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505 results for “Cat distemper”
Bringing Home a 2–6 Month Old Puppy or Kitten: A Complete Care Checklist
A new 2–6 month old puppy or kitten is fragile, and mistakes in the first weeks—too much handling, wrong food, missed vaccines—can cause stress, illness, or worse. Start by letting the pet settle alone for 1–2 hours before gentle interaction; keep the same food it had before (soak kibble if needed) and feed 3–4 small meals a day. Watch the first week closely, since transport can expose them to panleukopenia, cat flu, distemper, or parvovirus on top of stress. The vaccine and deworm timeline matters: deworm first, wait at least 7 days, then vaccinate (dog multivalent from ~45 days, three shots 21 days apart, rabies at 3 months; cat FVRCP from 2 months, three shots 28 days apart, then rabies). Don’t bathe, delay outings until vaccinated, and never feed toxic people foods like grapes, chocolate, coffee, or avocado.
What Happens If You Don’t Vaccinate Your Dog?
Skipping vaccines puts a dog at real risk of deadly diseases such as rabies, distemper, and parvovirus, and an infected dog becomes a source that spreads illness to other animals and to people. Unvaccinated dogs may also be barred from shows, travel, and some city registrations, and can be fined or even seized. Core vaccines start at 6-8 weeks and repeat every 2-4 weeks until the series is done. Keep the dog healthy before each shot, watch for reactions afterward, and avoid baths until the course is complete.
Why Is Your Dog’s Nose Running
Dust, other irritants in the nose, or a sudden change in weather can all make a dog's nose run, and that is usually harmless. But thick, pus-like discharge with fever or cough, constant drooling, lost appetite, or a changed environment are reasons to pay attention. The discharge itself tells a story: thick mucus hints at bacterial or viral infection, thin watery fluid points to rhinitis or an upper respiratory infection, and pus suggests inflammation with pus formation. Many conditions can cause it - drug or food poisoning, food allergy, pulmonary edema, nasal stenosis, sinusitis, rhinitis, heartworm, canine flu, adenovirus II, infectious hepatitis, and distemper. The simplest check is to wipe the dog's nose with a tissue and look at the result.
Common Causes of Coughing in Dogs
Coughing in dogs most often points to a problem in the respiratory system, but it can also come from heart disease, infectious illness, a swallowed object, or even a fracture. Watching the type of cough - wet, dry, weak, or continuous - and noting whether the dog also loses appetite, runs a fever, or has nasal discharge helps you and your vet pin down the cause. A wet cough with phlegm suggests airway disease, a harsh dry cough may be kennel cough, a weak cough can mean pneumonia, and a repeated dry cough may signal heart trouble. Many conditions from roundworms to heart failure, tracheal collapse, pneumonia, and distemper can all show up as coughing, so persistent or severe cases deserve a veterinary check.
Symptoms of Canine Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is a serious dog disease caused by Leptospira bacteria - also called infectious jaundice or hemorrhagic jaundice - that spreads through skin, mucus membranes, and contaminated food or water, often peaking in summer and early autumn. Two forms stand out: one brings sudden fever, vomiting, dark bile-colored urine, yellow gums, and bleeding, while the other causes vomiting and bloody diarrhea with mouth ulcers and a death rate of 60-80 percent in acute cases. Diagnosis uses microscopy, culture, and blood tests, and treatment pairs antibiotics with liver and fluid support. Clean housing, rodent control, quarantine, and the two-type vaccine are the key preventives.
Canine Infectious Hepatitis: Can It Be Treated
Canine infectious hepatitis is an acute, often severe viral disease of dogs caused by canine adenovirus type 1 (CAV-1). It spreads through urine, saliva, and nasal discharge and hits weaned puppies hardest, sometimes with no warning signs. Typical signs include a fever that rises then falls, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, and a characteristic cloudy "blue eye" in about a quarter of recovering dogs. While there is no direct cure that eliminates the virus, most dogs recover with prompt supportive care such as fluids, liver protection, and antibiotics to control secondary infection. The good news is that the disease is highly preventable through routine vaccination, with puppy shots given at 8-9 and 10-12 weeks and annual boosters for adults.
What Pet Owners Should Know About Rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that infects dogs, cats, and people, and because a rabid dog can harm humans, it demands serious attention. The virus travels along nerves to the brain after a bite, and once signs appear the outcome is almost always fatal. Prevention through vaccination and prompt wound care is the only real defense.
What Is Kennel Cough in Dogs
Kennel cough, or infectious tracheobronchitis, is a highly contagious respiratory infection spread by many pathogens at once. It hits dogs of any age but is hardest on puppies, and it flares in cold, crowded, damp conditions. The classic sign is a harsh, dry, honking cough, and while most cases clear on their own, knowing when to treat matters.
What Types of Dog Vaccines Are There
Vaccines are the front line of dog disease prevention, and clinics use several types built for different needs. They range from killed and live vaccines to single-, multi-, and combined shots, plus newer subunit and genetic approaches. Knowing the categories helps you follow your vet's recommendation with confidence.
Common Dog Diseases and Their Symptoms
A sick dog shows changes in behavior and body that veterinarians call symptoms. Owners who notice these early can get the right help faster. Fever is one of the clearest signals: a dog's normal temperature is 38.3-39C, and anything above 39C means the dog is running a temperature. Here are the common causes behind sudden high fever and lingering low fever.