Sweet Sunday

"I'm a great listener. What's on your mind?"

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To lap or not to lap, that is the question.

Today's PhotoHunt is GO. Faraday wants to know "WIIFM?" --  before he goes up on mommy's lap!

You can see more great Photo Hunters posts HERE.

Fraidy Cats, Panicked Pups & a Giveaway

The sample we were given

Last night, in many neighborhoods across the United States, the sky was ablaze with fireworks as people everywhere celebrated the 4th of July.

And while holidays like this never seem to phase our mellow Maxwell (probably because he can't hear!), Faraday chose to enjoy the festivities from a safe vantage under the bed.

We'd imagine a lot of family pets have trouble with loud and frightening noise-makers like that. (Is it any wonder that this time of year shows a marked increase in lost animals?)

So when The Honest Kitchen offered us a sample of their calming tea for dogs & cats, we were interested.

It's called Quiet Tea, and it's formulated for use in stressful situations like thunderstorms and noisy neighborhood fireworks.

And although Faraday most definitely qualifies as a fraidy cat, we happen to have a few friends whose pets suffer some serious anxiety issues. So we asked if they would mind test-driving this tea for us to see how it worked.

First up is Sushi, a Shiba Inu owned by blogger Tails & Wails. Sushi has a horrible time with fearfulness, and this spring's stormy weather has been a rough one.

Harvey's woofie brother, Yaz

Next, meet Yaz. This adorable mutt is new to Harvey & Evelyn's home this year, and you can follow his exploits over at Sebastian the Sensitive Soul.

Yaz and Sushi both have thundershirts that they wear to help calm them during stressful times, but that alone doesn't always do the trick.  Yaz has been known to go into a frenzy during a storm, tearing into fences as well as the occasional doorway in his panicked state.

Speaking of which, did any of you see the photo of that doorway in question that Amy posted after one recent thunderstorm? Poor Yaz - that was one frightened pup, for sure!

Thunderstorm Aftermath!

These two dogs are perfect candidates to try out Quiet Tea and so we dropped some off for both families earlier this week so they could test it out on both Sushi and Yaz during the 4th of July - and the forecasted thunderstorms later this week.

Initial results are promising: Sushi's mom emailed yesterday to say, "Sushi likes it, which is a bonus!" She told us that one of their neighbors was shooting off fireworks, and that she & her husband thought Sushi did seem to be more relaxed. The true test will be during a storm, though! As there are a few predicted in our area in the next week, we'll share their opinion on how it worked next Friday.

Quiet Tea is prepared much like a regular drinking tea. Its ingredients include many familiar herbs used as calming agents for humans as well: Oatstraw, chamomile, passionflower, skullcap and valerian root.

It comes as a loose-leaf jar with guidelines on how much loose tea to steep in hot water based on your pet's weight.  After steeping for 5-10 minutes, you strain it and mix it in with food twice a day. It's only intended for supplemental use as needed, not every day.

Giveaway time!

If this sounds like something that might be helpful to your pet, here's some great news:
The Honest Kitchen is giving away one canister of Quiet Tea to one of our readers.

All you need to do is comment below, telling us you'd like to be included in the drawing (along with your email address so we can contact you if your name is chosen). Then next Friday we'll use random.org to select the winner!

Everyone in the U.S. is eligible, except for New Mexico, Texas or South Dakota due to state regulations.
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Many thanks to The Honest Kitchen for graciously offering readers this opportunity. We were not compensated in any way for this post, other than the free sample we were given.

Happy 4th!

Maxwell wants YOU ...

to enjoy this 4th of July.

Happy Holiday!

Heads up: Lost animals increase by 30% July 3-6!

'Toon Tuesdays

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Toon Tuesdays feature cat & dog cartoons made by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) - where our mom works, too!

Drug Companies Try to Ban Compound RX for Vets

Today's Medical Monday deals with a critical issue to pet health care.

My Meds Matter, a medical watchdog site with a specific interest in custom compounded medications, recently posted an alert about a proposal coming before the U.S. Senate. If passed, this proposal would effectively ban pharmacies from compounding medications prescribed by veterinarians to treat dogs, cats, and horses.

photo via GOKLuLe, Wikimedia Commons

According to My Meds Matter, "customized medications can make all the difference is the world when these animals have a health issue.

The most egregious provision under consideration would limit the bulk ingredients that can be used in compounded medications to treat dogs, cats and horses to a positive list developed by the FDA.

There are no similar restrictions for elephants, giraffes, hamsters, other minor species— not even humans!

This could mean the elimination of important drug therapies that dogs, cats and horses depend on."

What's behind this push to ban compounding drugs? Apparently it's sponsored by the Animal Health Institute (AHI), a group created and funded by the big drug companies. Their member directory reads as a Who's Who of the world's major pharmaceutical companies: Abbot Laboratories, Bayer, Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, Zoetis.

Will this proposal cause pharmacies like this one to be
a thing of the past? Photo: Sarah Smith

This feels like a clear conflict of interest if, by banning compounded medications, veterinarians are forced to use the very pharmaceuticals these companies produce.

But are compounded medications really that important? We asked Dr. Sara Huber of Leawood Plaza Animal Hospital to weigh in on the subject - and her answer was eye opening:

Dr. Sara Huber, DVM

Dr. Huber: "I use compounding pharmacies on a weekly basis for my clients and for my own pets! My cat Millie has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and asthma.

"When I try to pill her, she gets so worked up that she has an asthma attack and needs her rescue inhaler. I get her medications compounded into a transdermal gel that she tolerates really well.

"Without these compounded medications, I don't know that I would be able to get the medication into her without:
1. compromising her health and risking a potentially fatal asthma attack
2. ruining the bond between us.

"The last thing you want is for your cat to run away when they see you coming!"

I found this next point to be a very important one:

Dr. Huber: "Aside from just ease of administration, compounded medications help us dose our puppies and kittens and our toy breeds much more accurately.

"Most of the medications that we use are formulated for "adult-sized" cats and small, medium, and large dogs. We often have to treat 2 pound kittens, full grown dogs that are 4 pounds, etc.

"With compounding pharmacies, we can get the proper dose in an appropriate amount of liquid/appropriate sized pill to treat these little guys.

"Lastly, cost is often a factor when trying to medicate pets (it stinks that it has to be, but even people who love their pets more than themselves sometimes can't afford to do everything for them). Often times, a medication through a compounding pharmacy is more cost effective than the name brand veterinary equivalent or even human equivalent. This allows us to treat problems that may otherwise go untreated if the client simply can't afford it.

"Again, I take the compounding issue very personally because losing the ability to compound certain drugs would compromise my own pet. But I love my patients dearly, and using compounded medications has helped me to treat them more efficiently."

After reading this, we went out immediately and signed the petition at My Meds Matter to block the passing of such a proposal. To me, the critical issues are these three points:

1. Sometimes the best, most accurate dosage can only be given through a compounded medication.
2. Compounded meds may be cheaper.
If we can keep the cost of pet health care down, we can help more people afford to adopt.
and...
3. Compounded meds can be far less traumatic to your pet when administered.

Please consider signing the petition also, and help keep compounded medications available to veterinarians across the USA.

Mister "I Refuse To Be Pilled."

 On behalf of my own persoal pilling nightmare, Faraday...I thank you.