Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) is a common and serious condition in both dogs and cats. Diagnosing pancreatitis is challenging because its signs are often vague and can mimic other illnesses. Fortunately, modern blood tests that measure pancreatic lipase levels specifically canine pancreatic lipase (cPL) in dogs and feline pancreatic…

Ask any calf rearer about “crypto” and you will get a knowing look. Cryptosporidiosis is a gut infection caused by Cryptosporidium parvum. It hits calves hard in the first weeks of life, it spreads like Spainsh Flu like its 1918, and it can occasionally make people sick as well. The…

Introduction Tiny yellow bacterium, single deadly mission. Infiltrate young fish and rot them from tail to bone. In a quiet trout hatchery on a winter morning, everything looks still until you notice the fry. One by one, they go from darting in the current to drifting listlessly, a dark bruise…

  Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) in dogs and cats is a common endocrine disorder characterized by persistent high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) due to insufficient insulin production or action. Affected pets often show increased thirst, urination, and appetite (polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia) along with sugar in the urine. Managing pet diabetes requires…

Prologue: At the Gates of CDV Tiny morbillivirus, five battlefields: lungs wheeze, guts churn, nerves misfire, skin cracks, eyes weep. It spreads like gossip at the dog park and hits hard. And it’s not just dogs on the line; ferrets and a roll call of wild carnivores (foxes, raccoons, skunks,…

Kidney disease is a silent threat for many cats and dogs. In humans there are approximately 0.9 to 1.0 million nephrons per kidney, whereas dogs have on average 400 to 600 thousand and cats have approximately 180 to 200 thousand. Because nephrogenesis does not occur after birth, this smaller innate…

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a common bacterium in the intestines of cattle, and most of the time it behaves itself. In fact, the majority of E. coli strains are harmless gut residents, the microbial equivalent of good neighbors. However, as every farmer knows, one bad apple can spoil the…

Bartonella henselae might sound like a insignificant latin name, but it’s actually a tiny bacterium carried by cat fleas that can cause big trouble for cats and for the people who love them. This pathogen is the culprit behind the infamous “cat scratch fever” in humans. Cats pick up B.…

Bird flu (avian influenza) isn’t a brand new bug, it’s a family of influenza A viruses that normally circulate in birds. Wild waterfowl (ducks, geese, shorebirds) are the classic reservoir hosts, often carrying flu viruses without looking sick. But some strains can spill into farm flocks or even people. For…

Leishmania might sound exotic, but it’s actually a tiny single celled parasite carried by sand flies (Phlebotomus papatasi, tiny blood sucking insects) that can spell big trouble for dogs. It’s not spread by ordinary fleas or ticks, only sand flies transmit it. Leishmania infantum is the main cause of canine…