Getting my Toes Wet

By Dr. Anndrea Hatcher

Olive Branch Parke Veterinary Clinic

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com

For years I’ve wanted to try my hand at a saltwater aquarium. But student loans, babies, and a slanting 200 year old floor prevented me from attempting this challenge until now. My new veterinary clinic has a level concrete slab floor, ideal for a heavy aquarium. I’m at work so much anyway,…

Does my Dog Need Prozac®?

By Dr. Anndrea Hatcher

Olive Branch Parke Veterinary Clinic

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com

Does this sound familiar? You come home from a long day at work and open the door into a blizzard. You blink and realize that the inside of your home is actually blanketed with upholstery stuffing. Your Rat Terrier, VelcroBoy, leaps up from the remains of your couch and greats you…

By Dr. Anndrea Hatcher

Olive Branch Parke Veterinary Clinic

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com

….. although if he manages to wolf whistle, you might have to wonder. Sorry, but eye disease just lens itself to low brow humor. As a pupil in veterinary school, I thought ophthalmology had such interesting sounding terminology, but I’ll try to stay focused on the topic at hand. (You just have to keep a sense of vitreous…

By Dr. Anndrea Hatcher

Olive Branch Parke Veterinary Clinic

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com

In 1925, 20 men and 150 sled dogs raced across the Alaskan territory over five and a half days to deliver life-saving antitoxin to the town of Nome that was suffering from a diphtheria epidemic. This was just prior to the advent of reliable aircraft and snowmobiles, making sled dogs the major method of transportation and…

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In Part 1 of this article, I talked about the medical conditions that can cause cats to urinate outside of the litter box. In Part 2, I talked about preventative measures cat owners can take to help prevent the behavioral issues that can cause cats to urinate outside of the litter box. What can you do if you’ve got a cat who is urinating outside of the litter box, your veterinarian has…

Thinking Outside of the Litter Box

Part 2





By Dr. Anndrea Hatcher

Olive Branch Park Veterinary Clinic

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com







Last month, in the first part of this article, I talked about the medical problems that can cause cats to urinate outside of the litter box. If your veterinarian has already eliminated a medical cause as the problem, what is left is…

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One of the most frequent reasons given when owners relinquish cats to animal shelters or ask that a non-elderly cat be put to sleep is that the cat is “peeing all over the house.” This is…

Ferreting out Information on Ferrets



By Dr. Anndrea Hatcher

Olive Branch Parke Veterinary Clinic

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com







The word “ferret” comes from the Latin word “furittus” which meant “little thief.” With its masked face and propensity to steal small things, it is easy to see how this cute, curious pet got its name.



Ferrets are domesticated animals and make good…

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Internet search engines appear to think that hybrid cats should be powered by electricity instead of cat chow.

However, hybrid animals are created by breeding animals of different…

Pet Rabbit doesn’t have to be a Hare-raising Experience



By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com

Spring and Easter bring to mind flowers, eggs, chicks, and bunnies. If you are considering making the Easter Bunny a permanent house guest, here is some information to help you negotiate the briar patch of rabbit care.

Rabbits will live from 5 to 12 years. Adult rabbits range in…

Can You Hear that Smell?



By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com

Think Fido is willfully ignoring you as you stand shivering in the pouring rain calling his name, imploring him to finish his business so you can both go inside where it is nice and warm and dry?

Maybe he actually can’t hear you.

Have you looked in his ears lately?

Pets don’t always let us know when…

By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com

Imagine if you never brushed your teeth your whole life? Yuck. Dogs and cats don’t. And considering some of the things they eat? Double yuck.

But, you point…

Slow and Steady Wins the Race



By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com





A distressed tortoise crawled into a police station.

“Officer! I was just robbed by a violent gang of snails!”

“OK, calm down,” said the officer, “and tell me everything that happened.”

“I’ll try, “said the tortoise, “but it all happened so fast!”

Strictly speaking, tortoises are land turtles…

Neither Pigs, Nor From Guinea

By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com





The time honored tradition of the classroom pet is remembered fondly by many of us. A classroom pet is an opportunity for children who don’t have a pet at home to interact with an animal and learn about the responsibility required to care for one. But any elementary school teacher can tell you that a pet in classroom…

Linebackers and Ligaments



By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com





You may have heard of the common football player’s injury of “blowing your knee out.” It is also called an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture. This injury happens to dogs and cats too, but it is called a cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture in animals.

Lou is a one year old Bulldog whose breed physique…

A Hug to Die For

By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com





A boa constrictor is a cold blooded killer: a nonpoisonous carnivorous snake. Snakes are reptiles which can’t control their body temperature by creating heat themselves like we mammals do. They rely upon their environment for their body temperature. This must be taken into consideration when caring for one as a pet.

As the name…

A Heart Full of Spaghetti



By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com

In veterinary school, I had a pathology professor who told us never to describe disease processes using food terms. But I can’t help it; heartworm disease doesn’t look like anything other than a heart full of spaghetti. I hope you weren’t planning to have pasta tonight.

Heartworm disease most commonly affects dogs.…

Betta: The Alpha Male Fish



By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

Olive Branch Parke Veterinary Clinic

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com





I’ve always thought of Betta Vases as being a kind of Feng Shui method of bringing life into a small office. You have probably seen them: clear vases topped with a plant, containing a brightly colored fish with flowing fan-like fins. I’m great with animals: with plants, not…

Hedgehogs

By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

Olive Branch Parke Veterinary Clinic

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com





The renowned psychologist, Sigmund Freud, drew attention to the Hedgehog’s Dilemma. A group of hedgehogs wanted to crowd together for warmth, but they kept inadvertently poking each other with their prickly quills. Freud compared this to the perils of human interaction: that despite good…

Feline Leukemia: Deep Cover Spy

By Dr. Anndrea Kapke

Olive Branch Parke Veterinary Clinic

www.olivebranchvet.com

olivebranchvet@gmail.com

Feline Leukemia is a viral disease of cats. It isn’t contagious to dogs or humans.

If a cat is exposed to the Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV), he has three options.

1. If he’s lucky, he will clear the virus and be fine.

2. He will stay sick and have the virus in his…