Communicating and implementing a weight management program for dogs and cats can be a challenging endeavor for veterinarians, but a rewarding one. An effective individualized weight loss program provides a consistent and healthy rate of weight loss to reduce risk of disease, prevent malnutrition, and improve quality of life. Weight loss is achieved with appropriate caloric restriction, diet selection, exercise, and strategies to help modify behavior of both the pet and client. This document offers guidelines and tools for the management of weight loss and long-term maintenance of healthy weight.

Although conventional treatment of dogs with osteosarcoma (OSA) by amputation and chemotherapy results in reported survival times (STs) of 262–413 days, no major improvements in STs have occurred in the past 2 decades. Suramin is a polysulfonated napthylurea, which at noncytotoxic concentrations in vitro, increases tumor sensitivity to chemotherapy, including doxorubicin. The study authors evaluated the combination of noncytotoxic suramin and doxorubicin after amputation in dogs with OSA. The hypothesis was that treatment of dogs with appendicular OSA with amputation, adjuvant doxorubicin, and noncytotoxic suramin would be well tolerated and result in STs at least comparable to those of doxorubicin alone. Forty-seven dogs received 6.75 mg/kg of suramin IV followed by 30 mg/m² of doxorubicin IV 4 hr later. Treatment was repeated q 2 wk for five doses. The median disease free time (DFI) was 203 days (range, 42–1,580+ days) and the median ST for all dogs was 369 days (range, 92–1,616+ days). There was no statistical difference in ST and DFI between greyhounds and nonngreyhounds. Adjuvant doxorubicin and noncytotoxic suramin was well tolerated in dogs with OSA following amputation. Additional studies are needed to determine if this combination treatment protocol provides additional clinical benefit compared with doxorubicin alone.

Thiopental is an excellent choice for evaluation of laryngeal function. Unfortunately, thiopental is no longer manufactured. In its absence, the ideal anesthetic protocol for laryngoscopy has not been determined. Propofol and propofol/ketamine were compared for the evaluation of laryngeal function in 48 healthy dogs. Laryngeal exposure was moderate to excellent in all dogs and not significantly different between protocols. Saturation of peripheral O₂ (SPO₂) readings were decreased in the propofol/ketamine group, and deeper respirations were more likely to correlate with normal laryngeal function regardless of treatment group. Doxapram was administered to apneic patients to stimulate respiration and allow for evaluation of laryngeal function. No significant difference in frequency of doxapram administration between groups was noted. Doxapram resulted in higher respiratory scores and significantly increased the ability to determine normal laryngeal function. Ketamine did not allow for a reduction in propofol dose and caused increased respiratory depression, making ketamine a poor addition to propofol for laryngeal function examination. Regardless of the protocol used, laryngeal function should be determined in conjunction with the respiratory phase and depth of respirations. Patients with either absent or shallow respirations should receive doxapram for accurate evaluation of laryngeal function.

Sevoflurane and isoflurane are commonly used in veterinary anesthesia. The objective of this prospective, randomized, open-label clinical study was to compare the cardiovascular effects of sevoflurane and isoflurane via direct arterial blood pressure measurements and the lithium dilution cardiac output (LDCO) on premedicated healthy dogs undergoing elective tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO). Nineteen client-owned dogs were included. All dogs were premedicated with hydromorphone (0.05 mg/kg IV and glycopyrrolate 0.01 mg/kg subcutaneously). Ten dogs were anesthetized with sevoflurane and nine dogs were anesthetized with isoflurane. Eighteen dogs were instrumented with a dorsal pedal arterial catheter, and one dog had a femoral arterial catheter. All dogs had continuous, direct systolic (SAP), diastolic (DAP), and mean arterial (MAP) blood pressure readings as well as heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), cardiac index (CI), systemic vascular resistance (SVR), systemic vascular resistance index (SVRI), stroke volume variation (SVV), and pulse pressure variation (PPV) recorded q 5 min during the surgical procedure. There was no significant statistical difference in all parameters between the sevoflurane and isoflurane treatment groups. Both sevoflurane and isoflurane inhalant anesthetics appear to have similar hemodynamic effects when used as part of a multimodal anesthetic protocol in premedicated healthy dogs undergoing an elective surgical procedure.

Cyclosporine is commonly used orally to treat feline dermatoses. Due to difficulties administering oral medications, veterinarians sometimes prescribe compounded transdermal cyclosporine, despite studies showing limited absorption. The study objective was to compare cyclosporine blood concentrations after oral administration to concentrations after transdermal application of cyclosporine (prepared in pluronic lecithin organogel [PLO]) in six cats using a controlled, cross-over design with a 2 wk washout period. Cats were dosed at 5.1–7.4 mg/kg of cyclosporine q 24 hr either per os for 7 days or transdermally for 21 days. Cyclosporine blood concentrations were measured q 7 days and after the washout period. A monoclonal-based immunoassay (lower limit of quantitation was 25 ng/mL) was used. Median concentrations on the seventh day were 2,208 ng/mL (range, 1,357–3,419 ng/mL) 2 hr after orally administered cyclosporine and 37 ng/mL (range, 25–290 ng/mL) 2 hr after transdermally applied cyclosporine. Median concentration on day 21 was 58 ng/mL (range, 51–878 ng/mL) 2 hr after transdermally applied cyclosporine. Concentrations were quantifiable for transdermally applied cyclosporine, but considered therapeutic in only one of six cats. Based on those results, transdermally applied cyclosporine was not recommended in cats because of inconsistent absorption.

