All posts by Dr. Marty Becker

Cat in pink dress and hair bow in front of white

Female cats can spray, too

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

You know that old song that goes, “Anything you can do, I can do better”? That’s what the girl cats say to the boy cats when it comes to spraying, AKA “urine marking.” Here’s what’s going on, as I explained in response to a reader’s question.

Q: Why does my cat spray? I thought females didn’t do that!

A: Surprise, surprise! Spraying is a normal feline behavior, for females as well as males. Spraying is all about marking territory. It’s the way cats express the warning, “Don’t invade my territory!” It’s also a way of marking territory as their own as well as comforting themselves in a stressful situation by making their surroundings smell like, well, themselves.

You can tell the difference between spraying and normal urination by observing the cat’s posture. Squatting to pee is normal urination. A cat who is spraying stands with tail up and vibrating, raises and lowers his back paws as if he’s on tippy-toes, and shoots a stream of urine straight back.

Urine sprayed onto a vertical surface such as a wall or door is a sign of scent marking, or territorial marking. Most cats who mark vertically don’t have a medical problem. You can almost always chalk up the behavior to a cat’s desire to communicate something, either to you or to other cats in the house. Cat pee is designed to stick on trees in all weather for as long as three weeks, so it’s powerful stuff. Cats can direct their urine very accurately, so the pee is exactly where they want it to be and smells exactly how they want it to smell. Someday, we will be able to identify the particular pheromone that the cat leaves with the urine and that will tell us if he is scared, frustrated, terrorized by another cat or in pain.

Unneutered males are the worst offenders, but it’s not unusual for neutered males and some females to scent mark. Neutering before 6 months of age — which is a good time to surgically alter a cat — sometimes helps to prevent scent marking, but not always.

There’s more in Pet Connection, the weekly nationally syndicated pet feature I co-write with Kim Campbell Thornton and my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker.

Beagle sad, limping

Never ignore your dog’s lameness

Veterinary Medicine

Have you ever seen your dog limping or moving stiffly, and figured it was just weekend warrior syndrome or maybe a sign of advancing age, but nothing that required veterinary care? You may want to think again.

Ignoring a dog’s lameness can have a number of negative outcomes. First is that your pet might suffer when he or she doesn’t have to; while popping a Tylenol or Aleve is not safe for dogs or cats (in fact, it can harm or even kill them), we often do that without even thinking about it. There are safe medications or treatments that can relieve your pet’s pain even if the cause of the lameness doesn’t require serious treatment.

And even if the cause is “age” (which isn’t a disease) or a chronic, progressive condition like arthritis, pretending your pet isn’t in pain won’t make that pain go away. Our animals can’t get treatment on their own; we need to get care for them when they need it.

Second, a dog might have a serious injury such as a cruciate ligament tear, the most common orthopedic problem veterinarians see in dogs. Torn cruciate ligaments are extremely painful and cannot heal on their own; they require treatment by a veterinarian. Without repair, the ligament tear can lead to painful degenerative joint disease.

Third is the big one, the one we never want to hear as a diagnosis: bone cancer. Any dog who is reluctant to put weight on his limb or who shows sudden signs of lameness should be evaluated for osteosarcoma, which is the most frequently diagnosed bone tumor in dogs and cats, and one of the most painful of all cancers. Diagnosis requires an X-ray and biopsy.

To sum up my point, any time your dog shows signs of lameness, head to your veterinarian. Know that whatever the cause, treatment can relieve pain, improve function, and slow the advancement of the underlying problem. Simple therapies like rest or rehab, or others like medication or surgery, can help your dog live a life free of pain.

Sheltie puppy on sofa with collar

Do you know the right age to get a puppy?

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

Many people think when it comes to getting a new puppy, younger is better. That’s not true, as I explained to this reader.

Q: How old should puppies be when they go to their new homes? The breeder we’re talking to is offering to let us take our new puppy when she’s 6 weeks old. Will that ensure a better bonding experience?

