 5 years of age related to joint problems, diabetes, heart conditions, respiratory issues, etc. A fat cat does not equal a happy cat. Do not let marketing tell you anything different.

Nutrition is responsible for obesity only in that many people free feed their cats. This is not a good idea.  How would you look if every day you were presented with an all-you-can-eat buffet. Can some cats stay skinny being free fed? Maybe a small percentage but usually there is another health reason why they eat less. They may have gingivitis. They may have an aversion to something in the food they eat. All cats should be offered just a certain amount of food each day. If you have multiple cats, then just make certain to only put out a certain amount of food daily and when it is gone there is no more. I encourage people to feed at night so they will not wake you in the early morning expecting their food. Also consider using automatic feeders. This has helped many of my clients avoid being harassed by their cats as they get close to feeding time. 

Kittens eat double what an adult cat eats. Senior cats often eat less so we need to consider senior foods that give the proper nutrients for that age group. It is challenging when you have cats of different ages.  Realize that if you are feeding a kitten adult cat food they will not have proper muscle and bone development which could lead to other health issues when older. Clients comment that their parents had lots of cats outside and they all ate the same thing and did just fine. I respond by saying did they live 15-20 years? The average life span of a cat in the 1970’s was 7-9 years.  Let’s not go backwards with our aging felines. What can we do to help them live longer and be healthier during those senior years. 

My basic recommendation is ½ cup of dry cat food per adult cat per day. This is a starting point. If your adult cat is in and out and playing all day with the dog, then we need to adjust the volume as needed.  Most cats leave food at each meal. Stop adding the extra volume and only give what they eat in a day. If you change to a different cat food that can alter your volume of food. You must keep track of kilocalories/cup of each diet that you are feeding so you know what they need in a day. If you notice they are getting thicker over the rib cage and losing the waistline behind the ribs, it is time to adjust. They should feel the same as an adult cat as they do as a kitten over the ribs. If you notice your cat is leaving food for more than 24 hours and usually, they eat it all, do not delay in seeking veterinary care. Often people wait and cats can start to turn their liver cells to fat cells when not eating for 2-3 days. This is called Hepatic Lipidosis and can be challenging to treat. Cats are good at hiding their illnesses. Instinctively they do not want to show they are ill. They will avoid interaction with other pets. They will sleep more. They will not groom themselves. They will sit hunched up or move slowly. They will eat less or not eat at all. They will drink more water and pee larger volumes of urine in the box. This is not a good thing. Changes like this need to be addressed. We have many ways to help with the different geriatric diseases we see in senior cats.

The most common diseases are diabetes mellitus in obese cats that gradually get skinny. Many will drink more and pee more as well. Usually have a great appetite but may be vomiting food more frequently.  Hyperthyroidism in senior cats comes with a great appetite. They never miss a meal. They drink lots of water and have large urine clumps in the litter box. They continue to lose weight even though they eat all the time. Renal (kidney) disease shows weight loss, drinking lots of water and larger amounts of urine like the other two diseases mentioned. The difference is kidney cats will have days they eat well and days that they don’t eat. They have an on and off appetite. Some will vomit bile or food or both. This shows another reason not to free feed cats. You never know who is eating and how much to monitor their health issues.

In 2022 a new product was introduced to help our senior cats with osteoarthritis (OA).  We have been limited in the past with OA medications for cats. Many products for dogs cause health issues when given to cats at lower dosages or for extended periods. This injection is like the dog Librela injection, but it is only for cats. It is called Solecia. It is given monthly for OA pain relief in cats. We have used it in many aging felines and people have seen a dramatic improvement in their activity when given monthly.  It is a commitment to come to the clinic each month for the injection, but I assure you your cat will thank you.

Royal Canin has a Feline Senior +12 diet for cats that has helped many elderly cats. Never underestimate the improvement that can be seen just by improving the quality of the diet. If you are wondering whether to change diets on your already finicky cat, certainly reach out to your veterinarian. Do not trust online sources with this information. Our cats need as much veterinary care as dogs do. Unfortunately, many families do not bring their cats for routine exams and immunizations. We see the cats when a crisis happens. Often treating them during and after that event can be difficult. Please have your cat seen each year so weight and health can be monitored year after year. This will allow some health conditions to be caught earlier and hopefully treated more successfully.

Oral care is another geriatric concern. Since cats do not eat a lot of food and are not fond of having their teeth brushed we see tarter and staining of adult teeth. We have broken teeth on occasion. It is difficult to get a cat to chew on hard surfaces to protect their teeth and gums. You can brush a cat’s teeth with cat toothpaste. It must start when they are small kittens. We encourage the same thing with nail trimming to let them understand this is a part of life. I am amazed at how good their teeth look if someone is committed to brushing their teeth at least 3-4 times a week. We can do oral cleaning and polishing under sedation for any cat that is having issues with their teeth.

Some things to consider if you have a senior cat in your home. They struggle grooming themselves for a variety of reasons as they get older.  Be certain to brush them more frequently to help remove excess hair and dander. Consider locations of litter boxes and whether the stairs are an obstacle for them to use the boxes easily. Consider use of canned food to give more calories and moisture in their daily diet.  Many senior cats are losing weight and so they can get cold easily. Find ways to keep them warm. Vision and hearing are often impaired as they age. Be aware they may not be able to move out of your way like they did before so watch for them before stepping backwards  

Hoping that you can use these helpful hints to get your cat to live a longer healthier life. Don’t ignore symptoms of weight loss, increase drinking or increase peeing. Those 3 things are a flag that something is happening. We would love to see them before it becomes a crisis. Cats need veterinarians too. Get an annual check up so when things start to change for your cat, your veterinarian can assist you in a plan that is best for your cat’s long-term health. The oldest cat I have seen was 24 years of age. Maybe your cat could break that record.