The purpose of this retrospective study of 72 dogs was to compare a vessel sealing device with a surgical stapling device for performance of splenectomy. The results of this study demonstrate a statistically significant shorter surgical time for splenectomy, without an adverse effect on outcomes, performed in dogs with the vessel sealing device (mean time, 58.4 min ± 3.3 min; median time, 60 min; range, 22–131 min) compared with a traditional stapling device (mean time, 66.9 min ± 2.4 min; median time, 66 min; range, 40–100 min). No other significant differences were found between the two groups of patients.

The purposes of this study were to describe cases of feline gastric lymphoma with regards to signalment, clinical presentation, laboratory and ancillary study findings, response to therapy, and outcomes and to identify prognostic variables. Sixteen cats with stage I and II gastric lymphoma treated with chemotherapy were included in this study. Seventy-five percent of cats experienced remission. Overall, first remission duration was 108 days. Response to treatment was prognostic as in other types of feline lymphoma. Cats with a complete remission (CR) had longer survival times compared with cats with a partial remission (PR). Sex and treatment with a rescue protocol were found to be prognostic with castrated males having longer survivals than spayed females. Cats that received rescue chemotherapy had shorter first remission durations than those that did not. Prior treatment with steroids and stage were not found to be significant prognostic variables. This study characterizes gastric lymphoma treated with chemotherapy in cats. Further studies are needed to determine the comparative efficacy of surgical and chemotherapeutic treatments for feline gastric lymphoma.

A 1.5 yr old male German shepherd dog was evaluated for recurrent intermittent episodes of fever and lethargy. Clinicopathologic abnormalities were suggestive of a discospondylitis at the seventh and eighth thoracic vertebrae. Blood and urine cultures yielded growth of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) that was resistant to all commonly used antibiotics. Extralabel antibiotic susceptibility testing demonstrated susceptibility of both blood and urine isolates to linezolid. The prescribed dose was extrapolated from pharmacokinetic (PK) studies and the isolate’s plasma minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Linezolid was administered for 23 wk and resulted in successful resolution of bacteremia, bacteriuria, and discospondylitis. When justified, linezolid should be considered to treat methicillin-resistant infections.

Ivermectin toxicosis in cats is infrequently reported. IV lipid emulsion (ILE) is a novel treatment in veterinary medicine that has been used for amelioration of adverse effects seen with multiple lipid soluble compounds. Previously, ILE has been investigated in experimental models with rats, rabbits, pigs, and dogs, mainly for resuscitation of cardiopulmonary arrest and treatment of hypotension due to local anesthetic drug overdose. There are few case reports in veterinary medicine of using ILE for drug toxicity. Only one feline case has been reported, with IV lipids used for treatment of lidocaine toxicity. This report describes a case of ivermectin toxicosis in a 1 yr old domestic shorthair that was safely and successfully treated using ILE.

A 4 yr old castrated male Jack Russell terrier was presented with a 2 mo history of vomiting, anorexia, and weight loss. Abdominal radiographs and ultrasound supported the diagnosis of gastric outflow obstruction. Celiotomy and gastrotomy revealed a large, narrowly based mass originating from the mucosa of the dorsal gastric body, occupying the lumen of the stomach and protruding through the pylorus into the duodenum. A partial gastrectomy was performed to excise the mass along with a 1 cm margin of grossly normal tissue. Giant hypertrophic gastritis was diagnosed via histopathology of the excised tissue. Giant hypertrophic gastritis is a rarely diagnosed disease of canines, characterized by giant gastric folds, hypoalbuminemia, and mucosal hypertrophy. Long-term treatment success has not been previously reported. In the case described herein, surgical excision of the affected gastric tissue provided complete resolution of clinical signs. Twelve mo following surgery, no recurrence of either vomiting or weight loss had been noted and the dog was clinically normal.

An 8 yr old castrated male Labrador retriever mixed-breed dog with osteosarcoma (OSA) of the left proximal humerus receiving carboplatin presented 10 days after the third chemotherapy treatment with hematuria, stranguria, and pollakiuria. A presumptive diagnosis of hemorrhagic cystitis was made based on clinical signs, urinalysis, and cytologic analysis of a traumatic catheterization sample. Carboplatin was removed from the chemotherapy treatment plan and was substituted with doxorubicin. The dog was treated with meloxicam for pain, and the cystitis signs subsided over a period of 4 wk. Carboplatin is commonly used as adjuvant chemotherapy for dogs with OSA following amputation and is not known to cause hematuria in dogs, although there are reports of this occurring in humans. To the authors’ knowledge, there are no reports in the veterinary literature of this toxicity.

A 2 yr old castrated male Himalayan presented for evaluation and treatment of persistent urinary incontinence that had been present since birth. Ultrasonographic evaluation of the urinary tract revealed suspected bilateral, extramural, ureteral ectopia that was confirmed at the time of surgical exploration. Marked left hydroureter and a normal right ureter were found entering the urethra ∼ 2 cm caudal to the bladder neck. An intravesicular mucosal apposition (modified Leadbetter-Politano) and “drop-in” ureteroneocystostomy techniques were used for reimplantation of the left and right ureter, respectively. Postoperatively, the cat gained urinary continence and remained continent and clinically normal 6 mo following surgery.