A: Run fast and far away from that breeder! While the age at which it’s best for pups to go to their new homes varies by breed or type of dog, no puppy should leave mom and littermates before 8 weeks of age.

It might seem as if getting a very young puppy would improve your ability to bond with her, but research shows that young pups still have a lot to learn about proper dog behavior from interactions with their mother and littermates. They learn about behavioral expectations from an older dog — mom — and appropriate social skills — don’t bite too hard! — from littermates. They also learn other perceptual and motor skills.

Puppies taken home at 8 weeks or older have fewer behavior problems later in life, according to a study by Italian researchers published in the journal Veterinary Record. They looked at dogs who went to new homes between 5 and 6 weeks of age and between 8 and 9 weeks of age. Puppies who were older at the time they left the litter were less likely to be destructive, bark excessively, show fearfulness on walks, react fearfully to sounds, or be possessive of food, toys or other objects.

Responsible breeders send puppies to new homes when they are 8 to 12 weeks old. Puppies in that age range are more mature and more likely to sleep through the night. That makes them easier to housetrain.

Breeders of toy dogs, especially, prefer to keep pups until they are 12 to 16 weeks old to ensure that they are sturdy and confident enough for their new home.

There’s more in Pet Connection, the weekly nationally syndicated pet feature I co-write with Kim Campbell Thornton and my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker.

sick tabby cat lying on a white blanket

Is dialysis for cats ever an option?

Veterinary Medicine, , ,

If your cat has been diagnosed with kidney disease, you might wonder if dialysis is an option. If your cat’s symptoms are caused by an infection, it might be.

The kidneys are designed to eliminate toxins from the cat’s body via the urine. When the kidneys are impaired, toxins build up. An infection can prevent the kidneys from doing their job, and if you catch the problem early enough, dialysis can give the kidneys time to recover.

Dialysis removes waste until the kidneys are online again. Very sick cats will require hospitalization for dialysis, but once the cat is stable your veterinarian can place a dialysis catheter and let her go home between dialysis sessions. These sessions usually need to be repeated around three times a week for one to four weeks.

The Animal Medical Center in New York Cit say that damage caused by infections can be successfully treated 50 to 75 percent of the time. It’s an expensive procedure, but can give your cat a chance at a long and normal life.

The American Society of Veterinary Nephrology and Urology has a list of facilities offering dialysis for animals here.

Calico Cat

Male calico cats aren’t just rare

Pet Connection, Veterinary Medicine

Male calico cats are rare, but that’s not their whole story. Here’s what I told a reader.

Q: I’ve just adopted a rare male calico cat, and I’m thinking of breeding him. Is that a good idea?

A: I hate to burst your bubble, but although male calicos are rare, trying to breed one will be a bust.

Approximately 1 out of every 3,000 calico cats is male, according to a study at the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine, but they are generally sterile. According to feline genetics expert Leslie A. Lyons, Ph.D., that’s because calico or tortoiseshell males may have abnormalities in the X and Y (sex) chromosomes that lead to fertility problems.

Calico is a color pattern, not a breed. The orange, black and white coloration is governed by genetics. Any cat, male or female, can be orange, but in males the color is nearly always expressed in the tabby, or striped, pattern.

The gene that determines how the color orange displays in cats is found on the X chromosome. Female cats have two X chromosomes, while males have one X and one Y chromosome. For a cat to be a calico, the animal must have two X chromosomes, which means a calico kitty is going to be female the vast majority of the time.

When the calico pattern exists in a male, it’s because the cat has the unusual circumstance of three sex chromosomes: two X, one Y (male). If both X chromosomes carry the calico blueprint, you’re looking at one rare cat: a male calico. These unusual XXY animals, typically the result of faulty cell division, are called Klinefelter males, after the doctor who first described the condition.

If you have a male calico and think you can make money breeding him, you’re probably going to be disappointed because of his likely sterility. Enjoy him for the rarity that he is.

There’s more in Pet Connection, the weekly nationally syndicated pet feature I co-write with Kim Campbell Thornton and my daughter, trainer Mikkel Becker.